The map displays the European and North African locations bombed during World War 2 by the US Army 8th and 9th Air Forces as part of the US strategic bombing campaign. Using the THOR (Theatre of War) dataset created by Jenns Robertson, we mapped each bombing mission conducted over Europe and North Africa during World War Two. One main research question is: How strategic was the strategic bombing campaign? In other words, to what degree were operational requirements balanced against strategic needs?

We analyzed the bombing missions to detect space-time clusters, indicating where and when the campaign ebbed and flowed. We discovered six clusters, shown by the colors of the mission locations, describing the campaign's operational rather than strategic needs. By selecting each cluster separately using the checkboxes, the user can visualize each specific operational cluster. The first cluster is in North Africa, the second in South Italy, the third in Central Europe and North Italy, the fourth in Western France (Normandy - Pas de Calais), the fifth in Western Germany, and the sixth in Central-East Germany.

The small dots represent missions. Multiple missions could exist at each location. The large circles indicate the bomb tonnage dropped on a location across all clusters. The visualization includes a drift line. This line connects the centers of the clusters and depicts the direction in which the strategic campaign drifted over time.

Our study concludes that the campaign followed specific operations instead of being independent of them. The drift line advances from the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, then to France, and only in the last war period to Germany.

Instructions for using the tools

• The interface allows for the individual display of the specific clusters, the tonnage dropped at a specific location, the drifting, and the estimation of bombing intensity at particular times.
• Users can also select specific locations, such as circular or rectangular selection spaces, at specific times. They can also select specific cities or localities.
• The political map can depict the main divisions of Europe at a specific point in time.

Project Leads & Collaborators:

• Project Director: Sorin Adam Matei, Ph.D., FORCES Director
• Project Co-lead: Robert Hutchinson, Ph.D., SAASS
• Historian: Robert Kirchubel, Ph.D., Lt Col (r) , FORCES Director of Historical Research and Outreach
• Software Developers: Tyler Haire, FORCES Junior Fellow , and Dharmik Patel