Air Support in Ground Operations

▪ Primary Source

      1st U.S. Army Report of Operations 20 Oct. 1943 - 1 Aug. 1944

      In its official “after-action” report on the conduct of the first phase of Operation Overlord (the code name for the Normandy Invasion), the U.S. First Army arrived at certain conclusions regarding the use of aerial bombardment in preparation for an advance of forces on the ground. Particularly in reference to the creation of a new type of “tank-air team” in the breakout near Saint-Lô at the end of July 1944, the report concluded that these two arms represented “an unbeatable combination.”

      Although normally it is a wasteful use of air power to bomb targets within range of supporting artillery in some cases a requirement exists for air support against targets within artillery range. The tremendous blast of the 500 lb and heavier bombs is very effective against highly organized defenses and casemated positions. Near hits may tip the casemates off level or pile dirt in front of the port thus neutralizing the gun and the blast effect may kill or stun the crews and damage fire control equipment. The guns will always be neutralized during the air attack, the accuracy of the bombing being the determining factor in the duration of the period of neutralization. The nature of the objective, not the ability of the artillery to reach it should determine whether air support is to be utilized. To secure the best results air bombardment should not take place at too great a distance from the attacking troops in order that the defensive positions can be reached before the defenders have had an opportunity to recover and to man their positions. Excellent results were obtained when air bombardment took place with the assaulting troops not more than 1000 yards from the target, prepared to move in rapidly upon completion of the bombardment. Since even this limited advance requires valuable time the target should be covered with artillery fire after the bombardment, lifted on call from forward observers or at a prearranged time as the infantry closes in.

      As a prelude to the penetration west of St. Lo in Operation “COBRA” heavy and medium bombers in conjunction with fighter-bombers and artillery fire were utilized in an elaborate prearranged fire plan . . . to pulverize the area selected for the breakthrough. This prearranged fire plan was highly successful and contributed in large measure to the success of the assault; however, certain features in connection with the use of heavy and medium bombers require further study.

      The bombing target consisted of an area three and one-half miles long and 2500 yards deep. The longer axis of the target was east and west and the area was bounded on the north by the straight, broad St. Lo - Perier Road. In addition the northern boundary was marked with red artillery smoke. The plan called for fighter-bombers to attack a 300 yard strip along the northern edge of the strip from H-75 minutes to H-60 minutes. From H-60 minutes to H Hour the entire area was bombed by heavy bombers. Following the heavy bomber attack the fighter bombers again attacked the forward edge of the area from H Hour to H plus 15 minutes followed by medium bombers which attacked the southern half of the target from H plus 30 minutes to H plus 75 minutes. The fighter-bombers approached the target from the east and flew parallel to the front during the attack whereas the heavy and medium bombers came in from the north and flew perpendicular to the front during the attack. Ground troops were withdrawn behind a line twelve hundred yards north of the target. However, some divisions suffered casualties from heavy and medium bombers dropping their bombs short.

      The inaccuracy of some of the heavy and medium bombers may be attributed to two factors. The smoke and dust raised by the first bombs dropped drifted to the north of the target and succeeding waves of bombers appeared to use this smoke and dust as a target rather than adhere to the designated bomb release line. Other formations of heavy bombers appeared to confuse the St. Lo - Perier road with another road approximately 2500 yards north of and nearly parallel to it.

      For the armored divisions pushing through the gap following the penetration of the enemy's position west of St. Lo a plan for armored column cover by fighter-bombers was developed and used which produced results far beyond all expectations. In this set-up four fighter-bombers armed with fragmentation and 500 lb bombs fly continuously ahead of each advancing armored column. Liaison is maintained by additional air support personnel riding in the forward tanks of the column. Communication between air and ground, including tank battalion commanders, air personnel riding in tanks and between division and corps air support party officers, is maintained by means of VHF radio. With this arrangement, very close coordination is obtained by the tank-air team. Using the planes as their eyes to give advance warning of impending threats and detailed information on the enemy's disposition, the armored columns are able to advance more boldly and aggressively. In addition the planes are available as a weapon to attack targets appearing in the operating sector of the tank column. In the event the target is too large to be bombed successfully by the four planes supporting the armored column, request for additional planes is immediately radioed to air operations by the flight leader. In the meantime the flight leader initiates action against the target.

      The results obtained by the employment of the tank-air team in mobile, fast moving situations are recognized as being an outstanding achievement in air-ground cooperation and represent the development of an unbeatable combination.

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