ipl-logo

The Importance Of Operation Torch

1978 Words8 Pages

Historians say the average number of people killed per day during WWII was 27,000. Because of this, Allied leaders were desperate to end the war as quickly as possible. American leaders wanted to launch a massive all-out assault, but European leaders wanted to establish a foothold in North Africa. The Allies, led by England, Russia, and the United States promised Russian leaders they would attack the Axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan and provide relief to the Russians. This led to Operation Torch. Operation Torch was a plan designed to open up another side of Europe and force the Axis to fight on multiple fronts (“Remembering Operation Torch”). Operation Torch consisted of many different Allied forces and required the use of most branches …show more content…

The 12th Air Force, commanded by Lieutenant General Spaatz, was the main Air Force used during Operation Torch. During Operation Torch, the Air Force went through many trial and error stages. During the first stages of capturing North Africa, the 12th Air Force was responsible for close air support, air superiority, and strategic bombing. Close air support, which is the use of airplanes operating close to ground forces, was used mainly during the Allied beach landings at Oran, Casablanca, and Algeria on November 8th, 1942. The most common aircraft used during the invasions of Morocco and Algeria was the F4F Wildcat. The Wildcat was used for close air support because of its ability to withstand ground fire. The F4F was a US Navy carrier based fighter. The plane was slower than Axis fighters with a top speed of only 318 mph, but what it lacked in performance it made up for in toughness and low speed maneuverability. These are some of the traits that contributed to Allied air superiority (Wordell). Along with the F4F the P-40 Warhawk was a major contributor to air superiority in North Africa. The P-40 had many different variations but the most common were the D and E variants. The P-40D had an improved engine and the P-40E had improved maneuverability. Along with close air support, the Wildcats were used for attacking anti-aircraft guns and airfields ahead of the amphibious beach landings. The aircraft were equipped with incendiary bombs for these purposes. The Wildcat acted as a dive bomber to provide increased accuracy for the bombs (Wardell). With the Wildcats destroying anti-aircraft guns and Axis controlled airports, the 12th Air Force bombers were safe to come in and finish the job with little resistance. The most common bombers used in Operation Torch were the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress. The bombers’ main targets were large groups of transport trucks, ports, supply

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast Ww2 And European Theater Of War

1045 Words | 5 Pages

Although when the Allies attacked they were not in an actual battle. Unlike the European theater of War which started with a converging columns strategy. In the Pacific theater of war they acted quickly because of what happened at Pearl Harbor. One of the Pacific theaters tactics was to use B-29 bombers. They were very helpful in the war.

Read More

Tuskegee Airmen Research Papers

820 Words | 4 Pages

They also flew the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the Bell P-39 Airacobras, the P-47 Thunderbolts. Last but not least they also flew the P-51 Mustang. The importance of the Tuskegee Airmen. They were very successful.

Read More

Vietnam War Air Defense Analysis

1497 Words | 6 Pages

Air Defenders served an important role for the nation during the Vietnam War era. The Soldiers of the era showed great resourcefulness and ability to adapt to changing circumstances when faced with threats and challenges that were unforeseen at the outset of the conflict. By adapting existing technology to serve in roles and tasks beyond what they were originally designed to accomplish and by showing great

Read More

Air Defense Artillery (ADA)

507 Words | 3 Pages

When hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base, AAA took up arms and were the first Army units to engage the enemy. “First to Fire” was created and stuck. Further into World War II, AAA units everywhere managed to shoot down many hostile enemy planes and earn a dozen Distinguished Service Crosses, Silver Stars, and Presidential Unit Citations.

Read More

Research Paper On Tuskegee Airmen

677 Words | 3 Pages

The Airmen were allowed to train in the P-40 Warhawk and the P-39 Airocobra which were also some of the planes taken into battle with the Airmen. The other two planes that were allowed were the P-47 Thunderbolt and the beloved P-51 Mustang. The Mustang was the newest plane and the most powerful by far being able to reach altitudes higher than the other planes and able to fire and deal damage from farther than any other fighter. The Tuskegee Airmen, now referred to as the Red tails because of the red painted tails on their planes, received the duty of bomber escort. This job was much needed as the bombers were slow planes and harder to maneuver so they had to be protected.

Read More

Pancho Villa Research Paper

1855 Words | 8 Pages

military in hunt for Pancho Villa was the use of planes. The United States for the first time in its history sent a squad of 8 planes to help Pershing in his search for the villain Pancho Villa. They sent 8 Curtiss JN-2 Wright planes, with the nicknames the Jennies. They were a complete failure within a month’s use all 8 planes became completely inoperable. The planes were not used in any fighting nor were the planes even modified to fight.

Read More

What Was The B-24 Advantages

1895 Words | 8 Pages

The B-24 was a very efficient and effective plane in World War Two. The B-24 was used especially for bombing, and was the biggest plane of its kind. In the beginning of the war it was just used for cargo transport, because it did not have a self-sealing fuel tank. This was before the Pacific war began, when there were super far missions to

Read More

Reasons For The Battle Of Dunkirk

260 Words | 2 Pages

The battle of Dunkirk was a surprise attack by Hitler on the Netherlands. Hitler sent forces through the Ardennes and around the Maginot Line. The attack caused Allies to retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk, also known as the French Port, as a way of backing farther away from German forces. The Allies were trapped with their backs facing the English channel. The Allies called to put Operation Dynamo into action.

Read More

Allied Strategic Bombing

2076 Words | 9 Pages

Allied escort fighters such as the P-51 Mustang were fitted with extra fuel tanks under their wings, drastically increasing their range from 500 to 2000 miles. The number of bombs capable of being dropped over the target area increased substantially. The destruction wrought on German cities scaled up dramatically. The result of this for German civilians was, ‘their morale, their belief in

Read More

Similarities And Differences Between Ww1 And World War 1

826 Words | 4 Pages

During the beginning of the first world war, aircrafts were used primarily for military observation of enemy states and did not play a large role until near the end of the war where they were used to bomb enemy territory on the western front. The first fighter planes produced in World War I, was rarely used due to their overall inaccuracy and inefficiency whereas the fighter planes/jets produced during world war II, had more speed, enhanced armoury and were more accurate and precise. As such, the long-range aircraft of the second world war removed the Mid-Atlantic Gap. Furthermore, technological progression had a large influence on the production rate of airpower.

Read More

The Albatross Research Paper

790 Words | 4 Pages

The Albatross. A plane like no other, with every detail incorporated to achieve the most aerodynamic and powerful plane. With two machine guns firing through the propeller, it was the undisputed ruler of the skies. From the beginning of World War One, it was clear that this war would be unlike any other before it.

Read More

Thesis Statement On The Atomic Bomb

1523 Words | 7 Pages

The alternative for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisors was doing nothing and letting Nazi Germany develop atomic power and going on to use it to conquer the world. The United States of America wanted to end World War II on both the Atlantic and Pacific fronts and needed the quickest possible method to do so. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advisors concluded that hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost on an assault on the island of Japan. The U.S. Armed Forces was over 16,000,000 strong and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s main motive for dropping the atom bombs was to save American lives.5

Read More

Britain's Role In Ww2 Analysis

1338 Words | 6 Pages

Fighter Command could choose when and where to fight, a great advantage when altitude and knowing where the enemy was usually determined who won in fighter on fighter and fighter on bomber combat. ."WW2 British Tanks and Armored Cars." The British Air Force was very intelligent and had all the planes and armor they needed to succeed in the air. The British air force, also known as the Royal Air Force, went under rapid expansion following the outbreak of war against Germany in 1939.

Read More

Munich Bombing

1067 Words | 5 Pages

The Royal Air Force Bomber Command would run attacks at night and the United States Army Air Force squad would run attacks on the Germans during the daytime. The RAF Bomber Commander felt that if they dispatched over 1,000 aircraft each night against the German objectives, it would destroy the industry of the city in hours and then the invasion of Europe would be unnecessary. In one night of bombing, over 1,000 aircraft used over 2,000 tons of bombs on Munich, destroying over 13,000 homes. In the daylight raids by the United States Army Air Force squads, had no protection of the fighter escorts like the Royal Air Force squads did.

Read More

The Two Phases Of Operation Desert Storm

1738 Words | 7 Pages

Operation Desert Storm; one of the most noteworthy military operations in American history. It started with a swarm of air attacks on Kuwait in an attempt to free it from Iraqi rule. The United States along with a multitude of other countries collaborated to construct a coalition force to subdue Saddam Hussein 's grip on Kuwait. Through Operation Desert Storm a swarm of air attacks were able to destroy Iraqi weapons, shelters, warning systems, and places of interest. However, before the coalition forces entered into a ground war with Iraqi forces in Kuwait political leaders wanted to assure the logistics of what they were about to do was legal and moral.

Read More

More about The Importance Of Operation Torch

Related Topics

Open Document