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Medium and Heavy Bombing |
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Medium and Heavy Bombing |
Written by Harold (Diz) Kronenberg
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It should be noted that the Allied Forces bombed around the
clock. Americans conducted daylight bombing raids, while the British bombed at night. About the only exceptions to this were
the American P-61 "Black Widow" night fighter squadrons. Lt. Wayne
Larson, from Eau Claire, was a meteorologist with the Black Widow
Squadron. Heavy and medium bomber crews in the Mediterranean Theater and South Pacific Theater generally flew fifty combat missions before being sent home for a rest, while the Eighth Air Force personnel, flying out of England, flew 25 to 35 combat missions before completing their tour of duty. Shortly before D-Day, the Eighth Air Force had raised the number of combat missions from 25 to 30 and, starting with D-Day, the required number of missions was raised to 35. |
