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The Most Dramatic Aerial Attacks That Changed Military History

Khalid Elhassan January 31, 2023 35 min

A Delay that Ruined a Good Plan

B-17s crossing the Alps en route to North Africa after the Regensburg mission. National Museum of the US Air Force

Seven groups of B-17 heavy bombers, with a total of 146 airplanes, took off for Regensburg on August 17^th. Soon as they crossed the coast into Europe, they were intercepted by German fighters, which harried them with mounting ferocity all the way to Regensburg.

Of two fighter groups scheduled to escort them part of the way, only one showed up on time to protect the lead bombers. The other fighter group showed up fifteen minutes late. In that quarter hour, German fighters attacked the unprotected B-17s with abandon. Fifteen bombers were lost before the German fighters, low on fuel and out of ammunition, returned to their airfields.

The Regensburg portion of the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission. Pinterest

The Regensburg force dropped its bombs against light antiaircraft fire, and turned south for North Africa. The Germans had not expected that, and did little to challenge their escape. Nine more airplanes were lost en route due to mechanical failures or running out of fuel, for a loss of 24 bombers. Another 60 of the 122 surviving B-17s were damaged. The Schweinfurt force got it far worse.

230 B-17s, divided into twelve groups, took off that morning, but they had been delayed and started late. Thus, they did not fly simultaneously with the Regensburg force to overwhelm the German defenders with numbers. Instead, German fighters had time to concentrate against the Regensburg force, maul it, return to their airfields to refuel and rearm, then take to the air again in time to challenge the Schweinfurt force.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.