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

THE
ABC OF D-DAY
When an invasion is in the cards, Stat Control
shuffles the deck lor the right answers
Let's suppose a date has neen set for
the beginning of the Battle of Japan.
Intelligent planning requires a
readily available source of accurate and
complete information. The Air Staff
wants to know exactly what, when,
where uud how-e-whnt subordinate units
arc able to do, \1'11en the required numbcr
of four-enginc bombers and fourengine
pilots will be sent to the proper
stations, where supplies and equipment
mav be speedily loea ted, and how deficiencies
in the number of trained crews
will affect the success of a mission.
These arc thc uuk uown factors in the
air war equation that hav« to be answered
in the cr uciblc of combat. \Var
1Il0\TS fast and so do aircraft. Conditions
change hourly. Data must be
swift, concise. Reports have to be gathcreel.
digested and presented in a clear,
life-size picture. Figllfes must be at
fmger-tip level, reduced to a common
denominator. The accent must be on
speed, ximpl icitv, system.
\\Tho undertakes to furnish such factual
material? \ Vho serves as the Army
Air Forces' "Information, Please"? \\Tho
collects, compiles, analyi'.es and tabulates
the flood tide of facts that swirl
into headquarters?
The questions arc purely rhetorical,
for thcv have alrc.rclv been answered.
They \\:ere answered ('JIl J\Iarch 9, 19-E,
52
when the Office of j\[anagemcnt Control
was uskcd to set up it\ Statisticd
Control Divisinn. And just how well
the reply \\'as made is shown in the
ascendant superiority of American air
tactics O\'Cf its opposition.
The fledgling organization was gi\"Cn
a man-size mission. Unlike most youngsters
who plague their elders with continued
and prodding inquiries on topics
of unlimited rangc, Statistical Control
found itself from the vcrv first on the
answer end of a rapid-fire 'quiz.
Each month Statistical Control's various
branches arc required to furnish for
usc in AAF Headquarters 21:; reports
on status and location of aircraft and
equipme-nt, combat operations and
training, as well as l , :;00 replies to requests
for special information.
How is the task performed? Try to
imagine a great ne\\'spaper with star reporters
posted all over the globe, wlicrever
an airplane flies under USAAF
command. These reporters arc statistical
officers, and their duties arc to cover the
planes, personnel and operations of their
outfits and transmit their "stories" on
six duilv and weekly forms to the "desk"
in Washington. ]