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With this, his own brand of diplomacy, Eaker broke down British reserve, made of his R.A.F. colleagues not only willing allies but firm friends. British skepticism of U.S. daylight-bombing theories was overcome. Day or night bombing long ago ceased to be an issue between the U.S. and British air leaders—in Eaker's own words: "There is no conflict between day bombing and night bombing, each being part of a completed pattern and supplementing the whole."
In his headquarters, a sprawling, ugly brick building on the outskirts of London, Eaker works with relentless energy from 8 o'clock each morning until late at night. At his residence, a modern house in suburban surroundings with tennis court and a golf course near by, he entertains all kinds of people at large and frequent parties. Eaker is a thoughtful host who not infrequently will pay more attention to a. U.S. lieutenant awed by the gold braid of air marshals than to the air marshals themselves.
Here, too, he sits up at long sessions of poker. His favorite remark, when newcomers from the U.S. come to his house for dinner: "Well, boys, here's a couple of new suckers. Let's take their money away from them." In the session that follows, he usually does.
One of Eaker's closest friends in England is Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur T. Harris, of the R.A.F. Bomber Command. Eaker's arrival in England coincided with Harris' appointment as chief of the big British bombers. Eaker is a frequent guest at the Harris home, is a favorite of Harris' small daughter Jackie. He gives her chocolate from his Post Exchange ration. She gives him pert talk, hints delicately that he is getting bald.
Eaker and Harris like to talk over what they want to do after the war. Eaker sticks to his dream of running a country newspaper. Harris wants to go fishing. They have decided that Oregon is the best spot for both of them—good spot for a small paper, wonderful fishing.
The Eighth's Mission. But before Eaker can have his newspaper and Harris his fishing, they both want to win World War II by air power. They know now that the show is on, and that this is the showdown. They know that the Germans are straining to stiffen their air defenses—they have felt it in the losses of their planes. If they are stiffened indefinitely it can eventually make the air war in the west very expensive for the Allies—perhaps too expensive to continue.
In the war in the air the U.S. planes are whittling at German fighter strength, shooting down more than four planes for every bomber they lose. They are also gnawing at the industrial machine that builds German planes. But so far German fighter production has been rising.
Possibly this month will see a decrease. If it does the R.A.F. and the Eighth will be over the hump.
If German fighter production falls, the process will snowball. What the R.A.F. and the Eighth need now are planes & more planes to overwhelm the German defenses. They have a schedule of what they want to do and what they need, and they are not far behind it. When their full strength is reached, they believe they can crush Germany. For Eaker of the Eighth and his R.A.F. colleagues, victory is in the air.