Chapter XI: North Africa, Nov. 1942-May 1943

[Music] the to the of we he you for [Music] November 8th 1942 the Mediterranean 11 months after Pearl Harbor more than 800 ships engaged in Operation Torch the invasion of North Africa the plan call for Tactical Air support for the ground forces some of the air units were fed from England and the states by carriers we had 70 War Hawks on a US flat toop 25 more on a British carrier we like this plane the Curtis P40 could carry a 500 lb bomb as easily as a belly gas tank it was both a fighter and a bomber now inspired by Doolittle's Tokyo raid land trained fighter pilots because their planes were urgently needed were risking carrier takeoffs to get to Morocco at 2 and 3 minute intervals we raced down the short deck and grabbed for air felt like someone pulled a Runway out from under a sful fast we cleared the decks and buzzed the carriers for luck then the entire group led by Colonel Bill M headed for the already battle scarred Landing fields of French Morocco General Eisenhower came up for a look see at our forward command post Allied Forces had rolled over the opposition and moved halfway across North Africa only to grind to a halt because of weather and the lack of supplies we were almost within sight of the enemy's Big Supply ports in Tunisia however Logistics and mud dictated the decision on General Eisenhower's order position were Consolidated and the attack was postponed indefinitely the mountains the roads even the air seemed to fooze with 6 weeks of steady rain no motor Transportation Wheels went no place only a few meager supplies got through for once like the foot soldier air support the umbrella for our Ground Forces was stuck in the mud the enemy was in much better shape they had hundreds of planes operating from permanent all weather Fields their veteran battle trained Lu waffer was sure of easy victory over inexperienced American air units Allied harbors and airfields were primary targets [Music] air defenses were weak open for Stuka dive bombing and [Music] draping after Plastering Allied Supply Harbors they attacked airfields air units doggedly held on while even the ground seemed to rise and burn under repeated attack the Allies suffered losses and even as they rescued their w wounded new and faster ways were improvised to carry casualties to safety the planes which had brought in high priority supplies took out higher priority men they were attended by flight nurses with their evacuation casualties were only hours from hospitals even home but wounded men and planes had to be repaired American Ingenuity went to work salvaged parts and new ideas made crude gasoline firebombs the Allies rebuilt their strength General ik had planned strategy with his air ground and naval officers we worked out the best ways of using our combined forces General spotz was named Co of the Northwest African Air Force generals Arnold Royce and Bron visited our outfit the 12th Air Force fighter command run by General Pete Casada the brass were helping us get on even terms with a loop waer Army transport boys triped Railway capacity a while back we'd nearly run out of 500 Pounders but now we had plenty gasoline rationed at home meant life or death in the desert the battle for Supply was being won we were getting ready suddenly on February 14th rbl's Africa Corp attacked [Music] at cerine pass Allied line sitham after 8 days of attack the axis initiative was exhausted it was at this point that raml quit his African command for the enemy the situation worsened gasoline shortages reduced air operations squeezed into a steadily smaller pocket they prepared to evacuate planes and Key Personnel to Sicily about 20 men could Escape in a yunker 52 high above them the Allies watched and waited something big was coming the German escape plan was put in motion near Tunis Rose a group of more than 30 heavily armed me 109 Fighters they were to escort a large Fleet of slow flying 52 [Music] The Hop to Sicily was a shuttle run of about 100 miles less than an hour 100 strong the transport stretched in a long line on the deck headed for their Sicilian Sanctuary they didn't get very far as soon as our 57th Fighter Group spotted them Captain Jimmy curl Squad of 13 p4s Dove on the enemy to split them up [Music] we had been chasing Germans since July 1942 but we never had a chance like this famous [Music] afternoon down below the trans it's drone done if their luck keld the Germans might make a getaway their luck ran [Music] out the tail end Charlies of the long Escape line took their chances on getting back to their Cape bone air drones [Music] some of them made it a hard [Music] way when the attack was over we had destroyed 58 transports and 18 Fighters lieutenants Duffy powers in Cleveland each clobbered five transports from then on we sat over German air dromes and dared the lwfa to come up but the axis still had a trump C the Africa call blocked the way to Tunis the Allies trow seeking weak spots finding some they shifted forces building for a breakthrough Montgomery's Army hammered the Africa core from the south Allied artillery tried to give the ground forces a tow hold on the Cora T Tunis but Monti's eighth Army was effectively pinned down by the Africa Corp on the morning of May 6th they called for Tactical Air Support weather was good we had gasoline and bombs planes and Men We were ready the Northwest African Tactical Air Force Drew up a schedule for an unprecedented weight of Air Attack the Heavies were first to give dep to the artillery barrage they ordered us to concentrate on an area 4 mil long by 3 and 1/2 mil wide we had 12 Air Force Farmer Boys who had started in the muddy fields of Algeria they were teamed up with ninth Air Force men who had eaten sand all the way from Egypt 1,500 mil before 9:00 we had planned to fly more than a thousand sorties anything that could take off went up to the Cor our fighter bomber boys including the 57th group of Cape bone Fame were about to sweep a road to Tunis we were using the experience gained in Egypt smashing raml at L alamine then we were only a few now we were hundreds all grouped in a powerful package General Alexander's armies were anxious for the Air Attack which would mean a breakthrough they didn't have long to [Music] wait we blasted a channel from Mages alab to Tunis in 2 hours tanks and infantry had Advanced as much as a mile resistance began to crack [Music] fire bombs which we had tested in the Sahara helped in the Big [Music] Show the Germans realizing their desperate situation retreated to make a last ditch St finally the Allied armies broke through from here on Alexander mopped up with fire at last the Allies could see Tunis this was the first flush of Victory a year and a half after Pearl Harbor only 6 months after the landing Allied soldiers tankmen and Airmen were liberators like the American Marines who had brought peace to North Africa more than a [Music] before there were salutes to Liberty as tyranny disappeared the citizens of Tunis cheered The Crusade for freedom but now had a new Champion Allied air [Music] power a quarter of a million prisoners prove that Nazi invincibility was a myth in the German defeat we learned the strength of Joint Unified commands Allied air power had destroyed enemy planes guns and ships which paved the way for the final destruction of Hitler's once proud and Powerful Africa Corp as designer of the Tunisian Victory General Eisenhower reused the United allies who were at last upon the mark [Music] the world had seen the first large- scale application of Complete Air Supremacy we had battle tested and developed Tactical Air support for our Ground Forces later chapters will show the lessons of North African Air Warfare applied on a global scale with a steadily increasing B power plane power and Firepower of the United States Air Force oh