Question:
Why is there no air cover at the beach landing in "Saving Private Ryan"?
who WAS #1?
2012-06-09 12:11:48 UTC
In WW1 everyone understood the importance of air power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel
Yet in all the historical footage I have seen of the Normandy Landing, I don't see any aircraft.
Why?
Seven answers:
Michael B
2012-06-09 12:18:56 UTC
There would be no cover over the beaches because there were almost no German aircraft attacking the landings. The fighter sweeps and the bombing were sensibly concentrated on the German airfields, forcing the enemy to keep their heads down.



In any case you are unlikely to see aircraft in old footage of the landings even when they passed by. The centre of interest was at ground level: if a whole wing of Lancasters had flown over just 200 feet overhead, the cameraman would still have been focusing on the tanks and the landing craft.



As far as the film is concerned: it is pure fiction. It touches the facts the way a bouncing football touches the grass - unpredictably, irregularly and briefly. Do not depend on Hollywood for reliable or factual coverage of reality.



Hope this helps.
?
2016-07-16 07:15:35 UTC
Politicians more often than not hate the movie for the reason that it educates men and women that conflict isnt only a case of 'oh i'm alive' & 'oh, i'm dead' like the movies of the 1960's but the myriad of matters in between including loss of life painfully and by means of being exploded at the same time demise. Individuals in this day and age have a greater hazard of seeing what it's to be a serviceman and to probably be a bit of more than just a little bit involved when we've idiots jogging a nation (any nation) and still utilising the armed forces as cannon fodder. I've certainly not been within the physical situation myself so the above is solely an opinion that could be not all proper. However i've the utmost respect for those humans who've endured movements corresponding to Omaha which might so with no trouble no longer have occurred if politics was a ready profession.
2012-06-09 12:24:11 UTC
What you need to understand is that the Normandy Landings were not all like the first 15 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". The D-Day planners underestimated how well-defended Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach would be, but in other places the Allied troops came ashore virtually unmolested.

The planners did make preparations for the landings by launching a huge aerial bombardment of many if not all of the sectors of the Normandy beaches, but precisely hitting machine-gun nests and artillery emplacements with medium bombers flying at 10,000 feet is basically impossible without guided munitions. The USAAF and RAF bombed the beaches but couldn't have out all the defences. For a couple of hours prior to the landings the Allied flotilla provided heavy artillery bombardment on the shore facilities, but again, they couldn't be expected to take out every German position.

Also, battlefield communications were still far slower in 1944 than they are today. The commanders at sea or in England didn't know that the first waves to land at Dog Green and Charlie sectors of Omaha were taking 50%+ casualties until the evening of the first day, by which time the Germans defending those sectors had either been overcome by the Allied troops reinforcing the first waves, had retreated or had run low on ammunition.

Finally, had there been air support allocated to the beaches at the same time as the landings, the risks of friendly fire were too great. Later in the campaign, at the beginning of Operation Cobra, hundreds of Americans were killed or injured when they were hit by their own bombers which were supposed to be destroying the German defences in front of them.
MMM
2012-06-09 12:48:01 UTC
The landings at Normandy came as a surprise for the Germans. They were expecting the landing to be at the Pas de Calais in Northern France so most of their defenses were concentrated there. Also, the Allies did do an aerial bombardment of the landing beaches prior to the landing to soften up the defenses.
2012-06-09 13:43:53 UTC
You better believe there was a CAP (Combat Air Patrol), the tactical wings were busy further inland, and strategic further in front of them.

Stopping reinforcements from arriving, by blowing up bridges, airfields, trains & cruising the roads for activity.

To limit casualties from friendly fire, they didn't operate directly in front of the beachhead.

Who's to tell them who's who?

The RN & RAF took care of the water.
2012-06-09 13:01:08 UTC
Air cover from what? They had air superiority, close support was never as integrated as the Germans but the Luftwaffe were never a threat. Not seeing them does not mean they were not there.
thresher
2012-06-09 12:14:44 UTC
It was a movie,June 6th invasion had air cover just 2 German planes made one pass and left.Suggest looking up this battle and read it.


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