Marsh Is.#483 Big Week-US Bombs Germany - 1994 Imperforate Mint Issue
February 20, 1944 The “Big Week” was an all-out aerial assault against Germany’s war materials factories and fuel depots. Most of these strategic targets were costly to bomb, due to their location well beyond the range of conventional Allied fighter escorts. Without escort protection, the loss of bombers was tremendous. With the introduction of the P-51 Mustang, a faster, lighter plane equipped with extra fuel tanks that could be jettisoned when empty, the Allies now believed that the war could be won in the skies. Although the “Big Week” destroyed or damaged more than half of Germany’s aircraft facilities, Hitler was able to sustain the loss and eventually regain vital factory output. However he could not afford the loss of over 600 experienced pilots that the P-51s had shot out of the sky. Allied planes had decimated the German Air Force to such an extent that General Eisenhower confidently said to his men preparing to storm Normandy, “If you see airplanes overhead, they will be ours!”
Starting at $22.50
Starting at $19.95
