I need some info on D-Day Related Airplanes & what they did. (Pre D-Day strikes, post d-day ground support, etc.)


I would also like to know what version (A - whatever) of the P-40 was named the Tomahawk.
(Kinda funny that the P-40, a plane extremely underrated, was just about the only plane to change names with each version. (Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, Warhawk, etc.)

Aircraft were used for many tasks leading up to, during and after D-Day. Before the invasion aircraft were used for PR and strikes against supply lines. It should be noted that as part of the deception twice the number of raids were carried out in the Calais area to help convince the invasion would take place there and not Normandy.
On June 4th, aircraft of the Allied Expeditionary air force recieved 18 inch white and black invasion stripes painted around the wings and Fuselage. On D-Day aircraft flew cover for the fleet, close air support, para drops, glider towing ops, air sea rescue ops, artillery spotting ops, photo-recon ops ect.
One mission not well know was flown by the RAF's 617 squadron. On the morning of June 6th, Lancasters of 617 squadron flew towards Calais, slowly and dropped "window". These strips of tin foil were cut to about half the wave lenght of German radar and were released in a way that made it look as though a fleet was approaching Calais. This together with other deceptions helped tie down German reserves in the wrong place.
After D-Day, aircraft such as the Typhoon and Thunderbold played a major role in dealing with German armour. In a few cases, heavy bombers were used in close support of the troops, but in at least one case, the bombers hit Allied possitions and this practice was stopped soon after.
Soon after D-Day, Germany began it's V-1 assault on the UK. Flying fast, these early cruise missiles caused a big problem and squadrons of Tempests and Spitfire MkXIVs were held back in the UK to deal with these weapons until the launch sites were over run in September.
The Allies had total air superiority over the invasion beach head and few German aircraft showed up to challenge the Allies. In the afternoon of June 6th, Spitfire IXe ML407 of 485 (New Zealand) squadron flown by Flt. Lt. Johnnie Houlton shot down a JU-88 and claimed a share in a second, the first Allied aircraft to score a victory on D-Day. This aircraft is still flying today.

Copy-pasted from the CFS3 handbooks:

The U.S. Nineth Air Force and the
RAF ’s Second Tactical Air Force soon
joined these efforts and,as winter
turned to spring,the pre-invasion air
campaign intensified.Two Tactical Air
Commands of the U.S.Ninth Air Force
(IX TAC under General Ellwood “Pete ”
Quesada and XIX TAC under General O.P.
“Opie ” Weyland))combined efforts with
the British Second Tactical Air Force
to smash rail transport,bridges,and
airfields.

Phase 1:Railways.Sixty days
before D-Day (D-60),the Allies ’ focus
fell on rail centers,with fighter bomb-
ers (as well as medium and heavy bomb-
ers)striking marshaling yards and major
rail junctions.The railway phase con-
tinued right up to and after the Allied
armies fought their way onto the shores
of France on June 6.

Phase 2:Bridges.At D-46,the
Allies began to isolate the German
troops that occupied the invasion
battlefield from reinforcements and sup-
plies by destroying bridges on the
Seine below Paris and on the Loire below
Orléans.Both medium bombers and fighter
bombers participated in this phase,but
the nimble fighter bombers proved to be
the best tool to achieve the pinpoint
accuracy this task required.Like the
rail phase,this bridge-busting duty
continued on after the Allied invasion
had begun.

Phase 3:Airfields.At D-21,the
Allies added German airfields within
130 miles of the invasion area to
their target list.This phase continued
until D-Day.
Between these attacks and the
demands on German fighter resources
resulting from the Allies ’ strate-
gic bombing campaign,by June 6 the
Luftwaffe simply wasn ’t a factor in
Normandy.This situation wouldn ’t last
for long,as the German fighter force
wasn ’t finished yet.Within weeks the
Luftwaffe increased its strength in
Normandy,flying from small,improvised
airstrips to avoid attack by Allied
fighter bombers.Soon,the tactical
air war would reach its furious height
as the American,British,and German
armies engaged in their winner-take-all
struggle for control of Europe.

The main features of the June 1944 issue of Aeroplane Monthly celebrates the 60th Anniversary of D-Day with a series of articles on " Air Power & D-Day" .

Not only are the tactical and strategic air strikes covered, but also the reconnaisance, paratroop-dropping and glider-towing missions are detailed, and the special " spoofing"  or "electronics countermeasures"  missions.

I've always liked the dummy paratroops carried by some C-47's. Those stupid little decoys caused a lot of havoc.