Re tactical air support. First you have to have troops on the ground to support so this is not an option bar North Africa and Italy so the Wallied air forces need to do something for four years until NW Europe is invaded and that has to be strategic bombing. This is a partial explanation for the Soviet tactical strength. They had troops to support on the ground from mid 1941. In late 1944/1945 a limit on tactical operations in NW Europe was logistics. A shortage of bad weather airfields, avoiding a drain on the already stretched supply line that could not service all ground forces at the same time and the time limits over the target of operation from England.
A limit on the ability of wallied strategic bombers to cary out these more specific attacks is simple accuracy. Railway viaducts and tunnels were pretty well invulnerable to more than moderate damage until the earthquake bombs came into use and these are the key nodes for bulk transport. It needed until late 1944 before daylight low level bombing by heavy bombers were feasible with the weakness of the Luftwaffe. You are needing accuracies in the low tens of metres or less to knock out the key parts of systems. Factory machines and major installations can function even when the containing building is damaged. In cities the heat of mass building fires does more damage to the key items. It is also worth remembering that until 1944 much of occupied Europe was out of range of any daylight bombing even from Mosquitos.
Thus the wallied situation until late 1944 was that they could not bomb small targets accurately as they could not operate at low level in daylight. They had a duty to prosecute the war so they chose to use a method within their abilities. Before mid 1943 they were lucky to find the right county or city never mind one particular building, at night or from 20,000 feet.
To operate a successful specific key industry you need to find a POD which allows you to have the ability to bomb accurately to with low figures of metres in daylight over the majority of occupied Europe and have a bomber force that can drop earthquake bombs on viaducts and tunnels. Not to mention mining canals as well as OTL sea waterways (mining is not cool in AH but is effective and canals and rivers show up well at night).
With 20/20 hindsight we can see where they could have better deployed the period resources but a true sea change needs a POD as above.
BTW, for the P51 fanboys. They could not escort over all occupied Europe and they could not do anything about low level flak over the targets even if they descended to seek out flak sites, which are often well hidden and well able to defend themselves.
A limit on the ability of wallied strategic bombers to cary out these more specific attacks is simple accuracy. Railway viaducts and tunnels were pretty well invulnerable to more than moderate damage until the earthquake bombs came into use and these are the key nodes for bulk transport. It needed until late 1944 before daylight low level bombing by heavy bombers were feasible with the weakness of the Luftwaffe. You are needing accuracies in the low tens of metres or less to knock out the key parts of systems. Factory machines and major installations can function even when the containing building is damaged. In cities the heat of mass building fires does more damage to the key items. It is also worth remembering that until 1944 much of occupied Europe was out of range of any daylight bombing even from Mosquitos.
Thus the wallied situation until late 1944 was that they could not bomb small targets accurately as they could not operate at low level in daylight. They had a duty to prosecute the war so they chose to use a method within their abilities. Before mid 1943 they were lucky to find the right county or city never mind one particular building, at night or from 20,000 feet.
To operate a successful specific key industry you need to find a POD which allows you to have the ability to bomb accurately to with low figures of metres in daylight over the majority of occupied Europe and have a bomber force that can drop earthquake bombs on viaducts and tunnels. Not to mention mining canals as well as OTL sea waterways (mining is not cool in AH but is effective and canals and rivers show up well at night).
With 20/20 hindsight we can see where they could have better deployed the period resources but a true sea change needs a POD as above.
BTW, for the P51 fanboys. They could not escort over all occupied Europe and they could not do anything about low level flak over the targets even if they descended to seek out flak sites, which are often well hidden and well able to defend themselves.