Cheerio and Best Wishes by Donald R. Schneck

Author:Donald R. Schneck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cheerio and Best Wishes
ISBN: 9781557536402
Publisher: Purdue University Press
Published: 2013-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

Getting to war was not easy for the US Army Air Corps of 1941. There was the shortage of airplanes, the shortage of men to fly them, and the shortage of airfields. The airfield problem not only existed in the United States; it was a very serious problem all over the world. Up to this point in time, commercial aviation relied heavily on seaplane service, which did not need expensive runways and flight operation facilities. The United States could have had all the airpower in place but still would have nowhere to go to fight.

Once the United States entered the war, England had the problem of finding land and building enough airfields to handle the huge influx of aircraft, personnel, and matériel that would eventually be needed. Plus, they were still expanding their own forces and needed airfields for themselves.

All told, the British constructed sixty-six airfields2 from which the United States could operate. This effort did not happen overnight. The availability of airfields in England had to match the availability of squadrons and groups coming from the United States. This was only compounded by the fact that the United States was at war all over the world, and sometimes, England had to take a backseat to operations elsewhere.

Getting to England was not just a matter of putting together numerous aircraft and flying over. There were considerable logistical nightmares that had to be overcome. Part of the problem was that no bomber or fighter aircraft in the arsenal had the capability to fly nonstop from the United States to England. Bombers could be outfitted with auxiliary fuel tanks in the bomb bay. This could give them an extended range that would allow them to fly directly from the United States to Ireland, where they could refuel and continue to England. Fighters did not have that luxury and needed to use as many stops as possible. Additionally, there was a growing need to get aircraft and personnel to other hotspots in the world, as England was not the only place the Army needed to go. To solve these logistical problems, four routes between the United States and England were utilized.

The North Atlantic Air Route originated at several Army airfields in New England. Bombers would fly to Newfoundland to refuel, then travel on to Ireland before arriving at their final destination. Fighters, on the other hand, would utilize bases in Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and Iceland before finally arriving in England. The problem with this route was threefold. First, the skies were very congested with other aircraft patrolling the North Atlantic and providing air cover to vital shipping lanes. A second issue was the North Atlantic weather, which could potentially hamper aircraft movement. The third problem was that there were limited places for aircraft to park and wait, should their final destination airfield not be ready for their scheduled arrival. This was a bottleneck they needed to fix.

The Mid-Atlantic Air Route originated at Morrison Army Airfield near Palm Beach, Florida. From there, aircraft would

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