<P> In reality, the day bombing was "precision bombing" only in the sense that most bombs fell somewhere near a specific designated target such as a railway yard . Conventionally, the air forces designated as "the target area" a circle having a radius of 1000 feet around the aiming point of attack . While accuracy improved during the war, Survey studies show that, in the over-all, only about 20% of the bombs aimed at precision targets fell within this target area . In the fall of 1944, only seven percent of all bombs dropped by the Eighth Air Force hit within 1,000 feet of their aim point . The only offensive ordnance possessed by the USAAF that was guidable, the VB - 1 Azon, saw very limited service in both Europe and in the CBI Theater late in the war . </P> <P> Nevertheless, the sheer tonnage of explosive delivered by day and by night was eventually sufficient to cause widespread damage, and, more importantly from a military point of view, forced Germany to divert resources to counter it . This was to be the real significance of the Allied strategic bombing campaign--resource allocation . For the sake of improving the US air - force Fire bombing capabilities a mock - up German Village was built up and repeatedly burned down . It contained full - scale replicas of German residential homes . Fire bombing attacks proved quite successful, in a single 1943 attack on Hamburg roughly 50,000 civilians were killed and practically the entire city destroyed . </P> <P> With the arrival of the brand - new Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, command of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe was consolidated into the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). With the addition of the Mustang to its strength, the Combined Bomber Offensive was resumed . Planners targeted the Luftwaffe in an operation known as' Big Week' (20--25 February 1944) and succeeded brilliantly--losses were so heavy German planners were forced into a hasty dispersal of industry and the day fighter arm never fully recovered . </P> <P> The dismissal of General Ira Eaker at the end of 1943 as commander of the Eighth Air Force and his replacement by American aviation legend, Maj. Gen Jimmy Doolittle signaled a change in how the American bombing effort went forward over Europe . Doolittle's major influence on the European air war occurred early in the year when he changed the policy requiring escorting fighters to remain with the bombers at all times . With his permission, initially performed with P - 38s and P - 47s with both previous types being steadily replaced with the long - ranged P - 51s as the spring of 1944 wore on, American fighter pilots on bomber defense missions would primarily be flying far ahead of the bombers' combat box formations in air supremacy mode, literally "clearing the skies" of any Luftwaffe fighter opposition heading towards the target . This strategy fatally disabled the twin - engined Zerstörergeschwader heavy fighter wings and their replacement, single - engined Sturmgruppen of heavily armed Fw 190As, clearing each force of bomber destroyers in their turn from Germany's skies throughout most of 1944 . As part of this game - changing strategy, especially after the bombers had hit their targets, the USAAF's fighters were then free to strafe German airfields and transport while returning to base, contributing significantly to the achievement of air superiority by Allied air forces over Europe . </P>

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