Comments on: Facing Armageddon

By: Shock and Awe No. 4 « culture

Shock and Awe No. 4 « culture — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:12:05 +0000

[...] Shot of Guernica, after the bombardment. Found on an Air Minded post about aerial [...]

By: Ricardo Reis

Ricardo Reis — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:57:23 +0000

No apologies needed :)

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:57:51 +0000

I make no apologies for not talking about Tokyo, since my topic is Britain and the bomber, not a general history of bombing! Even Dresden is outside my temporal range, but I mentioned that at least partly to show that I wasn’t out to bag the whole German people (of whom there were a number in the audience!)

By: CK

CK — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:12:22 +0000

Thanks Brett. I do love this blog and good luck with the thesis (and I realise its European focus), but I would have thought that something should be mentioned about the bombing of Tokyo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II

…with a conservative estimate of 100,000 deaths in a single night.

Obviously by this stage of the war any concepts of morality were well out the window, and the Japanese war cabinet made Hitler’s bunker look like a model of reasoned liberal debate, but it was THE apogee of strategic bombing in WW2.

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:28:54 +0000

Thanks all!

DCA:

Yes, The War in the Air is definitely an important part of this literature (and arguably The War of the Worlds anticipates it too, in some respects). It’s partly why I start in 1908, too.

It’s a good question about the stats — in fact I think I’ll work it deserves a post of its own. The short answer, though, is that the ratio of casualties per ton decreased between WWI and WWII, and the V-weapons had higher ratios than bombs.

Bob:

Would love to publish a book from it … once it’s submitted, I’ll start looking for a publisher.

CK:

Sorry, I doubt any of the V-Force will make it in!

Ricardo:

Yes, you’re right on all counts. Also, by the end, the air defences of Japan were so weak that the B-29s could discard their defensive armament and fly low, maximising their bombload.

By: Ricardo Reis

Ricardo Reis — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:05:52 +0000

Last night I just realized something interesting. American bombing of Japan, with incendiary bombs, seems to be much more devasting than Europe. At least it looks like several Dresdens because of the wood/paper construction of japanese cities. And, at the same time, it is taken like a sideshow, the repercussions on the imaginary are some orders of magnitude lower than the London Blitz or Dresden. Obliterated by the A bomb?

By: CK

CK — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:35:51 +0000

Brett, sterling work, bur you should surely find a place for the magnificent Vulcan Bomber.

Potential deaths in the millions something of a shame, of course, and somewhat outside the thesis. But hey, lovely clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wSNxC4PfaY&feature=related

By: Bob Meade

Bob Meade — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:58:43 +0000

Looks good. Potential for a book in this too, I think you need a UK publisher.

By: DCA

DCA — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 03:54:35 +0000

Great stuff: please finish soon, and get it published!

What about Wells’ _The War in the Air_? As I remember, this also predicted the total destruction of civilization.

And (the statistician in me asks) was the ratio of casualties to tonnage of explosive higher in WWI than WWII? What about for bombers vs V-weapons?

By: Things noted « Mercurius Politicus

Things noted « Mercurius Politicus — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:45:59 +0000

[...] Holman on Britain’s relationship with the bomber, [...]