Flak: The 8th Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Fire - Production & Contact Info (original) (raw)

Flak: The 8th Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Fire Part of 8th Air Force Week on WW2TV Since the end of World War II, the strategic bombing of Germany has inspired numerous studies, countless books and several documentary films, and it is not ...See moreFlak: The 8th Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Fire Part of 8th Air Force Week on WW2TV Since the end of World War II, the strategic bombing of Germany has inspired numerous studies, countless books and several documentary films, and it is not surprising. With more than one million tons of bombs dropped, close to 300,000 civilians killed, 700,000 wounded and in excess of 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures destroyed, the Allied bomber offensive was industrial war on a grand scale. The air battle that raged over Germany has often been described as a battle between Allied and German fighters but what has been frequently missed by historians on all sides is the impact of German anti-aircraft defences (flak). Though often dismissed as ineffective and a waste of valuable material and personnel, the German flak arm made a major contribution to the defence of the Third Reich - at least half of the American aircraft shot down over Germany fell to flak.The strategic role of flak extended beyond simply shooting down aircraft - its other, more important task was to force bombers to drop their ordnance sooner or from a higher altitude, thus reducing bombing accuracy. Written by Paul Woodadge See less