Air Fronts: Airdromes - FM-26, Defense of Airdromes - Chapter 2. Forms of Attack on Airdromes

SECTION I: GENERAL

6. FORMS OF ATTACK. All airdromes are liable to sabotage and subversive action, and all within the range of enemy action are liable to external attack. Attacks may occur at any time, singly or repeatedly, for the purpose of neutralization, destruction, or occupation of the airdrome by the enemy to secure a point of departure for further ground or air operations. Attack will normally be characterized by speed and surprise, with means or organization designed to accomplish specific tasks. It is to be expected that the enemy will employ aircraft with demolition, fragmentation, and incendiary bombs, machine guns, automatic cannon, and chemicals; and airborne or ground forces, with armored vehicles, either singly or in combination. If the mission of the enemy is neutralization or destruction, it is to be expected that he will employ chemicals of a persistent or lethal type. Attacks may be classified as sabotage, ground attack, aerial bombardment, airborne attack, and chemical attack.

SECTION II: SABOTAGE

7. FORMS OF SABOTAGE. Sabotage is the destruction of property or disruption of facilities by stealth or by methods

FIGURE 1. Sabotage

designed to suggest accident. Typical forms are damage to tools and shop machinery, hidden damage to aircraft to cause failure in flight, contamination of gasoline and oil supplies, disruption of the power system, and widespread and utter destruction by explosives. Methods of sabotage vary widely and are suggested by the habits of personnel and the arrangement of installations as well as by the immediate object of the saboteur. Probably the most effective instrument is fire, especially if it results in the detonation of explosives.

SECTION III: GROUND ATTACK

8. OVERLAND RAIDS. The most probable ground attack on an airdrome is by mechanized raiding column. Strong hostile armored forces may be encountered 50 to 100 miles behind the general front of the field armies. Overland raids may come after wide flanking movements or from troops which have assembled after successful infiltration. Such action is probable when the situation at the front is fluid or confused. Attacks may come with little warning and will be rapidly pushed home with a large volume of automatic small-arms fire and light-cannon fire.

9. GENERAL ADVANCE. The defense of the airdrome against a general hostile advance is the defense of a fixed position or a terrain feature by conventional methods, a responsibility of the territorial commander.

SECTION IV: AERIAL BOMBARDMENT AND STRAFING

10. GENERAL. The most common form of attack on airdromes is aerial bombardment. Various missiles may be employed—demolition bombs, fragmentation bombs, incendiary bombs, chemical filled bombs, and chemical spray. Strafing by aircraft weapons is a certain component of low-flying attack. The attacks may come from any altitude and from any direction. Harassing attacks may be made to slow down operations or interrupt normal use of the field. Attacks in force, intensive or sustained, may be made to destroy aircraft on the ground, airdrome facilities and installations, fuel reserves, bomb dumps, routes of communication, and personnel, or to neutralize the airdrome through destruction of the runways.

11. HARASSING ATTACK. Harassing attacks are characterized by surprise, deception, and hit-and-run tactics. The familiar types are minimum altitude bombing and machine-gun and cannon fire by fighter aircraft. The favorite targets are grounded planes. Not only is the airdrome strafed but often the surrounding terrain is thoroughly covered, usually with incendiary bullets. It is likely that extensive attacks will be preceded by careful reconnaissance and planning.

FIGURE 2. - Strafing an Airdrome

12. ATTACK IN FORCE. Attacks in force are conducted in such strength that their successful completion will bring to an end or seriously weaken the operational use of the airdrome. They may vary from a single intense raid by several flights to sustained high and minimum altitude bombardment and strafing concentrated within a few hours or successfully repeated for many days. A steady flow of aircraft to the attacked area may be expected, with one or two flights coming over the target in rapid succession. Reconnaissance planes will obtain target information, weather data, and probably pictures before the attack and during the progress of a sustained assault. Such attacks may be the beginning of an attempt by the enemy to seize the airdrome for his own use. If so, he is likely to spare the runways as much as possible so that he may land troop carriers when resistance has been sufficiently reduced.

SECTION V: AIRBORNE ATTACK

13. GENERAL. a. Airborne attack culminates in assault by troops landed by parachute or from airplanes or gliders on or near the objective. Its salient characteristic is the speed with which it can develop. Its normal development is as follows: extensive reconnaissance, intense preliminary bombardment and strafing, landing of parachute troops and perhaps glider troops, reinforcement from troop carrier planes, either on or off the airdrome. But any or all phases of the attack may occur simultaneously.

b. If an airdrome within reach of enemy aircraft is located in a strategically important area or if one becomes important because of a large-scale offensive, such an attack must be considered probable.

14. RECONNAISSANCE. Preparations for airborne attack are normally characterized by great care and thoroughness. The area of the objective will be subjected to extensive and detailed preliminary reconnaissance to determine the extent and dispositions of troops and to obtain complete and accurate weather information. Reports of secret agents and enemy sympathizers concerning defense installations and military forces in the vicinity and concerning the probable attitude of the civilian population will probably be available to the enemy. During the period of preliminary reconnaissance light bombing and strafing attacks to bring about disclosure of defensive gun positions will probably be experienced. Close observation will normally be continued throughout the attack.

15. FIFTH-COLUMN ACTIVITY. Prior to the attack, increased activity by enemy sympathizers may be expected.

16. PRELIMINARY BOMBARDMENT. a. Airborne attack on a defended area such as an airdrome will usually be preceded by intense aerial bombardment to destroy defenses which might interfere with subsequent operations. High-altitude bombing will normally be followed by low-level bombing and strafing. All grounded aircraft, antiaircraft artillery, and ground defense installations will be targets of special importance. Antimorale attacks may also be made in which the enemy strafes or bombs indiscriminately. The bombardment and strafing will be continued during the landing of airborne troops. It will be lifted from only the actual landing places.

b. Aerial bombardment may not precede operation of parachute and air-landing troops when they are employed on missions requiring surprise.

17. PARACHUTE TROOPS. a. Parachute troops will normally be employed for the first landing of an airborne attack to seize key points or to destroy definite objectives such as antiaircraft batteries, headquarters, defense positions, and communications systems in preparation for the arrival of air-landing troops. Other functions are to harass and to create diversions and, when they are dropped in small numbers over large areas, to destroy bridges and generally interrupt

FIGURE 3. - Strafers attacking AA gun

transportation, to prevent communications, to disclose targets with signals for bombardment, to cause confusion and panic, and to make contact with enemy sympathizers.

b. Most of the equipment of parachute troops is usually dropped in containers bearing colored markings or attached to colored parachutes to indicate the section to which they belong. This equipment may include machine guns, mortars,

FIGURE 4.-Equipment container (German).

antitank guns, mountain guns, infantry guns, flame throwers, tools, spare parts for the defenders' motor trans-port, bicycles, motorcycles, and even light cars. Additional equipment and food is dropped on signal.

c. To drop the members of a unit within a small area for quick assembly the carrier planes will approach in formation. The jump will be made from an altitude of 200 to 500 feet so that the descent will require about 20 seconds.

FIGURE 5.-The jump

It is possible to land a company within an area 250 by 600 yards so that they can be assembled with weapons 10 to 15 minutes after the first man jumps. The troops may first be landed widely scattered over the locality to confuse, harass, and dissipate the defender's forces. They will not ordinarily be dropped in the midst of defending troops, who can quickly dispose of them before they can free themselves of their harness and assemble, but will normally be dropped in depth around the airdrome or area selected for attack.

d. The first task of parachute troops will be to collect and assemble weapons and munitions dropped separately by parachute and to form their units. Once assembled they become light infantry with high fire power but limited mobility. This fire power can be sustained, however, only by the early reception of supplementary ammunition.

18. GLIDER TROOPS. a. Glider troops are normally employed in support of parachute troops, although they may be used for the first landing. Their tactical missions will normally include the silencing of antiaircraft guns covering the line of approach of troop carriers, the seizure of positions from which they can provide covering fire for the landing of other airborne troops, the provision of storm troops capable of concentrated fire power for the capture of key points, and the disrupting of communications. Objectives of the individual units may be planned as part of a company mission which fits into a detailed plan of attack.

b. Gliders can land where other aircraft cannot—in any area where 25 to 50 yards of reasonably flat surface is available.

c. On landing, the glider troops deplane as rapidly as possible. Reserve ammunition and equipment are left in the glider. If attacked on landing, glider troops quickly take up defensive positions.

19. AIR-LANDING TROOPS. With the landing of troops carrier planes the fight for the airdrome passes into its third phase. The air-landing troops constitute the main attacking force. Their mission will be to reinforce the parachute troops and consolidate their gains, to attack the more heavily defended positions, and to destroy or drive out completely the

FIGURE 6.-Glider troops deplaning

defense personnel. Air-landing troops are provided with the usual equipment of ground troops, including light artillery, armored carriers, scout cars, and perhaps light tanks. Normally platoons, or similar units, and their equipment will be landed simultaneously. Deplaning and unloading will re-quire only a few minutes. The seizure of prepared fields

FIGURE 7.-Unloading a filed piece

will not be essential, as roads or smooth ground will suffice for landings. Crash landings may be attempted on terrain unsuitable for normal landings.

SECTION VI: CHEMICAL ATTACK

20. GENERAL. The use of airplanes to project chemicals brings to the airdrome an ever present danger of chemical attack. Cruising radius and capacity are the chief limits on swift-striking chemical attacks.

21. OBJECTIVES OF AERIAL CHEMICAL ATTACKS. Chemical attacks from the air may be made to attain any of several objectives.

a. To inflict casualties on personnel.

b. To render airdromes unfit for use through neutralization or contamination of airplanes on the ground, hangars, and facilities for maintenance, administration, housing, and storage of material and supplies, by means of persistent vesicant agents.

c. To harass personnel by using lacrimators or toxic smokes to cause them to mask and thus lower their efficiency.

d. To cover with smoke to prevent effective defense of the airdrome.

e. To destroy various airdrome installations by means of incendiaries.

f. To affect morale.

22. TYPES OF AERIAL CHEMICAL ATTACK. An attack with chemical agents may be made with persistent gas, nonpersistent gas or toxic smoke, screening smoke, or incendiaries. These may be employed in impact bombs, airburst bombs, or spray. The most probable attack is one in which persistent chemicals are employed, almost certainly with high explosives and possibly with incendiaries. Both airburst and impact bombs will be dropped on the airdrome and around it to keep the landing area under gas concentration as long as possible.

Defense is difficult, as personnel and material must be protected against chemicals and, at the same time, against other weapons of attack.

FIGURE 8.- Spray attack