Thread by @BoneyAbroad

So for #TyphoonTuesday today, I'm going to expand on the 'kick in the balls' analogy I used in Saturday's Mortain thread.

Because accuracy and effectiveness are variables as Close Air Support and Interdiction do slightly different things. #WW2 #History #avgeeks #thread /1

https://twitter.com/BoneyAbroad/status/1424022352573177860

So let's look at Close Air Support (CAS).

The Army have a love/hate relationship with this as there is a high chance of friendly fire and finding a target from the air is rather tricky. So, let's think of the battlefield as the school playground.

The bully is the Germans. /2

The bully is making a nuisance of himself. So you look to your mates and find a fast one with more bravery than sense, they are your Air Support.

They race up and get a good shot into the Bully's 'vulnerable areas'. They may get two, but the Bully is staggered. /3

Now the Bully may get a shot or two away hurting your mad fast friend, but this is your chance, your friend has created an opening.

With the Bully down, you and the rest of your mates pile on because you know this is YOUR moment! /4

Again, the Bully will likely get a few shots away too but you have momentum, morale is high and while you may put the Bully down, likely they will leg it a tad worse for wear.

Slowly you and your mates move on from the playground to the playing fields, tank country. /5

This is, by design, a massive oversimplification.

But not by much. Studies found that CAS had a morale-boosting effect on the attacking force and a detriment to the defending force, even if minimal damage was done. Being under heavy fire isn't nice. /6

The trick was to follow up quickly, the pile on. While this wasn't always possible, when coordinated, the application of air and ground could overcome the stubbornest of blockages.

Coordination is key which is why things like Visual Control Post forward observers we added. /7

Despite the much-vaunted cab-rank system used over the Med and Normandy, this is a very wasteful application of AirPower. You are burning fuel, oil, running up engine time and fatiguing air and ground crews. There is also no guarantee you will be used. /8

While Cab Rank was useful, releasing aircraft onto Armed Recces, even directly behind a VCP area, was more effective and, we now know, had a greater effect on the battlefield.

If CAS is kicking your opponent in the balls, Interdiction is strapping your opponent down. /9

Interdiction is taking the fight behind the lines. While a rocket or bomb from a Tiffy or P-47 is not great at actually hitting a tank, they cause havoc against soft-skinned vehicles and soft-skinned people. Throw in judicious amounts of 20mm and .50 cal... /10

...and that rest in the rear echelon suddenly becomes rather stressful. You cannot escape the fight.

Couple this to destroying fuel, ammo, spares and the men and horses vital to supplying it, you can knock out a Panzer without knocking it out. /11

But Interdiction is a dangerous game.

Where interdiction is more effective is also where the Flak lives. While there could be flak deployed in forward areas, it was mainly used to defend less fluid positions.

The losses reflected this. /12

The results though were worth it as these weapons systems were more suited to attacking these sorts of targets. A WW2 fighter-bomber is an Area Weapons System, it is lacking in its pinpoint strike capability.

/13

Let's look at a rocket-firing Typhoon for a moment.

My show on @WW2TV about The Radar War before D-Day goes into this in-depth. I've linked it below and it will start at the point where we get geeky about Fighter-Bombers: /14

The short version is: if you are a fraction of a second off in your weapons release, you will miss your target by tens of YARDS.

There are no targeting aids, just a hacked gunsight and the Mark 1 Computer in the pilots head. All while being shot at while diving at 500mph. /15

So hitting a Panther is pot luck but hitting a copse of woods full of Panzers, trucks, men and materiel is not. By constraining movement and resupply behind the lines, you make the infantry's job at the front a little easier.

Add in artillery and you have a very potent mix. /16

CAS is, as Gooderson explains, firepower at the decisive time to overcome a strong point, take a wood or a town and to repel a counter-attack, something the Germans could be counted in doing. CAS is used as and when necessary to achieve short-term aims. /17

What CAS does best is enabling ground forces to have closer jumping-off points to the enemy, achieve their objectives faster and with fewer casualties. This is a vitally important fact we need to remember. A pilot may be lost, but a squad or platoon stays more intact. /18

Interdiction/Armed Recce is continuous. By constantly attacking deep into the enemy's lines, you apply constant pressure and produce longer-term results, but only if that pressure is continuous and you are willing to accept the losses to achieve these aims. /19

While a Typhoon may not be the Tankbuster of legend, it, and its stablemates, were vital tools in the armoury to open doors that would otherwise have cost far more in blood and treasure to get through. /end