Schweinfurt attack
Posted on 02/15/2010 8:50:07 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Had it not been for ball bearings, Schweinfurt might have remained a small town in Bavaria and escaped the notice of history. However, it was there in 1883 that a local mechanic, Friedrich Fischer, invented the machine that made possible mass production of ball bearings. In 1906, his son founded the Kugelfischer firm, which became the cornerstone of the industry.
World War II created a huge demand for ball bearings. The German aviation industry alone used 2.4 million of them a month. Production was concentrated in Schweinfurt, where five plants turned out nearly two-thirds of Germany’s ball bearings and roller bearings. Between 1922 and 1943, the surge in manufacturing tripled the population of Schweinfurt to 50,000. In the summer of 1943, US and British planners for the Combined Bomber Offensive identified the ball bearings industry as a key “bottleneck” target, the destruction of which could clog up war production and potentially shorten the war. The British Air Ministry since 1943 had been trying to persuade the Royal Air Force to bomb Schwein-furt, but Air Marshal Arthur T. “Bomber” Harris, chief of RAF Bomber Command, was adamantly opposed.
(Excerpt) Read more at airforce-magazine.com ...
BUMP for later reading...
I was stationed there in the late 70s at ledward and we were missing more than a few buildings as a result of the bombing during the war.The base was a german officers billets in WW i i as Lawrence Welk used to call it.Most of the town had been rebuilt as we bombed it (with the british at night) more than a few times.We also lost a lot of men on those Ball missions.Regansburg was another.
Ping—in case you missed this-—there’s an Eaker involved in the story......
When I was in London, the buildings were relatively new because the Luftwaffe bombings during the Blitz destroyed the older ones.
Great reporting, heavy losses, interesting story.
B-17s and B-24s bombing industrial plant deep inside Germany. American crews had a 1 out of 5 chance of returning.
Having nothing to do with Schweinfurt other than being part of WW2, I thought I’d post a link to some incredible pix of Iwo Jima I stumbled onto the other day.
Part of the reason of the ligh loss was a lack of an escort fighter. It was not later in the war, escort fighters were saving bombadiers lives.
Didn’t the whole bottleneck theory largely turn out to be BS? That is, that what appear to be obvious bottlnecks tend to have very quick workarounds?
A long time ago I remember reading reports that the Germans threw every plane available at the attacking bombers and even Stuka’s were spotted but I don’t know that any of them were able to get high enough or into position for an attack run.
Its neat to drive in the area and see the same company still there .. Schwienfurt is a nice city.. Best italian food in germany.. Little old Italian lady... Don’t remember the name but would remember the food for my whole life.
In two attacks on Shweinfurt the US lost almost 100 bombers without fighter protection. That’s paying for it.
Thanks for posting. My uncle flew B17s in the war, but never once did he talk about it. I’ve always been curious about his role, but it’s too late now to ask.
I love that album! What a country we had then!
That was some damned dark days for the eighth airforce for sure.I think the 100th Bomb had one plane come back from the first mission.The pilots name was Robert Rosenthal if my memory aint too gone.
targeting German cities in support of a national policy of “dehousing” German citizens and workers. ...................... Look what we have to deal with today. Too bad we can’t go back to the old rules of engagement. Then again, why must all the people suffer like when they bombed Dresden to placate Stalin. I had relatives in Europe, both of their cities were bombed, just to destroy the homes. We and the Brits were the culprits as far as they are concerned.
I was stationed there in Ledward Barracks. Upon my return home I was approached by my best friends grandpa when he over heard Schwienfurt come up in the conversation.
“Schwienfurt?!” He said....”We bombed the hell out of that place during the war”
Started a great conversation...
JG
I bet it did.I always enjoyed talking to vets from WW2 and especially the aircorps types.Sadly most are gone now.
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