SPECIAL STUDIES Case Studies in the Development of Close Air Support Edited by Benjamin Franklin Cooling OFFICE OF AIR FORCE HISTORY UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WASHINGTON, DC 1990Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Case studies in the development of close air support / edited by Benjamin Franklin Cooling. P. cm, - (Special studies) Includes bibliographic references and index ISBN 0-912799-64-1 (paperbound). -- ISBN 0-912799-65-X (casebound) 1. Close air support-History. 2. Military history. Modern--20th century. I, Cooling, B. Franklin, Il, Series: Special studies (United States. Air Force. Office of Air Force History) UG700.C38._ 1990 358.4'142--de20 90-14399 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S, Govemment Printing Office, ‘Washington, DC 20402United States Air Force Historical Advisory Committee As of July 2, 1990 John H, Morrow, Jr., Chairman University of Georgia Charles G. Boyd Lieutenant General, USAF Commander, Ais University Duane H. Cassidy General, USAF, Retired Merritt Roe Smith ‘The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dominick Graham University of New Brunswick, Canada Ira D. Gruber Rice University Charles R. Hamm Lieutenant General, USAF Superintendent, USAF Academy Ann C. Petersen The General Counsel, USAF Mare Trachtenberg University of Pennsylvania Gerhard L, Weinberg The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Frank E, Vandiver Texas A&M UniversityForeword The introduction of airplanes to warfare led almost from the first to their application in close support of ground forces. The earliest attempts at influencing the outcome of a ground battle from the air were limited by the fragility of the craft engaged and the lack of coherent ideas on the most effective use of what was still a novelty. What began as an expedient, however, has become over nearly ten decades an essential role for air power. Taken virtually for granted by troops and aviators today, the employment of air power in this way has been controversial from the first instance in which bombs were dropped on ground combatants during the Italo-Turkish war of 1911-1912. Ground and air commanders have differed over the proper use of aviation; preferences and assumptions on doctrine have evolved in both the ground and air communities; technology has changed air systems and defensive ground weaponry; and with time different systems or techniques have developed in various military establishments for the command and control of ground and air forces operating in concert, for liaison and communications, and for delivering aerial firepower in support of land forces locked in combat with an enemy. In December 1982, Maj. Gen. Perry McCoy Smith, then the Air Force Director of Plans, asked the Office of Air Force History to prepare a number of case-study volumes on various aspects of air warfare. Col. John A. Warden III, in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, provided funds from the Air Force’s Project Warrior Program. With further generous assistance of Dr. Andrew Marshall, then Director of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Air Force History Program approached some of the foremost historians in the field of military aviation to record their assessments as a resource for planning within the Air Force and the Army for several years to come. Each author was asked to produce an original case study on a defined period or subject. The essays were to be based on all relevant published literature and on the key archival documents containing the record of how various air forces actually developed and applied their systems of close air support to ground combat. Each author was also asked to cover certain basic topics: initial doctrine, organization of forces, background and courses of the air-ground campaigns, communications systems, command and control arrangements, weaponry and technology, and the decisions and people that determined the course of action and shaped its outcome. A concluding retrospect draws generalizations from the experiences presented.The Office of Air Force History believes that this volume will be of substantial value not only to the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army, but should also appeal to a wider audience interested in all aspects of military history and contribute to informing the American public about the characteristics and the use of air power in all of its aspects. Richard H. Kohn Chief, Office of Air Force History viContents Foreword . Introduction . 1 Developments to 1939 Lee Kennett .... B 2 The Luftwaffe Experience, 1939-1941 Williamson Murray 1 3 Soviet Air-Ground Coordination, 1941-1945 Rene Whiting us 4 The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-1943 David Syrett ..... Bee 153 5 Allied Cooperation in Sicily and tay, 1943-1945 Aan ei » 193 6 The Battle for France, 1944 WA Jaco bie ee ccene oo 7 American Experience in the Southwest Pacific Joe Gray Taylor 8 Korea, 1950-1953 (AlaniR: Millet tence ne eters AP] 9 Southeast Asia John J. Sbrega . . 4il 10 The Israeli Experience Brereton Greenhous.... 0 00ccceceeveceeevevetees ees vee 491 11 A Retrospect on Close Air Support . ee oan Contributors . . 587 563 viiPhotographs Lt. Myron S. Crissy demonstrates aerial bombing, 1911 Bomb loading at Aviation Bombing School, Clermont, France, 1918..... Col, Frank P Lahm ... Col. William Mitchell a Lt. Col. William C. Sherman .... Lt. George C. Kenney .... Brig. Gen. Henry H. Arnold . Northrop A-I7_......... Curtiss A-18s in Low-level Flight . Douglas A-24....... 02.000. Maj, Gen. Frank M. Andrews . Henschel 123s... Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen Messerschmitt Me-110 Junkers Ju-87B .... Reich Marshal Hermann Goering Ilyushin Il-2 and I-10 Sturmoviki Yakovlev Yak-1, Yak-3......... Petlyakov Pe-2 Medium Bomber . P-40D Kittyhawks ........ Maj. Gen. Carl Spaatz and Air Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham American Reconnaissance Pilot on F-5 . North American A-36 . Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker ... Maj. Gen. fohn K. Cannon, Twelfth Air Force Commander . A Rover Joe Team in Action, Italy ....06022.000eece eee : P-47 Thunderbolt Bombing Target .......06.0000624 : Stinson L-5 Sentinel Shepherding P-40 Warhawks Lt, Gen. Mark W. Clark. ..cceecceeeeeeeeees Maj, Gen. Lewis Brereton, Ninth Air Force Commander . Field-expedient Rocket Launcher on P-475 Thunderbolt Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh as Lt. Gen, James Doolittle . Maj. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg : Ground Attack Aircraft of the War in Northwest Europe . . «the P47 was the best...” ..ecese sees eeeeeees : P-47 Over American Tank Column . Wrecked Thunderbolt viii ¢ Commodore Ae W. Tedder . 127 137 139Douglas A-20 Havoc ... Grumman F4F Wildcat . Gen. George C. Kenney . F4U Corsair ....... North American B-25 Mitchell . B-24 Liberator . Maj, Gen. Walton H. Walker . Korean War Aircraft ..... Gen, Douglas MacArthur and Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgay : Maj. Gen. Earle Partridge Vice Adm. Arthur D. Struble . Boeing B-29 Superfortresses . North American T-6 Texan .. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg and Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer .. . MiG-15 Maj. Gen. Gerald C. Thomas, USMC . AD Skyraider and F4U Corsair . : F-84F Thunderjet ........ Wrecked North Korean T-34 Tanks . Brig. Gen. Rollea Anthis B-26 Invaders F-28 Trojan .. ee McDonnell F-101 Voodoo - Lt. Gen. Joseph H. Moore . General William C. Westmoreland . O-2A Super Skymaster . OV-10 Bronco ..... Workhorses of Close Air Support in Vietnam Vietnam Gunships . . General William W. Momyer . Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses . Israeli Super Shermans French-built Mysteres . . Fouga Magister Trainer . Israeli Centurion Tanks . Israeli A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom . SA-2 Surface-to-air Missile C-2 Kfir and Ordnance Load . 300 302 303 305 309 331 354 356 361 362 365 367 369 375 382 389 393 398 421 424 424 426 431 434 437 440 442 447 448 472 499 504 505 507 Su 519 526Poland German Attack in the West, 1940 The Eastern Front . Tunisia, 1943 ... Italy, 1943 - 1945 : The Battle Area in France, Summer 1944 , The Southwest Pacific Area Korea Southeast Asia 1945. The Middle East .. 80 116 154 194 262 296 345 412 495,