Second Raid On Schweinfurt - Result

Result

The bombing that day ranged from poor to spectacular but with the exception of the failure of the 2nd Bombardment Division at Danzig and Gdynia, bombing at all targets was of a high order. At Anklam the Arado factory, engaged in manufacturing components for the Fw 190s, suffered damage to virtually all its buildings. Damage to naval units and port facilities at Gdynia was also severe but it was at Marienburg that the most brilliant bombing was done. There the Focke-Wulf plant was almost completely destroyed by high-explosive and incendiary bombs dropped with unprecedented accuracy. Although at both Marienburg and Anklam the bombing was done at relatively low altitudes (11,000 to 14,000 ft), a tactic permitted by the surprise nature of this unexpectedly long flight, accuracy (especially at the former) was remarkable and was hailed by General Eaker as "the classic example of precision bombing". Of the 598 x 500-pound GP bombs dropped over Marienburg, 286 were identified by aerial reconnaissance as having fallen within the factory area. Of these, at least 35 were direct hits on buildings. In addition to the destruction by high explosives, incendiary bombs caused major damage by fire, although their poor ballistic qualities prevented as fine a concentration of them as with the high explosives.

This day's work served to raise the general level of bombing accuracy, which had shown distinct improvement since the Summer. In July 1943 the Eighth as a whole placed only 12.7 per cent of its bombs within 1,000 feet of the aiming point and 36.7 per cent within 2,000 ft. In October these figures had been raised to 27.2 per cent and 53.8 per cent respectively. The change may be explained in part by the fact that the new bomber groups that arrived in May and June had become gradually more experienced. Bombardier training had received special emphasis in Europe and in the United States during the Summer and early Fall and had been recognized as the heart of the entire training program.