Inside Stories USAAF ‘HEAVIES’
The American bombing raid on Lille, France on October 9, 1942 heralded a new phase in World War Two’s aerial fighting, as Andrew Arthy explains
The first time that more than 100 American heavy bombers despatched across the English Channel was at the hand of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The target was Lille in northern France, the date October 9, 1942. It was an eye-opener for the German pilots, who scrambled to meet the attack as they discovered the immense threat posed by the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators. At the same time, it was an important opportunity for the Eighth to demonstrate the worth of the four-enginedbomber as a potentially warwinning weapon. Sadly, for more than a few of the men involved on both sides, it would prove to be their final mission.
Early raids
The operation to Lille was the 14th and most ambitious carried out by VIII Bomber Command (BC) at that point. The USAAF had great confidence in the abilities of its strategic bombers operating over German-held territory during daylight hours and, as a result, the top brass focused much attention on the results of these raids, as did the…
