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  • Maj. Gen. Otto Weyland

    Maj. Gen. Otto Weyland effectively led the XIX Tactical Air Command (9th Air Force), which worked very closely with Lt. Gen. Patton's 3rd Army. During the Normandy breakout, the 3rd Army's right flank was open to enemy attack, but Weyland's fighter-bombers provided for its defense. Working in

  • Maj. Gen. Elwood "Pete" Quesada

    Maj. Gen. Elwood Quesada, commander of the IX Tactical Air Command (9th Air Force), developed the highly successful "armored column cover" system used in France. This tactic involved a small formation of armed fighter-bombers that flew ahead of an armored unit and communicated with a USAAF flying

  • P-47 Armor Plate

    Note:  This item has temporarily been removed from display. Most tactical fighter-bomber units flew the Thunderbolt, which was an excellent aircraft for the mission. One important feature of the P-47 was its ruggedness, due in part to armor plating in vital areas. These pieces of armor protected

  • Into Germany

    With the Luftwaffe virtually wiped out by 1945, 9th Air Force aircraft roamed freely over Germany, attacking targets of opportunity and providing excellent close support for Allied troops. Under the umbrella of complete air superiority, the Allies crossed the Rhine in late March, and advanced

  • Battle of the Bulge

    On Dec. 16, 1944, the German army launched a large-scale surprise attack against a quiet and thinly-manned sector in the Ardennes Forest. Poor weather kept tactical air power grounded, and the situation became desperate. When the weather finally started improving on Dec. 23, however, 9th Air Force

  • Breakout and the Race Across France

    "They bomb and strafe every movement, even single vehicles and individuals ... [causing a] feeling of helplessness against enemy aircraft ... the effect on inexperienced troops is literally 'soul shattering.'"- Gen. Freiherr Heinrich von Luttwitz, 2nd Panzer Division commander, July 17, 1944, near

  • Operation OVERLORD: The D-Day Invasion

    On June 6, 1944, 9th Air Force units, along with aircraft from the USAAF 8th Air Force and the British Royal Air Force, hammered enemy positions. Thanks to the pre-invasion effort, there were virtually no Luftwaffe aircraft in action on D-Day. With most of the bridges leading into Normandy

  • Softening Up for the Normandy Invasion

    Before D-Day, 9th Air Force medium bombers and fighter-bombers attacked Luftwaffe (German air force) airfields, V-1 launching sites, coastal batteries, key bridges and railroad marshaling yards in the Normandy region. Ninth Air Force aircrews also flew many missions against the Pas de Calais to

  • USAAF Tactical Ground Attack in Western Europe

    The 9th Air Force was the tactical arm of the USAAF in western Europe from 1943 to the end of the war in 1945. The aircrews of the 9th Air Force "softened" the enemy before the invasion of Normandy, supported ground forces on D-Day and made possible their rapid advance through France to the Nazi

  • Fliers' Menace: Flak

    Note:  This exhibit has temporarily been removed from display. Although the Luftwaffe was broken, German antiaircraft fire, or flak, took an ever-increasing toll on USAAF airmen. Since fighter-bomber pilots worked at low level, flak was particularly dangerous -- if their aircraft took a mortal hit,