A rigorous new analysis of America's legendary 'Big Week' air campaign which enabled the Allies to gain air superiority before D-Day.The USAAF's mighty World War II bomber forces were designed for unescorted, precision daylight bombing, but no-one foresaw the devastation that German radar-directed interceptors would inflict on them. Following the failures of 1943's Schweinfurt-Regensburg raids, and with D-Day looming, the Allies urgently needed to crush the Luftwaffe's ability to oppose the landings.In February 1944, the Allies conceived and fought history's first-ever successful offensive counter­air (OCA) campaign, Operation Argument or "Big Week." Attacking German aircraft factories with hundreds of heavy bombers, escorted by the new long-range P-51 Mustang, it aimed both to slash aircraft production and force the Luftwaffe into combat, allowing the new Mustangs to take their toll on the German interceptors. This expertly written, illustration-packed account explains how the Allies finally began to win air superiority over Europe, and how Operation Argument marked the beginning of the Luftwaffe's fall.

INTRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES-The Pointblank Directive-Aircraft: their capabilities, roles, and missions-CommandersORDERS OF BATTLE, February 1944 DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES-The Luftwaffe's air defence system-Aircraft: their capabilities, roles, and missions-Commanders CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES-"Black Week" - the crisis of American daylight strategicbombing-The Luftwaffe's response-Operation Argument planning THE CAMPAIGN-Eighth AF Mission 226, February 20-Eighth AF Mission 228, February 21-Eighth AF Mission 230, February 22-Fifteenth AF Missions, February 22, 23, and 24-Eighth AF Mission No.233, February 24-Eighth and Fifteenth AF Missions, February 25AFTERMATH AND ASSESSMENTBIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX