Posted on 04/30/2023 11:40:30 AM PDT by fugazi
Page two reports that large formations of Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters are now flying across the Atlantic to reach combat units in Europe and North Africa. There is attrition, with several planes having mechanical issues or ditching in the ocean, and that brings up the logistics of how best to get everything from the United States to the front. You may not be terribly interested in the logistics of combat, but the economics behind the war can make just as important -- or even more so -- than the thrilling strategy and tactics. We had brilliant leaders and hard-nosed fighters. So did the Germans, and as we can see in Tunisia the Afrikakorps had more experience. I would argue a major factor in how well we fought was because our capitalist system was far more efficient than that of Nazi Germany. They are dumping tons of precious manpower and resources into super weapons like jets, missiles, and remarkable tanks that, while impressive and well ahead of their time, have little strategic impact. Meanwhile, the United States is determining what will have the biggest impact on the war and making a ton of it, despite having the challenge of having to split everything between two theaters -- both of which require shipping.
While we can wonder years later why they risked the losses of pilots and P-38s, back then it was someone's only job to figure it all out. And they determined that the reward of increased shipping space was more valuable than the risk of transatlantic flight. Since the twin-engine warplanes had enough range to hop the pond, the vast majority of planes still get there and the convoys could carry other things like fuel, camouflage netting, or cartons of cigarettes which can actually be just as crucial to the...
(Excerpt) Read more at untothebreach.net ...
There’s a book by Eisenhower’s aide which which consists of the entries from the diary he kept.
Logistics was a primary concern.
Assignment of resources between the Pacific and Atlantic theaters was a key which limited equipment available to Eisenhower. That resulted in a slower than originally planned attack on North Africa as a diversion to attrit Nazi resources when D-Day wasn’t possible.
It didn’t help that Churchill was adamant about using Italy as the lynchpin for the invasion.
The flying of P-38s to England was a “Hail Mary” operation that wasn’t repeated. Attrition was high. The weather was so bad that even the B-17s which were intended the guide the fighter pilots got lost and went down. One whole flight, B-17 and all, crash-landed on the Greenland icecap. About 30 years ago one of the P-38s was dug out of the ice and restored. She flew the show circuit under the name of “Glacier Girl”, and I saw her up close in 2006 while working at Lockheed-Martin in Fort Worth.
https://lewisairlegends.com/p38f-lightning
Incredible. There was something majestic and sexy about airplanes in the 1930s like the P-38. 1950s jets strike me the same way. The 1940s aircraft were from an era of pure functionality and necessity. But all are beautiful.
Should add that the decision to try flying P-38s to England was largely driven by the fact that in 1943 German submarines were playing merry hell with our convoys, so much so that some Army planners were concerned the England might have to be abandoned entirely. Only a herculean effort by England, Canada, and the U.S.A. finally beat back the wolf packs and made it economically feasible to supply England by sea.
It is also worth mentioning that, while the P-38 performed poorly in the ETO, it did fantastic work in the Mediterranean, and its’ long legs made it a natural for the Pacific campaign.
Another tidbit: The lead engineer on the P-38 development by Lockheed was Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who went on to develop the F-80, the fabulous Constellation, the F-104, the U-2, and the magnificent SR-91 “Blackbird”.
SR-71 - sorry.
It was one of the only U.S. combat aircraft that flew for the entire war. The models they were using in 1945 were cutting edge, which is impressive considering the Lightning first flew in the 30s.
It took 11 months to launch Operation Torch because it took that long to train up enough troops. Most troops had to be brought directly from the US paratroops flew in from England for the drop). The only full sized US carrier at Torch was built in the early 30s and had been in the Atlantic since before the war began. The 4 escort carriers were all converted from tankers in the summer of 1942.
Merchant ships were in short supply for the North Africa campaign too.
Hitler went to hell 78 years ago today
I noticed that the union for the coal miners was to go on strike during a war.
Shows those running the union who they supported and it was not the USA.
Steelworkers too.
Correcting myself - some of the troops for the landing came by way of England.
Strike threats are often on the front page. The phrase “Never let a crisis go to waste” was popularized in modern history but the idea isn’t new.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE editor Robert McCormick (who served as an officer during the First World War) recently warned that Communists in the unions and Democrat Party were a far greater threat to the Republic than an invasion from the Axis. Yes you read that right, 80 years ago an editor/publisher of a major paper warning of Leftists.
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