An account of the Allied air offensive before D-Day, detailing aircraft types, air commanders, and operations that preceded Operation Overlord. Includes Order of Battle, photographs, maps, and biographical sketches of key leaders. Characteristics ISBN-10 0 906393 27 2 Book cover finish(es) Hardcover ( round back binding ) Special Features • Dust jacket Condition Like NEW Author(s) Humphrey Wynn, Susan Young Publisher Airlife Publishing Ltd. Number of pages 154 Published date 1983 Language(s) English Size 19 x 25 x 1.5 cm Categorie(s) • AVIATION MILITAIRE• SECONDE GUERRE MONDIALE Description Prelude to Overlord is an account of the factors and circumstances behind the huge Allied air offensive which preceded and supported Operation Overlord, the 6 June 1944 landings by Allied armies on the beaches of Normandy, which began the liberation of Western Europe from four years of German occupation. The authors describe the air problems which faced the planners of Overlord, referring especially to the clashes of personality that occurred between the Allied air commanders. They also provide biographical sketches of Luftwaffe, RAF, and USAAF leaders whose forces contended for mastery of the Western skies. A full Order of Battle prior to D-Day is given, showing all the Allied and German air units involved. Luftwaffe, RAF, and USAAF photographs illustrate some of the many types of aircraft employed in pre-Overlord operations, which are also depicted in a specially prepared map. There is a full bibliography of relevant documentary and published sources, and in their description of the pre-invasion air assault, the authors range over the wide, varied, and devastating forms of air power which the Allies were able to deploy in early 1944, when the mighty prelude to Overlord was launched and sustained.
