Aviation Reinvented Naval Operations Post WWII
(April 11, 2011) |
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (April 7, 2011)
— Since the invention of the cannon, naval power was
dependent on ships carrying the most powerful guns. From the
ship-of-the-line of the 17th century to the
Dreadnought-style battleship of the 20th, victory depended
on the size, range and firepower of the guns.
Aircraft Supplant the Battleship |
Vought F4U-1s of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 fly a mission in the Pacific in 1944. Prior to World War II, amphibious operations were reliant upon battleships for naval gunfire support. Though the battleship continued to play a role, the versatility of aircraft would contribute to the battleship being phased out of service by the early 21st century. Historical Photo, 12/30/1944 |
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During the four
years of American involvement in World War II, the
battleship suddenly found itself supplanted by a
relatively new invention, the airplane. The fleets
of the world's greatest naval powers shifted from
being a battleship-based force to being an aircraft
carrier-based force and brought to the forefront the
future importance of Naval and Marine Aviation.
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan forced America to enter
World War II by conducting a sneak attack against
American bases in the Hawaiian Islands. The war
started as an air war, with aircraft from six
Japanese carriers attacking in two waves with the
purpose of knocking out the American Pacific Fleet
before it had the chance to get up and fight. |
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The three carriers of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, the
Enterprise, the Yorktown and the Saratoga, were not present
during the attack and weren't in danger at the time. These
carriers would be the heart of the Navy as it worked to stem
the tide of the Japanese.
Hill Goodspeed, historian
of the National Naval Aviation Museum, said that it was a
stroke of luck that the American fleet carriers were not at
Pearl Harbor at the time because they were the forces
America needed to immediately strike back at the Japanese.
During the Battle of the Coral Sea, American and
Japanese fleets used their carrier aircraft to fight each
other without the ships ever spotting each other, which was
the first time in history that a naval battle was fought
without either fleet seeing the other. This action stopped
the Japanese advance southward.
During the Battle of
Midway, a combined Navy-Marine action sank four Japanese
carriers, destroying much of Japan's premier aviation
capability. With many experienced pilots gone, the American
fleet could more easily gain the upper hand.
Retired
Maj. Gen. Michael P. Sullivan, who commanded Marine Corps
Air Station Cherry Point and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing,
said pilots on both sides were an extraordinary breed and an
important factor for the outcome of the Pacific air war.
Sullivan cited the accomplishments of people like Maj. Gen.
Victor A. Armstrong, who shot down two Japanese aircraft
during World War II and then went on to command squadrons,
groups, air stations and an aircraft wing. Sullivan said
people of Armstrong's caliber were fairly common at the time
and were very important to winning the air war.
“In
World War II, it was all about the who was a better
aviator,” said Sullivan. “Sometimes a pilot could be in a
better airplane and lose to a better pilot in a lesser
airplane. The only weapons airplanes had were guns, so you
had to be behind the guy, get in gun range, and blow him
away, so it was a lot of skill.”
From Midway on, the
Navy and Marine Corps seized the initiative and carried on
the offensive. The ultimate objective was to invade and
neutralize the Japanese home islands. To do this, ground
troops would land on an island and secure it as an advanced
base. From that base, they would strike again at another
strategically placed island deeper into Japanese territory
and repeat the process until the American military held a
position from which they could strike Japan itself. Both
battleships and aviation would have an important role to
play in the advance across the Pacific.
“Battleships
did engage in surface action with enemy ships, notably at
the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but their primary role during
World War II was shore bombardment in support of amphibious
assaults,” said Goodspeed. “Aircraft also provided close-air
support for amphibious operations, their missions also
including long-range patrol, defense of the fleet, attacks
against enemy forces, antisubmarine warfare and air-sea
rescue.”
During the course of the campaign, aircraft
proved themselves to be the more versatile weapon.
“Aircraft are three dimensional, they can move up, down,
sideways, roll; but battleships are one dimensional, they're
slow and it's a huge target. It carries a lot and it's a
formidable weapon if it survives,” Sullivan said. “An
airplane can go inland 500 or 1,000 miles, while a
battleship is stuck out in the ocean. In the Atlantic,
Europe and the Pacific, it was a fighter war. You had to
rule the skies.”
Starting with World War II, the
battleship found itself increasingly left behind as tactics
and technology advanced.
“During World War II, I
would say battleships had not reached their technical
limits. There was work being done to improve their fire
control systems to make their guns as accurate as possible,”
said Goodspeed. “Fundamentally, the tactics in which they
would engage surface forces had not changed in decades and
aircraft offered the advantage of being able to strike the
enemy at greater range.”
Though battleships saw some
improvement after World War II, the advancements in Naval
and Marine Corps aviation outpaced those of the battleship.
Jet fighters became the mainstay of Naval air forces in the
1950s and guided missiles and bombs became a larger factor
in following decades. The advancements in Naval aviation
contributed directly to the last U.S. battleship being
permanently retired in 2006. |
By USMC LCpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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