 Although Western Allied bomber missions increased in intensity as the war progressed, 1944 was marked with some of the highest production rates for German industry; for example, while in January 1944 1,017 fighter aircraft had been manufactured, in September of that year 2,878 were built.Similarly, in 1943 6,083 tanks of all types had been produced, while 8,466 were manufactured in 1944.However, the effects of the air raids did real damage; for example, Panzer IV production decreased from 300 in August 1944 to only 180 in September, because the steel plant producing the tank's armor had been destroyed by Allied bombers.