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
until it might be demonstrated that the bombers could look after
themselves in combat with enemy fighters. Policy concerning the pro-
vision and control of fighter escort had not yet been determined,
but it was apparent that RAF units would have to do the lion's share
of the work for some time to come.*
The Mission of 4 July 1942
Curiously enough, tltie first American unit to achieve operational
status and to engage in combat was neither a heavy bomber nor a
fighter outfit but a squadron of light bombers, the only one of its
kind among the U.S. forces then in the United Kingdom. T h e
15th Bombardment Squadron (Separate), commanded by Maj. J.L.
Griffith, had arrived in the theater in May 1942 and immediately had
been set to training on American-built Bostons belonging to RAF
NO.2 2 6 Squadron. The British contributed even more to the training
of this than to the other American units. Through lectures and direct
instruction, they gave the AAF pilots the benefit of their long experi-
ence in conducting light bomber missions. Gunners were sent to the
RAF gunnery flight for courses in gunnery and combat technique,
and the ground crews were sent to RAF stations to observe main-
tenance methods. By the latter part of June, a number of crews had
progressed far enough, especially in pilotage, to be considered combat-
worthy.'
It was consequently decided to put a few of the crews into combat
at the earliest opportunity. Doubtless in order to initiate the American
flyers into combat at the most appropriate moment, the date of the
first mission was tentatively set for the Fourth of July. On the zd,
General Eaker accompanied General Eisenhower to Swanton Morley,
where the I 5th Squadron was training with an RAF group, personally
to consult the pilots who were to take this first dramatic step. As a
result of the eagerness of the crews and the confidence in the ability
of the American pilots expressed by the RAF commander under
whose eye they had trained, it was decided then that six crews of the
15th Squadron would on 4 July join six crews of the RAF in a day-
light attack a t minimum altitude against four airdromes in Holland."
Tactically speaking, the mission was a failure, at least as far as
the American crews were concerned. It was carried out as planned,
but only two of the six planes flown by the Eighth Air Force crews
dropped their bombs over their assigned targets. The rest of the pilots
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