The fourth volume in this continuing series relates the growing strength of the Allied air forces, particularly the close partnership between the Royal Air Force fighter forces and the American 8th and 9th Air Forces. For a time, the RAF took responsibility for escorting American bombers into enemy-held territory and also 'educated' the newly arrived Thunderbolt and Lightning units into the dangers of air combat in Europe. Towards the end of 1943, two important things happened. The first was the discovery of flying-bomb launch sites on the enemy coastline, the second was the arrival of the superb North American P-51B Mustang. Possessed of enormous range, and with an impressive performance, the Mustang gave the USAAF the means to strike at the German heartland and to force much of the Channel-based Luftwaffe fighter force back to defend the Reich. The period from the summer of 1943 until spring 1944 would prove to be decisive in securing for the Allies the conditions necessary to mount and carry through a successful invasion. The vital factor was that of not just air superiority, but air supremacy without which the enormous naval resources required to transport ground forces across the Channel would have been at great risk. This volume concludes with Operation Overlord and shows not merely the massive air supremacy achieved over Normandy, but also the vital role played by close air support as the beachheads were consolidated and the ground forces began their advance towards Germany.
The introduction into combat of the Focke Wulf Fw190A on the channel coast in the spring of 1942 heralded one of the ... The RAF's top scoring fighter pilot, James 'Johnnie' Johnson, was in the thick of the fighting at this time.
On 13 November 1943 authority was given for the formation of the AEAF (Allied Expeditionary Air Force), with Leigh-Mallory confirmed in command. The title ADGB (Air Defence of Great Britain) was also authorised with 'Fighter Command' ...
Rpts., March 1944; Ftr. Comd. ... Fighter Command's figures exclude Allied losses in heavy and medium bombers. 76. ... War Diary, 2 Apr-25 July 1943; CM-IN-315 (7-1-43), COMAIRSOLS to COMAIRSOPAC, SCR 9 301311, 30 June 1943. 79.
... January 1942 to June 1943; 4, July 1943 to June 1944; 5, July 1944 to May 1945. John D R Rawlings, Fighter Squadrons of the RAF. and their Aircraft (Crecy, 1993) Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everit, The Bomber Command War Diaries: ...
The Army Air Forces in World War II: Services around the world
... 100 Group, and Air Defence of Great Britain Fighters, 1939–45 (Part 4: July 1943 to June 1944). ... Franks, Norman L. R. Royal Air Force Fighter Command Losses of the Second World War: Operational Losses: Aircraft and Crews ...
Ever the ardent hunter , Omar Bradley had long held Allen in his sights before squeezing the trigger . He later claimed that “ the hardest thing in war was to relieve people I knew , " but Bradley seemed unruffled by the dismissal of ...
Middlebrook, Martin. The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission. New York: Scribners, 1983. Mitcham, Samuel W. Men of the Luftwaffe. Novato, Calif.: Presidio, 1988. Morrison, Wilbur H. Fortress without a Roof: The Allied Bombing of the Third ...
Within minutes, pilots Deuron Robertson, John Morgan, John Langston, Frank Golden, and Donald Stevens were dead. Reed managed to survive, dropping his bombs on a flak battery and gun position. But losing his friends was demoralizing.
Godefroy reflects on the value of attending monthly RAF mess dinners, as he was always impressed with the quality of ... 1944), 80; additionally, John Foreman, Fighter Command War Diaries: Volume III, January 1942 to June 1943 (Air ...