Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion-like William the Conqueror's before it or the Inchon landing afterwards-will long be studied as a classic in military planning, logistics, and operations.
Overlord depended to a remarkable degree upon the use of air power in virtually all its forms. A half-century ago, aircraft were primitive vehicles of war compared to the modern attackers of the Gulf War era, with their precision weapons, advanced navigational, sensor systems, and communications. Yet, the airplane still had a profound impact upon the success of the invasion. Simply stated, without air power, Normandy would have been impossible.

• Planning for Overlord
• Air Power: Critical to Success on D-Day
• The "Desert Fox" on the Beaches
• Assembling the Allied Tactical Air Forces
• D Day: Air Support on the Beaches
• Radar Adapted to the Battlefield
• The Air-Armor Partnership
• The Tank's Formidable Enemies
• Allied Air over the Battlefield
• A Dispirited Rommel
• The Heavy Bomber in Air Support
• The Price of Victory
• Cobra: Key to Breakout
• TacAir Omnipotent: Mortain and the Falaise-Argentan Pocket
• Closing the Gap at Falaise
• The Corridor of Death
• The Legacy of Air Power at Normandy
• Suggested Readings