Military Affairs (nonnaval)

The Oxford Companion to World War II The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military Further reading

pattern bombing

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

pattern bombing, method devised by Maj-General LeMay during the Eighth US Army Air Force's (USAAF) daytime strategic air offensive against Germany in which the entire bombload of a formation was dropped simultaneously. The British had already discovered how inaccurate their bombing was (see Butt report) and pattern bombing was introduced by the USAAF to increase the statistical probability of more bombs hitting their target or straddling it, especially when they were being dropped by inexperienced crews. The bombers were led to the target by a veteran flight leader who released a smoke marker when the release point had been reached.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "pattern bombing." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "pattern bombing." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-patternbombing.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "pattern bombing." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-patternbombing.html

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pattern bombing

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

pattern bombing the bombing of a target from a number of aircraft according to a prescribed pattern intended to produce the maximum effect.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"pattern bombing." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"pattern bombing." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-patternbombing.html

"pattern bombing." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-patternbombing.html

Learn more about citation styles

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