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| Home | Research | For Teachers | HISTORY Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 |
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CAREER Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 |
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At the end of this block of study, you should be able to:
5.85 Define air superiority, strategic bombing, interdiction, and close air support.
5.86 Give an example of the four functions of air power in World War II.
World War II (1939-1945) began on September 1, 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.
America entered the war on December 7, 1941, when Japanese naval air forces bombed Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. From the beginning of the war, airplanes played a major role.
The Germans used a tactic called blitzkrieg (lightning war) - a smashing military assault
intended to overwhelm an enemy in a single military action. This tactic was usually
delivered by land and air forces together. Using this tactic, the Germans were able to
defeat France and Poland in less than a month and Belgium and Holland in less than a week.
The Japanese used carrier-based air power when they attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack
destroyed 188 airplanes, sank or severely damaged 14 ships, and killed 2,403 service
members.
Rather than discuss the entire history of World War II, this section will give examples of
how air power was used during the war. Primarily the four combat functions were:
1. Air superiority—when an Air force has greater combat effectiveness than
the opposing air force, especially if the superiority permits the conduct of air
operations without prohibitive interference from the opposing air force.
2. Strategic bombing - bombing of a selected target or targets vital to the
war-making capacity of a nation, e.g., oil centers, factories, cities, etc.
3. Interdiction—the prevention or destruction of, or interference with, enemy
movements, communications, lines of communications which makes it difficult for the enemy
to move from one place to another.
4. Close air support (CAS) air attacks against enemy ground forces so close to
friendly forces as to require detailed coordination between The friendly air and ground
forces.
Early in the war, Hitler decided to invade England. However, before sending his troops
across the English Channel he realized he must have superiority of the air. Without air
superiority, the German assault forces would have been subjected to repeated aerial
attacks resulting in their defeat.
The aerial Battle of Britain began in mid-1940. During the early part of the battle, it
appeared the British would lose; however, the stout defense of the British, coupled with
German tactical errors, enabled the British to win. By December 1940, the battle was over.
Britain retained air superiority and, as a result, Hitler called off the invasion.
On June 22, 1941, Germany launched a massive surprise attack against the Soviet Union. One
of the first objectives of the attack was to destroy the Russian Air Force. On the first
day alone, the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) destroyed 1,811 Russian aircraft for a loss of
only 32. It took a year for the Russians to recover, and during that time, German ground
forces made great advances into Russia without for the most part, any interference from
the Russian Air Force.
During the last year of the war, the British and Americans decided oil targets would be the priority strategic bombing target. Up to this time, strategic bombing was not achieving the desired effects on the Germans' ability to wage war. In fact, production of aircraft and armored vehicles increased during some of the Allies' heaviest months of bombing. The decision to make oil centers the priority target produced several results. It cut aircraft fuel production to 10,000 tons per month. The Luftwaffe needed, at a minimum, 160,000 tons of fuel; without it, training flights ceased and only critical targets were defended. In addition, production of ammunition and synthetic rubber was reduced. The last major German offensive in the West, the Battle of the Bulge, was lost in large part because of the lack of fuel for the armored forces.
The Japanese needed to reinforce their land forces in New Guinea. In early 1943, they
decided to send several thousand troops from their major base of Rabaul to Lae, New
Guinea, by ship convoy. The convoy was discovered, and over a two-day period, American and
Australian aircraft bombed and strafed the Japanese ships. Twelve of the 16 ships were
sunk, and of the 6,000 Japanese troops only 800 reached New Guinea.
On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded the beaches of Normandy, France. The Allies, in
planning for the invasion, realized they would be greatly outnumbered during the early
days of the operation. However, by using interdiction, they realized they could isolate
part of the battlefield and prevent German supplies and reinforcements from reaching the
main battle area. As a result of the planning, air power was used to destroy bridges over
the Seine and Lorie Rivers. It was also used against vehicle convoys and railroads. As a
result, many reserves never arrived in the battle area and other forces had to make such
long detours their combat effectiveness was reduced.
During the early months of World War II, Henderson Air Field on Guadalcanal was a very
important airstrip. After seizing the field from the Japanese, outnumbered U.S. Marines
had to defend the strip from repeated attacks by Japanese troops. One attack led by Col.
Kusuhichi Watanabe almost succeeded in breaching American lines. However, with help from
some Army P-400s (these were export versions of the P-39) providing close air support, the
attackers were annihilated. The Japanese lost 708 soldiers while Marine losses were 59.
A month after the D-Day invasion, Allied forces had pushed several miles into France. One
heavily defended city was Saint-Lo. Two American infantry divisions were given the task of
taking the city. For several days, American gains were only 200 to 500 yards per day.
Fighter-bombers were called in to provide close air support. The aircraft hit enemy strong
points, troop concentrations, gun positions, field fortifications, and self-propelled guns
These attacks helped the infantry to capture the city and also reduced their casualties.
World War II taught the world many lessons about aviation. It proved the airplane was a
major weapon of war. The airplane also proved to be an efficient vehicle for hauling cargo
and passengers; but, most importantly, it changed the concept of security for all nations
of the world.
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Updated: 17 February, 1999