Is it permissable for someone never part of UK forces to offer an opinion here ?
My own feeling has always been that the crews of bomber command suffered a terrible injustice.
They were never consulted as to the rights or wrongs of the campaign ... as forces of the crown they were given orders and like loyal combatants carried out those orders to the best of their ability and many died doing it, night after night.... after night.
I’ve often thought that the attention focused on the pilots of fighter command to be somewhat disproportionate... natural, as this was the modern day version of Knights in combat.... and there’s no doubting that there were some very special people doing the job. Courage is a quality that we each have to a varying degree but I think can be divided into at least two types... the courage of instant combat...high adrenaline rush and short lived action... and cold courage... the sort of courage that I think of as 4 o’clock in the morning courage. Going out knowing that for many hours ahead you will be in constant peril doing what you’re doing... The crews of bomber command faced this night after night... interceptors, flak, going in and coming out...and every day a few empty seats at the table... not surprising that they avoided getting to know the replacements... No glamour just losses and darkness before the next 5, 6 or 7 hour trip and more empty seats... a grinding down of ones courage over weeks and months. These men were not for the most part self elected warriors... they were draftsmen, insurance actuators, mechanics and plumbers and those that survived went back to those mundane occupations... Very special people...
As for the rights and wrongs of the campaign... well... the Japanese war ended after two bombs were dropped that caused the sort of devastation that bomber Harris was trying to achieve with thousand bomber raids... so maybe the strategy was sound but it was taking just too many aicraft and bombs to achieve it. It’s a never ending debate that must not be allowed to detact from the true heroism of very ordinary men doing a very extraorinary job... under orders.