Re: Korean War Airpower

[<ChosinMead@aol.com>]

After W W 2, the Marines constantly practiced close air support between the air and ground forces- I may be wrong, but I think they developed the concept. At any rate, as we moved in attack, the Corsairs would be strafing 50 yards to our front, so much so that the falling shell casings droping on our heads scared the crap out of us until we got used to it. I remember practicing CAS in the spring of 1950 during maneuvers at Onslow Beach, North Carolina. The Navy pilots did not participate in the practice. The Marine Corps CAS was so effective that the Army units were frequently requesting Marine Air. I may be wrong, but I think the Air Force has still not developed CAS to the same extent as the USMC had.  Lee N. Mead