warplanes ww2 dogfight how to down bombers

Missing from the data? Every plane that had been shot down.īut the research wasn’t a wasted effort. The researchers had only looked at bombers who’d returned to base. Wald's review pointed out a critical flaw in the analysis. Wald had fled Nazi-occupied Austria and worked in New York with other academics to help the war effort.

The analysis was completely wrong.īefore the planes were modified, a Hungarian-Jewish statistician named Abraham Wald reviewed the data. Increase the armor on the plane's wings and body.īut there was a problem. Most damage was to the wings and body of the plane. The data began to show a clear pattern (see picture).

The researchers poured over the data looking for vulnerabilities. After each mission, the bullet holes and damage from each bomber was painstakingly reviewed and recorded. The naval researchers knew they needed hard data to solve this problem and went to work. Many bombers were getting shot down on runs over Germany. During World War II, researchers at the Center for Naval Analysis faced a critical problem.

Warplanes ww2 dogfight how to down bombers