Planes above the battlefield
One of the many building blocks to the success of the D-Day operation, was a fantastic air support with a touch of German stupidity. It cannot be stressed enough how important a strong air force was to the British and American forces. To begin, the Canadian Air Force sent paratroopers to the beach of Normandy on the 6th of June. Unfortunately many were shot down, and to top things off, the aircraft pilots had difficulties getting them to land on the beach.
Germany knew that a strong air attack would be just as important as a ground attack, so they sent their own fighters out to meet the Britain air force head on. The Allies also had priorities, one of them being the bombing of the German city of Luftwaffe in order to weaken Germany’s air force. Britain sent out a squad of P-51B bombers which were escorted by a fleet of British Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons. This strategy proved to be extremely effective at stopping the German airforce in it’s tracks. Luftwaffe stood no chance against the bombers, and just like that, the city was destroyed along with 25% of the German forces air support.
By March, 56% of the German fighters were taken down. This was a huge accomplishment for the Allies, and weakening the opposing side’s forces like this granted the British with unlimited air coverage, and complete control of the skies. Now that the city of Luftwaffe had been taken care of, the Allies focused power on ground operations.
However, due to some major misjudgement, the 54 squadrons of fighter planes failed to bring down the extensive coastal defences in Normandy as well as Ohama. Because of this the American troops faced intense shelling and defensive measures when they landed on the beaches, which caused massive Allied casualties. Although the US and Britain air force proved to be ineffective at shutting down Germany’s defenses, they still were of much help to the soldiers down below. Squadrons of fighters attacked the enemy's railways and roads, which prevented the Germans from receiving shipments of ammo and other supplies.
One of the key reasons for the success of the RAF and the USAF, was the use of Bomber Planes. The Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” is an excellent example of an affective bomber. This beast of a machine was American made and could hold 7,985 kg of explosives. When it was first released in 1935, engineers soon discovered a major flaw, and that was the fact that without a squadron of fighters to escort this plane, it would be defenseless in the air. To solve this predicament, US factories began to manufacture these planes on September 1943 with the addition of 13 machine guns mounted front, rear, and center. By the end of the war almost 12,700 of these monsters were manufactured. As you can see, there were many carefully planned air attacks and bombings that really made D-Day possible.
Germany knew that a strong air attack would be just as important as a ground attack, so they sent their own fighters out to meet the Britain air force head on. The Allies also had priorities, one of them being the bombing of the German city of Luftwaffe in order to weaken Germany’s air force. Britain sent out a squad of P-51B bombers which were escorted by a fleet of British Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons. This strategy proved to be extremely effective at stopping the German airforce in it’s tracks. Luftwaffe stood no chance against the bombers, and just like that, the city was destroyed along with 25% of the German forces air support.
By March, 56% of the German fighters were taken down. This was a huge accomplishment for the Allies, and weakening the opposing side’s forces like this granted the British with unlimited air coverage, and complete control of the skies. Now that the city of Luftwaffe had been taken care of, the Allies focused power on ground operations.
However, due to some major misjudgement, the 54 squadrons of fighter planes failed to bring down the extensive coastal defences in Normandy as well as Ohama. Because of this the American troops faced intense shelling and defensive measures when they landed on the beaches, which caused massive Allied casualties. Although the US and Britain air force proved to be ineffective at shutting down Germany’s defenses, they still were of much help to the soldiers down below. Squadrons of fighters attacked the enemy's railways and roads, which prevented the Germans from receiving shipments of ammo and other supplies.
One of the key reasons for the success of the RAF and the USAF, was the use of Bomber Planes. The Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” is an excellent example of an affective bomber. This beast of a machine was American made and could hold 7,985 kg of explosives. When it was first released in 1935, engineers soon discovered a major flaw, and that was the fact that without a squadron of fighters to escort this plane, it would be defenseless in the air. To solve this predicament, US factories began to manufacture these planes on September 1943 with the addition of 13 machine guns mounted front, rear, and center. By the end of the war almost 12,700 of these monsters were manufactured. As you can see, there were many carefully planned air attacks and bombings that really made D-Day possible.
“This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and that's the way it's going to be. We're going down there, and we're throwing everything we have into it, and we're going to make it a success." -- General Dwight D Eisenhower
D-Day Veteran - Leonard Allbon
Leonard Allbon served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Airforce in 1965, after already serving in the British Airforce years before. He served in Britain for 3 years and took part in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. Leonard joined the British Airforce at age 18 after studying at Oxbridge for some time. During this era, Oxbridge was the go-to school if you wanted to join the RAF (British Air force). From there, he transferred to Cranwell to learn about signals and other technical things. He soon graduated and was sent straight to fighter command 11 group.
11 group was located near the European continent. The RAF suspected that the German army, which was at the time located in Luftwaffe, was planning to invade the European continent. Leo arrived at the location where the Battle of Britain was taking place on September 1st 1940.
In the 40’s the RAF used a type of radio/transmitter called a VHS. The idea was that each plane in the airforce was to have a VHS set in order to keep in touch with their squad leaders. Unfortunately, a large shipment of VHS unites were lost at sea, which resulted in Leo’s whole squadron (except the four squad leaders) to not have their own VHS.
As soon as this news got back to the manufacturers, they sent out a new shipment of improved VHS units. One of Leonard’s jobs was to, along with the rest of his buddies, unscrew the empty radio compartments on all the planes in order to be able to fit the new VHS units. This extensive task took him and his friends 18-20 hours a day of non-stop work until it was finished.
After completing this exhausting task, Allbon was transferred to the RCAF in preparation for the Canadian invasion of Dieppe. Leo was placed in the airforce reserves, and it was his (along with many others) job to monitor the radio channels and stay on a lookout for any airforce distress calls.
Although Leonard may not have had a particularly large role in the invasion of Dieppe, it is still a very interesting experience to hear first-hand what Leonard Allbon did in the second world war.
11 group was located near the European continent. The RAF suspected that the German army, which was at the time located in Luftwaffe, was planning to invade the European continent. Leo arrived at the location where the Battle of Britain was taking place on September 1st 1940.
In the 40’s the RAF used a type of radio/transmitter called a VHS. The idea was that each plane in the airforce was to have a VHS set in order to keep in touch with their squad leaders. Unfortunately, a large shipment of VHS unites were lost at sea, which resulted in Leo’s whole squadron (except the four squad leaders) to not have their own VHS.
As soon as this news got back to the manufacturers, they sent out a new shipment of improved VHS units. One of Leonard’s jobs was to, along with the rest of his buddies, unscrew the empty radio compartments on all the planes in order to be able to fit the new VHS units. This extensive task took him and his friends 18-20 hours a day of non-stop work until it was finished.
After completing this exhausting task, Allbon was transferred to the RCAF in preparation for the Canadian invasion of Dieppe. Leo was placed in the airforce reserves, and it was his (along with many others) job to monitor the radio channels and stay on a lookout for any airforce distress calls.
Although Leonard may not have had a particularly large role in the invasion of Dieppe, it is still a very interesting experience to hear first-hand what Leonard Allbon did in the second world war.
“… it was also a very upsetting time, of course, because of the heavy opposition that the Canadian army had met when it first went ashore in Dieppe.” -- Leonard Allbon
Works Cited
"Leonard Allbon - Veteran Stories - The Memory Project." Home - The Memory Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/7:leonard-allbon/>.
"Hawker Typhoon." Wikiwand. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.wikiwand.com/bs/Hawker_Typhoon>.
"June 6th 1944 air raids in Normandy - D-Day." June 6th 1944 air raids in Normandy - D-Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.dday-overlord.com/eng/dday_bombardments.htm>.
Foot, Richard. "Battle of Normandy." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/normandy-invasion/>.
"Warbirds: The Planes of D-Day." Flying Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/warbirds-planes-d-day>.
"Flight Stories." HistoricWingscom A Magazine for Aviators Pilots and Adventurers. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://fly.historicwings.com/2013/03/invasion-stripes/>.
"Hawker Typhoon." Wikiwand. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.wikiwand.com/bs/Hawker_Typhoon>.
"June 6th 1944 air raids in Normandy - D-Day." June 6th 1944 air raids in Normandy - D-Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.dday-overlord.com/eng/dday_bombardments.htm>.
Foot, Richard. "Battle of Normandy." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/normandy-invasion/>.
"Warbirds: The Planes of D-Day." Flying Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/warbirds-planes-d-day>.
"Flight Stories." HistoricWingscom A Magazine for Aviators Pilots and Adventurers. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017. <http://fly.historicwings.com/2013/03/invasion-stripes/>.