Assumptions about civilian collapse are traced to Giulio Douhet's theory that overwhelming aerial attack could end wars quickly. His imagined raids required bomber formations delivering extraordinary quantities of chemical or biological weapons rather than the conventional high explosive loads actually used. Comparisons with the B-52, B-36, and B-1 show how far real payload capacity remained below the hundred-ton example discussed. The comparison separates an influential theory of strategic air power from the engineering and operational limits of the aircraft available to carry it out.
Notable Point · 20:26-24:50
Why Douhet's strategic-bombing theory outran bomber payloads
The panel contrasts Giulio Douhet's vision of city-destroying chemical and biological bombardment with the much smaller payloads even very large bombers could carry.