9. The Americans arrived in Britain in mid-1942
When the American Army Air Forces deployed to Great Britain to join the air war against the Reich, they brought different ideas with them. American bombers, primarily the B-17 and the B-24, were heavily armed. USAAF leaders were determined to conduct precision daylight bombing raids, from high altitudes, directed against industrial and military targets. The British informed their new ally that such tactics were suicidal, and accurate bombing from the altitudes proposed by the brash and inexperienced newcomers was impossible. But the Americans had an ace up their sleeve. They also brought with them an improved bombsight.
In testing the Norden bombsight demonstrated accuracy which was unprecedented. Though it was a closely guarded secret, the Germans were aware of its existence and had adopted some of its designs before the Americans entered the war. Nonetheless, it remained highly classified until late in the war. Under combat conditions, it never achieved the level of accuracy it displayed in testing. In fact, the results using the Norden were roughly the same as radar-guided missions favored by the British until late in the war, when missions were flown at lower altitudes after the Luftwaffe’s back was broken. Numerous changes in tactics improved American accuracy over the course of the war, but the Norden bombsight never lived up to its legend during World War II.
