June 6, 1944
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.
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