Originally Posted by
Chugalug2
When it had to operate by night, then pretty well, yes. When it could operate by day it could take out precision targets, witness Tirpitz, Bielefeld Viaduct, etc, but with specialised weapons and specially trained crews and with potentially very great risk. There were exceptions of course, Chastise per this thread and Peenemunde at night for example. The latter used main force bombing from 8000ft and in a full moon, a very hazardous combination ameliorated by diversionary signs of a raid on Berlin and intruder attacks on the nightfighter bases that protected the target. Peenemunde was made possible by being on the coast and utilising H2S, and excellent work by the pathfinders. It was a very high risk operation justified by the importance of disrupting V2 production and testing.
Chugalug2, Peenemunde/ Hydra was the first use of a master bomber in John Searby and also the first main operational use of Scutage Musik by the Luftwaffe. At briefing crews were told that they were hitting a new nightfighter factory and if they didn't destroy it, they would be back again the next night! Was it a success? It delayed the introduction of the V2 by weeks or months depending on who you believe.The Germans fabricated damage to fool photo reconnaissance, so the bombers never went back. Perhaps the biggest victory of all was that the Germans had to move the production to the mountains of Thuringia, which was a huge drain on man power.