Operation Double Strike: The Devastating US Bomber Raid on Schweinfurt During WWII

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<div id=""> <div class="c-container c-container--is-stacked"> <div class="o-dreifaltigkeit c-container--mobile-padding"> Second World War <span class="rf-o-topic c-topic" data-qa="Topic">“Operation Double Strike”</span> <h2 class="c-headline o-dreifaltigkeit__headline rf-o-headline" data-qa="Headline">The Catastrophe of US Bombers over Schweinfurt</h2> </div> </div> <div class="c-container c-container--is-stacked"> <div class="o-text c-summary " data-qa="Article.summary"> <p> In August 1943, the US Air Force attacked the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt to cripple the Nazi arms industry. The gamble did not work out. 60 planes were shot down, 172 damaged. </p> </div> </div> <p> <time class="c-publish-date" datetime="2024-07-23T09:04:44Z" data-qa="PublishDate">As of: 23.07.2024</time> <span class="c-readingtime c-article-meta-information__reading-time" data-qa="Article.readingTime">| Reading time: 4 minutes</span> </p>  <div class="c-container c-container--has-full-width c-container--additional-padding"> <figure class="o-element " data-qa="VideoElement"> <div class="o-element__main o-element__main--is-colored"> <div class="c-sticky-video2" data-component="StickyVideoPlayer" data-sticky-class="c-sticky-video2--is-sticky" data-sticky-placeholder-class="c-sticky-video2__placeholder" data-sticky-placeholder-auto-height="false" data-sticky-offset-top="-70" data-qa="StickyVideo">  <div class="c-sticky-video2__context"> <p>This is what the engine of the Luftwaffe's standard fighter plane sounds like</p> <button class="o-button c-sticky-video2__close-button" data-action="StickyVideo.close"> <span class="o-svg c-sticky-video2__close-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewbox="0 0 20 20"><path class="shape" d="m10,11.95852l-7.90406,7.90406l-1.95852,-1.95852l7.90406,-7.90406l-7.90406,-7.90406l1.95852,-1.95852l7.90406,7.90406l7.90406,-7.90406l1.95852,1.95852l-7.90406,7.90406l7.90406,7.90406l-1.95852,1.95852l-7.90406,-7.90406z"/></svg> </span> </button> </div> </div> <figcaption class="o-element__caption c-image-element__caption u-is-hidden-print"> <div class="o-element__caption-optional-element"> <p class="o-element__text u-text--is-left o-element__text--has-no-ellipsis" data-qa="VideoElement.caption"> The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a single-seat German fighter aircraft from the 1930s and 1940s. The Bf 109 remained the Luftwaffe's standard fighter aircraft until the end of the Second World War. </p> </div>  </figcaption> </div> </figure> </div>  </div><div itemprop="articleBody" data-qa="Article.Text" data-external-ad="connatix"> <div class="c-content-container"> <div data-component="OEmbedComponent" data-oembed-url="https://static.up.welt.de/podigee-player/tts-single-episode/index.html?episodeId=252641140" data-oembed-tracking-title="https://static.up.welt.de/podigee-player/tts-single-episode/index.html?episodeId=252641140" data-oembed-hidden-class="u-display--is-hidden" data-oembed-aspect-ratio-css-class="c-article-page-oembed-aspect-ratio--is-podigee-tts" data-oembed-consent-type="SocialStack" class="c-article-page-oembed-aspect-ratio--is-podigee-tts c-oembed--is-podigee-tts" data-qa="OEmbedElement"> <figure data-content="OEmbedComponent.OEmbed" class="o-element c-oembed-element u-display--is-hidden" data-qa="OEmbedElement.OEmbed">  </figure> <div class="c-oembed-element__placeholder"> <figure data-content="OEmbedComponent.Placeholder" class="o-element c-oembed-placeholder " data-qa="OEmbedComponent.Placeholder"> <div class="c-oembed-placeholder__body u-display--is-hidden" data-qa="OEmbedComponent.Placeholder.Body" data-content="OEmbedComponent.Placeholder.Body">  <p> Here you can listen to our WELT podcasts </p> <div class="c-oembed-placeholder__description" data-qa="OEmbedComponent.Placeholder.Description"> To view embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content as third parties require this consent [In this context, user profiles (e.g., based on cookie IDs) may also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA]. By switching the toggle to "on," you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transmission of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, pursuant to Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time via the toggle and privacy at the bottom of the page. </div> </div>  </figure> </div> </div> </div>  <p><span class="c-article-text__drop-cap">G</span>Two weeks after the devastating bombing raids on Hamburg in July/August 1943, the US Air Force planned the decisive blow against the German arms industry. With "Operation Double Strike," the German ball bearing production was to be taken out on August 17. 357 four-engine bombers of the B-17 Flying Fortress type, about two-thirds of the available aircraft of the 8th US Air Fleet, were to destroy the FAG Kugelfischer and Fichtel & Sachs factories in Schweinfurt, where more than half of the strategic rolling bearings were produced.</p>  <p>However, the operation suffered from two miscalculations. American planners assumed that the German defenses would act as helplessly against the closely packed bomber formations as they did during "Operation Gomorrah" against Hamburg. They deduced that the risk would be low to operate the planes for about two hours in daylight without fighter protection over German territory. The long-range fighters of the P-51 Mustang type, designed for the appropriate range, were not yet available.</p> <div class="c-inline-element " id="Element-d38d6d65-9911-479b-8be2-ea38562274c9" data-qa="InlineElement"> <div class="o-element c-image-element" data-qa="ImageElement" data-content-slider-component="image"> <figure class="o-element__main"> <div class="o-element__body c-image-element__body " data-qa="ImageElement.picture"> <div data-qa="PictureElement.placeholder" class="c-image-element--has-hint-icon c-placeholder"> <picture class="o-element__image c-image-element__image"> <source data-breakpoint="Large" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w780/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 910px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Medium" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w680/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 600px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Small" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w600/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg 1.0x"> <img style="background-image: url('https://www.welt.de/assets/images/global/welt_fallback-f924e6874c.gif');" src="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w1024/Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-2.jpg" data-component="LazyLoad" class="c-fallback-image--has-no-placeholder" data-qa="PictureElement.OriginalImage" alt="Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (Photograph by Philip Jarrett from the aviationimages.com collection) | No resale."/> </source></source></source></picture> <span class="o-svg c-image-element__hint-icon" data-qa="Image.Hint"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="40" height="40" viewbox="0 0 40 40"> <rect width="40" height="40" fill="rgba(255,255,255,.85)" rx="20"/> <path fill="#787878" d="M12.278 23.389c-.306-.306-.64-.445-.972-.445-.667 0-1.306.528-1.306 1.306v3.944c0 1 .806 1.806 1.806 1.806h3.888c.723 0 1.306-.667 1.306-1.361 0-.333-.139-.667-.417-.945L15.14 26.25l3.917-3.917-1.39-1.389-3.916 3.917-1.472-1.472zm15.444-6.778c.306.306.64.445.972.445.667 0 1.306-.528 1.306-1.306v-3.944c0-1-.806-1.806-1.806-1.806h-3.888c-.723 0-1.306.667-1.306 1.361 0 .333.139.667.417.945l1.444 1.444-3.917 3.917 1.39 1.389 3.916-3.917 1.472 1.472z"/> </svg> </span> </div> </div> <figcaption class="o-element__caption c-image-element__caption o-element__main--is-colored" data-content="Gallery.caption" data-qa="Element.Caption"> <p> The B-17 Flying Fortresses formed the backbone of the USA's strategic bomber groups </p> <p> Source: picture alliance / Mary Evans Pi </p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <p>The calculation proved to be a catastrophic mistake. The German defenses immediately changed their tactic. Twin-engine destroyers of the Me 110 type, which had not launched for combat missions due to their immobility, were equipped with rockets that allowed for attacks from a distance of four kilometers. Fighter planes received parachute bombs with time fuses, which were dropped from height into the dense packs of attackers. The shrapnel effect could take several "Flying Fortresses" out of action.</p>  <p>Added to this was the weather. To overwhelm the German defenses, the Messerschmitt factories in Regensburg were also to be attacked simultaneously. However, dense fog still blocked the English bases, from which the group was to take off for Schweinfurt, when the designated wave took off around seven o'clock. They did not take to the air until three and a half hours later. This allowed the German fighter groups to attack both formations one after the other and in the meantime repair their 300 aircraft of the Me Bf 109 <a href="http://154998363" target="_blank" class="o-link" name="inlineLink_">and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 with ammunition and fuel</a>.</p> <div class="c-inline-element " id="Element-48262a20-1061-4af3-a806-28b94cff8b39" data-qa="InlineElement"> <div data-qa="InlineTeaser" class="o-teaser c-inline-teaser"> <p> Read also </p> <div class="c-inline-teaser__body c-inline-teaser__body--is-standalone"> <div class="c-inline-teaser__image" data-qa="InlineTeaser.Image"> <div data-qa="PictureElement.placeholder" class="c-image-element--has-hint-icon c-placeholder c-placeholder--has-profile c-placeholder--is-article-inline-teaser-profile"> <picture class="o-element__image"> <source data-breakpoint="Medium" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-wWIDTH/Messerschmitt-Bf-109E-4.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w120/Messerschmitt-Bf-109E-4.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 600px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Small" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-wWIDTH/Messerschmitt-Bf-109E-4.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w160/Messerschmitt-Bf-109E-4.jpg 1.0x"> <img style="background-image: url('https://www.welt.de/assets/images/global/welt_fallback-f924e6874c.gif');" src="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w1024/Messerschmitt-Bf-109E-4.jpg" data-component="LazyLoad" class="o-overlay c-placeholder__image" data-qa="PictureElement.OriginalImage" alt="A Luftwaffe Jg-54 Messerschmitt Bf-109E flying above cloud During the Battle-Of-Britain Engaged in a 'Jabo' Mission Carrying a Single 250Lb Bomb (Photograph by Philip Jarrett from the aviationimages.com collection) | No resale."/> </source></source></picture> </div> </div> <div class="c-inline-teaser__dreifaltigkeit"> <p> <span class="o-topic o-teaser__topic c-inline-teaser__topic" data-qa="InlineTeaser.Topic">Messerschmitt Bf 109 Fighter</span> </p>  </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>14 bombers were already shot down while approaching Regensburg. One crew member recalled the murmurs of the praying over the radio: "It sounded like a flying church." Of the 127 "Flying Fortresses," 24 were shot down and 50 more damaged. The rest escaped over the Alps, as the German fighters then turned their attention to the bombers intended for Schweinfurt.</p> <p>Their gunners “were soon up to their armpits in empty shell casings as they swung their turrets and feverishly pursued the fighters that flitted through their formations,” writes British historian <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Beevor" target="_blank" class="o-link" name="inlineLink_">Antony Beevor</a>. “So many machines were hit and so many men bailed out that a flyer remarked it looked ‘like an invasion of paratroopers.’”</p> <div class="c-inline-element " id="Element-ee948a59-da86-484e-960d-e18fbe92f1ee" data-qa="InlineElement"> <div class="o-element c-image-element" data-qa="ImageElement" data-content-slider-component="image"> <figure class="o-element__main"> <div class="o-element__body c-image-element__body " data-qa="ImageElement.picture"> <div data-qa="PictureElement.placeholder" class="c-image-element--has-hint-icon c-placeholder"> <picture class="o-element__image c-image-element__image"> <source data-breakpoint="Large" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17F.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w780/Boeing-B-17F.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 910px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Medium" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17F.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w680/Boeing-B-17F.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 600px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Small" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/Boeing-B-17F.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w600/Boeing-B-17F.jpg 1.0x"> <img style="background-image: url('https://www.welt.de/assets/images/global/welt_fallback-f924e6874c.gif');" src="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w1024/Boeing-B-17F.jpg" data-component="LazyLoad" class="c-fallback-image--has-no-placeholder" data-qa="PictureElement.OriginalImage" alt="US Bombers of the Boeing B-17 type approaching Schweinfurt"/> </source></source></source></picture> <span class="o-svg c-image-element__hint-icon" data-qa="Image.Hint"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="40" height="40" viewbox="0 0 40 40"> <rect width="40" height="40" fill="rgba(255,255,255,.85)" rx="20"/> <path fill="#787878" d="M12.278 23.389c-.306-.306-.64-.445-.972-.445-.667 0-1.306.528-1.306 1.306v3.944c0 1 .806 1.806 1.806 1.806h3.888c.723 0 1.306-.667 1.306-1.361 0-.333-.139-.667-.417-.945L15.14 26.25l3.917-3.917-1.39-1.389-3.916 3.917-1.472-1.472zm15.444-6.778c.306.306.64.445.972.445.667 0 1.306-.528 1.306-1.306v-3.944c0-1-.806-1.806-1.806-1.806h-3.888c-.723 0-1.306.667-1.306 1.361 0 .333.139.667.417.945l1.444 1.444-3.917 3.917 1.39 1.389 3.916-3.917 1.472 1.472z"/> </svg> </span> </div> </div> <figcaption class="o-element__caption c-image-element__caption o-element__main--is-colored" data-content="Gallery.caption" data-qa="Element.Caption"> <p> US bombers of the Boeing B-17 type approaching Schweinfurt </p> <p> Source: Wikipedia/US Air Force/Public Domain </p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div>  <p>The wave for Schweinfurt lost 36 of its 230 aircraft, with 122 being partially severely damaged. 601 crew members were dead, captured, or interned in Switzerland (where they had made an emergency landing). The German losses amounted to a total of 17 dead and 24 aircraft, while 400 civilians lost their lives, including many forced laborers.</p> <p>The 8th US Air Fleet, responsible for daytime raids over Reich territory, suffered losses that vastly exceeded all experiences of night raids by the Royal Air Force. Although the Allies believed they had shot down 288 German fighters and sustainably reduced the production capacity of the German standard fighter Messerschmitt Bf 109, this proved to be a “rosy estimation,” as air warfare specialist <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Boog" target="_blank" class="o-link" name="inlineLink_">Horst Boog</a> wrote.</p> <div class="c-inline-element " id="Element-1e2510fe-71fd-410e-a83f-1a417097958a" data-qa="InlineElement"> <div data-qa="InlineTeaser" class="o-teaser c-inline-teaser"> <p> Read also </p> <div class="c-inline-teaser__body c-inline-teaser__body--is-standalone"> <div class="c-inline-teaser__image" data-qa="InlineTeaser.Image"> <div data-qa="PictureElement.placeholder" class="c-image-element--has-hint-icon c-placeholder c-placeholder--has-profile c-placeholder--is-article-inline-teaser-profile"> <picture class="o-element__image"> <source data-breakpoint="Medium" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-wWIDTH/Screenshot.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w120/Screenshot.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 600px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Small" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-wWIDTH/Screenshot.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w160/Screenshot.jpg 1.0x"> <img style="background-image: url('https://www.welt.de/assets/images/global/welt_fallback-f924e6874c.gif');" src="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w1024/Screenshot.jpg" data-component="LazyLoad" class="o-overlay c-placeholder__image" data-qa="PictureElement.OriginalImage" alt="Europe on November 10, 1943. Hitler still rules over large parts of the continent"/> </source></source></picture> </div> </div>  </div> </div> </div> <p>The fighter assembly was relocated. Although ball bearing production temporarily fell by a third, deliveries from Sweden and Switzerland quickly filled the gaps. It also became evident that many arms companies of the Third Reich had stockpiled enough ball bearings. The shift to simpler bearings meant that the goal of "Double Strike" was not achieved even in the slightest.</p>  <p>On the other hand, Curtis LeMay, commander of the strategic bomber division of the 8th US Air Fleet, had to admit that the concept of daytime attacks without adequate fighter protection endangered the operational capability of his squadrons. Until the introduction of the new Mustang fighters, US leadership therefore refrained from attacks deep into Reich territory.</p> <div class="c-inline-element " id="Element-4837fecb-b261-45dc-804e-385186c69f8c" data-qa="InlineElement"> <div class="o-element c-image-element" data-qa="ImageElement" data-content-slider-component="image"> <figure class="o-element__main"> <div class="o-element__body c-image-element__body " data-qa="ImageElement.picture"> <div data-qa="PictureElement.placeholder" class="c-image-element--has-hint-icon c-placeholder"> <picture class="o-element__image c-image-element__image"> <source data-breakpoint="Large" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w780/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 910px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Medium" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w680/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg 1.0x" media="(min-width: 600px)"> <source data-breakpoint="Small" data-src-template="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-wWIDTH/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg" data-srcset="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-coriginal-w600/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg 1.0x"> <img style="background-image: url('https://www.welt.de/assets/images/global/welt_fallback-f924e6874c.gif');" src="https://img.welt.de/img/geschichte/zweiter-weltkrieg/mobile[phone]-ci102l-w1024/American-B-17-Flying-Fortresses-attack-a-German-aircraft-factory-which-produced.jpg" data-component="LazyLoad" class="c-fallback-image--has-no-placeholder" data-qa="PictureElement.OriginalImage" alt="American B-17 Flying Fortresses attack a German aircraft factory which produced the Me 109G at Regensburg on August 17, 1943. (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images) Getty ImagesGetty Images"/> </source></source></source></picture> <span class="o-svg c-image-element__hint-icon" data-qa="Image.Hint"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="40" height="40" viewbox="0 0 40 40"> <rect width="40" height="40" fill="rgba(255,255,255,.85)" rx="20"/> <path fill="#787878" d="M12.278 23.389c-.306-.306-.64-.445-.972-.445-.667 0-1.306.528-1.306 1.306v3.944c0 1 .806 1.806 1.806 1.806h3.888c.723 0 1.306-.667 1.306-1.361 0-.333-.139-.667-.417-.945L15.14 26.25l3.917-3.917-1.39-1.389-3.916 3.917-1.472-1.472zm15.444-6.778c.306.306.64.445.972.445.667 0 1.306-.528 1.306-1.306v-3.944c0-1-.806-1.806-1.806-1.806h-3.888c-.723 0-1.306.667-1.306 1.361 0 .333.139.667.417.945l1.444 1.444-3.917 3.917 1.39 1.389 3.916-3.917 1.472 1.472z"/> </svg> </span> </div> </div> <figcaption class="o-element__caption c-image-element__caption o-element__main--is-colored" data-content="Gallery.caption" data-qa="Element.Caption"> <p> This photo was taken during the attack on Regensburg </p> <p> Source: Universal Images Group via Getty </p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/weltgeschichte/" target="_blank" class="o-link" name="inlineLink_">You can also find "World History" on Facebook. We appreciate a like.</a></p> <p><em>This article was first published on August 17, 2019.</em></p> </div>

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