A Brief History
On August 17, 1943, the U.S. 8th Air Force, the main American unit of heavy bombers stationed in England, launched 376 B-17 bombers against Schweinfurt and Regensburg in Germany, a raid that came to symbolize the dangers of unescorted bombing.
Digging Deeper
The ambitious plan was to attack Regensburg with 146 and Schweinfurt with 230 B-17s. The bombers were only escorted part of the way because the British Spitfires and American P-47 Thunderbolt fighters lacked the ability to cover the range. The escorting Spitfires could only accompany the bombers as far Antwerp, and the Thunderbolts could barely reach the far side of Belgium. The flight over the target areas in Germany would be unescorted on the approach and on the egress, leaving the heavily-armed Flying Fortresses to fend for themselves.
