Reference Entry
OPERATION FRANTIC
Two years after Midway, the United States Army Air Forces were striking deep into Axis-held Europe, and June brought another innovation. On June 2nd, 1944, heavy bombers based in Britain launched the first “shuttle bombing” mission of what became known as Operation Frantic. Instead of returning to their original airfields, the bombers hit rail yards and other targets in Eastern Europe and then continued on to land at air bases in the Soviet Union.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Operation Frantic shuttle bombing begins
Two years after Midway, the United States Army Air Forces were striking deep into Axis-held Europe, and June brought another innovation. On June 2nd, 1944, heavy bombers based in Britain launched the first “shuttle bombing” mission of what became known as Operation Frantic. Instead of returning to their original airfields, the bombers hit rail yards and other targets in Eastern Europe and then continued on to land at air bases in the Soviet Union. There they could be refueled, rearmed, and sent against additional targets before eventually flying home by another route. The operation demanded careful diplomatic coordination and complicated logistics, but it demonstrated the reach of Allied air power and created new options for attacking German supply lines from multiple directions. For the crews who flew these missions, the long legs over enemy territory and unfamiliar Soviet airfields added yet another layer of risk to an already dangerous strategic bombing campaign.
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