Originally Posted by
Traffic_Is_Er_Was
Not sure that claim would stand up to scrutiny.
I would tend to agree. Post war analysis showed that Germany's weapons output month to month increased throughout the war until January 1945 in spite of the relentless bombing. The level of resources dedicated to the Allied air offensive was simply not offset by the level of damage on the ground.
The greatest contribution to victory by the Allied air offensive was the eventual grinding down of the Luftwaffe by the daytime bombing offensive (which the RAF had little to do with), leading to Allied air superiority. Although the Germans were still able to produce fighter aircraft in large quantities, they eventually ran out of the skilled pilots to fly them.
While achieving air superiority was certainly a welcome result - I seriously doubt it was the primary outcome envisioned for the strategic bombing campaign in 1941/42.
This is in now way intended to downplay the heroism of the RAF airmen - just pointing out that historical 20-20 hindsight suggests those resources might have been better used.