Historical Analysis Series

A Pattern for Joint Operations: World War II Close Air Support, North Africa
by
Daniel R. Mortensen

Office of Air Force History and U.S. Army Center for Military History
Washington, D.C.

Foreword 

The Author
Preface
Prologue

I. ORGANIZATION, DOCTRINE, AND WEAPONS FOR CLOSE AIR SUPPORT

• The Interwar Years

• Increasing Influence of the Air Arm, 1938-1942

• Requirements for Hemisphere Defense

• Requirements for War With the Axis 

• Doctrine for War 

• Aircraft: Enabling the Execution of Close Air Support

ll. NORTH AFRICAN CLOSE AIR SUPPORT OPERATIONS 

• World War Il Operations and North Africa

• Planning Close Air Support for North Africa

• Operations: TORCH Landings and the Offensive Against Tunisia

• Operations: Reorganization and the Second Tunisian Offensive

• Operations: Kasserine and a New Look at Close Air Support

• Close Air Support After Kasserine

• Epilogue

MAPS

• North Africa and the Mediterranean, 1942-1943

• TORCH Landings in Northwest Africa, 8 November 1942

• First Action in Tunisia, 16-23 November 1942

• Comparative Distances of Allied and Axis Airfields, December 1942

• American Battlefield in Southern Tunisia

CHARTS

• Channels of Tactical Control of Combat Aviation in Typified Air Support Command

• Allied Command Relationships in North Africa and the Mediterranean, March 1943

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Curtiss A-18s

• Douglas A-20

• Douglas B-18s

• Martin A-22

• Northrop A-17

• North American B-25 "Mitchell"

• Martin B-26 "Marauder"

• Douglas O-43

• North American O-47

• Curtiss O-52

• Taylorcraft O-57

• Stinson O-49

• Ryan O-51

• Lockheed P-38 "Lightning"

• Bell P-39 "Airacobra"

• Curtiss P-40 "Kittyhawk"

• North American A-36

• Douglas A-24

• Curtiss A-25

• Curtiss C-46 "Commando"

• Douglas C-47 "Gooney Bird"

• Air Superiority

• Interdiction

• Close Air Support

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