The Air War

I just watched WWII in HD, The Air War. I know Jambo's a fan of the HD series as well, the footage is just unbelievable and they have A-list quality actors doing the narration. This episode chronicles the exploits of the 8th Air Force, in particular their missions to decimate the Luftwaffe in preparation of Dday.

Now with all the film making technology & precedent setting series like B.o.B out there, this is a WWII movie just begging to be made.

Just a few details...

One of the biggest concerns in the planning of Dday was the immense power of the Luftwaffe. The 8th knew that to give our landing boys any chance of success the German fighter herd had to be thinned, considerably. The skies quickly became the setting for a war of attrition, and we had no option but to use our one great advantage over the more experienced and battle gardened German pilots - numbers (the rate at which we were producing battle ready planes off the assembly line). Those bomber missions over Berlin in the spring of 44' were primarily to draw the German fighters out & give our boys in the newly developed P-51 Mustangs & various other Aces a chance to engage. Our fighters appeared to be mere escorts but their primary objective was to "slay the Huns." Meaning as a bomber squadron your secondary objective was delivering your pay load, the first was bait. And the initial Berlin bombing runs were near suicide. 70% of the Luftwaffe was stationed within combat range of the city, creating a 400 mile battle zone from the coast to the Reichstag's steps. And get this! Because the "escorts" primary mission was the destruction of the German air force they were not allowed to accompany the bombers over the city of Berlin. An estimated 740 anti aircraft batteries were stationed in and around the city, and the bombers went it alone into the "flak zone." To complete your tour as a bomber and get a ticket home one had to complete 25 such missions. 75% of the 8th's bomber squad during this time never saw number 25. But it worked. In March of 1944 Allied forces destroyed more German fighters in that single month then the previous 2 years combined.

And here's a stat that caught my attention - the 8th Air Force lost more men in WWII then did the US Marines, and their percentage of KIA amongst all US forces was topped only by submariners.

Like I said, an air war movie chronicling the months before the invasion with Dday as the back drop, THAT would be movie magic. Or even better, the air version of B.o.B. Get on it Hanks & Spielberg, chop, chop!

And by the way Stevie boy, if you need any additional writers, I know a few guys.