Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

184 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
during combat. Their air sec tions did operate on a common channel, however, so
that any unit was free to obtain informa tion from any aircraft. 52 Air superiority
and the fact that the U.S. Army field artillery had organic air observation were
key reasons why the U.S. field artillery dominated the European battlefield. 53
Aerial observation for adjusting artillery fire, as well as for other missions, also
proved invaluable in the Pacific. Lush vegetation and mountainous terrain at times
hindered the ground and air observers’ view, but generally much of the fighting
occurred along the shore and in other relatively open areas. As in Europe, the sections
usually operated under central ized control. Navy bombers provided assistance,
although their relatively high speeds often made observation difficult. The Army
Air Forces also provided artillery adjust ment and observa tion in both theaters with
high-performance aircraft for medium and heavy battalions. Difficulties in communications
and a lack of knowl edge of field artillery gunnery on the part of the
obser vers caused most of the problems in the inability of high-perfor mance aircraft
to complete artillery adjustments. 54
The use of aerial reconnaissance photographs in conjunction with maps and
firing charts were of tremendous value and provided a high percentage of artillery
targets. Field artillerymen began taking an interest in aerial photography with the
development of cameras that could capture large areas without undue distortion.
While recognizing the useful ness of such pictures for reconnaissance purposes,
field artillerymen were more interested in producing photo maps to use for firing
charts. In the North African campaign of 1942, it became apparent that Amer ican
facilities for producing aerial photographs were inadequate, even though the British
in the same theater were making excellent use of such pictures in intel ligence work.
But American expertise in this area steadily increased, and by 1943 in Sicily the
Army Air Forces were pro viding aerial photography support at the army level. At
the corps artillery fire direction centers, photo interpretation teams con firmed sound
and flash locations and targets reported from other sources. Army air observers
also took some aerial photo graphs, which were especially useful when inclement
weather ground ed Army Air Forces planes. Most commanders, however, believed
that they could not replace the Army Air Forces photographs, which covered areas
deep into enemy territory. Poor visibility over jungle areas, a lack of wide-area
photographs (making it necessary to piece a useful picture together from many
Review 23 (April 1943): 36–38; William Wallace Ford, Wagon Soldier (North Adams, Mass.: Excelsior
Printing Co., 1980), ch. 8 (see also ch. 7, p. 9). Raines’s Eyes of Artillery is the definitive history of aerial
observation in World War II.
52 USFET Study no. 66, pp. 3–5, 16–17, 35, and Study no. 64, pp. 5, 30, copies in CMH files; N. S. P.
Stitt, “. . . In Italy,” Field Artillery Journal, May 1944, pp. 280–81; Frederick C. Shepard, “Coordination
of Air OPs,” Field Artillery Journal, July 1945, pp. 402–04.
53 Charles von Luttichau, “Notes on German and U.S. Artillery,” p. 4, copy in CMH files; Bailey,
Field Artillery and Firepower, pp. 314–15.
54 Gildart, “Artillery on New Georgia,” p. 83; William B. Craig, “Aerial Observation, SW Pacific
Style,” Field Artillery Journal, April 1944, pp. 252–54; Robert M. White, “. . . in New Guinea,” ibid., May
1944, pp. 278–80; John R. Crossen, “Artillery Liaison With the Navy,” ibid., August 1945, pp. 461–62;
Ralph MacDonald, “Artillery Cubs in Mountainous Operations,” ibid., October 1945, pp. 614–16; C. V.
Clifton, “Arty/R Again,” ibid., July 1945, p. 404; USFET Study no. 64, pp. 5–7, 40, copy in CMH files.