Allied air superiority in 1944: P-47 D Razorback decided it?

[drgondog]

What you have to keep in mind when looking at LW Day Fighter losses in the west is that until mid to summer 1943, the 8th AF incursions were largely met by LuftFlotte/Jagddivision 3. Until August-September timeframe LBfh Mitte was the defense of Germany responsibility with Jafu-H Ruhr (i.e I.&III. JG 3 plus JG 1) plus Jagddivion was equipped largely with JG 1 plus NZG 3 and ZG 26 plus Jagddivision 5 with elements of JG 27, 50, 51, 106 NZG 101, etc) while JG2 and JG 26 bore the brunt on the coastal battlefield vs RAF and USAAF.

The concentrated losses to fighters began in the September, 1943 range and you can see a steady increase from there. You should keep in mind that two factors were at play, The first is the losses as percentage of available strength and Milch's foresight lead to a shift toward Day fighters and increased production. In concert with this, the fighters were quickly replaced and most of the shot down fighters either crash landed or the pilots bailed out successfully so you really have to look at the KIA/WIA charts for Q3 to Q4 to Q1 1944 and Q2 1944 to see the impact of long range escorts.

Caldwell has good data on that trend including the actuals attributed to Defense of the Reich.

Regards,

Bill