En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte

Theses concise and informative guides provide an excellent source of references on modern contemporary weapons and military equipment. Each features technical line profiles, a wealth of photographs and informative text written by experts in the field.

En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte

CAS is an "air action by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft against hostile targets which are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces." (Joint Publication (Joint Pub) 1-02, DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms) CAS is an offensive air support (OAS) mission that is planned and executed to deliver firepower against selected enemy capabilities at a designated place and time. By using the speed and mobility of aircraft, CAS provides the commander with the means to strike the enemy swiftly and unexpectedly. Applying the fundamentals of combined arms, the commander integrates CAS with other forms of fire support and the fire and movement of ground forces. In so doing, the commander takes advantage of fleeting battlefield opportunities and achieves combat objectives. CAS is a mission conducted at the tactical level that may affect operational-level objectives.

As the United States Third Army's tanks moved through Avranches, no one, not even the Third Army's commander, Lieutenant General George S. Patton, could have foreseen that it was the start of one of the most successful offensives of World War II--an offensive that received a great deal of help from the air. As Patton later wrote to the chief of the Army Air Forces, "For about 250 miles I have seen the calling cards of the fighter-bombers, which are bullet marks in the pavement and burned tanks and trucks in the ditches." This book covers the units in the Ninth Air Force, which gave close air support to the Third Army, and the Third Army's campaign in France from August to November 1944, with special emphasis on how support from the air helped the Third Army continue pushing toward the German border. The difficult logistics of the operation are discussed in detail: Both the Ninth Air Force and the Third Army were hurt by a lack of materiel, especially gasoline, and this affected the offensive.