Food for Thought

Week 13: Tuesday, April 20

After you do the readings, check out the World War II gallery.

Sir Arthur Harris, Bomber Offensive (Section A: Bonaventure to Joseph; Section B: Allwarden to Johnson)

Sir Arthur Harris took over the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command in February 1942 and headed it for the rest of the war. Although most Britons supported the bombing campaign against Germany, a number of prominent figures criticized it on both military and moral grounds. In this excerpt from his autobiography, Harris defends the bombing offensive.

1) What were the inadequacies of Bomber Command when Harris took it over? What were the difficulties Harris had to overcome throughout the war?

2) Why was Harris so intent on mounting a substantial bombing campaign as soon as possible? How did he think a strategic bombing campaign would help win the war?

3) How and why did the switch from precision bombing to area bombing take place? What were the objectives of area bombing?

4) What lessons did Harris learn from the Germans during the Battle of Britain? Why did the Germans fail?

Other Questions for Harris, Bomber Offensive

1) According to Harris, what are the best targets and what are the best means of attacking them?

Summary Report, United States Strategic Bombing Survey (1945) (Section A: June to Snell; Section B: Landri to Ziino)

1) In what ways were the night raids of the RAF effective?

2) What were the important lessons of the American raid on Schweinfurt in 1943?

3) In what way did the bombing campaign destroy the German air force?

4) Of the oil, steel, transportation, and secondary attacks, which were decisive?

Other Questions for the Summary Report

1) Why was it so difficult to assess the true effectiveness of strategic bombing?

2) What conclusions does the study extract concerning the electric grid?