Topic 1:

WW II Operation Bodyguard
Deception & Misdirection

Operation Bodyguard was a well-coordinated deception campaign to fool the Nazis about when and where an invasion would take place. It involved tactics such as creating a fake infantry, complete with its own insignia patch; building fake tanks, weaponry and other military equipment to throw off aerial imagery; recruiting double agents; and sending misleading radio traffic that was intended to be intercepted.

How were the innovative technologies and communications strategies used in OperationBodyguard created and used? 

Topic 2:

Air Dominance that enabled
the D-Day invasions

The Allies’ air dominance over Normandy meant that all the Allied troops could get across the English Channel without air attacks from the German Luftwaffe. Three elements ensured air superiority:

1. Preliminary bombardments: The B-17 “Flying Fortress” was a magnificent machine that, arranged as a convoy with a specific formation in the air, could carry bombs, shoot enemy aircraft, and defend itself.
2. Troop delivery: In foggy darkness, 8,000 British and 16,000 U.S. paratroopers and glider infantrymen dropped behind enemy lines from gliders and planes with a mission to limit German movement across important roads and bridges.
3. Escort fighters and their role as combat air support: Considered by WWII pilots to be the best aircraft for air-to-air combat, the P-51 Mustang was a fighter plane that didn’t carry much fuel and had to accompany and protect the bombers.

Taken together, the aircraft that made the D-Day invasions possible provided not just the military power to win the fight, but also gave a morale boost to the soldiers on the ground. They knew that air assets were above and that a simple “show of force” could alter the ground battles.

Discuss the techniques that these different aircraft used in collaboration with each other to achieve air dominance that none of them alone could achieve.