Ponder this

[blackhawknj]

You could argue the Germans lost the air war in 1936. General Walter Wever, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe and a strong advocate of strategic bombing, was killed in an air crash. Goering told his successor, Albert Kesselring, to scrap the 4 engine bomber programs. "The Fuehrer will never ask me how big our bombers are, but how many !" They tried to fight the Battle of Britain with a strictly tactical air force.

[Vern Humphrey]

You could argue the Germans lost the air war in 1936. General Walter Wever, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe and a strong advocate of strategic bombing, was killed in an air crash. Goering told his successor, Albert Kesselring, to scrap the 4 engine bomber programs. "The Fuehrer will never ask me how big our bombers are, but how many !" They tried to fight the Battle of Britain with a strictly tactical air force.

Indeed, nobody had anything to match the B17. With it's power, Browning .50 caliber machine guns, and Norden bombsight, it was unique.

[Allen]

Indeed, nobody had anything to match the B17. With it's power, Browning .50 caliber machine guns, and Norden bombsight, it was unique.

But, at the beginning of the war we had little or none of this. No one knew if, where and when there would be another attack. FDR even rode in Al Capone's bullet resistant car that had been impounded to the capitol to get congressional approval to wage war. There was much chaos--everyone was running around like a head with it's chicken cut off.

[Vern Humphrey]

But, at the beginning of the war we had little or none of this.

True, we had nowhere enough of anything. But the point was, no other nation had a bomber like that.

The US Army, Navy and Marines did extraordinary things on a shoelace budget before the war and sowed the seeds of victory that way.

[lyman]

not just the 17, the B24, and in the Pacific, B29 did wonders,

and the fact we could crank them out in short order

[Allen]

At the start of WW11 America's military strength was smaller than Portugal's. At the end it was the greatest followed by the USSR.

[Vern Humphrey]

not just the 17, the B24, and in the Pacific, B29 did wonders,

and the fact we could crank them out in short order

But it was t he B17 that we had at the start of the war. The Garand Rifle, the Higgins Boat, the artillery Fire Direction Center and the B17 all came as a shock to our enemies.