US War Games pre-WWII: Red and Blue Force Aircraft

Dynoman

ACCESS: Top Secret
Senior Member
Joined
29 July 2009
Messages
1,627
Reaction score
1,938
Many are unfamiliar with the war games and maneuvers that took place before the US's entry into World War II in 1941 prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The 1941 Carolina and Louisiana Maneuvers were particularly instrumental in the General Headquarters design, test, and assessment of tactics and doctrine, which would be used in the prosecution of the war by the US. This thread looks specifically at the aircraft that participated in the maneuvers and the lessons learned from the exercises.

Below includes some of the aircraft that fought as Red Force aircraft in the Carolina Maneuvers. These are the P-39 from the 8th Pursuit Group, Grumman F4F VMF-111 Devildogs, and a P-39 painted with high visibility yellow tail and the letters UMP for umpire of the 31st Pursuit Group Group.
 

Attachments

  • 8th Pursuit Red Force Carolina Maneuvers.jpg
    8th Pursuit Red Force Carolina Maneuvers.jpg
    92.9 KB · Views: 25
  • Grumman-F4F-3-Wildcat-VMF-111-F-18-Army-Navy-Wargames-1941-0A.jpg
    Grumman-F4F-3-Wildcat-VMF-111-F-18-Army-Navy-Wargames-1941-0A.jpg
    115.4 KB · Views: 19
  • Umpire aircraft.jpg
    Umpire aircraft.jpg
    48.6 KB · Views: 17
  • Ump aircraft.jpg
    Ump aircraft.jpg
    189.5 KB · Views: 18
1941 Louisiana Maneuvers Red Force aircraft. A P-40 from the 77th Group and a P-38 from the 27th Pursuit Squadron. Also F4Fs of VMF-111 flown in the war games. Link includes newspaper headlines from war games in Louisiana.
 

Attachments

  • 77th Pursuit Group 1941 Louisiana Games.jpg
    77th Pursuit Group 1941 Louisiana Games.jpg
    464.2 KB · Views: 17
  • 27th Pusuit Squadron in LA Maneuvers.jpg
    27th Pusuit Squadron in LA Maneuvers.jpg
    475.8 KB · Views: 19
  • f4f_04.jpg
    f4f_04.jpg
    122.6 KB · Views: 18
Last edited:
An article on how the Louisiana Maneuvers were planned.
 
From what I understand the Blue Forces had white crosses and the Red Forces had red crosses. Also, I've read that squadrons were split in half with one half identified as Red and the other half as Blue force aircraft.

An O-47 from the 104th Observation Squadron in the Carolina Maneuvers (note the white cross under the wing).
 

Attachments

  • 104th Observation Sqd White Cross under wing.jpg
    104th Observation Sqd White Cross under wing.jpg
    203.1 KB · Views: 15
Last edited:
Article on the Louisiana Maneuvers phase by phase.
 
Blue force Piper observation aircraft in Louisiana Maneuvers lands to get fuel in rural town. Another recon aircraft being engaged by ground forces.
 

Attachments

  • Grasshopper Recon Blue Force LA Maneuvers.jpg
    Grasshopper Recon Blue Force LA Maneuvers.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 15
  • Blue force recon aircraft being shot at by Red forces.jpg
    Blue force recon aircraft being shot at by Red forces.jpg
    945.4 KB · Views: 14
Blue and Red Force A-20s and Red Force personnel.
 

Attachments

  • Blue Force Bombers LA Maneuvers.jpg
    Blue Force Bombers LA Maneuvers.jpg
    223.4 KB · Views: 15
  • Red Force 3rd Attack Group A-20A  Louisana Maneuvers.jpg
    Red Force 3rd Attack Group A-20A Louisana Maneuvers.jpg
    219.2 KB · Views: 14
  • Unidentified Red Force Personnel  Louisana Maneuvers 6.jpg
    Unidentified Red Force Personnel Louisana Maneuvers 6.jpg
    204.9 KB · Views: 15
Curtiss SBC-4 Helldiver in 1941 Maneuvers.
 

Attachments

  • Helldiver from VB-8 in 1941 Maneuvers.jpg
    Helldiver from VB-8 in 1941 Maneuvers.jpg
    429 KB · Views: 18
Last edited:
Unusual camo pattern for YB-17 applied for the Louisiana Maneuvers from the 20th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, Langley Field.
 

Attachments

  • YB-17 Louisiana Maneuvers 1941.jpg
    YB-17 Louisiana Maneuvers 1941.jpg
    4.5 MB · Views: 19
Blue Force P-40 Warhawks fly in support of Blue Force ground troops in 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers. Motorcycle soldier firing at Wildcat.
 

Attachments

  • Blue Force P-40s coord with ground troops.jpg
    Blue Force P-40s coord with ground troops.jpg
    219.6 KB · Views: 16
  • Louisana ground attack.jpg
    Louisana ground attack.jpg
    131.8 KB · Views: 15

Similar threads

Please donate to support the forum.

Back
Top Bottom