A Question of Success: Tactical Air Doctrine and Practice in North Africa, 1942-43

Abstract

The campaign in North Africa in 1942-43 was an essential step on the road to the creation of an effective tactical air support doctrine for the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Air Forces in the Second World War. American theory prior to the campaign was found lacking in a number of areas, especially when exposed to the crucible of battle. The ineffectiveness of Allied units in North Africa, both air and ground, American and British, led to a reorganization in early 1943. For the tactical air forces, the key to the reorganization was the adoption of the British Eighth Army-Western Desert Air Force model of ground-air cooperation which had proven successful in combat.