“Big Week” 1944: Operation Argument and the breaking of the Jagdwaffe (Air Campaign, 27) Paperback – February 15, 2022

There have been over a dozen accounts of "Big Week", the Eight Air Force's week-long assault on the Luftwaffe during late February of 1944. I have read many of these, but learned some new things from this excellent account. For example, I never realized that the standard Focke-Wulf FW-190A weighed in at several thousand pounds more than a Messerschmitt Bf-109G--both of these aircraft were virtually the same size. On the negative side, the P-51B/C Mustangs of the time were armed with four, not six .50 cal Browning machine guns (the six-gun Mustangs began with the D model). During Big Week, thousands of German aircraft were destroyed in the factories, parked on airfields, and in the air, but Operation Argument resulted in the loss of hundreds of experienced pilots that the Jagdwaffe could not replace, opening the way for the success of the D-Day invasion less than four months later.

I don’t know if it is the authors or the editors who are to blame, but I am finding the “Air Campaigns” disappointing because of the errors.OK, it is not earth-shaking stuff. The Allies still win WWII. But when you find tiny errors that should have been recognized before publishing, the bigger facts seem to come into question.In this volume, while correctly explaining the Merlin engine improvement over the initial Allison engines, the author incorrectly states the new versions had six wing guns. In fact the P-51B/C series had four wing guns like the Allison Mustangs.This detailed description of the development of the main weapons of both side, and the biographies of the commanders, seemed superfluous to understanding the six days in February 1944 the saw the Luftwaffe lose control of the sky over Germany. The sections on the campaign are quite detailed and interesting, with details of the day’s activities and the claims and losses suffered by both sides. Having such a tight window on the war let the author write a fast-moving and intriguing story.But when he got to last chapter where the results were detailed, the lack of editing again raised its head. Dildy mentions in passing ‘Quesada’s two squadrons”, but apparently no one noticed that not even in the excellent index is General Elwood Quesada of the IXth tactical command mentioned. Not a huge error, but when reading the sentence, his name is unique enough to make his unknown relevance confusing.I still gave four stars because the object of the book – to detail the 1944 Operation Argument – was well done and highly readable. Recommended with reservations. 8-)

Book arrived in very good condition and packing was great.

The U.S. Army's Air Forces entered the Second World War in possession of a couple of excellent long-range bombers in the form of the B-17 and B24. Both were heavily armed to fight their way through enemy defenses. Heavy losses over Germany forced a relook.This Osprey Air Campaign book takes a close-up look at Operation Argument in 1944. Its dual intent was to destroy the Luftwaffe's supporting industrial infrastructure by bombing, while eroding Germany's air defenses by sending long range fighters to escort U.S. bombers. Operation Argument was deemed a success, based on the attrition of German fighters.This reviewer appreciates the detailed dive into "Big Week", along with a nice selection of period photographs and battle diagrams. The book does not mention that the RAF had already learned these lessons, nor that initial bombing damage assessments were typically inaccurate. Operation Argument could only be a beginning. Recommended to students of the air war over Europe.

I must say that this is the first Osprey title to really rub me the wrong way. The overall narrative seems a bit too much of a list with perhaps too many details, but it's OK. What I (an American by the way), found so off putting was that the author never seems to miss a chance to slag off the operations of the RAF as simply "killing civilians". If you're not going to address what drove the RAF to night time area bombing and the the relative pros and cons of it in context (which I would not expect in this title), then don't be so flip about a campaign which cost over 50,000 RAF airman their lives. The air war over Germany, and later Japan, requires the careful examination of a whole range of aspects from the political to the tactical to be properly understood. Being so dismissive is disrespectful at best. Coming out so close to Steven J. Zaloga's superior 'The Oil Campaign 1944-45' perhaps made this title's relative weakness more apparent. I would certainly recommend Mr Zaloga's earlier Campaign title 'Operation Pointblank 1944' over Mr Dildy's effort.

thank you

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The actions of this 1 week changed the course of the airway. And because it is just 1 weeks action, it suits a small format study. There are whole books written about this week too, but this summary is very useful if you don't wish to engage a whole books worth.It lists each raid, and gets the bombing stats and numbers of aircraft involved woven in without being dry. It's useful to know these numbers. And mixed with first person detail, photos and charts, you come away with a good knowledge of what happened and why it was important.