Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

Here are the do's and don'ts of ground strafing from combat reports of fighter pilots of the
8th Air Force. There is some variation in the advice they offer, but all of it is battle-tested
"But on trains ami eOlI\oys where you eneonnter no
return fire, vou must make cvcrv bullet count. \\e lost sonic
~IE-l O')s (:ne day because not a d.unu soul in the group
had any bullets left."
Col. Avclin 1'. Taeon, Jr., also a ""lustang group coinmaudcr,
permits his pilots to work out their own tactics
in strafing ground tngets.
"On the mechanics of strafing there arc as m~ll1Y 0Pll1ions
as there arc pilots," according to 'lucou. "Some helicvc
in surprise at the sacrifice of speed. This is accomplished
hy getting down to d.uxv-top lC\cl several miles
from the target aud follO\\ing a road or other luudm.rrk into
the target. These boys like to avoid all \illages and pop
over the trees, shoot up the target and get the hell ,I\\'a)'
on the deck, reforming and regailllng altitude some five
or ten miles a\\'ay.
"The other school of though t hkes to come around the
target at about -+.(JOO feet, look it mer, and then clive in
with around -+:;0 011 the clock, shoot up the target, stay
low, .md get ~I\\ay, reforming ~l\\"l:' from the target. Both
systems have their a(hantages .md disa(hantages. Inasmuch
as it's his own neck we let the pilots clo it the \\a:' they
prefer.
"But one thing that cvcrvboclv agrees on is the absolute
nccc-sitv of .nmcd fire as opposed to 'hosing the area'."
Ccrta in hpes of grolmd targets should he avoided particularlv
if the objective isn't worth the risk, according to
Co!. !\o:' \\', Osborn, conuna ndcr of a Lightning group.
"TIllS in my opinion, is the most important lesson we
ca n lc.un about ground attack," he says. "A qucstiouablc
target that otters only a small chance for success should be
avoided. It is a hard lesson to learn but our group learned
it the hurd \\'ay. One clay, one of our flights went clown to
strafe an airfield in France. 1\:0 aircraft were visible, but the
attack \\'as made anvliow. Ont of the four aircraft attacking.
three were lost' including the flight couunaudcr, and
the foiuth \\as hacll:' shot np and c.uuc home on one engine.
There were no claims; there had been no target to warrant
the attack. There muvt alwuvs been a 'clown to earth'
sense of value in rcg.rrd to targ~ts to be attacked and losses
to be risked."
~Lrj. Kenneth \V. Gallup, member of a Th undcrho] t
group, believes that in areas where there IS little flak or
DECEMBER,1944
•.,s:
:".,~~
"A good steep approach gin's '1I1 ,-",trcillch hc.rvv COIICClItLltioll
of bullct« ill one spot." Lncur, vehicle wrecked by lIghter stratlllg.
.::....L_. -."""~ __
"Airfields arc the most difficult .md elaugcrOlls of groulld Lllgcts.
Pick out a target as \OU go dO\\'lI-a plane. a hallgar or a gllu."
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