The raid on the ball-bearing factory in Schweinfurt, Germany, cost the 8th Air Force sixty B-17 bombers shot down and many more damaged. The 305th Bomb Group, in particular, was hard hit, losing thirteen out of fifteen bombers launched on the mission. Most of the bomber losses occurred after the Allied fighter escort withdrew. The mission is also significant in that the heavy losses incurred finally convinced the 8th Air Force that continuous fighter escort was needed to protect the bombers from unacceptable losses. The scenario depicts an attack on the depleted and scattered 305th BG. The German fighters are armed with air-to-air rockets.
