April 1946

The scientists at Los Almos had finally produced an improved design of the gun bomb that weighed one half the weight of the first test unit. The current version of the implosion bomb that was tested on the desert was slightly lighter. Unfortunately no plane in existence except the experimental XB-29 could carry either bomb. And the XB-29 project had been put on hold to allow the improvement of the B-17 to continue. Even with a crash program it could not be made ready to fly for at least a year. The B-17SA, nine generations after the B-17J that Dolittle and his men flew on the first Japan reconnaissance flights was now being used for those flights. When the short-lived R model came out someone noticed that there were only eight more model letters available, hence the next variant was the SA. Few of the pre-J variants even existed. Most had been shot down or scrapped as they were replaced by the newer models. Someone at Boeing who kept track of the materials used in the planes was convinced that some of the aluminum used in the recent versions had been in planes in two earlier versions. The aluminum had already flown over Germany as part of two other planes. The Luftwaffe now had two operational jet fighters but they were available only in very limited numbers. They could have been a problem for the B-17SA’s had they been made in greater quantities but the German industry was unable to produce them at a rate of more than ten a month and they were so unstable that more were destroyed in operational accidents than actual battle. The top of the line fighters, P-51, P-47, and F-4U were modified. The three outboard .50 calibers were replaced by 20 MM cannons to give more range and hitting power. This helped in fighting the jets.

Hitler’s sky mines had also been a failure. They were unable to place them at a height that would threaten the B-17. Only the longest range flack guns could reach them and this risk could be reduced by not flying directly over the actual gun site. At the extreme vertical range, the guns could engage targets that were very nearly overhead but if they weren’t directly overhead, their range was inadequate to be effective. Even the venerable screaming 88 with the longest range ammunition was unable to hit a B-17 unless it was nearly overhead. There had been much concern about bombing from the extremely high altitudes, primarily concerns with accuracy. As time went on the men doing the bombing became more proficient with the regular crews having better bombing scores than the elite of just a few years ago. Some of this was the improvements in the Nordon bomb sight, some the improvements to the B-17 that made it a more stable platform, and even some to the reduction in distractions during bombing brought by a reduction in fighter and flack threats. But the big change was the maturity of the crews. Many of them were in their third tour of twenty eight missions. Three years ago it was unlikely that anyone would finish a single tour. Now, flying bombers over Germany was slightly less risky than flying supplies over the Atlantic.