Why didn't Germany use the German Air Force to stop the invasion of Normandy?

Because by June 6th, 1944, the German Air Force had been completely destroyed in all intents and purposes, and because Lieutenant General Spaatz formulated a new strategy, he became the new commander of the US European Strategic Air Force (USSTAF) in June 1944+0. He asked Major General doolittle to replace Major General Ek as the new commander of the Eighth Air Force.

Major General doolittle and Major General Spaatz.

Spaatz's goal is to destroy as many German air forces as possible before D-Day. He and doolittle deliberately used bombers as bait. Once the plane of the German Air Force is found, the escort fighter is instructed to stop escorting bombers and pursue enemy planes instead. This marks a major shift in European air combat strategy. In order to lure the German Air Force to attack bombers, Spaatz and Doolittle targeted the German oil supply, which is the key resource of the German war machine. Once the German air force is trapped, American fighter planes will wait for them on it. German air power will be exhausted.

An interesting anecdote reflects the new strategic direction that American employees are taking. One day, doolittle, commander of the new Eighth Air Force, visited his subordinate commander Major General kepner. At the Eighth Fighter Command, doolittle noticed a sign on the wall. It reads: "The first task of the fighter of the Eighth Air Force is to bring the bomber back alive." Doolittle is unhappy. Kepner said the sign was already there when he came. Doolittle asked him to take it down, saying it was wrong. Then a new slogan appeared: "The first task of the fighters of the Eighth Air Force is to destroy the German fighters."

P5 1 Fighter belongs to the Eighth Fighter Command.

Therefore, American fighters are no longer forced to keep close formation with bombers. Instead, they will fly forward, look for German fighters and attack them where they are found. By the end of 1, the fighter escort formation had formed a 25-mile-wide formation, with a squadron in front, searching for enemy planes on the route. Soon, the whole team of fighters will be chasing German planes on the ground within 50 miles ahead, or when the Germans are ready to attack bombers.

The low-altitude strafing of enemy airports by fighters of the 8th Fighter Command caused a large number of German aircraft casualties.

The bombing of the German synthetic oil plant also forced the German Air Force to adopt a defense mode closer to home, so they were asked to fight against p -38, p -5 1, which were themselves powerful opponents.

1944 In February, the US Air Force launched a series of concentrated attacks in the "Big Week" in February, which dealt a heavy blow to the German Air Force and has not yet fully recovered. After boarding the plane in Spaatz and doolittle, the air force in Western Europe lost 34% of its fighter strength in June and 56% in February of 5438+ 10.

Although the production of Bf- 109 and Fw- 190 fighters continued, thanks to the genius of Hitler's ordnance minister Albert speer, the Germans could not make up for the loss of the pilots. As the war continued, the newly recruited German pilots only spent 50 hours fighting. In addition, with the bombing of the German oil supply, many newly created German war opportunities were idle on the slopes due to lack of fuel.

1in the spring of 944, the losses suffered by the German Air Force were crucial. A few months later, the allied forces seized the air superiority from the Germans and kept it until the end of the war.

On d-day, the invading troops of the allied forces stretched for miles along the Normandy coast and became the biggest target of German planes. However, the German Air Force could not raise any meaningful objections. On the first day of Normandy landing, the French Air Force could only dispatch 70 fighters, and dispatched 175 sorties that night, but it had no obvious effect. The allies had absolute air superiority on D-Day. As the allies move inland, an air base will be established and the western border of the war will be evacuated to Berlin.

When landing in Normandy, there were almost no planes of the German Air Force.

As an illustration, it is said that when Spaatz and doolittle put forward a new strategy to destroy the German Air Force before Normandy, Marshal Legmallory, commander of the Allied Air Force in Wang Ba and commander of the British Air Force, strongly opposed it. He wants to keep these fighters for training and use them in the "large-scale air combat" that he expects to happen on D-day. He didn't want Spatz and Doolittle to waste precious allied soldiers in the melee in Germany.

Finally, the supreme commander of the Allied Forces, General Eisenhower of the United States, considered the sensitive issues of Britain and decided on the priorities. Spaatz got most of what he wanted, but not all of it. However, this is enough for Spaatz and Doolittle to carry out their air strategy and finish their work.