Big Week: Six Days That Changed the Course of World War II (45 page)

Yenne, Bill.
Convair: Into the Sunset.
Greenwich/San Diego: Greenwich/General Dynamics, 1995.

Yenne, Bill.
The History of the US Air Force
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984, 1992.

Yenne, Bill.
Lockheed.
New York: Random House, 1987.

Yenne, Bill.
McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants.
New York: Random House, 1985.

Yenne, Bill.
Rockwell: The Heritage of North American.
New York: Random House/Crescent, 1989.

Yenne, Bill.
Secret Weapons of World War II.
New York: Penguin Putnam, 2003.

Yenne, Bill.
The Story of the Boeing Company
. San Francisco/Minneapolis: AGS BookWorks/Zenith Press, 2005, 2010.

Zuckerman, Solly.
From Apes to Warlords: The Autobiography (1904–1946) of Solly Zuckerman
. London: Hamilton, 1978.

Zuckerman, Solly.
Monkeys, Men and Missiles: An Autobiography, 1946–1988
. New York: Norton, 1989.

The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.

Ain’t Mis Behavin
(bomber), 157

airbase targets, 178, 179, 180, 181–182, 184, 188, 224

Air Corps, 41, 133, 241.
See also
US Army Air Forces (USAAF)

aircraft industry targets, xvi–xvii, 68, 78, 83–84, 85–86, 88, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99–100, 101, 102, 103, 112, 113, 132, 139, 149–150, 178, 185, 188, 213, 214, 216, 219–220, 225, 227, 228, 230, 231, 240–242, 243–244, 260

Air Force Historical Research Agency, 4, 153, 169

Air Ministry (British), 35–36, 45, 83, 84

airpower, history of, 9–14.
See also
strategic airpower

air war, WWII, 15–19

Air War Plans Division (AWPD), 23, 29–30, 40, 43, 265, 266

air war preparation, xiii–xiv, xvi, 20–24

Alexander, Henry C., 270

Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), 137, 138, 234, 238

aluminum industry targets, 85, 88

American Expeditionary Force (AEF), xvii, 13

AN/APS-15 radar, 107, 159, 273

Anderson, Frederick Lewis, Jr., xviii

background of, 71, 72

Battle of the Bulge, 247, 249

Big Week, 146, 148, 174, 175, 176, 177, 184, 185, 188–189, 193, 195, 196, 198, 204, 214, 217, 219–220, 226

Black Week, 110, 121, 122, 123–124

collapse of Germany, 140, 246, 253, 256

D-Day, 238

defining the mission, 73

learning curve, 63

Operation Argument, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144–145, 146

Operation Overlord, 232–233, 236

Operation Pointblank, 96–97, 100, 103

post-WWII, 269–270, 270–271, 272–273

substance vs. promise, 70, 72

Anderson, Orvil, xviii, 23–24, 184

Anglo-American Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ), 62

Anglo-American Allies, 25, 26, 28, 29, 64, 65.
See also
Britain; United States of America

anti-friction ball bearing industry targets, 83–84, 85–86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 101–102, 116–117, 120–122, 127, 139, 188, 198–199, 203, 205, 215, 217, 220, 231, 242–243, 259–260

April Girl II
(bomber), 149, 152

Arcadia Conference, 25, 26–27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 43, 64, 65

Archibald Mathies NCO Academy, 263, 273, 274

Ardennes Offensive, 247, 248–251

area (“carpet”) bombing, 35–36, 67

Army Air Forces in World War II
(Cate), 31, 52

Arnold, Henry Harley “Hap,” xv

air war preparation, 21

Big Week, 177, 267

Black Week, 118, 122

Casablanca Conference, 66

collapse of Germany, 251, 253

Committee of Operations Analysts (COA), 81–84, 88

defining the mission, 77, 79

Enemy Objectives Units (EOU), 39, 40–41, 44, 45

going deep at all costs, 98, 102, 103

going to war, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37

learning curve, 50, 51, 52, 56

Luftwaffe collapse, 125, 256–257

Operation Argument, 137, 143–144, 145

Operation Overlord, 266–267

post-WWII, 265

turning point, grasping for, 125–126

Arstingstall, Bob, 223, 224

Art of War, The
(Sun-tzu), 72

Atlantic Charter, 26

automatic flight-control equipment (AFCE), 79–80

AWPD-1/2
(Munitions Requirements of the Army Air Forces to Defeat Our Potential Enemies),
23–24, 26, 49, 50, 83, 84

AWPD42
(Requirements for Air Ascendancy, 1942),
49–51, 81

B-17s.
See
Flying Fortresses

B-24s.
See
Liberators

B-25s, 30, 134

B-29s.
See
Superfortresses

B-47s, 265

B-52s, 265

Baker, Addison, 98, 182

Ball, George, 270

ball bearing industry targets, 83–84, 85–86, 94, 95, 96, 97, 101–102, 116–117, 120–122, 127, 139, 188, 198–199, 203, 205, 215, 217, 220, 231, 242–243, 259–260

Ballmer, Ralph, 217

Bartley, Ronald, 134, 149, 154, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 170

Battle of the Atlantic, The
(Runyan and Copes), 57

Battle of the Bulge, 124, 247, 248–251

Battle Wagon
(bomber), 119

Bennett, Lawrence, 223

Berkeley Square, 40, 47, 48, 49, 58, 69, 70, 78, 82, 94, 96, 99, 139, 141, 259, 268, 274.
See also
Enemy Objectives Units (EOU)

Berlin, 68, 131–132, 149, 178, 188, 231, 232, 256, 257, 264–265

Berliner, Henry, 43–44, 46, 47, 63

Bf 109s, xiv, 74, 87, 93, 100, 104, 113, 114, 120, 139, 150, 156, 157, 167, 173, 178, 188, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 209, 211, 212, 214, 220, 221, 250, 252, 256

Bf 110s, 74, 114, 155, 156, 166, 178, 199, 200, 209, 210, 219

Big Week,
xi,
xvi–xv, 147–226, 227.
See also
strategic airpower; World War II

AWPD42, 49–51, 81

corridor of death, 178, 182

Day Five (Thursday), 204–217, 218, 221

Day Four (Wednesday), 197–203

Day One (Sunday), 147–176, 195

Day Six (Friday), 218–226

Day Three (Tuesday), 185–196, 205, 231, 254

Day Two (Monday) “scavenger hunt,” 177–184, 185, 195, 213

fighter escorts (“little friends”), 148, 155, 156, 182, 184, 189, 190, 192, 195, 203, 208, 209, 213, 217, 218–219, 229, 230–231

Operation Pointblank and, 86, 87, 88, 90, 93

success of, 228–232, 237–238, 240–241, 242, 259, 260, 274

weather impact, 147, 148, 158–159, 177, 179, 181, 183, 184, 185, 187, 189, 192, 198, 204, 207, 213, 214, 215, 218, 225

Black Sunday, 98, 110

Black Thursday, 117–122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 148, 204, 205, 256–257

Black Week, 110–124, 127, 129, 140, 274

Blakeslee, Don, 231

Bland, Quentin, 176, 180

“blind bombing” missions, 107–108, 109

blitzkrieg (lightning war), 18, 19, 27

Boeing, 21, 34, 61, 77, 109.
See also
Flying Fortresses; Superfortresses

Bonnier, Claude, 264

Bowman, Harold, 159

Braswell, Ralph, 173, 263–264

Braun, Eva (Hitler’s wife), 257

Breeding, Paul, 173–174

Breitenbach, Louis, 194–195

Brereton, Lewis (General), 97, 137, 145

Britain.
See also
Churchill, Winston (Prime Minister); Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO); Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS); Royal Air Force (RAF); World War II

aircraft production, 21, 22, 29

Air Ministry, 35–36, 45, 83, 84

airpower, history of, 14

air war preparation, 21, 22, 29

“friendly invasion,” 136, 273

Lend-Lease Act, 26, 31, 38

London Blitz, 19, 36, 89–90, 132, 179, 196, 206

Mk.XIV bombsight, 37

U-boat campaign, 84–85

World War I, 12, 36

British Bombing Survey Unit (BBSU), 234

Brokaw, Tom, 1

Brown, George Scratchley, 98, 182

Brown, Gerald, 200

Brown, Joe, 217

Buck, William, 179

Bufton, Sidney O., 83

Bundy, McGeorge, 272

Burns, Robert W., 170, 171

Bushy Park (“Widewing”), 33, 39, 47, 69, 138, 139, 198, 226.
See also
Eighth Air Force

Bussing (Captain), 211

Byrne, John, 201

Cabin in the Sky
(bomber), 163, 164, 165, 166, 172–173, 263

Caidin, Martin, 124, 152

Casablanca Conference (“Symbol”), 65–67, 68, 70–71, 76, 81, 82, 83, 84, 126, 129

Cassani (Lieutenant), 210

casualties

Battle of the Bulge, 250

Big Week, 157, 160–161, 162, 164, 167, 168, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 182, 183, 184, 189, 190, 192–193, 195, 196, 203, 205, 208, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 216, 217, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 262, 263

Black Week, 111, 112, 113, 116, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124

collapse of Germany, 255, 256

defining the mission, 76, 78

going deep at all costs, 96, 98–99, 100, 101, 104

learning curve, 54, 58

Luftwaffe, 19, 74, 112, 113, 115, 120, 176, 184, 195, 203, 208, 229–230, 230, 231, 251, 256

Operation Argument, 140

Operation Overlord, 229

Royal Air Force (RAF), 19, 128, 229

substance vs. promise, 66

turning point, grasping for, 125, 126, 128

Cate, James Lea, 31, 32–33, 35, 36–37, 52

Century Bombers
(LeStrange), 157

Chamberlain, Neville, 17, 18

Chardi, Merlin, 221–222

Chronicle of the 351st Bombardment Group, A
(Harris and Harbour), 181

Churchill, Winston (Prime Minister), xvi

air war, 19

atomic bomb program and, 96

Casablanca Conference, 65, 66–67

defining the mission, 73

going to war, 25–26, 37

Operation Overlord, 236

Operation Shingle, 146

Quadrant Conference, 125, 137

Roosevelt and, 65, 85

Sextant Conference, 128

Trident Conference, 85

“V for Victory” sign, 262

Clark, Mark, 146

Coffey, Thomas, 100, 101

Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO).
See also
Royal Air Force; US Army Air Forces (USAAF);
specific Operations

Combined Bomber Offensive Plan, 86, 93–94, 105

defining the mission, 74, 79

Interim Plan, 253

“maximum effort,” 95, 99, 104, 111, 112, 114, 116, 117, 131, 139, 141, 147, 155, 189, 197, 204, 219, 228, 254

nighttime raids controversy, 89

objectives of, 35, 67, 70, 77, 85, 127

Operation Pointblank, 86, 87, 88, 90, 93, 110, 125, 128

origins of, 52, 53, 67

target hierarchy, 68, 78, 81, 83, 85, 86, 94, 113, 128–129

Trident Conference, 85

turning point, grasping for, 125, 128

Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS).
See also
Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO)

Arcadia Conference, 25, 26–27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 43, 64, 65

Casablanca Conference (“Symbol”), 65–67, 68, 70–71, 76, 81, 82, 83, 84, 126, 129

defining the mission, 73–80

going deep at all costs, 95–109

Quadrant Conference, 125, 137

Sextant Conference, 128

turning point, grasping for, 125–135

Combined Operational Planning Committee (COPC), 83, 86, 127–128, 139

Combined Strategic Targets Committee, 244, 253

Command of the Air,
The
(Douhet), 43

Committee of Operations Analysts (COA), 81–84, 88

Consolidated Aircraft, 22, 34, 61, 77, 108.
See also
Liberators

Contribution of Air Power to the Defeat of Germany, The
(USSTAF), 243

Cook, Bill, 222–223

Copes, Jan, 57

Cox, John, 145

Crook, Charles, 194–195, 196

Crown, Richard, 159

Crusade in Europe
(Eisenhower), 54, 62

Dahl, Walter, 212–213

Daimler-Benz, 104, 155, 178, 213–214, 220

Daladier, Édouard (President), 17, 18

Davis, John, 220, 221

daylight bombing, 35, 36–37, 50, 51–52, 53, 55–56, 64, 68, 70, 114, 255, 259

D-Day (“Longest Day”), xiii–xvi, xix, 110, 141, 235, 236, 237–238, 239, 240, 259

Decision Over Schweinfurt
(Coffey), 100

defining the mission, 73–80

DeHavilland Mosquitoes, 188, 198

Dempsey, Thomas, 166

Dennison, Gil, 181

Dick, Glen, 159

Dickey, Raymond, 203

Distinguished Service Crosses, 98, 182

Distinguished Unit Citations, 156, 182, 192, 210–211

Doenitz, Karl, 75, 269

Doherty, Robert E., 183, 223–224

D’Olier, Franklin Woolman, 270

Donovan, William J. “Wild Bill,” 42, 47

Doolittle, James Harold “Jimmy,” xviii

Big Week, 174, 175, 177, 196, 198, 204

collapse of Germany, 244

going to war, 29, 30–31

learning curve, 62, 63

Operation Argument, 138, 145

Operation Overlord, 239

post-WWII, 265, 268

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
(movie), 265

Dornier Do 217s, 115

Douglas Aircraft, 21, 34, 77, 108, 109, 266, 273

Douhet, Giulio, 43

Draper, William Henry, Jr., 272–273

Dueben, Eugene, 167

Eaker, Ira Clarence, xviii

Big Week, 226

Black Week, xviii, 118

Casablanca Conference, 66–67, 76

collapse of Germany, 254

defining the mission, 73, 79

Enemy Objectives Units (EOU), 39

going deep at all costs, 96, 98, 102–103, 107

going to war, 32, 36

learning curve, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 63

Luftwaffe collapse, 125–126, 256–257

Operation Argument, 138, 146

Operation Pointblank, 83

post-WWII, 266, 272

substance vs. promise, 63, 66–67, 70

Earle, Edward, 82, 83

East Anglia, 33, 39, 77, 96, 100, 109, 111, 112, 119, 120, 146, 147, 148, 149, 154, 163, 169, 175, 218, 259

economists of EOU, 46, 48

Eighth Air Force,
x,
xvi–xvii.
See also
Anderson, Frederick Lewis, Jr.; Big Week; Eaker, Ira Clarence; Mathies, Archie; Nelson, Clarence Richard, Jr. “Dick”; US Army Air Forces (USAAF); Williamson, Charles Glendon “Glen”