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Feb. 20-25, 1944: "The Big Week"

Published May 01, 2015

AAF bombers during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo)
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AAF bombers during World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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During "The Big Week," 3,300 bombers were dispatched from England and 500 from Italy, with 137 of the former and 89 of the latter being lost. Also, 28 AAF fighters were shot down by the enemy (by both flak and interceptors) in desperate defense of the hinterland.

The number of U.S. personnel killed, missing and seriously wounded totaled 2,600, but 75 percent of the buildings attacked in the German aircraft industrial system were destroyed. In addition, 600 Luftwaffe airplanes were claimed as destroyed in vicious air battles over Germany.

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