Heavy losses force Bomber Command to conserve its strength
On the night of 7 November Bomber Command sent roughly four hundred aircraft against Berlin, Mannheim, the Ruhr and other targets. Thirty-seven bombers failed to return. The losses came on top of a year in which navigation remained poor, weather forecasting had repeatedly frustrated operations and the command was trying to expand faster than it could replace trained crews. Initial explanations emphasized unexpected weather, but the strategic conclusion was harder to avoid: the force could not continue losing aircraft at that rate while also building the larger bomber arm planned…
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