![]() ![]() Research in high-speed flight, assisted by specially designed aircraft, provided data that led toward advances in aircraft performance. The launching of ships and research missiles from shore installations provided useful data and experience. The ships and submarines to employ them readied for action. They reached within 7,000 sorties of World War II totals in all theaters, and surpassed the bomb tonnage by 74,000 tons.Īway from combat, advances in guided missile technology brought the new weapons into operational status. Helicopters assumed an increasingly significant role as they rescued downed aircrew, evacuated wounded, flew short-range supply missions to Marines and soldiers ashore, spotted shore bombardment gunfire for ships, and scoured coastal areas for mines.ĭuring the three years of war, Navy and Marine aircraft flew 276,000 combat sorties and dropped 177,000 tons of bombs. In addition, the need to sustain carrier air power over a landmass for extended periods imposed command and logistical burdens.Ĭarrier aircraft flew deep support missions attacked supply lines roamed over enemy territory for targets of opportunity bombed bridges interdicted highways and railroads attacked refineries, railroad yards, and hydroelectric plants and escorted land-based bombers on special missions. The seesaw clashes on the ground during the first six months of the war demanded flexibility of force. The introduction of jet aircraft created a composite force in which either jet or propeller-driven aircraft that differed in performance characteristics, maintenance requirements, and tactical applications equipped comparable commands. New weapons and equipment had not been fully integrated and tactical doctrine and operating techniques for their employment were still under development. Successive budgetary decreases had reduced the size of the service, and a reorganization of operating forces to keep them within the prescribed limits had begun. The establishment of the National Military Establishment in 1947 and its reorganization in 1949, when it was renamed the Department of Defense, required adjustments that had not been completed by the outbreak of war. ![]() ![]() The outbreak of the Korean War caught naval aviation in the midst of transition. ![]()
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