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 officer riding on one of the tanks in the column. This procedure enabled the fighter-bombers to warn of ambushes and to destroy enemy tanks before they became a threat. Click here to return to the Tactical Ground Attack in Western Europe Overview.