What are contrails?
Contrails is an abbreviation for condensation trails. These are linear cloud-like water vapor formations that are formed when hot engine exhaust gasses come into contact with cold moist air at high altitude. Contrails were always bad news to the bomber formations. They not only tended to obscure visibility (both of the target and the surrounding formation) for those aircraft following behind, but they acted as giant pointers to enemy fighter interceptors, leading them directly to the bombers.
