High-Altitude Daylight Precision Bombardment

In this chapter the operational requirements for conducting high-altitude daylight precision bombing are examined in “Practical Bombing Probabilities.” In this lecture, given at the conclusion of the ACTS Bombardment Course, Laurence Kuter examines the lessons learned from the bombing probability problems assigned during class. In doing so he reviews the detailed planning required to determine the number of bombers and bombs to assign to a target in order to be reasonably confident of success. The key factors that determine the likelihood of hitting the target are the number of aircraft flown/bombs dropped, the altitude of weapons delivery, and the accuracy of the bombsight. Kuter argues that improvement in bombsight accuracy is where the greatest gains in accuracy can be achieved.