D-Day in the air: How the Allies ruled the skies over Normandy

Voiceover: “’The Channel stopped you, but not us’, according to troops of 6th Airlanding Brigades as they prepared to fly to Normandy on the 6th of June 1944. They were just one small part of the largest air, sea and land operation ever undertaken in the history of warfare.

In the last episode of our D-Day series we covered the fighting at sea. This time we're looking at the aerial battle for Normandy. How did the Allies win air superiority? Where was the German response to D-Day? And how did Allied air power affect the fighting on the ground?

To find out, we have to go back to the Allied planning.

The Allies knew that the Normandy landings would be an era-defining moment. Succeed and victory in the war was surely theirs. Fail, and the consequences could be catastrophic. Thus, well before D-Day took place, the Allies planned to use their Air Power to the set the stage for the landings.

During the preliminary phase the number one priority was to control the skies over Normandy and that meant destroying the Luftwaffe. Next, during the preparatory phase the Allies planned to isolate Normandy, destroying rail and road infrastructure to prevent German reinforcements reaching the Allied bridgehead. Finally, during the invasion itself, Allied air power would both defend the bridgehead from the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine and strike German ground targets to help the ground forces breakout into France.

Understanding the topography of the Normandy beaches was a vital part of those preparations. In the months leading up to invasion, photo reconnaissance aircraft mapped every square foot of the beaches and the area beyond.”

IWM Curator, Hattie Hearn: “One of the aircraft tasked with this role was the DeHavilland Mosquito. Nicknamed the ‘Wooden Wonder’, the Mosquito was among the first multi-role combat aircraft. Although primarily designed as a fast bomber, the aircraft’s speed and range made it perfect for a reconnaissance role. The Mosquito PR was fitted with several cameras and had a maximum speed of over 400 mph.

As well as using photo reconnaissance to map the invasion beaches, the allies turned to a more creative means of intelligence gathering. In 1942, the British Government launched a public appeal for photographs of the European continent. Families raided their holiday snaps and by the end of the war, over ten million postcards and photographs had been sent into the Admiralty-run Inter Services Topographical Department.”

Voiceover: “But as the land and sea operations came together, the aerial planning for D-Day quickly became contentious. At Eisenhower’s headquarters known as SHAEF, the two Allied Tactical Air Forces came under the command of Sir Trafford Leigh Mallory, but the commanders of the two strategic bomber forces, Carl Spaatz and Sir Arthur Harris, were reluctant to serve under him. Together they had been attacking Germany since early 1943 under the Pointblank directive. By day, American bombers of the 8th Air Force targeted German factories, and at night RAF Bomber command attacked German cities and though the impact on German output was mixed, by early 1944, the campaign was beginning to take a disastrous toll on the German Luftwaffe.”

Hattie Hearn: “A turning point came at the end of 1943 with the introduction of long-range fighter escorts. Equipped with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine, P-51 Mustangs could now escort bombers deep into Germany. Better still, the fighter pilots were permitted to fly ahead of the formations to attack the waiting Luftwaffe and other targets of opportunity, such as enemy airfields. By early 1944, Allied planners hoped to bring this advantage to bear with an all-out offensive, which would become known as "Big Week". Between the 20th and the 26th of February 1944, US Army Air Force bombers, supported by the RAF, attacked German aircraft production facilities. While “Big Week” did not deliver a knock-out blow to the Luftwaffe, it cost its fighter arm some 14% of its pilots and led to the dispersal of its aircraft production facilities across the Reich.”

Voiceover: “Neither Spaatz nor Harris wanted to divert their forces to support the invasion, and Spaatz in particular believed that Germany could be defeated by bombers alone. But Overlord was too important to let such dissent persist. On 14 April,  both forces were placed under the direction of Eisenhower’s deputy - Sir Arthur Tedder at SHAEF. Only now did their targets change. 

The US Strategic Air Forces began to focus on German fuel production, and though they took heavy losses, they contributed to a drastic fuel shortage for the Luftwaffe and destroyed yet more precious fighters. Meanwhile, British bombers moved from attacking German cities to hitting transport hubs, supply dumps and enemy positions in France. New target marking techniques ensured that crews were able to deliver their bombs with much greater precision than expected and American bombers quickly diverted to join the attack.”

Hattie Hearn: “The Transportation Plan played a crucial role in disrupting German logistics and reinforcements to the invasion area. Between February and June 1944, intensive air attacks reduced German rail traffic in northern France by 85%, hindering their ability to reinforce the landing area. Surprisingly, two third of bombs were dropped away from the invasion area in a bid to divert German attention away from Normandy. The ruse worked. Hitler believed as late as July 1944 that a larger second invasion would land in the area around Calais. This helped the Allies achieve the key element of surprise and kept German reinforcements away from Normandy both on D-Day and in the weeks that followed.”

Voiceover: “The strategic bombers were accompanied by Mallory’s tactical aircraft of both the US 9th Air Force and British 2nd Tactical Air Force. They attacked targets within a ring around Normandy, taking out rail centres, roads, bridges and enemy airfields. At the same time, Bomber Command flew another 2,000 sorties to lay mines on either side of the invasion corridor, and in the mouths of German harbours. Beyond them, RAF Coastal Command attacked German Destroyers and U-Boats in the channel. By D-Day, Normandy had been truly isolated by Allied Air Power. 

Not only that, the Allies also had near total control of the skies – having effectively destroyed the Luftwaffe between January and June 1944. The Germans were forced to strip their fighter squadrons in France and Belgium to provide reinforcements for the defence of the Reich. Those left could only offer token resistance to the overwhelming numbers of Allied aircraft supporting the invasion. The stage was well and truly set for D-Day, but the Allied Air Forces job was not over. Hours before the invasion was due to begin, a huge deception operation went into action across the English Channel, codenamed Operation Bodyguard. The objective was to divert German attention away from Normandy.”

Hattie Hearn: “On the night of the 5th of June, Lancaster bombers from the No. 617 “Dambusters” squadron, dropped metal strips – codenamed ‘Window’. The bombers had to fly in a complex circular pattern and release the chaff at just the right time to make sure the radar cloud moved at a believable pace for ships. It was used in such quantities that the Germans mistook its presence on their radar screens to be that of invasion forces and they diverted defenders away from the actual landing beaches. Other aircraft used electronic devices to jam or disrupt the German radar system, adding yet another layer to the deception.”

Voiceover: “Behind the deception screen was a mass of Allied aircraft in total over 11,000 of all types were involved on D-Day. All of them bore a distinctive black and white stripe, born of tragic experiences with friendly fire in Sicily. For security reasons, the order to paint the stripes was not given until the 3rd June and, in most cases, they were painted just hours before D-Day – the paint still wet as the aircraft took off to join the invasion. The first Allied troops into France would be paratroopers of the British 6th and American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. Their objectives were to capture key sites behind the beaches and to secure the flanks of the assault areas. Though they were well trained and highly skilled, for many this was their first taste of combat.”

Hattie Hearn: “The Douglas C-47 Skytrain, or Dakota to give it its RAF designation, is synonymous with D-Day, for good reason. The rugged and reliable C-47 could carry jeeps, light trucks, medical supplies, and men. More than 50,000 paratroopers were dropped by C-47s during the first few days of the D-Day campaign. Each paratrooper was attached to a static line, which automatically opened their parachutes when they jumped. Dakotas also towed British Horsa gliders, carrying critical reinforcements of equipment and ammunition. Many paratroopers never made it to their targets due to heavy cloud cover and intense enemy fire as the C-47s neared the drop zone. Some were separated from their units, while others drowned in flooded fields. After dropping directly onto the town of Sant Marie-Eglise, Private John Steel became tangled on the spire of the town’s church, suspended for hours as the battle raged below him. Despite German resistance and the confusion caused by the scattered landings, the airborne forces achieved many of their objectives.”

Voiceover: “Next up were the heavy and medium bombers who were tasked with hitting German batteries and beach defences. The concentrated bombing of Normandy was left until the last possible hour, to avoid letting the Germans know where the landings would take place.

In the early hours of the 6th of June, over 1,000 Lancasters and Halifax’s attacked 10 German coastal batteries with over 5,000 tons of bombs – their highest single night tonnage to date. While a similar number of B-17s and 24s flew in to soften up the German beach defences. But the attacks did not go to plan. Due to low cloud and concerns over friendly fire, many aircrews dropped their bombs too late, overshooting the beaches. The British could not neutralise the coastal artillery, leaving Allied warships to mop them up throughout the day. Meanwhile the Americans failed to make a dent on the German defensive positions despite dropping almost 3,000 tons of bombs. Only on Utah beach, where B-26 medium bombers flew in from as low as a few thousand feet, were aircraft able to soften up the beach defences.

Still, through heavy fighting, the defenders were gradually silenced and Allied units were able to begin advancing inland. But the resistance was enough to prevent the Allies achieving many of their first day objectives. That evening more airborne troops were landed by parachute and glider, including the 6th Airlanding Brigade. By the days end 156,000 Allied troops were ashore. The biggest question at the end of the day was where was the Luftwaffe?

The Luftwaffe response on D-Day was minimal. They flew just a few hundred sorties compared to the Allies over 14,000. All along, the German plan had been to surge aircraft from the Reich to France once the invasion took place. And, a week after D-Day, those aircraft were soon launched into an all-out attack. But even though total Allied losses were higher than German ones, the rate of attrition on the German side was unsustainable. Luftwaffe formations continued to be reinforced, but their aircraft were shot out of the sky in their hundreds. The Allies had total air supremacy, a fact which began to impact on the ground battle.”

Hattie Hearn: “Tactical air forces were vital in supporting the advance of the ground armies. Armed with P-47 Thunderbolts, the 78th Fighter Group flew missions in the days following D-Day from their base here at Duxford. Armed with rockets, bombs and even napalm, the P-47 Pilots would descend to treetop level to attack anything that moved on the narrow French roads. The group suffered one of its darkest days on the 10th of June 1944, when ten pilots engaged in a bombing run were shot down after being ‘bounced’ by twenty German fighters.

Another fighter-bomber to excel in the battle was the Hawker Typhoon, which flew as part of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. Originally proposed as a successor to the Spitfire, the Typhoon’s rugged construction, powerful engine, and heavy armament made it extremely effective in low-level attacks. However, its success came at a heavy price. During the fighting in Normandy, 151 Typhoon pilots were killed in action. That was 22% of pilots who took part in the campaign.”

Voiceover: “While reports of German tanks destroyed were most likely exaggerated, Allied aircraft were able to destroy the trucks and wagons that supported the enemy armour. This delayed the German counterattack, helping British and Canadian forces to beat them back. On June 12th the German commander Erwin Rommel wrote:

“The enemy has complete command of the air over the battle zone. Manoeuvre by our troops on the field of battle in daylight is thus almost entirely prevented, while the enemy can operate freely… Neither flak nor the Luftwaffe seems capable of putting a stop to this crippling and destructive operation of the enemy's aircraft.”

Unable to destroy the Allied beachhead, the Germans attempted to contain the Allied advances and prevent them from breaking out into the French countryside. The defensible terrain gave the Germans a significant advantage. But they had no answer to the prodigious firepower of Allied air strikes, artillery and naval bombardment. When the land battle ground to a halt, it was Allied bombers who were called in to break the stalemate.”

Hattie Hearn: “The bombardment of Normandy continued throughout the weeks following D-Day. In early July, the carpet bombing of Caen by RAF Lancasters and Halifaxes left the city in ruins. On the 24th of July, American forces launched Operation COBRA, aimed at breaking through the German lines near Saint-Lô. 1,500 B-17s and B-24s dropped almost 3,300 tons of bombs in the space of an hour. The German division commander, Lt. Gen. Fritz Bayerlein, described how “My front lines looked like a landscape of the moon, and at least seventy percent of personnel were out of action—dead, wounded, crazed, or numb.”

This was one of the first times the US Eighth Air Force had been used to support ground troops. Some errant bombs landed on the American lines, killing 100 US soldiers and wounding 500 more. But the biggest casualties of the bombing campaign were the French civilians caught in the crossfire. The historic cities of Le Havre, Caen, Rouen, Saint-Lô, and Falaise were reduced to ruins and 300,000 Normandy civilians were left homeless. Nearly 20,000 civilians perished during Operation Overlord, most of them victims of Allied bombing.”

Voiceover: “The Allies eventually broke out from their beachhead in August of 1944, in no small part thanks to their overwhelming aerial advantage. The Luftwaffe was well and truly smashed and would never again truly challenge the Allies for air superiority. Though the upcoming campaign for the liberation of Europe would be difficult and costly, the Allies had proven to all but the most ardent Nazis that their defeat was inevitable.”