Raid on Schweinfurt
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The Raid on Schweinfurt (also called Mission 115) took place during World War II.The 8th Air Force raid, consisting of 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses attacked the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, in Germany. Some 42% of Germany`s ball bearings were produced here and were considered so important to the German war effort that they were the second highest priority target after aircraft factories. The mission, which was carried out on October 14, 1943, has become known as "Black Thursday" in Air Force history due to the heavy loss of men and aircraft.
For hundreds of miles (km) inbound to the target area, the B-17 bomber formations were attacked again and again by large numbers of enemy fighters of the Luftwaffe. A Spitfire escort protected the aircraft over the English Channel. They handed over to 50 P-47 Thunderbolts who accompanied the raid as far as possible. Over Walcheren 20 Me-109s attacked the escort fighters. German losses were 5 destroyed and 4 damaged while no U.S. planes were lost. At Duren, 30 FW-190s attacked the bombers.Another 20 FW-190s later joined the attack. During this battle, several B-17s were lost, as well as at least one P-47. German losses were 6 FW-190s. At this point, the American fighters had reached the limit of their range and had to return home. German attacks on the bombers continued during the next three unescorted hours to the target. Despite the horrible spectacle of plane after plane falling earthward to destruction, those bombers still able to fly never wavered from their course. Crews had been told to expect 7 minutes of exposure to 500 88 mm flak guns while over the target area. Unusually some of the German attackers flew through their own flak to attack aircraft which had not yet dropped their bombs. Only 229 planes reached the target. The 305th Group lost 13 of its 15 bombers.
After "Bombs Away," the AAF planes turned away from the target and headed for England and their bases. Almost immediately the German fighters, having landed and refuelled, struck again, forcing the American planes once more to fight for their survival as they had done inbound to the target area. Finally, the B-17s reached the coastline of Europe and relative safety, although some of them were so heavily damaged that they would never fly again. Bomber crews claimed to have shot down 138 German planes(False); German records reveal only 38 were lost.
In the final tally, 60 U.S. bombers were shot down, 5 crashed in England, and 12 more were scrapped due to damage or crash landings, (more by AA-guns than the Luftwaffe), a total loss of 77 B-17s. 121 bombers were damaged and needed repairs before their next flight. Out of 2900 men in the crews, about 650 men did not return, although some survived as POWs. 5 were killed and 43 wounded in the damaged aircraft. Only 33 bombers landed without damage. 1 U.S. fighter pilot was killed on crash landing in England and one was wounded and bailed out over Duren. He was smuggled out by the resistance, returning to England 3 1/2 months later.
The Allies learned the importance of escorts with sufficient range, recognizing the vulnerability of heavy bombers against interceptors.