And They Shall Reap the Whirlwind (WW2 Insert)

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Prologue
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    The dream was succinct, almost photo accurate in its realism, he walked along, unnoticed in the throng of students, all capped and gowned, who waited by the side of the stage. He saw himself step up and receive his Doctorate in History from the facility Dean , clutching the brown leather cylinder he exited the stage, beaming. He wondered why he was dreaming of this particular moment, he had never dreamt of it before, that he could remember. He felt the dream slip away, receding away from him like a slowly drawn out Doppler wail of confused sound and light, darkness greeted his eyes when he opened them, and he lay a while, allowing his eyes to adjust to the room. He seemed strangely calm, almost drugged, it was as if his consciousness was not touching his skin, as if it had retreated inside of him and his body was some like strange shell, that contained a smaller version of him. In his head it was as if two threads of consciousness were overlapping each other, his own thoughts and the thoughts of another, a fading and ghostly surf sound of thoughts and emotions, indistinct and undecipherable.

    Without knowing why he got up out of bed, noticing a sleeping woman beside him, this fact barely registered on his surprised mind, as did the fact that he seemed heavier and slower than normal. The rather archaic and frankly outlandish looking décor of the room again seemed barely to seep into his mind, this must still be a dream he concluded. Opening the bedroom door he walked down a hallway to another door, opened it and switched on the light, finding himself in a bathroom he stopped, sudden panic flooding his mind. Looking around the bathroom he realized what was causing his terror, the mirror, he was terrified of the mirror. An overwhelming sense of dread was emanating from the mirror, he could feel a rushing of blood in his ears, his eyes shied away from looking at the mirror, but despite this his feet carried him to stand in front of the mirror. Turning to face the reflective surface a strangers face gazed back at him, and older man with a ruddy face and a moustache. With a shock he recognized the face in the mirror, it was not that of a stranger, the face that stared back at him was that of Arthur Harris, know to history as ‘Bomber Harris’, and the leader of RAF Bomber Command from 1942 to 1945.

    He did not know how long he stood there, his mind failing to get purchase on any thread or train of thought, staring at the face of one of the most controversial leaders of the second world war.

    "Bud? are you alright?" an attractive young brunette asked from the doorway, sleep reddened eyes looked at him with some concern.

    "I'm, I'm fine Jill" he heard himself say, "probably just nerves about tomorrow".

    “You will be fine, tomorrow you take over RAF Bomber Command, the job you always wanted” as she spoke the girl strode up behind him and pressed herself up against his back, he could feel her firm body pushing against the hollows of his back.

    Looking at the reflection of another man’s face in the mirror he struggled to scream his denial, but his words never surfaced, instead he heard himself say “You are probably right darling”.

    “Come to bed” the girl mumbled, turning from the room.



    Later on he lay in bed, Jill sleeping contently beside him, staring at the ceiling, he felt fully in control of both his body and his mind for the 1st time since waking up, barely a few hours ago. His mind churned, running over and over the situation where he found himself, unbelievable and bizarre as it seemed. He pinched himself above his thigh, feeling the sharp pain slowly dulling away as expected. A long drawn out sigh escaped his lips, either this was some sort of incredibly realistic hallucination or he was really in the body of Arthur Harris, he was not sure what scenario terrified him more.

    A few short hours ago he had gone to sleep in February 2012, his boring existence of work and sparse social life all he had to look forwards too. He was a history professor, and specifically a professor of World War 2 history. And not just the overall history of that monumental conflict, he was one of the world’s leading experts on the Strategic Bombing of Germany by the Allies. He had been the professor of World War 2 History at London University since the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor Don Erlang in 2004. His name was Charles Fleming and he was born in 1970, he held onto these facts tightly, denying the evidence of his senses.

    And now he found himself back in 1942 in another man’s body, in the body of the one man whose actions he had studied, probed and picked apart in the course of a twenty year academic career. He shied away from the conclusions his brain started to weave, drawing deep, shaky breaths to try and calm himself. A babble of confused thoughts and emotions bubbled to surface of his panicked brain, he tried to catch them, to examine them. With a growing sense of wonder he realised these were the memories and thought processes of Harris, but devoid of any consciousness or direction, they were more akin to instincts than anything else. As he immersed himself in these strange, alien currents and eddies swirling through his mind he relaxed, feeling himself sinking down into a deep warm peace and sleep claimed him.
     
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    • High Wycombe Bomber Command Headquarters 23rd February 1942
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    High Wycombe Bomber Command Headquarters 23rd February 1942

    The large Staff car drove through the gates, the RAF sentries saluting him as he sat in the back. Inside he was in turmoil, his identity struggled to assert itself over what he had come to think of as the ‘shadow’ of Arthur Harris. This ‘shadow’ was not another soul or consciousness or being co-habiting this body with him, it was like the instinct and memories of the bodies previous owner were constantly trying to push themselves to the forefront, to put the body on autopilot almost. There was no sense of another consciousness trying to exert itself, he was alone in this body with his memories and identity and apparently the instincts of the body’s former occupant. With a twist of will he bent the instincts to obey his commands, he would need to match the behavior expected of Bomber Commands new leader. Also he would need to master and utilize Harris’s already well know combative and authoritative ways to help him survival in this new and alien environment. In truth this environment he had studied extensively in his previous existence as a History professor, it was just that he had never expected to be actually living and experiencing this period of World War 2, let alone in the body of Arthur ‘Butcher’ Harris.

    Driving up towards the HQ buildings he saw the blonde curls of his WAAF driver sticking out from under her service hat, she bore a remarkable resemblance to that actress that had played ‘Bob’ in the TV show Blackadder.

    “I will call you ‘bob’ from now on” he announced to the WAAF as she opened the car door for him, she did have quite a sunny smile and she responded “Of course Sir!”

    Waiting with the formal welcoming party was Air Vice Marshal Robert Saundby DOAC (Deputy Air Officer Commanding), a smile brightened his face unbidden at seeing his old friend, or at least Arthur Harris’s old friend, whose body he was now occupying.

    Formal salutes and introductions over Harris’s natural impatience came to the fore, demanding to meet the operational staff in ‘the hole’, the underground bunker that was RAF Bomber Commands operational HQ. He let the instinct and memory of Harris guide him as he was assuredly out of his depth in this service situation, on matters of tactics, strategy and equipment he felt he would be on firmer ground. Inside he had resigned himself that this was not some weird dream or hallucination, it was all too solid, too real; the feel of Jill’s body beside him in bed, the smell of old leather in the Humber staff car, the crunch of gravel under his feet, the damp concrete smell as he descended the narrow stairs into the bowels of the bunker, the annoying twinge of Harris’s ulcer.

    After introductions he mounted a low podium before a large map of Europe, he gripped tightly to his control of Harris’s body and began to speak:

    “Some of you were here when the war began, when you could not bomb German territory. Well allot has changed since then, all the flapping around and failures up till now are in the past. We are not playing games anymore, we are going on the offensive, we are going to consign the Third Reich to the dustbin of history. We are going to win this war; not the army, not the navy, and certainly not Fighter Command, but us, Bomber Command. Systematically and progressively we are going to dismantle the German War machine, factory by factory, block by block and street by street if necessary until the Boche’s ability to resist is destroyed. When the allied armies once again march across Europe to put their swords through the black heart of Nazi Germany, they will do so over a carpet of bombs that we will lay for them. Tell your men we are no longer going ‘on ops’, we are going into battle, not the Battle of Britain, not the Battle of the Atlantic, but the Battle of Germany, the one decisive battle that matters. The Germans have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind!”

    Pleased with himself he stepped down, “DAOC, Dr Dickens, Wing Commander Weldon, Group AOC’s, my meeting room 10pm, you might need new underwear after this, be warned!”

    Back in his office he buzzed for his secretary, “Get me RAF Lemming and Wing Commander Don Bennett”

    “Yes sir” came the reply, he fiddled with the files on his desk, opening drawers and generally getting the feel of the office.

    “Sir, RAF Lemming, Wing Commander Bennett on the line”

    “Thank you; Bennett, this is Harris, yes Air Marshal Harris, your new boss, no this is not a wind up by 4 Group HQ. First off, and this is a direct order, you are not to fly any more operations, you hear me? Yes I am serious. Secondly how would you like to command a new Group, again yes I am serious. I will cut orders for you to join me here at Bomber Command HQ, I have a very special job for you and your new Group and also, congratulations Group Captain. Bennett, you are being pedantic, I know a Group Captain cannot command a Group, but I can hardly promote you to Air Vice Marshal on the spot? I look forwards to seeing you, get yourself down here smartly”.

    He spent the next 10 minutes arranging with the Personnel section the necessary details to get Bennett promoted and transferred, letting Harris’s tetchy side come to the fore and bulldoze any opposition. Selecting the topmost file in his in tray he started to read, he was going to miss e-mail.

    The intercom buzzer sounded, he looked at his watch, it was just 10pm “DAOC, Dr Dickens, Wing Commander Weldon and the Group AOC’s to see you sir”

    “I’ll be with them now” he growled, what he was going to say was going to annoy the hell out of all of them and Harris’s combative side was spoiling for a fight.

    Saluting and military protocol over he seated himself at the head of the table, looking around the men sitting at the table, his staff officers and the five ‘Bomber Barons’ looked back at him, there was a faint air of expectancy mixed with boredom, well here was where history was about to take a sudden curve.

    “Gentlemen, RAF Bomber Command is a joke, its aircraft are rubbish, its crews are ill-trained, the bombs we use are ineffective and we are a laughing stock. In fact the Army and the Navy are sizing us up for our inevitable dismemberment, in Whitehall they are already planning to parcel out our Squadrons to Coastal Command and to the Middle East and Far East. Only 30%, 30% BLOODY PERCENT of our aircraft can get within 3 miles, 6000 yards for god’s sake, of a designated Aiming Point. We are sending brave young boys out to die, and all to plough German fields with HE!” Looking around the table he had their attention now.

    “This stops NOW! Today! No more of this crap and codology, I meant what I said in my speech, Bomber Command has the potential to be the decisive weapon in this war, but only if we can turn this command around. Before you all get high and mighty this is not a criticism of you or your crews, we are where we are today because we played at preparing for war, while the Boche actually prepared seriously. We have to catch up from a position of weakness and delay, but I believe that now is the time that we can turn Bomber Command around, there are gadgets coming along that will transform our abilities and with the help of the ORS section and our Boffins we can defeat the Boche’s defenses.”

    He saw incredulity on their faces, and some hostility, wait until they got a load of what he was to say next.

    “I will be drawing up a detailed plan for the improvement of Bomber Command from top to bottom, much can be done within our own control and resources to improve our efficiency and effectiveness. But for a start, 3 Group and the Short Sterling, I will be going to the Air Ministry in a few days and I will be telling them that I am refusing to use the Sterling on operations, and not only that but that I will transfer all operational models to Coastal Command, along with all future production of the Sterling”.

    The meeting burst into uproar.
     
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    • Sir Arthur T Harris Dispatch on War Operations, 23rd February 1942 to 18th April 1945 Part 1 Introduction
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    Sir Arthur T Harris Dispatch on War Operations, 23rd February 1942 to 18th April 1945

    Part 1. Introduction

    BOMBER COMMAND IN FEBRUARY, 1942

    The Task Allocated to the Command

    The bomber force of which I assumed command on 23rd February 1942, although at that time totally inadequate for the tasks being allocated to it, contained the kernel of the decisive weapon which it was to grow into over the next 3 years. It was, at the time the only means at the disposal of the Allies for striking at Germany itself and, as such, stood out as the central point in Allied offensive strategy.

    That my command was in no way resourced or equipped to carry out this mammoth task was immediately obvious to me upon assuming command, and my 1st task was to define the means by which the command would grow in striking power and accuracy to enable it to shoulder the burden of exclusive offensive action against the heart of German power. Up until the invasion of the continent in 1944 RAF Bomber Command (and the later US VIII and XV Airforces) were the only weapons that took the offensive to the Germans on a continual basis, and in the process fatally weakened the German’s war making ability.

    Also obvious to me was that the German wave of success had reached its high-water mark. In Russia the offensive had stalled, British strength at home and in the Mediterranean was gradually building up in spite of everything the U-Boats could do to prevent it. In order to further aid the Royal Navy and Coastal Command in their struggle I immediately offered Coastal Command all the available Short Sterling’s in Bomber Command, in addition to giving up all claim to future Short Sterling production. In return for this I received a commitment from the Air Ministry that no further Bomber Command Squadrons would be diverted to Coastal Command, and that 3 Squadrons currently ‘on loan’ would return to Bomber Command by September 1942.

    The Americans had joined the war and their armies and air force were expanding at a tremendous rate, giving a clear indication of their power and strength to come in later years. Close liaison and contacts were initiated by me on assumption of leadership of Bomber Command with the nascent VIII Airforce command that was being established in the UK, and a level of operational synergy was eventually established between the commands that facilitated the great feats of cooperative bombing that marked 1943 and 1944 and helped to sweep the Germans from the skies and lands of Europe.

    However all of this was in the future, the strength of enemy defenses made it impracticable to depart form the established policy of operating by night. The limitations which this imposed on bombing controlled the choice of targets, since large industrial areas were more suitable for attack than individual factories. This policy was borne out by study of the results of German night attacks on this country, which indicated that the quickest and most economical way of achieving the aims of the offensive was to devastate in turn the large industrial cities of Germany, destroying the industry contained therein.

    However a detailed examination of the layout of many German cites showed that this would be a difficult task, in the vast majority of cases Industry was located on the edges of German cites, though there were several notable exceptions to this rule (Essen for one). As the standards of accuracy at the time were demarked in terms of bombs falling within a 3 mile radius of the aiming point, many German cities (with the exception of Berlin and Hamburg) would see significant amounts of bombs fall in open ground unless the center of the town was the Aiming Point. Thus the Command would need to significantly improve on its bombing and navigational accuracy just to be able to devastate built up areas, saying nothing of hoping to target smaller and more specific targets that would give a potentially greater return in terms of damage done versus sorties dispatched.

    When I assumed command the main task that was before me was to carry out the Air Ministry Directive number S.46368/D.C.A.S of the 14th of February, 1942, was “to focus attacks on the morale of the enemy civil population, and, in particular, of the industrial workers”. This was to be carried out by destroying, mainly by incendiary attacks the twenty largest industrial cities in Germany. The aim of this offensive on built up area’s had already been defined in an Air Staff paper (dated 23rd September 1941) as follows:

    “The ultimate aim of the attack on a town is to break the morale of the population which occupies it. To ensure this we must achieve two things; first, we must make the town physically uninhabitable and, secondly, we must make the people conscious of constant personal danger. The immediate aim, is therefore twofold, namely to produce (i) destruction, and (ii) the fear of death.”

    The task being set me was therefore in no doubt; that the Luftwaffe had measurably failed in its attempts to crush British morale during the Blitz and that the force available to me was deficient in terms of Bomb lift and accuracy to that available to the Germans during the Blitz seems to not have occurred to any in the corridors of power. This primary task was however an excellent starting point for the force as it would allow it to build up its strength and accuracy to the levels required for making a decisive contribution to the allied war effort over the coming 12 to 18 months that would be required to expand the force and introduce the wide array of new technological devices that showed the potential promise to revolutionize its striking power. Commensurate with this was the development of the necessary tactics to take advantage of the new technological wonders and strategies to counter the ever growing strength of the German defenses.

    In the pursuit of these aims and in the development of Bomber Command the values of Scientific Research proved inestimable. Indeed, without the Operational Research Section many of the problems and challenges that my command faced over the years of the war would have remained insoluble, and others would have been solved only after trails and errors extravagant not only in terms of time and effort but also in lives of our aircrew. Also the support and advice of the Director of Bomber Operations and the Deputy Director of Bomber Operations proved invaluable in the assistance and advice that they provided this command.
     
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    • High Wycombe 23 February 1942
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    High Wycombe 23 February 1942

    The big, black Humber staff car, the pennants of an Air Marshal snapping on its long bonnet deposited its two passengers outside Springfield House, the official residence of Bomber Commands AOC. Hurrying inside the men took off their coats and were greeted the official batman and by Jill Harris.

    Letting what he came to think of as his ‘autopilot’ take charge for a brief instant he kissed his wife “Evening darling, everything alright?”

    “Yes, everything is fine, Jackie is asleep, poor dear is wrung out by the excitement of moving house”

    “Darling you know Air Vice Marshall Saundby, my Personal Staff Officer Wing Commander Weldon will also be joining us for dinner”

    “No problem dear” Jill responded, "dinner will be in about 20 minutes."

    Later as dinner wound down he felt he had been doing a convincing job of being Arthur Harris, he asked Jill if Saundby and Weldon could stay at the residence, once she had agreed and cleared away the dinner plates he brushed off the thanks of the two officers with a brusque “I’m not being kind at all, we will be fighting this war 24/7 from now on, it will save me ringing you at 2am”.

    When Jill had left the room the rather jovial atmosphere changed noticeably

    “So, out with it, the meeting with the Group Commanders earlier on today…?”

    Saundby and Weldon exchanged uneasy glances, Saundby took up the challenge.

    “Bert, some of what you said was erh, rather unconventional to say the least, some of the Groupies will run to the Air Ministry ‘telling tales’ and you are sure to land in hot water over this.”

    “Can’t be avoided I’m afraid.” How could he tell them that he knew the history of the next several years nearly as well as how these men actually experienced it, how to tell them that he was determined not to repeat the mistakes and to actually rehabilitate Harris’s post war reputation, while at the same time maximizing the effectiveness of Bomber Command and helping to shorten the war. He could not of course, but how to get these men on his side and help him transform RAF Bomber Command.

    “I meant what I said earlier on, all of it, the good and the bad. We stand at a crossroads of history gentlemen, Strategic Airpower has the ability to decisively influence the outcome of this war, it also has the potential to be misused and to be tainted with incorrect dogmatic doctrines. RAF Bomber Command, mainly due the parsimony of the Treasury during the 30’s was saddled with inadequate aircraft that has forced us to operate and night. Now that penny pinching mistake has the potential to unwittingly revolutionize air warfare. The necessity of attacking and finding targets by night means that we must develop electronic means to find and bomb these same targets, and the electronic devices and the tactics that we will develop to utilize them will free RAF Bomber Command from the tyranny of Weather, those Yanks and their ‘pickle barrel’ accuracy is pure tosh, they won’t find no more than what, 30% of days suitable for clear and accurate visual bombing. Our technology will free us from this drawback, we will be able to bomb through 10/10ths cloud on a non-moonlight night with accuracies of under 250 yards!” He could see he had their attention now.

    “Even better, our aircraft, especially the Lancaster, need not be burdened by excessive defensive armament, unlike the Yanks who want to fight their way to the target unescorted by fighters….we learnt that lesson the hard way, so too will they. But anyway I digress, I will order Handly Page and Avro to remove permanently the front turrets on the Halifax and the Lancaster, I have already asked ORS to report back to me on how many times the Front Turret is used in combat. I strongly suspect that it rarely if ever gets used in Night Combat, when I have the ORS report I’ll get the front turret removed from the Wellington also. Straight off that’s a couple of hundred pounds in weight saved, that’s extra bombs or fuel that our bombers can carry.”

    “I know there will be objections, but so long as ORS validates this I will push for it to be done. And while we are on the subject of the turrets that great big bloody glasshouse that Bolton Paul have slapped onto the back of the Halifax has to go, actually the Halifax can go the way of the Sterling as far as I’m concerned.”

    “Why Sir, and why the hostility to the Sterling?” injected Saundby.

    “It’s simple, the Stirling first; too slow, flies too low and its bomb bay is of a design that does not allow for the carriage of large bombs. The bloody Treasury had a hand in its design, they would not allow a wingspan greater than 100 feet so that it would fit inside existing hangers, accountants dictating operational aircraft design, utter bollocks! Anyway on account of this design flaw the Sterling has a rubbish operational ceiling, I cannot and will not send brave young lads into combat in it, the flak and night fighters will slaughter them, better off Coastal Command has the Stirling. Oh and don’t look at me like that, I’m not all that charitable, the Sterling’s fuel system s rubbish, it has no truly accurate fuel gauges, it’s a nightmare to fly for range performance. It’s not quite a poisoned chalice I’m giving Coastal Command, but think of it as me getting rid of duff equipment. Halifax; it’s too slow and I’m not convinced by its handling characteristics, the cockpit looks like it was designed to be flown by an octopus with a bad case of diarrhea, it takes nearly 3 times the man hours to make as compared to a Lancaster, also its made by Handly Page, I don’t trust them, they were totally unresponsive to my requests for modifications to the Hampden while I was AOC of 5 Group.”

    While his companions digested this tirade he ploughed on “there are only two aircraft worth a damm as far as I’m concerned; both of them designed without official support and nearly strangled by that shower on nincompoops in Whitehall; the Avro Lancaster and the De Havilland Mosquito, I plan to base RAF Bomber Command on these two aircraft to a large extent”.

    “The Mosquito sir?” asked Saundby.

    “Yes, I have a few special tasks for the ‘wooden wonder’ in mind, Intruder work for starters if I can wrest some away from Fighter Command, also it has great potential as a specialist bomber, I did a quick calculation, a single Mossie could fly twice to Berlin and back in winter, it would make a great harassing and decoying bomber. Also that new bombing device “OBOE” is perfect for the Mosquito, and on the subject of OBOE, its introduction, along with GEE makes it imperative that we get the Pathfinder Force set up as soon as possible”.

    “The other Group Commanders were very upset on this point Bert, they will make trouble over this” Saundby cautioned, drink having loosened the previous formality at the table.

    “Can’t be helped Bob, they will be even more annoyed when the see who I have picked to lead the Path Finders; Don Bennett, an Australian chap, did all that long range navigation in flying boats pre-war. I’m going to stuff him in the Groups faces and let them stew in their juices on this.”

    “Weldon, you have been very quiet, you were in the trenches in the last war, what do you make of all this bombing? From a philosophical point of view.” Weldon having been a professor of philosophy at Magdalene college in Oxford pre-war.

    “Oh we philosophers are more interested in Descartes than 500 pounders sir”

    “So what would Descartes have thought of 500 pounders?”

    “Ah he was only concerned with primary truths sir.”

    “Indeed, so what are your own moral standings on the air war? What do you think of its conduct?”

    “Sir?”

    “We are going to kill uncounted thousands of German civilians in the coming months and years, this command will raze to the ground the great cultural centers of Germany, killing innocents in the process.”

    “Given that Hitler stated the war and has been the aggressor I see no alternative to force.”

    “But the conduct of the war, what of the killing of innocents?” He was pushing the point hard, relentless, sweat stood out on his brow.

    Weldon tried to diffuse the tension “Conduct or war, I will let you know when I have seen it sir.”

    “Hitler and his lot are a plague on humanity, freed now of all moral constraint by the war they will carry out monstrous crimes. The German militaristic character, yoked to Nazism will plumb the depths of barbarism never seen before. Mark my words, these are no empty musings, the Nazis plan to remake Europe in their own twisted image, and all those who do not have a place in their new order they will dispose of. In their pursuit of their racial ideals they will make Europe a charnel house…..” He could not tell these men of the horrors of the Holocaust, how barely a month ago Reinhardt Heydrich had chaired the Wansee Conference where the ‘final solution’ to the Jewish problem had been discussed and the first steps towards the industrial killing of millions of Jews had been put into motion. He felt this burden, the burden of the thousands of aircrew he would condemn to death, never mind the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians to come weighed heavily upon him. Silence filled the room, the other men seemed uncomfortable.

    “However all of this is academic unless we can save Bomber Command, the Air Ministry is losing its patience with bombing. Coastal Command and the Navy want most of us, that sop I threw them with the Sterling’s won’t keep them off our backs for long. The Middle East campaign has the Prime Ministers attention, at least that part of his attention not taken up by the Battle of the Atlantic and worrying if Hitler can beat Stalin, we need a grand gesture to save the Command, and luckily enough I have just the idea that will appeal to Churchill…..”
     
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    • atrophy

    atrophy

    i guess i can reread this and i havent checked althistory inawhile so might get into new chapters eventually aswell
     
    Chequers March 1942
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    Chequers March 1942

    The dining room was dark, and a damp cold pervaded the air, despite a fire burning with a merry glow in the fireplace. Candles provided the only illumination, the fine china and sterling silver seemed to glow with a translucent light.

    "So you are telling me you cannot guarantee sinking the Tirpitz?" asked Churchill in a gruff tone.

    "No Prime Minister, I do not have the bombers or the bombs equal to the task. If the Air ministry had not stopped Barnes Wallis developing his 10 ton bomb, I would at least have a reasonable chance of sinking the Tirpitz."

    "But the Air Ministry cancelled that because it would need a special plane to carry it...."

    "A Lancaster, suitably modified could carry one."

    Churchill raised a skeptical eyebrow "And the Tirpitz....?"

    "I will attack her of course, I have been ordered too, but we will be lucky to even scratch her."

    The Prime Minister looked despondent "I had great hopes in the Bomber, great hopes that the RAF heavy bombers would be decisive, that they would strike so hard at Nazi Germany as to bring her to her knees. The Air Ministry, and you Harris, promised me great things, told me that you were bombing accurately and inflicting great damage on the Hun. And then a civil servant, in the teeth of opposition from the RAF showed me what you had really been doing all those months" Churchill shook his head in sorrow, his head bowed.

    He felt the Prime Ministers disappointment, knew that Churchill was deeply disillusioned with what had happened in the bombing war up till then. In the history that he knew, Harris, with a combination of hyperbole and luck had managed to convince the Prime Minister to retain and expand Bomber Command. He now had to try and emulate Harris's success at this point, but to avoid giving away too many hostages to fortune by making stupid predictions and exaggerated claims.

    Political realities meant that Churchill needed the Bombers to show that the UK was 'hitting back' at Germany, not least with the Russians. But how to persuade Churchill, who was frankly belligerent on the subject of city bombing that area bombing was merely a stepping stone to better and more decisive methods. Big deep breath, here goes....

    “The current target system, cities, is just the first stage of my plan. We bomb the cities with every increasing strength and accuracy, destroying factories and the infrastructure that supports them. However the experience of the Blitz showed us that it’s very difficult to permanently destroy industries, machine tools for example are remarkably resilient to bombing. But the constant pressures and every increasing damage will force the Germans to adopt the same strategy as us, dispersal. All the while Bomber Command is growing in strength and accuracy of attack, there are plenty of small targets in France and the Low Countries that we will practice ever more accurate attacks upon. After 12-18 months of these area attacks the Germans will have dispersed significant amounts of their industry”

    Churchill injected “ How does that help us? Surely dispersal makes it more difficult for you to attack?”

    He smiled wolfishly “On the contrary Prime Minister, that is when I spring my trap” Churchill’s eyes glittered in the candlelight with a sudden intensity “With industry dispersed it depends totally upon transportation, the railways and inland waterways. By cutting 2 canals and bombing about 20 marshalling yards I can cut the Ruhr off from the rest of Germany, denying German industry nearly 80% of its coal supplies, not to mention all the steel and steel products that the Ruhr is famous for. Destroy about 15 railway bridges and approximately 40 other railway yards and you will paralyze all Germany as far east as Berlin. Everything depends upon the transport of goods and primary products, cut the transport links and German’s war machine withers on the vine for lack of supplies.”

    “You think you can do this? right now Bomber Command cannot bomb closer than 3 miles on average and you are talking about bombing bridges and railway yards?”

    “Absolutely, our boffins have the devices that will enable Bomber command to find and bomb targets by night, just give me the time to prefect the equipment and tactics, and the Lancaster’s to do it.”

    "So just transport? those warlocks at the MEW have divined the entrails and have advocated everything from Molybdenum to ball bearings as being the 'fatal weakness' of the Nazi's, why not any of them?"

    "They are panacea's Prime Minister, the sinews of modern warfare are industrial production and oil, once my bombers are accurate enough, and the boffins have equipment coming through that will increase my forces accuracy and thus its hitting power, I will attack transport and oil production, the two real 'fatal weakness' of Germany. Attacks on transport will choke her industrial output and destroying her oil production will bring her armed forces to a halt."

    Churchill seemed to consider this for a long time “You don’t think that just bombing the cities will be enough?”

    “Give me a bomb that can destroy whole cities and I’ll win you the war in an evening.”

    “Hrmphh, you think that this Atomic bomb fantasy is real?”

    “Yes, the boffins say it’s possible, I’m inclined to trust them.”

    Churchill was silent for a long time “I am assuming you will want many more aircraft, your predecessor wanted 4000 aircraft, this is not within my gift Harris. But a modest expansion I can contemplate, now how can I sell it?”

    “Without Strategic bombing to first weaken the Germans any attempt at a land invasion is doomed to fail, Bomber Command will fatally injure the enemy first, allowing the invasion to succeed. The Allies will then march to Berlin over a carpet of bombs dropped by my heavies, with little or no opposition from a Wehrmacht that has no strategic mobility to concentrate its forces, no petrol for its panzer’s or for the Luftwaffe and whose armies are smashed by my bombers anytime it tries to mass against allied troops.”

    “You talk of things you plan to do, but first you have to help me save Bomber Command, you have to do something, prove something, stop them trying to get rid of you. Can you do that, can you perform a miracle?”

    “Let me tell you about operation Millennium Prime Minister”
     
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    • Sir Arthur T Harris Dispatch on War Operations, 23rd February 1942 to 18th April 1945 Part II The Course of the Campaign The Preliminary Phase, February, 1942-February 1943
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    • Sbiper

    Sbiper

    Sir Arthur T Harris Dispatch on War Operations, 23rd February 1942 to 18th April 1945

    Part II The Course of the Campaign 1942 – 1945

    The Preliminary Phase, February, 1942-February 1943

    As long ago as November 1940 the Command had emphasized the need for the provision of a radar aid which would enable crews to bomb specified targets even when they could not locate them visually. When I assumed command sixteen months later this was still one of the many problems awaiting resolution. This problem, along with the related issue of accurate navigation was however about to be solved partially with the introduction of “GEE” and the Air Position Indicator. Both these advances would go a long way to improving the navigational accuracy of Bomber Command, a necessity as at this stage concentration of the force in time and space was the only effective counter to the German’s GCI and AA defenses, and was vital to extract the maximum bombing efficiency from the still small bomber force.

    During this phase many fundamental lessons were learned about bombing strategy, tactics and technique, and many entirely new methods evolved in relation to the many changing challenges that the Command faced. Indeed, the whole course of the subsequent campaign can be said to have been molded by developments which occurred between February, 1942, and February, 1943, amounting to a complete revolution in the employment and composition of the Bomber force, to say nothing of its ever increasing effectiveness and striking power. Along with this process full effort was required maintaining the offensive against Germany and Italy, although a considerable part of Bomber Command was non-operational owing to conversion from medium to heavy aircraft.

    The size of the force that could be employed against industrial cities was generally the largest available at the time, excluding training and conversion units. Whereas in the past the tendency had been to attack a number of targets simultaneously with small forces, upon my assumption of command I immediately discontinued this and insisted upon the concentration of effort against one target on every night suitable for operations.

    Introduction of “Gee”

    My assumption of command coincided with the introduction of the first radar navigational device, and the preliminary stages of the development of others. Great hopes were entertained of the performance of these new electronic marvels. The use of “GEE” was expected to have a profound influence on navigation at night. It was hoped that it would enable new tactics to be employed, in particular, improved concentration and co-ordination of the individual aircraft of the attacking force. This was indeed the case as was proved by its operation in 1942 and in the subsequent years of the war. It was, also, expected by the Air Ministry that “this equipment should enable an aircraft to bomb a selected area in or through 10/10thc loud and thus increase the average number of effective operational nights per month from say, 3 to possibly 20 or more” (Air Ministry (D.B. Ops.) paper on “Area Attack employing GEE, 16th January 1942). I disagreed violently with D.B.Ops (A/Cdre John Baker) on this point, feeling that “GEE” was not accurate enough for actual blind bombing, and with the Air Ministry Analysis Section who calculated that using “GEE” to attack Essen would, for example, enable 47 per cent of bombs dropped to be in the built up area through 10/10ths cloud cover.

    The Air Ministry, on this highly optimistic basis was expecting Bomber Command (with and average force, excluding “Freshmen” crews, of some 50 light, 260 medium and 50 heavy Bombers) to “destroy completely” Essen and the other towns in the Ruhr conurbation, in the course of a three month intensive campaign following the introduction of “GEE”. In addition during this time frame only a small portion of the force would be equipped with “GEE” and it’s expected useful life over enemy territory was only calculated to be six months before enemy jamming would render it ineffective. The Command was given objectives and general methods of attack for the upcoming campaign by the Air Ministry.

    However there were grave concerns among the operational leaders in Bomber Command about this direction from the Air Ministry, myself included. In order to prepare for the upcoming introduction of “GEE” and to ascertain how best to employ it to maximum advantage, both as an aid to routing and concentration, as well as to assist in hitting targets; No.1418 Experimental Flight was established at the request of the Command and the Operational Research Section applied itself to the many problems which arose both before and after the introduction of “GEE”. A series of experimental exercises (“CRACKERS”, “CRACKERS II”, “CRACKERS III” and “CRACKERS IV”) were carried out in February and early March, over the Isle of Man and North Wales, to discover how best the small “GEE” equipped force could lead the main (non “GEE” equipped force) to the target. These exercises confirmed my belief in the necessity of forming the Pathfinder Force, which became operational towards the end of March 1942.

    The actual exercises themselves showed the operational difficulties of using “GEE” as a precision bombing tool as opposed to using it as an aid to navigation. The use of flares to illuminate the target was tempered by observations by the crews that the illumination provided was offset by the dazzle produced, especially in an hazy conditions. As a means of attracting crews to the target however the strings of illuminating flares were judged successful. The final experimental raid (“CRACKERS IV”) used 250lb incendiary bombs to test the concept of Target Indicator (TI) bombs.

    Based on the exercises and upon theoretical calculations of the accuracy of “GEE” over the Ruhr it rapidly became apparent that “GEE” was not suitable as a Blind Bombing aid, vindicating my position on its employment and on the decision to create the Pathfinder Force, which formally came into existence on the 15th of March 1942. Bomber Command would be forced to wait until the introduction of “OBOE” and “H2S” to eliminate its dependency on actually seeing the target. However the Air Ministry was not to be defeated in this matter and insisted upon a raid on Essen using the “CRACKERS II” methodology (dropping of incendiaries on “GEE” fixes to guide the rest of the force in to bomb). The raid on the 8/9th March 1942 on Essen was a failure due to the inability to obtain accurate enough fixes over Germany and the operational difficulty of using “GEE” over a heavily defended target, coupled to the use of decoy sites by the Germans.

    The Pathfinder Force

    The formation of specialist squadrons to initiate raids was recommended within the Command as early as December 1941 and upon assuming command I was convinced that specialist (as opposed to elite) squadrons could make an immediate difference, “GEE” and the availability of specialist pyrotechnics notwithstanding. Though violently opposed by my Group Commanders I overruled them and ordered the transfer of squadrons from each group to the newly formed Pathfinder Force, under the command of Group Captain D. C. T. Bennett, D. S. O. The first Pathfinder led attack (Lübeck 28/29 March) fully justified my belief in this methodology, and despite setbacks and failures to come the Pathfinder Force became indispensable for the conduct of Bomber Command operations.

    In the immediate future though the P.F.F. had to work out much of their operational methodology under the pressure of continuous operations and in the face of a chronic lack of specialist equipment or training. ORS investigation showed that although concentration had undoubtedly increased since the introduction of the P.F.F. and target marking, the overall efficiency and bombing accuracy of the force still struggled to improve, much bombing was wasted by the displacement of the marking from the aiming point.

    Development of “OBOE” and “H.2.S.”

    The development of both these radar devices was well underway in 1941, even before “GEE” had been employed operationally. Production of radar equipment was strictly limited by lack of industrial capacity in 1941 (and long remained so), but towards the close of that year it was expected that “H.2.S.” would be in use by the following autumn as an aid for navigation and possibly, blind bombing. Its greatest attraction lay in the fact that there was no range limitation, as there was in the case of “GEE” and “OBOE”, and that it was less liable to be jammed, as “GEE” had been and as “OBOE” might have been. The command evaluated the early models of “H.2.S.” and pointed out that they were unsuitable for operational usage.

    This sparked a major row between the Command, T.R.E. and the Air Ministry, and which soured relations between all the parties involved. Given that for security reasons it was unlikely that the Air Ministry would approve the use of “H.2.S” over enemy territory until early 1943 I was of the opinion that the T.R.E. should concentrate on modifying “H.2.S” to suit the Commands needs, here the Air Ministry caused considerable obfuscation, confusion and delay by insisting that “H.2.S” was primarily a blind bombing device, while the opinion of the Command was that in its present form it was a blind navigation device, that had the potential to be a Blind Bombing device.

    Meanwhile “OBOE” became operational in December 1942 with two Squadrons in the Pathfinder Force. Owing to its dependence on ground stations “OBOE” did not offer the same tactical freedom as “H.2.S” and its range was limited to 300 miles. The small numbers of aircraft that could be handled by the ground stations during an operation meant that “OBOE” would be restricted to target marking for the Main Force. Nevertheless the potential accuracy of “OBOE” was so far in advance of anything else available that it promised to revolutionize the ability of the Command to tackle its old nemesis, the Ruhr. Indeed the Air Ministry specifically directed that the Command utilize the accuracy of “OBOE” to commence the destruction of the Ruhr.

    In August 1942 proper Target Indicators finally became available, replacing the earlier extemporized “Red Blob Fires”. To defeat bad weather at the target TI’s were modified to hold 25 candles, each on an individual parachute that enabled “skymarking”. By the end of 1942 the Command had grown in striking power due to the introduction of the Pathfinder Force, greater concentration en-route and over the target had helped keep losses down and the drain of resources to Coastal Command had stopped and even reversed.

    Defensive Tactics

    Towards the close of 1941 the establishment of a chain of G.C.I. radar stations from Jutland to the south western frontier of Germany obliged the Command to work out a new system of defensive tactics. Whereas, in the past, routing of aircraft was left to the discretion of individual crews, it became apparent that controlled enemy fighters would take a devastating toll of our bombers unless the timing and routing of raids were rigorously coordinated. When I assumed command I immediately insisted upon the creation of the 'bomber stream', even though its effectiveness would be limited pending the introduction of GEE.

    A major advantage of GEE was that it allowed the possibility of attacking Germany without the assistance of moonlight. Since a concentrated bomber stream would offer easy targets for fighter interception in bright moonlight, from April 1942 onwards it became increasingly the policy to attack targets in Germany chiefly in the non-moonlight period. It was still necessary to risk increased losses in moonlight to ensure visual location of an important target.

    The enemy continued to develop his air defense organization in various ways, e.g., by introducing airborne radar, and our losses steadily mounted. To counter this the Command introduced TINSEL to jam the radio links between the G.C.I. controller and their night fighters, MANDREL to barrage jam the early warning radars, SHIVER to jam the AA radars and AIRBORNE GROCER to jam the AI radars. Initially unsuccessful, with the introduction greater numbers of transmitters these devices helped to markedly reduce losses over the winter of 1942/1943.

    The Strength of the Command

    Bomber Command started 1942 with 47 heavy and medium squadrons, and ended it with 61 Squadrons. Three Squadrons were returned from Coastal Command but still Squadrons were raised and transferred to overseas theatres.

    The average daily availability of aircraft with crews rose from 36 light, 285 medium and 42 heavy bombers in January (total 363) to 99 light, 78 medium and 302 heavy bombers in December 1942 (total 479). Numerical expansion was small but overall bomb lift increased substantially. The number of sorties in 1942 was only 16 per cent above that of 1941, the main factor in reducing sorties was the large numbers of Squadrons (23) that were non-operational owing to conversion to new types of aircraft.

    Summary of Operations

    The force available for bombing Germany during 1942, therefore remained inadequate for the task it was supposed to carry out. Nevertheless much time was spent perfecting the tactics and equipment that would be used to such great effect from 1943 onwards. Many precision attacks were carried out on French targets and valuable lessons were learned for the future. The 'firestorm' raids on Lübeck, Stettin, Rostock and Wismar were a notable and unexpected success, and the Millennium series of raids proved the value of large numbers and concentration against heavily defended targets.

    The Hanseatic Ports

    The four northern Germany ports of Lübeck, Stettin, Rostock and Wismar were selected as a test for the new tactics of concentration and incendiary attack, along with the first employment of the Pathfinders. All the series of raids were carried out in conditions of fine weather and bright moonlight and at relatively low level. Success out of all proportion to the force employed was enjoyed, the Lübeck raid causing a new phenomenon, a 'firestorm'.

    A secret German document entitled "Fire Typhoon - Lübeck, Night 28/29th March 1942" began thus:-

    "The cause of the terrific damage lies in the fire-storms. The alternative dropping of blockbusters, HE and incendiaries made fire-fighting impossible, small fires united into conflagrations in the shortest time and these in their turn led to the fire-storms. To comprehend these firestorms, which go beyond the all human imagination, one can only analyze then from a physical meteorological angle. Through the unison of a number of fires, the air gets so hot, so on account of its decreasing specific weight, receives a terrific momentum, which in turn causes other surrounding air to be sucked towards the center. By that suction combined with the enormous difference in temperature (600-1000 centigrade) tempests are caused which go beyond their meteorological counterparts (20-30 degrees centigrade). In a built-up area the suction could not follow it shortest course, but the overheated air stormed through the streets with immense force, taking along not only sparks but burning timber and roof beams, so spreading the fire further and further, developing in a short time into a fire typhoon such as was never witnessed, against which every human resistance was useless."

    The effectiveness of this attack and the occurrence of the firestorm came as a complete surprise to Bomber Command, and caused a short spell of jubilation in some sections of the Air Ministry, who seemed to be of the belief that Bomber Command would now be able to carry out 'firestorm' attacks at will across all of Germany. The realities of both the strength and striking power of the Command were amply demonstrated by the fact that no further 'firestorms' were to be created for almost another year, and that the 1000 Bomber raids never came close to causing 'firestorm' conditions.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chris O'Farrell

    Chris O'Farrell

    Peace, through Pizza.
    Subscriber
    Hmm. An interesting idea - and it seems your a tad interested in the subject matter.
    Here's to hoping Led Mallory falls out a window somewhere :p
     
    Springfield House March 1942
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    • Sbiper

    Sbiper

    Springfield House March 1942

    Ly Bennett watched her husband undress from the warmth of the bed in their room, admiring the lean musculature of his torso before he covered up his pale skin with pajamas. The bedside alarm clock showed the time, 01:32am, Don had stayed up late talking with his boss, Harris, talking bombers and bombing no doubt. Don had been plucked from his Squadron by Harris and ordered directly to Bomber Command Headquarters, promoting him in the process, Ly had been invited to stay with him in the Commanders official residence until Don's new appointment was sorted out.

    She knew her husband's moods well, she knew he wanted to talk; they talked often about his work, he never revealed any secrets or anything like that, but he trusted her opinion and Ly was touched that he valued her opinions. Settling herself in beside Don she threw an arm over his chest and casually asked "What do you make of the Harris's?" hoping that this innocent remark would get the ball rolling.

    "Well he is definitely not what I expected, that's for sure. The wife, seems a like a little silly girl to me, charming enough, pretty enough, but not likely to say or do anything to upset anyone."

    Ly's mouth quickened into a smile, her husband was nobody's fool, she knew about Harris's 1st wife and his divorce, some quiet tugging on the service wife's grapevine had revealed that Harris was a notorious bully and famously bad tempered, his 1st wife had walked out on him. His second wife was as meek as a mouse, unlikely to challenge her husband on anything, a pretty young thing for a middle aged man to enjoy as a trophy. "Tell me about Harris, you have spent a few days with him, what is it that you did not expect?"

    Don let out a long sigh, and low flickering of the coals in the fire setting ruby shadows dancing over the walls.

    "It's, it's difficult to explain Ly, on the one hand he is a dynamo of energy, he seems to have ideas, good one's mind you, popping out of his head every 10 seconds. He is thinking one, two, three years down the line, thinking up strategies and tactics that seem fanciful and amazing, but also exciting and thought provoking. On the other hand he seems awfully sure of himself and what he wants to accomplish, fanatical almost, he is pushing me into directions that I am not comfortable with."

    Ly considered his words, noting that Don seemed not to have picked up on the obvious tension between Harris and his wife, she had detected marital strife there almost immediately. "These 'directions' you are not comfortable with, why are you not comfortable with them?"

    "Because they represent operational aspects that I have experience of that do not work, and yet, and yet Harris is convinced that they will work. He has a massive amount of ideas that all seem to be eminently practical and reasonable from and operational stand point, in fact he seems to have a better grasp of operational realities than almost anyone else I've met in the RAF. But it's his confidence that scares me, he is so sure of things, how things will play out, the how and why of things that we only have the dimmest vision of currently"

    "You are scared that he is a fanatic, likely not to listen to common sense and perhaps invite disaster?"

    "Yes, lord knows Bomber Command needs a strong willed character at the helm, and from what I learned about Harris, he is certainly strong willed. But I expected another traditional RAF type, he is a career officer after all. Instead he has been violating the chain of command, going behind peoples backs and generally ignoring anything he does not like. And when he speaks, it's like there is a fire in his eyes, he overwhelms you with his confidence and his assuredness, it's almost as if he knows he is right, as if he can see the future and knows that his decisions are correct."

    "So either your new Commander is a raving fanatic or some god has endowed him with the ability to see into the future, if the later is the case ask him for this year's Derby winners."
     
  • Threadmarks
    • John117xCortana

    John117xCortana

    A little late. But welcome to Spacebattles. ^^

    Try to keep your sanity intact here. ^^

    I'm really looking forward to seeing new chapters of this story. Been waiting for almost a year...
     
    High Wycombe April 1942
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    • Sbiper

    Sbiper

    Bomber Command Headquarters April 1942

    He was sitting at his desk, wading through correspondence and dictating various memo’s to his WAAF secretary. Ploughing through the mass of paperwork that was required made him long for the days in the future with e-mail and computers, everything took so much longer to do, took so many more people, was prone to so many more errors. Dictating a letter to a minor official in the Air Ministry on the necessity for a re-design of the standard aircrew parachute an officer from the Intelligence section knocked on the partly open office door. “Sir? Photos from the raid on Lübeck, smoke has cleared enough to allow the recce Spitfire to take some pictures.”

    He held out his hand, taking the buff folder from the officer, who saluted and left. Opening the folder he looked at the large, glossy black and white pictures. He shuffled them back and forwards, amazement showing on his face. He got up and went to a large map cabinet, opening one of its wide, shallow drawers, pulling out a large, detailed map of Lübeck. Laying the map on his desk he picked up the photos again, comparing them to the map. Staring at the map and the photos spread over his desk he was aghast, a relatively small raid, the 1st one led by the newly created Pathfinders seemed to have devastated the city, not a single building on the central island appeared to still have a roof, every building was a mere shell, burnt out. The massive damage was spread out over the left bank of the Trave, the Saint Lorenz districts appeared to be equally devastated. He did some rough calculations, about 400 acres appeared to have been burnt out.

    He stared at the photos, mesmerized by the damage, his WAAF secretary becoming uncomfortable with the silence, she began to squirm in her seat. The stillness was broken by the harsh ringing of the phone, he snapped out of his reverie and picked up the receiver.

    “Harris.”

    “Harris, Portal here, have you seen the Lübeck photos?”

    “Yes looking at them now…”

    “Pretty impressive, I sent the PM a copy, he’s just been on the phone, he’s delighted naturally enough, wants to know why Bomber Command could not do this before and wants to know if you can now do this to the rest of Germany.”

    “Erh, I’m not sure, I doubt it, we went in at low altitude and in bright moonlight, not something we can do against the Ruhr for example. Also there are no night fighter boxes defending the northern German coast, we suffered very low casualties.”

    “Well good job anyway Harris, give my congratulations to your command.”

    “Will do, thank you Sir.”

    With that Portal hung up, he stood staring at the map and photos until the WAAF cleared her throat.

    “Yes let’s get back to work, where were we?”

    Returning from lunch which he took in the mess, much out of character for Harris, who usually went home, his Secretary cornered him “The Prime Minster is on the phone, he just rang.”

    “Put him through.”

    He sat down heavily, he was full of apprehension, the destruction of Lübeck was weighing on him.

    “Prime Minister.”

    “Bomber, splendid work, just got the Lübeck photos, impressive.”

    “Thank you Prime Minister.” he replied flatly.

    “Now, tell me this, why were you able to do this level of damage, your command has never been able to do this before?”

    “Couple of reasons Prime Minister, first off the raid was led by the Pathfinders, secondly the weather was clear, third the bombers flew at low altitude, 5000 feet or less, fourth the target defenses, both flak and night fighters were negligible and fifth, the city itself, Lübeck is an old Hanseatic town with narrow streets and half timbered houses, perfect to burn down.”

    “So you cannot guarantee this success elsewhere? Disappointing Harris, disappointing.”

    Before he had time to even realize the words were out of his mouth “The other Hanseatic towns in the Baltic should be equally vulnerable Prime Minister.”

    “Better Harris, much better, I’ll minute Sinclair on this, see if we cannot dish out some more of this to the Hun eh?”

    “Yes Prime Minister” he replied without any enthusiasm.

    “Cheer up Harris, we received an interesting intelligence report yesterday about Lübeck, it appears that your bombers created something genuinely unique, something the Germans are referring to as a ‘firestorm’, it appears that temperatures in Lübeck rose to over 10000C during your attack.”

    But he was not listening to Churchill, his mind was full of horrific images, human carcasses piled onto makeshift pyres in a shattered city center square, streets strewn with charred remains, clothes torn from semi naked corpses by the hurricane force of the firestorms winds, bomb shelters packed with partially cremated bodies, blackened rictus twisted faces, skin pulled back from their barred teeth, grinning manically at their scorched doom. A tin bath tub, the charred bodies of a mother and child, reduced to a fraction of their size, piled into it, and everywhere rubble and blasted buildings. He dropped the phone, rushing for his toilet, where he vomited again and again until he dry retched bile.

    The base doctor had been called, his pulse and blood pressure was way up, he felt like a wrung dishcloth. While Saundby and the doctor conferred out of earshot he sat slumped in his chair, he could not do this, he was an academic, not a military man, he was no ‘butcher’. He would have to find a way of getting out of this, of relinquishing his command, maybe faking a nervous collapse, perhaps even telling all and sundry that he was actually a history professor from the future, get himself committed to a mental institution.

    Unbidden from the depths of his unconsciousness a specter rose, the serried rows of huts at Auschwitz, above them the tall chimneys of the ovens bleaching human smoke, a train disgorging its wilted cargo, the majority of whom would soon be fed to the ovens, reduced to ash. And faces, row upon row of haunted, skeletal faces, all wearing the striped garb of Concentration Camp inmates. The faces started mute at him, seeming to judge him. He put his head in his hands; to avoid trying to end the war quicker, to lessen, even by a small amount the Holocaust, to ironically save German lives by shortening the war by bombing......he could not turn away from this strange fate that he had been thrust into, it would be the greatest immorality. He sighed and sat up straighter in the chair, the burden of what was to come, however great, would have to be borne.

    “Stop whispering like two spinsters at a funeral, I’m ok, just had a bit of a ‘turn’, probably that dammed ulcer, not helped I’m sure by that plate of chips I had for lunch.”

    The doctor looked at him, the condescending way they had seemed never to change he thought “Air Marshall, you know you have to watch what you eat, your ulcer could kill you. I would prescribe bed rest if I thought you would listen to me” Harris’s glare told him what he needed to know “however, I’ll prescribe you some additional medication for the ulcer, should help keep in dampened down, but stay off the chips and stick to the foods you are supposed to eat.”

    With that the doctor left, Saundby approached “The PM is concerned Sir, hopes it was nothing he said…”

    He gave Saundby a wry look thinking to himself ‘if only you knew’, “It was that dammed meat pie, gravy and chips from the mess, most of the meat was probably condemned horse flesh! Anyway I’m ok, I’m ok now. We have a war to run so back to business.”
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Springfield House April 1942
  • Threadmarks
    • Sbiper

    Sbiper

    Springfield House April 1942

    Sitting in his study he was reading the latest RE8 study on the subject of damage to German war production. He had ruffled a massive amount of feathers in the Air Ministry and Ministry of Economic Warfare by disregarding their own assessments of the damage that had been caused to Germany by bombing and using the RE8 team from the Ministry of Home Security. This team had produced the most historically accurate assessments of damage caused and he was keen to utilize their expertise. Only the lamp on his desk was lit, the rest of the room was filled with the dark, looming shadows of crammed book shelves.

    Also on his desk were the recon photos of Lübeck, over 10,000 civilians were reported to have died in the attack, this had brought him back to earth with a crash, he had enjoyed being Harris, it had excited his intellectual curiosity and he had been able to insulate himself from the realities of what he was doing. The photos and reports from Lübeck had shattered his comfortable illusions; he was in the business of dealing death on an industrial scale, both to German civilians and to his own crews, this terrified and depressed him. Ahead lay 3 long years of war, with each day this burden on his shoulders.

    He did not hear the door open, seeing the pale figure against the darkness in the corner of his eye. He took off his reading glasses "hello Jill" he said wearily, looking at his watch, it was late.

    "Bert...." she said, standing with her back to the door, her arms wrapped around her stomach, hugging herself for comfort.

    The silence stretched out uncomfortably, he suspected what was to come next.

    "Bert, we......we have not been husband and wife for nearly two months now, what is wrong? she asked in a small voice "is it me?"

    He had been dreading this moment for quite some time, he was an imposter in another man's body, he had always thought of himself as a moral man and despite Harris's wife's youth and beauty he was very reluctant to become intimate with her. It would feel somehow wrong to sleep with the girl and in typical male fashion he had ignored the emotional dimensions of his refusal. He supposed he would have had to have sex with Jill at some stage but he had been too busy with his new life to really give it any major thought.

    "Jill, no, it's not you, of course it's not you, it's, it's.....well it's been the new job, and so much to do, so many people to see....." he ran out of words, realizing as he said them how lame they sounded. He could see Jill's eyes glistening with tears; part of him wanted to comfort her, another part was frightened of the intimacy that might result. However he swiftly realized that unless he wanted Harris to go through another divorce he would have resume normal married relations with Jill. He stood up and approached her, seeing how vulnerable and fragile she looked, her eyes seemed suddenly huge in the dim light

    Later, lying in the comfortable, leaden warmth of post sexual relaxation with Jill curled up beside him she asked "Bud?"

    "Yes" he said, moving his head to kiss her sweat dampened forehead.

    "Bud, that was, that was quite a bit different from last time....not that I'm complaining...."

    "It was enjoyable, yes?"

    "It, was, erh, very good, let's not wait too long to do it again?"

    He chuckled "Ok, wilco."

    A comfortable silence stretched out, the only sounds the wind softly moaning and the odd creak from the structure of the house.

    "Well, well, Air Vice Marshall, looks like I won't have to wait long at all....."
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Sbiper

    Sbiper

    This is the list of sources I used to write this story btw:


    Non Fiction:

    • The Bomber Command War Diaries. An operational reference book 1939-1945. Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt.
    • The Berlin Raids. RAF Bomber Command Winter 1943-44. Martin Middlebrook.
    • The Nuremburg Raid 30-31 March 1944. Martin Middlebrook.
    • Bombs Gone. The development and use of British air-dropped weapons from 1912 to the present day. John A.Mac Bean and Arthur S. Hogben.
    • Britain’s Military Airfields 1939-45. David J. Smith.
    • Bomber Command 1939-45 Reaping The Whirlwind. Richard Overey.
    • Action Stations 2 Military airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands. Bruce Barrymore Halpenny.
    • Pursuit Through Darkened Skies. An Ace night-fighter crew in World War II. Michael Allen DFC**.
    • German Secret Weapons of the Second World War. Ian V. Hogg.
    • Last Talons of the Eagle. Secret Nazi technology which could have changed the course of World War II. Gary Hyland and Anton Gill.
    • Wings of the Luftwaffe. Captain Eric Brown CBE, DSC, AFC, RN.
    • The Prize. The epic quest for oil, money and power. Daniel Yergin.
    • The Third Reich 3rd Edition. D.G. Williamson.
    • Confound and Destroy. 100 Group and the bomber support campaign. Martin Streetly.
    • The Science of Bombing, Operational research in RAF Bomber Command Randall T. Wakelam.
    • Most Secret War. R.V. Jones.
    • The Other Battle. Luftwaffe night aces versus bomber command. Peter Hinchliffe.
    • Germany’s Guns 1939-45. Terry Gander.
    • Technical and Military Imperatives. A radar history of World War II. Louis Brown.
    • GEMA: The birthplace of German radar and sonar. Harry von Kroge.
    • Ground Radar Systems of the Luftwaffe 1939-1945. Werner Muller.
    • Strategy for Defeat. The Luftwaffe 1933 – 1945. Williamson Murray.
    • Radar Development to 1945 IEE Radar, Sonar, Navigation and Avionics Series 2. Edited by Russell Burns.
    • Luftwaffe Secret Projects Fighters 1939-1945. Walter Schick and Ingolf Meyer.
    • Luftwaffe Secret Projects Strategic Bombers 1935-1945. Dieter Herwig and Heinz Rode.
    • Luftwaffe Secret Projects Ground Attack & Special Purpose aircraft. Dieter Herwig and Heinz Rode.
    • Pathfinders at War. Chaz Bowyer.
    • Avro Lancaster. The Definitive Record 2nd Edition. Harry Holmes.
    • Echoes of War. The Story of H2S. Sir Bernard Lovell.
    • British Secret Projects Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950. Tony Buttler.
    • British Secret Projects Jet Bombers since 1949. Tony Buttler
    • The Wages of Destruction. The making & breaking of the Nazi economy. Adam Tooze.
    • Major Piston Aero engines of world War II. Victor Bingham
    • Bases of Bomber Command Then and Now. Roger A. Freeman.
    • De Havilland Mosquito. Martin W. Bowman.
    • The Secret War. Brian Johnson.
    • Bomber Crew. Survivors of bomber command tell their own story. James Taylor & Martin Davidson.
    • Flak. German Anti-Aircraft defences, 1914-1945. Edward B. Westermann.
    • Bomber Command. Max Hastings.
    • Confounding the Reich. The Operational history of 100 Group (Bomber Support) RAF. Martin W. Bowman and Tom Cushing.
    • Bennett and the Pathfinders. John Maynard.
    • Tail-End Charlies. The last battles of the bomber war 1944-45. John Nichol & Tony Rennell.
    • Bombers. The weapon of total war. Brian Johnson & H.I. Cozens.
    • Instruments of Darkness. The History of Electronic Warfare 1930-1945. Alfred Price.
    • Pathfinder Force. A history of 8 Group. Gordon Musgrove.
    • Reaching for the stars. A new history of Bomber Command in World War II. Mark Connelly.
    • German Jet Engine and Gas Turbine Development 1930-1945. Antony L. Kay.
    • Lancaster at War 2. Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding.
    • Lancaster at War 4: Pathfinder Squadron. Alex Thorne.
    • The Handley Page Halifax. K.A. Merrick.
    • A World at Arms. A global history of World War II. Gerhard L. Weinberg.
    • Auschwitz and Anglo-American Air Power: Historical Debates and Military Capabilities. Rondall Ravon Rice (Thesis)
    • Britain 1939-1945: The Economic Cost of Strategic Bombing John Fahey (Thesis)
    • The Avro Lancaster. A Comprehensive Guide. Richard A. Franks.
    • JG 301 Wilde Sau. Marek j. Murawski and Peter Neurwerth.
    • Luftwaffe Squadrons 1939-45. Chris Bishop.
    • Short Stirling in action. Ron Mackay.
    • Wellington in action. Ron Mackay.
    • Aircrew. The Story of the men who flew the bombers. Bruce Lewis.
    • The Hardest Victory. RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. Denis Richards.
    • The Eighth Passenger. Miles Tripp.
    • Looking into Hell. Experiences of the bomber command war. Mel Rolfe.
    • Night fighter. The battle for the night skies. Ken Delve.
    • The Destruction of Dresden. David Irving.
    • Why the Allies won. Richard Overy.
    • The Mare's Nest - The war against Hitler's Secret Vengeance Weapons. David Irving
    • The Luftwaffe Profile Series No.3 He-219 Uhu. Joachim Dressel and Manfred Griehl
    • The 88mm Flak In the first and second world wars. Werner Müller
    • The Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945. F.J. Hatch
    • American Aircraft Bombs 1917-1974.
    • Bombing the Axis Powers, A historical digest of the combined bomber offensive, 1939-1945. Richard G. Davis
    • Dresden Tuesday, February 13, 1945. Frederick Taylor.
    • The RAF Pathfinders: Bomber Commands Elite Squadrons. Martyn Chorlton
    • A Shaky Do The Skoda Works Raid 16/17 April 1943. Peter W. Cunliffe
    • Among the dead cities. A.C. Grayling
    • Men of Air: The Doomed youth of Bomber Command. Kevin Wilson
    • Luck and a Lancaster. Harry Yates.
    • Nightfighters over the Reich. Manfred Griehl
    • D-Day The Battle for Normandy. Anthony Beevor
    • Paris after the liberation. Anthony Beevor
    • The Fall of Berlin 1945. Anthony Beevor
    • The Second World War. Anthony Beevor
    • Churchill's Bomb. Graham Farmelo
    • Inferno. Keith Lowe
    • The Victors Eisenhower & his Boys. Stephen E. Ambrose
    • Eisenhower a life. Paul Johnson
    • A Genius for War General George S. Patton. Carlo D'Este
    • The Swords of Armageddon. Chuck Hansen
    • Dark Sun, the making of the Hydrogen Bomb Richard Rhodes
    • TSR2 Precision Attack to Tornado. John Forbat
    • Command And Control. Eric Schlosser
    • Britain's War Machine. David Edgerton
    • Target London - Under attack from the V-Weapons. Christy Campbell
    • Monty and Rommel Parallel Lives. Peter Caddick-Adams
    • The Tank War. Mark Urban
    • Allied Artillery of World War. 2 Ian V. Hogg
    • Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Martin W. Bowman
    • The Bomber Command Handbook 1939-1945. Jonathan Falconer
    • British and Commonwealth Armoured Formations (1919-46). Duncan Crow
    • Chieftain and Leopard Development. Lieut-Colonel Michael Norman
    • Fighter Command 1939-45. Ian Carter
    • Battle flight RAF Air Defence Projects and Weapons since 1945 Chris Gibson
    • Vulcan's Hammer V-Force Projects and Weapons since 1945 Chris Gibson
    • Wehrmacht Camouflage uniforms & Post war Derivatives. Daniel Peterson
    • German Infantry in Action Combat Troops Number 2. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • Waffen SS in Action Combat Troops Number 3. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • Panzergrenadiers in Action Weapons Number 5. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • PzKpfw IV in Action Armour Number 12. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • Panther in Action Armour Number 11. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • Tiger in Action Armour Number 27. Squadron/Signal Publications
    • World War 2 Allied Vehicles. Jan Suermondt
    • German Secret Flight Test Centres to 1945. Heinrich Beauvais, Karl Kössler, Max Meyer, Christoph Regel
    • The Centurion Tank. Bill Munro
    • Miles Aircraft since 1925. Don L. Brown
    • Patton - Operation Cobra and Beyond. Michael & Glayds Green
    • Panther & Its Variants. Walter J. Spielberger
    • PzKpfw VI Tiger Vol.2. Tadeusz Melleman
    • PzKpfw VI Tiger Vol.3. Tadeusz Melleman
    • The Germans in Normandy. Richard Hargreaves
    • The Seduction of Combat: losing sight of logistics after D-Day. Norman R. Denny (Thesis)
    • TSR2 Britain's Lost Bomber. Damien Burke
    • Avro Arrow The Story of the Avro Arrow from its evolution to its extinction
    • Hobart's 79th Armoured Division at War. Richard Burke
    • Monty. The Battles of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery
    • Soldier at Bomber Command Charles Carrington
    • Missed Opportunities: 1st Canadian Army and the Air Plan for operation Totalize, 7-10 August 1944. Jody Perrun (Thesis)

    Osprey:

    • Osprey - Airwar 002 USAAF Heavy Bomber Units ETO & MTO 1942-45
    • Osprey - Airwar 010 RAF Fighter Units Europe 1942-45
    • Osprey - Airwar 024 Luftwaffe Fighter Units Europe 1942-45
    • Osprey - Airwar 009 Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1939-1945
    • Osprey - Aircam Aviation 01 NA P51D Mustang
    • Osprey - Aircam Aviation 05 NA P51B-C Mustang
    • Osprey - Aircam Aviation 28 DeHavilland Mosquito
    • Osprey - Aircam S06 Luftwaffe Colour Schemes and Markings Volume 1
    • Osprey - Aircam S08 Luftwaffe Colour Schemes and Markings Volume 2
    • Osprey - Automotive WW2 AFV's and Self-propelled Artillery
    • Osprey - Automotive WW2 Tanks
    • Osprey - Automotive WW2 Transports and Halftracks
    • Osprey - Battle Orders 010 US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944-45
    • Osprey - Battle Orders 024 US Army Infantry Divisions 1944-45
    • Osprey - Campaign 001 Normandy 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 024 Market Garden 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 042 Bagration 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 074 Rhineland 1945
    • Osprey - Campaign 075 Lorraine 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 088 Cobra 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 100 D-Day Omaha Beach
    • Osprey - Campaign 104 D-Day Utah Beach
    • Osprey - Campaign 105 D-Day Sword Beach
    • Osprey - Campaign 112 D-Day Gold/Juno Beach
    • Osprey - Campaign 114 Battle of the Ardennes 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 143 Caen 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 145 Battle of the Bulge Bastogne 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 149 Falaise 1944
    • Osprey - Campaign 159 Berlin 1945
    • Osprey - Campaign 175 Remagen 1945
    • Osprey - Campaign 178 The Rhine Crossing 1945
    • Osprey - Combat Aircraft 004 Mosquito Bomber & Fighter Units 1942-45
    • Osprey - Duel 02 Sherman Firefly vs Tiger
    • Osprey - Elite 001 Para's British Airborne Forces 1940-1984
    • Osprey - Elite 061 The Guards Division 1914 - 1945
    • Osprey - Elite 098 British Commanders of World War 2
    • Osprey - Elite 105 World War 2 Infantry Tactics Squad and Platoon
    • Osprey - Elite 109 The British Home Front 1939-45
    • Osprey - Elite 118 German Commanders of World War 2
    • Osprey - Elite 122 World War 2 Infantry Tactics Company and Battalion
    • Osprey - Elite 124 World War 2 Infantry Anti Tank Tactics
    • Osprey - Elite 136 World War 2 Airborne Tactics
    • Osprey - Elite 152 The British Reconnaissance Corps in World War 2
    • Osprey - Elite 157 The German Home Front 1939-45
    • Osprey - Fortress 015 Germany's West Wall The Siegfried Line
    • Osprey - Fortress 020 British Home Defences 1940-45
    • Osprey - Fortress 023 German Field Fortifications 1939-45
    • Osprey - Fortress 063 The Atlantic Wall
    • Osprey - Fortress 072 German V Weapon Sites 1943-45
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 034 Waffen SS
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 070 US Army 1941-45
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 100 Women At War 1939-45
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 122 British Battledress
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 139 German Airborne Troops 1939-45
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 229 Luftwaffe Field Divisions
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 336 German Army Western Front 1943-45
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 393 Germen Women's Auxiliary Services
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 401 The Waffen SS Divisions 1 to 5
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 404 The Waffen SS Divisions 6 to 10
    • Osprey - Men At Arms 415 The Waffen SS Divisions 11 to 23
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 001 Kingtiger Heavy Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 003 Sherman Medium Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 004 Churchill Infantry Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 004 Tiger Heavy Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 011 M3 Infantry Half Track
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 014 Crusader Cruiser Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 030 Amtracs US Amphibious Assault Vehicles
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 067 Panther Medium Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 068 Centurion Universal Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 104 Cromwell Cruiser Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 106 V-1 Flying Bomb
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 110 Universal Carrier
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 115 Landing Ship Tank
    • Osprey - New Vanguard 141 Sherman Firefly
    • Osprey - Vanguard 001 British 7th Armoured Division 1940-1945
    • Osprey - Vanguard 003 US 1st Infantry Division
    • Osprey - Vanguard 007 2ns SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich'
    • Osprey - Vanguard 009 British Guards Armoured Division 1941-1945
    • Osprey - Vanguard 011 US 2nd Armoured Division
    • Osprey - Vanguard 015 Sherman Tank in British Service 1942-45
    • Osprey - Warrior 002 Waffen SS Soldier 1940-45
    • Osprey - Warrior 038 Fallshirmjager
    • Osprey - Warrior 056 US Infantry World War 2
    • Osprey - Warrior 078 US Army Tank Crewman ETO 1944-45
    • Osprey - Warrior 102 The Hitler Youth 1933-45
    • Osprey - Warrior Hitler's Home Guard Volkstrumm Western Front 1944-45

    World War II Intelligence Documents and related official Publications:

    • Petroleum facilities of Germany. Enemy Oil Committee 1945.
    • Petroleum facilities of Europe (Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands and Yugoslavia). Enemy Oil Committee 1945.
    • Present Position of Refining Industry in German held Europe November 1943. Enemy Oil Committee.
    • Geographic Handbook Series. Germany Volumes III and IV. Naval Intelligence Division HMSO 1944.
    • The United States Strategic Bombing Survey summary report.
    • The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany 1939-1945 Volumes I, II, III and IV. Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland.
    • Royal Airforce Monogarph Signals Volume VII Radio Counter Measures.
    • Royal Airforce Monogarph Air Navigation Volume I 1944
    • Royal Airforce Monogarph The RAF Bombing Campaign Against Germany Volume VI The Final Phase March 1944-May 1945
    • Royal Airforce monograph The RAF Bombing Campaign Against Germany Volume V The Full Offensive February 1943-February 1944
    • The Strategic Air War Against Germany 1939-1945 Official Report of the British Bombing Survey Unit
    • Dispatch on War Operations Sir Arthur T. Harris
    • Report on the Petroleum and Synthetic Oil Industry of Germany. Ministry of Fuel and Power 1947.
    • Axis Oil Position (November 1943 to June 1944). Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee. War Cabinet and Chiefs of Staff briefing papers.
    • Methods of estimating military consumption of petroleum in axis Europe in 1943. Enemy Oil Committee October 1943.
    • Axis European armed forces – consumption of liquid fuels and lubricants, 1943. Enemy Oil Committee.
    • Axis air force requirements of petroleum, 1942. Enemy Oil Committee.
    • Report on Bombing Accuracy 8th Airforce 1 September 1944 to 31 December 1944. ORS HQ 8th Airforce
    • Introductory Survey of Radar Part II. Air Ministry 1947
    • The use of combustible metals in explosive incendiary devices. Sandia National Labs
    • A short history of air intercept radar and the British Night Fighter 1945-1959. Ian White
    • Some Aspects of German Airborne Radar Technology, 1942 to 1945. Arthur O. Bauer
    • Fire effects of bombing attacks. Defence Liaison Office 1950
    • BIOS (British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee) Final Report No.314 The German Electrical Supply system
    • BIOS Final Report No. 342 The German Wartime Electrical Supply System
    • BIOS Final Report No. 119 DVL (Deutsche Wersuchsanstalt Für Luftfahart)
    • BOIS Final Report No. 160 Volkenrode Aeronautical Research facility
    • BIOS Final Report No. 163 Aircraft Armament
    • BIOS Final Report No. 294 H2O2
    • CIOS (Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee) Production & Fabrication of Magnesium Alloys I.G Farbenindustrie, Bitterfeld and Aken.
    • CIOS Light Metal Production Alloys I.G Farbenindustrie, Bitterfeld
    • CIOS German Die Casting Plants
    • CIOS German High Speed Wind Tunnels
    • CIOS Walter Werke
    • CIOS Production Stats German Steel Industry
    • CIOS Use of Refactories in Turbine Blades
    • CIOS GAF Spare Parts supply
    • CIOS Underground Factories of Germany
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Austria Industry & Commerce
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Belgium Industry & Commerce
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 France Agriculture
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 France Transportation
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Agriculture
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Industry & Commerce
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Inland Waterways
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Labour
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Public Works & Utilities - Electrical Power
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Public Works & Utilities - Gas
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Public Works & Utilities - Water Supply & Sewage
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany The Nazi Party
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany Transportation System
    • Civil Affairs Handbook Army Service HQ 1945 Germany German Economy
    • History of Radio Flight Navigation Systems Fritz Trenkle.
    • Fire Warfare Incendiaries and Flame Throwers. Summary Technical Report of the National Defence Research Committee 1946
    • Pilot and Flight Engineer's Notes Lancaster A.P. 2062A-P.N 3rd Edition
    • International Aid Statistics A Summary of War Department Lend Lease Activities through December 31 1945
    • Development of the Rolls Royce Merlin from 1939 to 1945. A.C. Lovesey
    • Radar Observers Bombardment Information File. HQ AAF May 1945
    • Radio and Radar Equipment used by the USAAF. HQ AAF April 1946
    • The Schweinfurt Raid and the pause in daylight strategic bombing. Major Greg A. Grabow US Army (Thesis)
    • Comparison of Sleeve and Poppet-Valve Aircraft Piston Engines. Robert J. Raymond
    • No Quarter Given; The change in Strategic Bombing application in the Pacific Theatre during WW2. Major John M. Curatola United States Marine Corp (Thesis)
    • Strategic Bombing of Axis Europe January 1943 - September 1944 Bomb Damage to Axis Target Systems. Office of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence Analysis Division November 1944
    • Aspects of the Combined British and American Air Offensive against Germany 1939-1945. Michael Varley
    • The Radar War. Gerhard Hepcke
    • Chemical and Cluster Bombs. Departments of the Army and the Air Force May 1957
    • Radio and Radar equipment used by the USAAF (Countermeasures). HQ AAF April 1946
    • The Performance of a supercharged Aero engine. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • Rolls Royce Piston Aero Engines - a designer remembers. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • The Merlin in Perspective - the combat years. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • The Merlin 100 Series - the ultimate military development. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • The Rolls Royce Meteor - Cromwell and other applications. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • The Rolls Royce Crecy. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • Rolls Royce and the Mustang. David Birch. Rolls Royce Heritage Trust
    • The Journal of the Royal United Service Institute Vol. XC 21st (British) Army Group in the campaign in North West Europe, 1944-1945

    Fiction:

    • The Foresight War. Anthony G. Williams.
    • Johnny Kinsman. The classic novel of the British bomber crews of World War II. John Watson.
    • Bomber. Len Deighton.
    • Bomber Stream Broken. James Campbell
    • Maximum Effort. James Campbell
    • The Bombing of Nuremberg. James Campbell
    • Bomb run. Spencer Dunmore
    • Beware the wounded Tiger. Geoff Taylor
    • The Greatcoat. Helen Dunmore

    PC Games, CD's, DVD's, Links:

     
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