Normandy 1944

Normandy 1944 is packed with illustrations and is the first book to focus on the 'Transportation Plan', the air campaign designed to isolate the D-Day beaches from German reinforcements.

As the invasion of Europe grew closer, strategic thought was given to the utilisation of the Allies' substantial forces of heavy bombers in preparation. After much controversy, the plan eventually adopted was the ‘Transportation Plan’. This plan targeted the railway and road networks of France and consequently the German logistical chain, to slow German reinforcements to the Normandy beachhead both before and during the Allied invasion.

In this book, aviation researcher Julian Hale draws on new archive research to explain how this crucial, dangerous, and often spectacular campaign was fought. Running from April to July 1944, it would eventually involve heavy and medium bombers of both the RAF and USAAF, with a starring role for the fighter-bombers of the Ninth Air Force. Early attacks by strategic bombers on the French rail nodes were only partially successful at best. In mid-May, the decision was taken to intensively attack bridges and road and rail traffic using fighter-bombers, mainly drawn from the US Ninth.

Illustrated with carefully chosen photos, spectacular battle scene artwork, explanatory maps, and 3D diagrams, this is the story of how Allied airpower paved the way for D-Day.