Airpower in World War II

1
Airpower in World War II
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World War IIOverview

• Three Part Block of Instruction
• Part 1 -- The US prepares for war, 1939-41
• Part 2 -- Airpower in the European Theater
• Part 3 -- Airpower in the Pacific Theater

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US Prepares for War An Overview

• German aggression leading to US involvement
• The Battle of Britain and the German Luftwaffe
• US preparations and the Air War Plans Division
  Plan 1
• The forming of the Army Air Forces

4
German Aggression Leading to US Involvement in WW
II

• Germany attacks Poland -- 1 Sep 39
• The Luftwaffe was used to gain air superiority,
  cut supply lines and support ground forces
• Germany then easily conquers Norway, Belgium,
  Denmark, The Netherlands and France

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Battle of Britain

• Britain stands alone against German aggression --
  June 1940
• Germany attacks in four phases
• Attacks against shipping lines
• Day and night bombing of RAF airfields
• Daytime bombing of the cities
• Nighttime bombing of the cities
• Luftwaffe defeated

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Four Phases

• Luftwaffe attacked British ship convoys in
  English Channel
• Day and night bombing on RAF airfields
• Daylight bombing of British cities
• Nighttime bombing of British cities

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Reasons for Luftwaffes Defeat

• Luftwaffe not trained or equipped to conduct
  strategic bombing
• British had excellent command, control, and
  communication systems in place
• Luftwaffe had poor intelligence capabilties

8
United States prepares for War

• Army Air Corps was expanded
• July 1940 -- Air Corps expands to 54 combat
  groups to include 14 heavy bomb groups
• March 1941-- Air Corps expands to 48 combat
  groups to include 24 heavy bomb groups
• Emphasis placed on bombers, not escort aircraft
  -- hurts US bombing efforts

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Air War Plans Division Plan 1

• Formulated in response to Roosevelt's call for
  American air doctrine
• Established independent operating objectives for
  the Air Corps
• Called for precision bombing of German industry
  and economy
• Flawed because it did not provide for long-range
  fighter escort

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AWPD 1 -- Target List

• Emphasized the offensive nature of the mission.
• Ground support missions were secondary
• Four major targets were
• Sources of electrical power
• Transportation systems
• Sources of oil production
• Aircraft industry

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Forming the Army Air Force (AAF)

• Army Air Corps and GHQ Air Force merged in June
  1941 to form AAF
• Resulted from the decentralization of the War
  Department General Staff which was begun by
  General George Marshall in 1940
• General Hap Arnold named commander
• One step from full independence as a separate
  service

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Summary

• Battle of Britain
• Air War Plans Division Plan 1
• Army Air Forces