How Logistics Made Big Week Big:Eighth Air Force Bombing, 20-25 February 1944

摘要

The night of 19 February 1944 found England shrouded under a heavy cloud cover, but the weather over Germany was breaking. While the murk might complicate getting away and possibly landing, General Spaatz had made his decision-"Let 'em go."2 What was to be called the Big Week (20-25 February 1944) had begun. The next day, 20 February, saw the largest force of aircraft up to that time take off and head for targets in Germany. England literally shook under the roar of engines-some 1,004 bomber aircraft plus their fighter escorts.3The primary objective of Big Week was to direct a strategic bombing campaign against the Luftwaffe that would destroy its means to continue the war and, as a result, gain air superiority before Operation Overlord.4 Bomber operations were conducted principally by the Eighth Air Force, with support from both the Fifteenth Air Force and the Royal Air Force (RAF). In-theater logistics support, the key element that allowed the Eighth Air Force to kick off Big Week, came from the VIII Air Force Service Command (AFSC). An order of magnitude measure of this logistics effort is seen in the number of bomber aircraft generated-VIII AFSC made 1,292 bombers available, an unprecedented number. However, many other facets of logistics support, often on a scale never seen before, were also necessary for Big Week. These include preparation—industrial mobilization, unit buildup and beddown, stateside logistics support, facility expansion and modernization, training and equipping of personnel, and organization of air logistics activities. As is often the case, much of the planning, preparation, and execution of the Eighth's bombing operations was subject to uncertainties that made logistics support difficult and required improvisation on the part of both logistics organizations and logistics leadership.~5