News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

Loulsl ••• Maneuvers End
Support Commands Show Their Stuff
By Capt. Joseph S. Edgerton
•
AMERiCAN air defense today is stronger and more
realistic because of the participation of uni ts
of the Army Air Forces in the recently completed
Louisiana maneuvers of the Second and Third Armies.
Here, for the first time, the" task force" idea
was carried to a logical conclusion with the creation
of the Second and Third Air Task Forces, to
support the Second and Third Armies, respectively.
These task forces, composed of mixed aviation units,
were organized to provide air activity of whatever
character might be required to support the work of
the ground forces. The resulting air-ground teams
were an American version--not a replica--of the
famous German "Blitz" teams. They were, in no
sense, servile copies of foreign developnents. They
were an American development, created by logical
processes to meet our own problems but embodying
the valuable experiences of the belligerents in
the European wars.
The maneuvers proved not only the soundness of
coordinated training and operation of air-ground
teams, but they also provided a baptism of fire
for a number of the newest and fastest of American
warplanes, under actual field conditions, and a
test of the organization which has been built up
by the Army Air Forces, the Air Force Combat Command
and the Air Corps to operate, maintain and
supply these new and far advanced fighting planes.
Too Early To Weigh Results
Although the maneuvers have been concluded, it
still is too early to accurately weigh the results.
They will be reflected in improvements in design,
operation and maintenance of aircraft, perhaps well
into the future. They will have an influence on
air and ground training. They will dictate changes
in comnunications. They will have an important
bearing on the future of the five Air Support Commands
which now are in process of organization to
provide permanent air support for the four Armies
and the Armored Force.
It may be well to review at this point comments
of the various maneuver commanders concerning the
air or air-ground activities.
"The bringing together of the Army, Navy and
Marine Air Squadrons provided valuable experience
to all in air-ground cooperation. and the vital
role which aviation plays in the ~li 1itary team,"
Lieut. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, Chief of Staff of
General Headquarters and maneuver director, said
in a statement at the close of the Louisiana show.
"The results obtained were surprisingly effective.
'Supply services had tremendous problems keeping
up with the fast- moving situations and they performed
their job well.
"GHQ feels that the maneuver was highly successful
as culmination of a strenuous training program
and highly beneficial to all ranks of the two
armies engaged,
"We can never be entirely satisfied with the
performance of our troops, but the soldier of 1941
will give a better account of himself than the
soldier of any other period in our history."
-Beyond cri ticism"
Lieut. Gen. Walter Krueger, commanding general
of the Third Army, at the conclusion of the first
phase of the maneuvers, said that coordination of
ground-air operations "proved to be technically
beyond criticism and worked with a new speed and
accuracy. "
Lieut. Gen. Delos C. Emmons, chief of the Air
Force Combat Comnand, was a personal observer of
much of the maneuver activity on the part of both
armies and both supporting Air Task Forces. In
summarizing his impressions of the maneuvers, Gene
ral Enmons said:
"Air power played an important part in the first
phase of the very realistic war between the Red
and Blue armies. I underscore theword 'realistic'
because this rnak.- :ieve conflict had all the elements
of real combat conditions short of a 'shooting
war.'
"While the mock battles were chiefly staged as
training courses for high-ranking officers in all
branches of the Army, I can truly say that everyone
in the air forces, from senior officers to
young pilot officers, went through a highly valuable
course of intense training. Among other
things, air personnel learned, through actual experience,
some of the problems of the ground
forces with whom they were cooperating. Similarly,
the ground forces were able to see for themselves
how Army, Navy and Marine Aviation, in the field
of pursuit, light and medium bombing, can be used
in cooperation with their own war efforts.
"The question asked most frequently since the
first phase of these maneuvers closed is: 'Which
side won?'
'My answer is: 'Victory went to those who learned
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