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    The Twelfth US Air Force: Tactical And Operational Innovations In The Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, 1943-1944
    The Twelfth US Air Force: Tactical And Operational Innovations In The Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, 1943-1944
    The Twelfth US Air Force: Tactical And Operational Innovations In The Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, 1943-1944
    Ebook150 pages1 hour

    The Twelfth US Air Force: Tactical And Operational Innovations In The Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, 1943-1944

    By Major Matthew G. St. Clair USMC

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    This paper analyzes the participation of the US Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater of operation from 1943 to 1944 and also studies the coalition and joint operations required in the air campaign. Coalition and joint warfare provides numerous command, control, and coordination problems that are not easily de-conflicted. The requirements of the coalition air campaign in the Mediterranean theater provided significant challenges to the leadership of the US Army Air Forces (AAF). Prewar Army Air Corps doctrine focused on strategic bombing and aerial interdiction. Air- men lacked a well thought-out tactical support doctrine and had no doctrine for supporting amphibious operations. The mission of the AAF in the North African and Italian campaigns was the winning of air superiority. The Twelfth Air Force had to adopt new tactics and operational techniques to support the Allied landings at Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio, Italy, against the formidable German Luftwaffe.

    The Mediterranean theater was the first theater to encounter the use of precision-guided munitions in the form of radio-controlled glide bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. The Mediterranean theater was designated a secondary theater of war, resulting in the Twelfth Air Force operating with inadequate resources, as aircraft and crews were periodically reassigned to units supporting the Combined Bomber Offensive in the European theater of operations. While supporting the Mediterranean theater, the Twelfth Air Force operated alongside the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and was routinely tasked with supporting operations of both the US Fifth and British Eighth Armies. This provided significant command, control, and communication (C3) problems that had to be addressed to optimize the effectiveness of Allied airpower.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLucknow Books
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781786250834
    The Twelfth US Air Force: Tactical And Operational Innovations In The Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, 1943-1944

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      Book preview

      The Twelfth US Air Force - Major Matthew G. St. Clair USMC

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 2007 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      The Twelfth US Air Force — Tactical and Operational Innovations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, 1943-1944

      Matthew G. St. Clair, Major, USMC

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      Abstract 5

      About the Author 5

      Acknowledgments 6

      Chapter 1 — Introduction 7

      Chapter 2—Allied Air Operations in North Africa 10

      AAF Doctrine Prior to Operation Torch 10

      Operation Torch and the Invasion of Tunisia 13

      Reorganization of the Allied Air Forces 15

      Creation of the Northwest African Air Force 16

      Chapter 3 — Operation Husky and the Invasion of Sicily 21

      Allied Strategy in the Mediterranean 22

      Planning for Operation Husky 23

      Air Plan for Operation Husky 25

      Air Operations against Pantelleria 27

      Lessons Learned from Corkscrew 28

      Operation Husky 29

      Airborne Operations 31

      The D-day Assault 32

      Chapter 4 — Operation Avalanche and the Invasion of Italy 36

      Allied Strategy in the Mediterranean 36

      Planning for Operation Avalanche 39

      Air Plan for Operation Avalanche 40

      Operation Avalanche and the Invasion of Italy 42

      Chapter 5 — Operation Shingle and the Assault of Anzio 49

      Creation of the Mediterranean Allied Air Force 50

      Planning for Shingle 51

      Intelligence Preparation for Operation Shingle 53

      Air Plan for Operation Shingle 54

      D-day Operation Shingle 56

      The German Counterattack 62

      Chapter 6 — Conclusion 65

      Effectiveness of the Air Campaign in the Mediterranean Theater 65

      Refinement of Doctrine 66

      Tactics and Procedures 67

      Influence of Technology 68

      The Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Its Importance in the Twenty-First Century 69

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 71

      Bibliography 72

      Primary Sources 72

      Secondary Sources 74

      Historical Studies 76

      Academic Papers 76

      Manuals 76

      Electronic Sources 76

      Abstract

      This paper analyzes the participation of the US Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater of operation from 1943 to 1944 and also studies the coalition and joint operations required in the air campaign. Coalition and joint warfare provides numerous command, control, and coordination problems that are not easily de-conflicted. The requirements of the coalition air campaign in the Mediterranean theater provided significant challenges to the leadership of the US Army Air Forces (AAF). Prewar Army Air Corps doctrine focused on strategic bombing and aerial interdiction. Air- men lacked a well thought-out tactical support doctrine and had no doctrine for supporting amphibious operations. The mission of the AAF in the North African and Italian campaigns was the winning of air superiority. The Twelfth Air Force had to adopt new tactics and operational techniques to support the Allied landings at Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio, Italy, against the formidable German Luftwaffe.

      The Mediterranean theater was the first theater to encounter the use of precision-guided munitions in the form of radio-controlled glide bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. The Mediterranean theater was designated a secondary theater of war, resulting in the Twelfth Air Force operating with inadequate resources, as aircraft and crews were periodically reassigned to units supporting the Combined Bomber Offensive in the European theater of operations. While supporting the Mediterranean theater, the Twelfth Air Force operated alongside the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and was routinely tasked with supporting operations of both the US Fifth and British Eighth Armies. This provided significant command, control, and communication (C3) problems that had to be addressed to optimize the effectiveness of Allied airpower.

      The goal of this paper is to highlight the lessons learned from the selected operations and their applicability to twenty-first-century warfare. The author will examine the development of tactics and operational procedures that were unique to this theater of war and the leadership challenges encountered in a coalition or joint command structure. This study will also examine the effectiveness of combined air operations with the RAF in support of the amphibious landings conducted by the US Fifth and British Eight Armies at Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio, Italy.

      About the Author

      Maj Matthew G. St. Clair received a regular commission in the US Marine Corps after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1989. After completing The Basic School, Quantico, Virginia, he was designated an infantry officer and attended the Infantry Officer course. He served as a rifle platoon and weapons platoon commander, rifle company executive officer, and company commander in the 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Major St. Clair also served as the assistant operations officer for the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejeune. Following his tour with the 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit, he was assigned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, where he served as a battalion executive officer, 2d Recruit Training Battalion, and the director of the Drill Instructor School. In July of 2003 he was reassigned to the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Antiterrorism), Camp Lejeune.

      Acknowledgments

      This paper would not have been possible without the guidance and direction I received from my advisor, Dr. James Corum, and my reader, Dr. David Mets. Their timely and detailed critiques of my drafts and constant encouragement kept me focused on mission accomplishment. I have learned more about research and writing than I thought possible, and I am truly grateful for their mentoring. I am also grateful for the support of Prof. Dennis Drew during my first attempts at writing SAASS papers. His advice and conversation were priceless. I would like to thank Karin Graham who took time out of her incredibly busy schedule to proofread my drafts and provide invaluable criticism. Her patience and understanding were unmatched in this effort, and I am forever grateful. I must thank my fellow SAASS warriors, as they made my year away from the Marine Corps as painless as possible. It was a privilege for me to serve alongside them. Perry Jenkins, USMC, retired, defines friendship and ensured that I never lost sight of the big picture. Finally and most importantly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the support and understanding of my wife, Melissa. There was never a day that passed without me complaining about this thesis, but she quickly refocused my attention and got me back on target. I could not have completed this project without her.

      Chapter 1 — Introduction

      The inherent flexibility of air power, is its greatest asset. This flexibility makes it possible to employ the whole weight of the available airpower against selected areas in turn; such concentrated use of the striking force is a battle winning factor of the first importance. Control of available air power must be centralized and command must be exercised through the air force commander if this inherent flexibility and ability to deliver a decisive blow are to be fully exploited. Therefore, the command of air and ground forces in a theater of operations will be vested in the superior commander charged with the actual conduct of operations in the theater, who will exercise command of air forces through the air force commander and command of ground forces through the ground force commander The superior commander will not attach army air forces to units of the ground forces under his command except when such ground force units are operating independently or are isolated by distance or lack of communication.—War Department Field Manual (FM) 100-20 July 1943

      This paper analyzes the operations of the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater from 1943 to 1944, specifically targeting the three Allied amphibious operations in Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio, Italy. These Allied landings illustrate a wide range of tactical and operational innovations, doctrine, and coalition air warfare. In the interwar years, the Army Air Corps (AAC) gave virtually no thought to supporting amphibious operations. Yet, before the end of World War II, doctrine would be developed for such operations.

      Amphibious assaults are the most complex of all military operations to execute, demanding detailed coordination and planning between the Army, Navy, and Air

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