Скачать или смотреть [Pt.2] The “Wrong Way” Escort That Saved Every Bomber

They called it the “wrong way” formation—then bomber losses collapsed.

One fighter group rewrote escort doctrine by hunting the Luftwaffe first.

In the winter of 1943–44, the Eighth Air Force faced brutal daylight-bombing attrition over Europe. Colonel Hub Zemke and the 56th Fighter Group took P-47 Thunderbolts and defied close-escort orthodoxy, pushing fighters forward to disrupt German formations before they could mass for head-on attacks.

This WWII air war deep dive follows how offensive escort tactics, “freelance” sweeps, and smart use of altitude and spacing turned escort from a shield into a spear—changing bomber survival, forcing the Luftwaffe into constant disadvantage, and reshaping how air superiority was fought from Big Week onward. Expect mission-level analysis, the logic of formation warfare, and the real reason visibility near bombers mattered less than breaking the enemy’s organization.

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