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  • D-Day

    The first Allied amphibious troops hit the beaches of Normandy at 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944. Constant air cover was flown over the vast sea armada and the assault beaches, and only three Luftwaffe airplanes were sighted the first day. For the next several weeks while the Allies strengthened

  • Down to Earth: USAAF Tactical Strike in Europe

    The ground attack operations of the USAAF's 9th Air Force in western Europe and 12th Air Force in southern Europe crippled enemy air power, paralyzed enemy mobility and destroyed enemy units and materiel. Their efforts played a key role in the defeat of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.Tactical Air

  • Daylight Bombing

    Aerial operations from England, although greatly reduced because of the North African campaign, continued during the winter of 1942-1943. Nazi submarine pens on the French coast were the main targets, though little damage was done because of the heavily reinforced concrete construction. This was a

  • Development of the Boeing B-29

    Development of the Boeing Superfortress "very heavy bomber" began late in 1939, and the first XB-29 made its initial flight on Sept. 21, 1942. In a bold wartime gamble, the AAF ordered the plane into quantity production months before that first flight. Among the B-29's new features were pressurized

  • Doolittle Raid Crews

    Sixteen B-25s left the USS Hornet to participate in the Doolittle Raid. Click on the arrows next to the photos above to navigate through crew photos and names.Click here to return to the Doolittle Raid Overview.

  • Desperate Defenders: The Provisional Air Corps Regiment

    The Provisional Air Corps Regiment (PACR) was created in January 1942, from USAAF air base, supply and flying squadrons. Some were still waiting for their aircraft to arrive from the United States. For others, their aircraft had been destroyed in December or evacuated to continue the fight

  • Day of Infamy: The Pearl Harbor Attack

    At 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese force of 183 airplanes attacked U.S. military and naval facilities on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands without warning. For 30 minutes, dive bombers, level bombers and torpedo planes struck airfields and naval vessels.After a 15-minute lull, a second wave

  • Douglas C-47D Skytrain

    Few aircraft are as well known, were so widely used or used as long as the C-47. Affectionately nicknamed the "Gooney Bird," this aircraft was adapted from the Douglas DC-3 commercial airliner. The U.S. Army Air Corps ordered its first C-47s in 1940, and by the end of World War II, procured a total

  • Douglas B-18 Bolo

    The Douglas Aircraft Co. developed the B-18 to replace the Martin B-10 as the U.S. Army Air Corps' standard bomber. Based on the Douglas DC-2 commercial transport, the prototype B-18 competed with the Martin 146 (an improved B-10) and the four-engine Boeing 299, forerunner of the B-17, at the Air

  • Douglas A-24

    The Army Chooses a Dive BomberGerman success with dive bombers in Poland and France convinced the U.S. Army to acquire its own dive bombers, and in 1941 the Army Air Corps ordered the Douglas Dauntless, which was already in production for the U.S. Navy. Designated the A-24, it came without the tail