Originally posted by Preuss
Zo then, Herr Cogburn....
Vy kan der Luftwaffe airmen hit a tank in a 20 mile square, possibly kamoflaged und on ze move, and yet be unable to shtrike a large, smoke belching refinery mit no mobility? Flak interference? Smoke screens? Pardon the cheek...I just really want to know.
The noive, what cheek. I think the differences are from a number of factors, but primarily the difficulty in knocking out a factory compared to a single tank, or group. As you say, the flak makes a difference, and the Soviets had a huge force of flak weapons defending their cities. The Germans were never really able to drop enough loads of bombs in part due to this.
However, I look at it this way - a tank gets hit or comes close and it is out of action, at least requiring repair from near hits that might flip them over. A factory can be hit numerous times but the equipment salvages and production resumed quickly - like Speer accomplished. The more bombs hit, the less likely this can happen. An example would be the large tank factories in Stalingrad which kept turning out tanks for awhile after fighting reached the area, even though the factories were damaged.
Also some parts of the factory, hidden under a roof, are more critical than others, which again means numbers of bombs are important, as wiping out the workers lunchroom causes less damage than the vat of molten steel. And there were smoke generators used by some nations, and other camouflage by all sides. Add fake smokestacks, shut the factory down before the bombers arrive, and what is the actual smokestack?
Good question, and I doubt I have answered it completely.
