User manual GAMES PC COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 3-UNDERSTANDING THE TACTICAL AIR WAR

[. . . ] Microsoft® Combat Flight Simulator 3. 0 Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo UNDERSTANDING THE TACTICAL AIR WAR handbook Subject: CONTENTS Contents o ration Phot rds Administ es and Reco onal Archiv Nati Welcome to the Tactical Air War!1 Air Force Historical Research Ag ency Photo Events and People in the Tactical Air War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Key Players in the Tactical Air War: The CFS3 Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 *** ES MEN AND MACHIN REMEMBER: OUR LOT LIKE LOOK A ON THE GROUND RS. [. . . ] German tanks, trucks, guns, and troops all came in for a pounding by the tactical air commands. The port of Brest fell in part due to the relentless assault of XIX TAC on shipping and port facilities, and by the end of December, Weyland's fighter bombers were attacking the enemy near the German border. Patton called Weyland "the best damn general in the Air Corps, " and offered this commendation for the unwavering support of XIX TAC: The superior efficiency and cooperation afforded this army by the forces under your command is the best example of the combined use of air and ground troops I have ever witnessed. Due to the tireless efforts of your flyers, large numbers of hostile vehicles and troop concentrations ahead of our advancing columns have been harassed or obliterated. The information passed directly to the head of the columns from the air has saved time and lives. I am voicing the opinion of all the officers and men in this army when I express to you our admiration and appreciation of your magnificent efforts. Air Force Historica l Research Agency Photo DYNAMIC DUO: GENERA L O. P. PATTON. - 25 - Subject: LEADERS IN THE TACTICAL AIR WAR SIR TRAFFORD LEIGH-MALLORY (1892-1944) Trafford Leigh-Mallory fought on the ground in WWI until 1916, when he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. By 1918 he commanded a squadron, and by 1938 had risen to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal. During the Battle of Britain from 1940 to 1941, he led RAF Fighter Command's No. In 1942 Leigh-Mallory became head of RAF Fighter Command, and in 1943 he was knighted and made Chief Air Marshal. In 1944 he was named commander-in-chief of the U. S. and British units that formed the Allied Expeditionary Air Forces, which included the U. S. Ninth Air Force and the British Second Tactical Air Force. In this role he was responsible for the air component of air-ground teamwork in the invasion of Europe. One of his major achievements in this period was the "Transportation Plan, " to devastate rail transport and facilities vital to the German resupply effort. His collaboration with Allied leaders, including Bradley and Montgomery, provided some high points in the Anglo-American military alliance. In November 1944 Leigh-Mallory was assigned to head Allied air forces in Southeast Asia, but died in a plane crash before he could assume command. Air Force Histor ical Research Age ncy Photo TRAFFORD LEIGH-MALLORY BRIEFS RAF PILOTS IN FRA NCE, SEPTEMBER 1944. - 26 - Subject: LEADERS IN THE TACTICAL AIR WAR SIR ARTHUR "MARY" CONINGHAM (1895-1948) Arthur "Mary" Coningham was born in Australia and educated in New Zealand. This New Zealand connection earned him the nickname "Maori, " which over the years became "Mary. " He served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in WWI before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. Assigned to a squadron in 1917, by the end of the war he had scored 14 aerial victories and won numerous decorations for gallantry. Early in WWII Coningham led RAF forces in support of Montgomery's campaign in North Africa, and developed an approach to air power ultimately adopted by Eisenhower in Europe. He called for the concentration of air power against key objectives, under the command of air officers. His most successful application of this doctrine came in 1944 when, as commander of the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) and the Advanced Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AAEAF), he unleashed 2TAF on German forces from Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge and beyond. [. . . ] squadron: A British or American fighter unit consisting of 12 (sometimes 16) aircraft. Staffel: (German) A squadron of 10-12 aircraft. strafing: (RAF/USAAF) To attack a position or troops on the ground with machine gun or cannon fire from a low-flying aircraft. Adapted into English from a WWI German slogan, "Gott strafe England" ("God punish England"). [. . . ]