Figure 1.--Here unidentified children in a newsewwl look at the skies above them. Given their expression probaly at bombers. We might guess they are Warsaw children at the start of the War (September 1939). One of the ironies of War is that Hitle with world's most powerul air force even thenting ro destroy cities before the War by the end of the War saw his cities being reduced to rubble and ultimtely had to go underground tomsurvivefor a few more months of the war he started. Historians disagree as to the impact of the bombing. We believe it was nuch more important than many observers believe. Click on the image for a discussion of this.

The World War II air war had its antecedents in World War I. This began at the tactical level. But the Germans from an early point began strategic bombing. This had no material impact on the War, but had a huge impact on the psyche of the British people. So much so that when Hitler and Stalin launched World War II, Britain was the only country that had a modern integrated air defense system in place. In the inter-War era the public was worried about future wars and the bombing of cities. This actually materialized in Libya (1920s), China/Manchuria (1931), Ethiopia (1935) and Spain (1937). In each case the counties bombing were he three countries (Germany, Italy, and Japan) that would comprise the Axis powers. The air commanders at the time differed on the importance of tactical and strategic forces. Strategic bombing was adopted by America and Britain. Tactical ground support was favored by France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The only country to actually build a long-range strategic bomber in the 1930s was he United Sates--the B-17 Flying Fortress. The Army Air Corps justified it as a important component of coastal defenses. Fear mounted after Hitler seized power in Germany (1933) and announced the new Luftwaffe (1935). The Soviet Union built the world's largest air force (1930s). The German bombing of Guernica bought the horrors aerial bombing into reality (1937). A year before World War II began, the abandoned, but well-armed Czechs capitulated just because of the threat of German bombing (1938). Historians debate just when World War II began. A case can be made for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) or China (1937). The air war in China was, however, less important than in Europe. The Japanese did not have the advanced Blitzkrieg tactical doctrine the Germans, in part bcause of a weak radio communications sector. In addition, China did not have industrial cities to target. The air war in China was mostly terror attacks. The Japanese achieved impressive victories (1937-38), but when the Chinese withdrew into the interior the Japanese could no longer get to them to press the attack and the war in China stalemated. Hitler after sizing power authorized massive arms spending. his mean that when war broke out, the German Luftwaffe was most powerful air force in the world (1939). The Germans benefited from a series of advances in aviation which rendered most existing aircraft obsolete just as the Germans began building modern aircraft. The technology was not. however, unique to Germany. NAZI propaganda made much of German science. It was impressive, but not all that much more advanced than the Allies. It is just as the Germans began massive spending with he technology before the Allies. Notably nearly all the impactful Luftwaffe aircraft were produced in the 1930s before the War. The Germans produced virtually no great aircraft during the War. In addition, the Germans had essentially worked out modern combined arms warfare--Blitzkrieg. And the new Luftwaffe along with the fast moving Panzers were a central cog in it. The result was a series of spectacular victories that gave the Germans control of much of Europe (1939-41). Fortunately for humanity, the Panzers were stopped by the Channel and the Luftwaffe was stopped by Britain's integrated air defense system masterminded by the RAF's Hugh Dowding (1940). This meant that the War in Europe was stalemated. German Führer Adolf Hitler decided to beak the stalemate by attacking the Soviet Union--Barbarossa (1941). A few months later, Japan decided to break the stalemate in China by an air attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. Both calculations are some of the most disastrous in history. One aspect of the air war was how expensive it was. Air forces were a major component in all theaters of World War II. And air warfare consumed a large portion of the industrial output of the major powers. America, Britain and Germany devoted about half of their economy to the air war. Japan and the Soviet Union also spent lavishly, but we are not sure it reached half of the war economy. Strategic bombing was especially expensive. Britain had bombers when World War II broke out, but the French refused to let the RAF used them. After the fall of France, Germany was beyond the reach of Bomber Command. The `headlines focused on the Battle of Britain (1940-41), but under the radar Britain was building a new generation of bombers--long range heavy bombers that could reach the industrial cities of the Reich. The Avro Lancster began reaching Bomber Command squadrons (mid-1942). At the same time, American B-17s and the new B-24 Liberators were arriving in Britain. The around the clock bombing of the Reich began (1943). This is when the strategic bombing of the Reich began in earnest. The American and British air forces were dominated by the Bomber Boys. But fighters were need to fight the ground war as well as to protect the American day-light bombers. Historians disagree on the impact of the bombers. We think that they were much more impactful than widely accepted. In the end industrial Germany cease to exist. There is no doubt that success of Allied ground forces was immeasurably assisted by ground support operations. In the Pacific, the naval war turned into an air war, dominated by carriers used to seize island from which aircraft could operate. 【Overy】 Japanese commanders thought that they were beyond the reach of American bombers. And that the island outpost taken in early 1942 would prevent American bombers from reaching the Home Islands, The Pacific is a huge ocean. Japanese aircraft designed with extended ranges were a huge advantage. Even before advanced aircraft began reaching the Pacific, beginning on Guadalcanal those bases began falling (1942-43). The B-29 Super Fortresses (the most expensive weapon of the War) proved them wrong (1944). The strategic bombing of Japan began after the Americans took the Marianas (1944). Japan's wood and paper cities and the war plants in those cities were reduced to glowing cinders. The War was finally brought to a conclusion by two atomic bombs dropped on Japan. This brings us back to a crucial meeting between Germany's most prestigious scientist, Max Planck, and the new Chancellor, Adolf Hitler (1933). Plank warned that the campaign against the Jews would 'mutilate' German science. Hitler was obstinate and refused to accept any of Planck's points. Towards the end of the meeting Hitler started to fidget around and mumbled 'You know what people say about me? They say I suffer from weak nerves.' A tirade followed. Hitler then started shouting, 'Slander!' He finally launched into one of his trade-mark rants against Jews and the Jewish menace. , "Our national policies will not be revoked or modified. Even for scientists. If the dismissal of Jewish scientists means the annihilation of contemporary German science, then we shall do without science for a few years!" Thus Hitler threw away his best chance Germany had of winning the War that was set on even before becoming Chancellor. There would be no German atomic bomb.

Created: 6:43 PM 10/2/2026
Last updated: 6:43 PM 10/2/2026