The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 1 (archived PDF)

T H E A R M Y A I R F O R C E S I N W O R L D W A R I 1
of March 1942.l~T h e force set up for Northern Ireland was much
greater than that stipulated in ABC-I. A t Mr. Churchill’s request,
U.S. troops were to relieve British troops then garrisoned in Northern
Ireland and were to be wholly responsible for the defense of that area
rather than merely of U.S. bases there as previously agreed. This
move, in addition to releasing British troops for service in more active
theaters, seemed politically expedient in view of Eire’s attitude toward
the war. A new plan for this project, MAGNET, was approved on
11 January.lg It called for the dispatch of the V Corps (reinforced)
plus air and supply organizations. The first sizable contingent landed
a t Belfast on 26 January,20 but because of more immediate needs in
the Pacific, the movement was thereafter retarded. The air contingent
was not scheduled for movement until late spring.
The one European task force which was designed for early offen-
sive action was the AAF bombardment force which, according to
prewar plans, was to join the RAF in the attack on Germany. This
project was approved informally at the first of the ARCADIA ses-
sions, and reaffirmed on 1 3 January.’l The movement should begin
“as soon as these forces and shipping become available.” In view of
the desperate need for aircraft and crews in the Pacific and for the
expanded training program, immediate deployment was impossible.
Current opinion that the initial heavy bomber groups might move
out in March 2 2 was to prove too optimistic.
A plan for movements within the Western Hemisphere adopted on
I 3 January 2 3 involved for the moment less shipping. It was agreed
that, subject to the consent of the Netherlands government, U.S.
troops should replace British garrisons in Aruba and Curaqao, and
that the United States should continue to hold forces in reserve for
the security of northeast Brazil against possible Axis thmsts.’*
The most ambitious project considered for the first half of 1942
was the joint occupation of French Northwest and/or North Africa.
Before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Joint Board had worked tentatively
on plans for the seizure of Dakar (JPB BLACK) and Casablanca
(GYMNAST) to forestall any German move toward the South
Atlantic and South America.25The British meanwhile had been think-
ing of a possible landing in Tunisia, and at ARCADIA the joint
planners were directed to weld the two concepts into a single plan
(SUPER-GYMNAST) .26 In view of the many unpredictable factors
involved in so complex an operation, and in view of the scale of
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