AND THEN THE SKY CLEARED - DEC 24 1944

December 16th, 1944 marked the day that the German offensive through the Ardennes began. Generally known as the Battle of the Bulge, the offensive took the allied forces by surprise. Moreover, due to the bad weather the Allied forces were unable to put one of its most potent Forces into action. These Forces were the Air-Forces of both the USAAF and RAF. The 8th Air Force in particular was held on the ground during the first week of the German offensive. This all changed when a weather forecast predicted that the skies would be clear the next day.

It was upon this weather forecast that prompted a maximum effort mission by the 8th Air Force. December 24th, 1944 was the day that the largest air armada of strategic bombers ever would take to the skies. The mission: to severely hamper the Luftwaffe operations as well as attacking tactical targets.

Based on primary sources And then the sky cleared, December 1944: the largest mission of the 8th Air Force describes the planning process and execution of this mission in great detail. It was not only the largest mission ever, but also saw the loss of a General and other tragedies.