06/06/2022
On this day, 6th June 1944, 78 years ago the greatest invasion fleet ever seen crossed the English Channel. It sailed to success under the umbrella of the combined might of the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force, the largest and arguably most successful air force ever gathered.
For months, the Royal Air Force had been preparing for the invasion. Attack aircraft from both the RAF and USAAF had been pooled together under a single command, the 2nd Tactical Air Force, or 2TAF. Fighter-bombers from 2TAF had ranged across France and the Low Countries attacking German airfields and bases, shooting up trains and convoys, sweeping the Luftwaffe from the skies and making it impossible for the enemy to move troops or supplies by day. Further attacks put out of action more than twenty radar stations, completely removing German radar coverage for large parts of the English Channel.
Photo-reconnaissance aircraft provided intelligence vital to planning the D-Day assault, mapping out German positions and lines of communications. From March 1944 Bomber Command began following the Zuckermann or ‘Transport’ Plan, attacking the infrastructure needed by the German forces to react to any landings, destroying railway junctions, bridges, and marshalling yards. Medium bombers followed up these attacks by destroying vital road bridges across the river Seine. The Royal Air Force raided into Normandy and across northern France and Belgium, paralyzing the enemy’s war machine and giving no clues as to where the invasion would land.
By the dawn of 6th June, the RAF had already had a long day. Meteorological flights far over the North Sea and the Atlantic had provided the weather information needed to make sure it was safe to launch the invasion. Bomber Command had sent over a thousand heavy bombers to pound beach defences in Normandy with over 5,000 tons of bombs.
RAF Transport Command had also been terribly busy. The first Allied troops to land on D-Day were an assault team to seize Bénouville Bridge. These men were successfully delivered to their objective in gliders, courtesy of RAF tug aircraft. Soon after more aircraft, including the 15 squadrons of No’s 38 and 46 Groups, were dropping paratroops and gliders full of men to seize other vital bridges and roads in and out of the invasion area, stopping German reinforcements from reaching the beaches.
Perhaps the unsung heroes of D-Day are the more than 50 squadrons of RAF Coastal Command. On D-Day, the Germans intended to flood the English Channel with submarines to destroy the invasion fleet from the north and the south. Intensive Coastal Command patrols protected both approaches. By the end of June, fourteen U-Boats had been sunk and fifteen seriously damaged, and the Germans had to call off their plan. The battle for the English Channel would cost the Germans more than 40 U-Boats, although the cost to Coastal Command was also high in aeroplanes. Even so, this plan worked so well that on 6th June not a single Allied ship was confirmed as sunk by the German Navy.
The RAF had played a critical role in the Battle for Normandy. They had flown 225,000 sorties, at the cost of over 2,000 aircraft and 8,000 crewmen. They had swept the skies clear and hammered the enemy on the ground, opening the way for the Allies to land. They had devastated German transport and communication, hindering reinforcements, and allowing the beachhead to be established and grow. Finally, they had cleared the way for the Allies to break out and begin the advance that would free Europe.
We can never Forget
Media 2510
CWO Fraser
Cdt Norman
Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
North Region - Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets
Regional Commandant North - Air Cadets
Royal Air Force
United States Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Fighter Command
