John H. Luckadoo, Last Pilot From a Storied Bomber Group, Dies at 103

[JohnnyRingo]

2. As an AV buff I enjoyed the story at the link.

There was one mistake though. It indicted that the US insisted on daytime bombing raids as if it was a matter of incompetence.
In reality we flew the day raids and the Brits flew night missions. This made it easier to coordinate missions and kept Germany under constant 24 hour bombardment.

The Flying Fortress was indeed heavily armed but it's real defense was altitude. Unlike the British bombers we bombed from up to 30,000 feet, making it more difficult for fighter planes to intercept. There was no radar at the beginning of WWII so they had to see the contrails, scramble, and hope they can climb that high before the bombers were done. Unfortunately flying such an altitude meant a lighter bomb load, usually no more than 2,000 lbs. The British Lancasters at low level, could carry 15,000+ pounds. The trade off was that it was difficult to hit a target in a blacked out city, even at low altitude. Night fighters were the bane of the RAF, especially with the advent of radar.

Good article. Thanx for posting.