A Wing and a Prayer: Bombing the Reich

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“Good Luck, men; wish I were going with you.” In mid-1942, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) arrived in Britain equipped with B-17 Heavy Bombers. The B-17, nicknamed the “Flying Fortress” because of their heavy defensive armament. The USAAF Commanders adopted the strategy of taking on the Luftwaffe head on, in larger and larger air raids flying over Western Europe. The USAAF bombed the German war machine. A WING and a PRAYER is a design by Erik von Rossing where you assume the role of a Commander of a Squadron of B-17 “Flying Fortresses” stationed in England during World War II. Your Goal is to manage your squadron aircraft and complete a campaign consisting of a series of Daylight Bombing Missions against strategic Axis targets. To complete your mission it’s going to to take a wing and a prayer. Daylight Bombing Mission over Germany “As we approached the target the enormous field of flak ahead was unbelievable. And frightening! Our thoughts were ‘Good God! How can anything live through that?’ We all knew how accurate the flak was over Germany. The German gunners had intense radar control…. Boom, Boom, Wham! The heavy crashing noise came from below us. Before we could worry about it, the radio crackled, target ahead, prepare for bombing run”. - Unknown B-17 Crew Member