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

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..... -; ... The results of two years' steady pounding by our British-based heavies are graphically revealed in this eyewitness report from precision target areas in France TIlES, presses and drilling machines, most of them broken [ and both dnsty sides with disuse, stood in crowded ranks of the Iactorv. Overhead the saw-tooth along roof was a dangling skeleton of :,teel. But across the reaches of cement floor not a bomb crater could be seen, Thc stocky Frenchman in black bnsiness suit and beret waved to\var~1 the \\Teekage, "Your bombs were well fuvccl." he said. "One hundred and th irtv br.m b, struck th is bu ild ing. livc were duds. The rcst went tiJrongh one smhec, the roof, then exploded beforc hitting the floor. ]),un:lge to am machines was enormous. It \\:\S work \\'cll clone." This \V:IS tl.c story cvcrvwlicrc. Frenchmen who had seen 8th Air Forc« bon'lbarch;lent of target, in the Paris and Rheims nrcax made \arying connucuts. An cngincer spoke of bomb hu,ing, A former French airman pra isccl thc "impeccable" form.it ions. Other men admired the cour.u;c of those crews wh o bad weathered the hottest flak in Emope. Bnt the snm of their statemcnts came to one thing-\\'()rk well done. En'n German officers, standing not only in the ruins of airfields, rail yards, f.rctorics and oil plants but in the ruins of their own military ambition, had charactcrizcd American bomb.ndmcut as a;l A-I job. A description of rcsults achieved in 8th Air Force attacks upon industrial Fr.mcc-i-us found through ground inspection of targets and interviews with French businessmen shortly after the occupation-s--rcqnircs, first, a review of the problem involved. lor nowhere in the world has precision bombing been put to a more Se\'CIT test. French factorics operated by or for the J\'al.is gcner'llly were much smaller in area than those of the Reich itself, and the Germans had gonc to extr:l':agant lengths to fend off U. S. air PO\\'CI'. Pari, \\'as so stoutlv armored with antiaircraft - and fleets of fighter planes that bombers were forced up to 2 :;.000 feet or more. Key plants \\'CTe protected hv fircwalls and other structures. ~ lorcovcr, these factories were situated in thickly popul.itcd sections among people who at heart were fricudlv to the Allied c.m«: or seel:ctlv active in it. Alw.iv», th is wus a vital consideration. The Sth Air Force sent oulv picked crews .urd expert born ba I'dicrs on Paris missions, never used incendiaries on f.rctorics (\I'h ich norma llv cause nlJ to half the damage in a bombing attack), and rarely attacked through cloud cover. Whatever the difficulties, however, destruct ion of French industry was essential. for it figured largely in the pl.ms of the German war machine. The success of the mission may NOVEMBER, 1944 By MAJ. CHARLES D. FRAZER AIR FORCE Overseas Staff be seen in a few tvpical t,ugcts-for example, the CAM ball and roller be'lring plant. This conecrn-thc Compagnie d'Application Mccaniqucs -\\',IS a subsicliary of the Swedish SKF organil.ation. Its two plants at Bois Colombe and I\TY were capable in pre-war times of producing -+0,000 bearings per day. The wartime production figure rangcd from I :;,000 to 2:;,000 daily. Two thousand workers were employed. From a strategic st.mdpoiut this may have been the most important induvtri.i] tnget in Fr.mcc, ~fanubctme of bearings requires higldy skilled labor and it is one industry the Ccrm.uis could not dcccutr.ilizc. And, while Germany produccd 7:; percent of bel' owu bearings at Schwciufurt, Erkner and elsewhere, C:\\ [ \\',\S counted on for 10 to I:; percent of the total req nircnuu h. C.\" [ m.iclc tapered roller bearings, a product so urgcnt that the CernLlIlS, like a vagrant picking up butts in the street, were s;J1vaging them from all crashed All icd aircraft. 'I'm) attacks were made hy the Sth Air Force upon CAl\l's Bois Colombe plant: Oil September 1:;, 19-11, wit]: 78 Forts dropping 229 tons of I II;:, and Oil December 31, 19-13, with :;7 I:orts dropping I G-I tons. On that Ncv« Year E\'e other bombers paid a call Oil the Ivry plant, too. l n all cases 500pound bombs were used against single-story, steel and concrete huildings. The first attack all Bois Colombe destroyed 30 percent of the surface structures and 20 percent of the machines. Practically all roofs fell in, Orv.ir Custaflson, the Swedish manager \vho ran the plants under Ccrmun xupcrviviou, called this a very gooc! result. Since 30 operations arc needed to make a herring, this pcrccut.u;c of destruct ion put the plant out completely for two months. 1':\'('n after work was resumed production never again got above 12,000 hearings per day. After the second attack, Bois Colom he was down for another two months and the lvrv plant \\'as clown for nearly three. At Ivrv bombs dc.trovcd rnauv fom-spindle automatic machines which the Conu.ms could neither repair nor replace. These CA-;\I factories were vcrv small pinpoint targets. Apparcntlv the Ct.nu.ms understood that if A:\lo' bombers could hit the plants twice they could do it ;lg:lin, so in Mnv of this year J'\,u,i officials in charge of C.\\ [ muck: a spectacular mO\T. They undertook to tr.msfcr all usable machines from Bois Colombe and Ivrv into a vast grotto at Tavcruv, just outside Paris, Strenuons labor W,IS involved and the work took weeks. Cold and d.uup. the grotto was whollv unsuited to the mnuufactnrc of hearings, and to 0\'('1'comcth is obstacle the Cenn,\ns instalkdheatinf'; equipment. Thcv also ran electric powcr and oil lines into the caves and built tunnels for a r.ulroad spm, Fvcutu.rllv this f.mtustic fuctorv. occupvins; 2 :;0,000 square feet of cavcrn -10 to 80 yards below ground. was put into operation; but it was then too late-Julv, 19-14. Production of a sort was maintained for one mouth. then ceased altogether on Augnst 12. Quite a different type of plant in the Bois Colombe vicinitv \\'as that of IIispano Suiza. Here Ccnuan-coutrollcd workers repaired airplane and marine engines. repaired f\ lE- 109 aircraft, and manufactured components for Daimler 7
1BPOWER COl1til1ued BellZ engine,. IInc, too, the j'\,ui, "'CTe put out of bmmes, in late 19'+3. Three attach were sent against lIispano Suiz«. On September 9. a shop for machiuing cr.mk- ,hafts 11,1, dcstrovcd. On the nroruins; of September I:;, .rclm iu ivt rat iou building, were wrecked and a I it.rl foundrv w.rs knocked out. It is still out. On Decembel' ::1, a tl;ird vi-it dell101IShed the Daimkr unit, hit the foundry again and de,troyed a t oolvhop. \\'ork at l Suiz.: was never IT'luned. I':urope's largest nutomot ivc fuctorv is the Renault II'orb at Bill.mccur t, which before the w.rr cmplovccl 2 :;.()()() men and women. I.'ollm,'inr; the Ccr m.m conqucvt of Fr.uicc, t h i-. great industrial unit II',IS turned to the prodnction of materials for thc \\'c!lllll,ICht. Actu.illv, there
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~J 1 AIR FOftCES * OCTOBER 1944
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Rendezvous Who Is He? Dear Editor:
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[us: ,dlat is tIle AAI'I'DC~ It is
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oads and bridges and military imtal
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Here's how controllers direct the p
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sengcr and courier service in areas
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GET WISE Here are a few of the easi
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Airborne soldiers. shown here durin
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Smoke in background is fruin [up.ui
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It has pronounced step characterist
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TIIC{"II""IIIi; ;lItidc j, till' I/
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OCTOBER,1944 The first thing the a\
Page 25 and 26: YOUR ENEMY All ;Iirer;!ft fllillg o
Page 27 and 28: ->",i" .""tJnil'et hj/'- By Col. Do
Page 29 and 30: 28 011 BOll~aiIldk is quicklv unloa
Page 31 and 32: the plane landed, a jccp would driv
Page 33: THE PHiliPPINES DISTANCES SHOWN IN
Page 36 and 37: The economic system of the Philippi
Page 38 and 39: The AAF's homing pigeons are recogn
Page 40 and 41: Our aviation engineers had to fight
Page 42 and 43: ---- technique • -- - --- . RUNWA
Page 44 and 45: High Intensity Controlled Lighting
Page 46 and 47: Attached to a flyer's ear, the Oxim
Page 48 and 49: Automatic Pilot Trainer-A new train
Page 50 and 51: 3 5 7 Surprised by the friendliness
Page 52 and 53: TIM ELY A D V ICE FRO M THE A I R I
Page 54 and 55: R.6 I:>:CJ: the AAF S helicopter, t
Page 56 and 57: SS I. You on the left, Buddy, appea
Page 58 and 59: ever .nrivc at a fir',t ~Iid stut i
Page 60 and 61: p:rinted on the outvi.lc wrt l: ,ih
Page 62 and 63: tanks and truck-borne infantry and
Page 64 and 65: FIGHTER CONTROL (Colltilltled from
Page 68 and 69: Property of tDe Library ARMY INDtJS
Page 70 and 71: For the Record I)e:lr h!Jtlll Rende
Page 72 and 73: he Allie's into German-held of the
Page 74 and 75: H Combat may make you Lazy By Maj.
Page 78 and 79: Production charts show the disaster
Page 80 and 81: all key points of the factory's 3-+
Page 82 and 83: HE Fortresses T wings to the took o
Page 84 and 85: ';:'4"'~' .~~~c ~)'~ ~J ~~~ ~" . "
Page 86 and 87: 'l'h is was a YClr ago, but these a
Page 88 and 89: Pulling in His Ne-:I:. Reeelit de,c
Page 90 and 91: When a radio operator makes a mista
Page 92 and 93: Lifeline to the US,S R BY HERBERT R
Page 94 and 95: Ten o'clock of a December morning a
Page 96 and 97: THE MAN WITH THE PRIVATE BREEZE By
Page 98 and 99: THE AIR WAR IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFI
Page 100 and 101: STANDARD FLIGHT INSTRUMENT PANEL E
Page 102 and 103: It 11c:l!,illg l.ot h sidc
Page 104 and 105: , , ,CO:-iTI:-iUI:D ]'\o\\', pacbgi
Page 106 and 107: technique ••• CO]\;Tl:"UED Ne
Page 108 and 109: INSTRUMENT PANEL (Continued from Pa
Page 110 and 111: LIFELINE TO THE US S R ( Cout iuucc
Page 112 and 113: F\lr:RCF'\~CY FOUrp\lr:,\'T luvpcct
Page 114 and 115: 50 COMBAT MAY MAKE YOU LAZY (Contin
Page 116 and 117: EN of the AAF-including the hundred
Page 118 and 119: .I In. ]~rhO:S-':cl the'mll-it:IIT
Page 120 and 121: August 7. Patton kept moving his he
Page 122 and 123: l'Iiavigation Training En Masse. Th
Page 124 and 125: "WE arc not going to bubble over wi
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A wood block support; injured legs
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Burma. A Japanese light antiaircraf
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~ ~,C"= =~=.~7~~ ---,- .... _._. __
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HOW ,SHARP ARE YOU? A 'hoto Test of
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.. ' Back to the Philippines PART I
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Tacloban strip \\";IS not sC'ITicca
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All Tile Illftl, \\ ,(("d If iii, ,
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:lIe fbttle of Hrit.un. IC\i" intru
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Underground. ,'~ group of worried m
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volunteers between the agcs of II .
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I f By Capt. Greer Williams Air SlI
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Flaming debris (If njllI, ])1]]1:ll
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ground fire the pilot should look f
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two weeks: Cincinnati. one week: Pi
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At 5.000 fed. the pilot opened the
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cardboard bombs on their choice of
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turn to Traffic Scction, Crcnicr Fi
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Oil refineries arc gooel targets, T
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Tile air campaign to choke off fuel
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fallen into Allied hands, thus maki
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Hamburg i lPolilz IMagdeburg 1 I r
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He's the guy who holds the life of
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46 V4ba\'s vnong V4itbtbis pictUfe1
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j ._3 Thirteen days after the 13th
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THE ABC OF D-DAY When an invasion i
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By all AIR F( )RCl-: ()\"t'rsc;/s S
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The fighters called for help and th
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A jeep, laden with leftover explosi
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THE ABC OF D-DAY t Cont inu.xl [r o
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By Capt. E. E. Churchill co, isu. A
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- ~ --'fftJMlGa ~II.I - , • - '--
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We're more than 2,300,000 individua
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