The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

The third chapter presents an overview of the different philosophies toward bombing between the US and Great Britain. When British prime minister Winston Churchill met American president Franklin Roosevelt in Casablanca, in 1943, to discuss war strategy, Churchill convinced his American counterpart to end their daytime bombing of Germany and join the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in carrying out nighttime bombing only. The reasoning was that the RAF had neither faith nor interest in precision bombing. Instead, they favored “area bombing” or “morale bombing”—that is, widespread, indiscriminate bombing over a large area intended to break the morale of the people, who would then pressure the German government to surrender.

Ira Eaker, a member of the Bomber Mafia, oversaw American bombers in Britain, the Eighth Air Force. General Hap Arnold, commander of all US air power, was with Roosevelt in Casablanca, and he summoned Eaker when he learned of Churchill’s demand. Eaker refused to give up easily, though, and once in Casablanca proceeded to petition Churchill to change his mind. He finally won over the prime minister with the argument that if the RAF bombed Germany at night and the Americans bombed during the day, the enemy would never get a reprieve.