Overlord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II [Paperback]

Thomas Alexander Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0743247833 | ISBN-13: 978-0743247832 | Edition: 1

Over Lord is the fascinating story of how American tactical air power was developed by General Elwood "Pete" Quesada during World War II, including its decisive role in Operation OVERLORD and the liberation of Europe.

Pete Quesada is one of World War II's unsung yet crucial heroes. With his famous "Ninth Tactical Air Command," Quesada established the best air-ground team in the European theater. he pioneered the use of radar in close air support operations, introducing weapons systems specifically geared to tactical operations. He nurtured new flying methods designed for the kind of precision bombing the battlefields of Europe demanded. And more than anything else, Pete Quesada championed efforts to model air and ground officers into a single fighting unit. His relationships with ground leaders like Generals Omar Bradley and "Lightning Joe" Collins were a model for the kind of interservice harmony that was essential for dislodging the entrenched German Army.

At war's end everybody from General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower to ordinary infantrymen recognized Pete Quesada as the premier expert and dogged patron of close air support. Allied airplanes over the battlefields of Europe had undoubtedly shortened the war and saved many thousands of lives, and Pete Quesada came home to a hero's welcome in 1945. By then he was the personification of tactical air power. Indeed, he was its over lord.

Unfortunately, Quesada's groundbreaking methods were all but forgotten after the war. As the Cold War deepened, Air Force leaders stressed the role of big bombers flying deep into enemy territory and renounced the importance of close air support missions. Quesada himself was shunted into jobs that were both illsuited to his fiery temperament and divorced from his wartime expertise in tactical aviation. Frustrated, he retired from the Air Force in 1951 at forty-seven years of age.

Fortunately, the story of Quesada's innovative tactics did not end there for the American military. In Korea in the 1950s and Vietnam in the 1960s, U.S. servicemen struggled -- and died -- relearning and recreating the kinds of tactics that Quesada had made commonplace in 1944-45. Had the U.S. Air Force nurtured its capacity for close air support, those two conflicts may have unfolded differently. Since then, the Air Force has struggled for a better balance between its bombardment missions and its support functions.

This is the definitive story of an extraordinary man, whose remarkable efforts to aid foot soldiers in World War II contributed significantly to the Allies' success. America's belated rediscovery of Quesada's precepts some forty years later in conflicts like Operation DESERT STORM only underscores the importance of Quesada's story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this work, Hughes, who teaches history at Ohio State, makes a major contribution to the history of tactical airpower in the U.S. Air Force. Quesada, like most of his pre-1941 contemporaries, was heavily exposed to the orthodoxies of strategic bombardment. His experience in the Mediterranean, however, convinced him that direct support of ground forces was at least as important. As commander of IX Fighter Command (later Tactical Air) from October 1943 to V-E Day, Quesada was instrumental in developing the doctrines and practices that made the role of the American fighter-bomber a decisive factor in the D-Day campaign. He was quickly sidetracked in a postwar Air Force emphasizing nuclear weapons rather than ground attack. But Quesada's legacy, argues Hughes, ignored in Vietnam, bore fruit in Desert Storm and continues to shape Air Force policies. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A key to the successful Allied invasion at Normandy was the effective and responsive use of air power. Here, Hughes (history, Ohio State Univ.) describes not only the tours of duty that made Gen. Pete Quesada a military leader?a story fascinating in its own right?but also sketches a vivid picture of the birth of this new military tactic. Hughes describes how Quesada's career in the army prepared him to become one of the best men for the job of developing and carrying out the new military tactic of close air support. He also explains the evolution of what would become in the modern era nothing less than the birth of the fledgling concept of combined arms. Direct communications, joint planning, and the use of liaison officers were refinements that had to be tested in smaller actions leading up to D-Day. A sweeping history told thoroughly, logically, and well, this book is of major importance to students of military tactics and World War II.?Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (October 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743247833
• ISBN-13: 978-0743247832
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A history lesson that we didn't learn too well., March 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: OVERLORD: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II (Hardcover)

This book is easy to get into and very informative. The story of Gen. Pete Quesada and the tactical air arm in the European Theater of Operations in WW II is something that anyone interested in military history should read. This aspect of the war is often overlooked, which should not be the case. The working together of ground and tactical air assets should be a top priority for military planners as well as anyone connected with the ground troops.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent look at one of the founders of close air support, December 22, 2009

By 

DarthRad (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Overlord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II (Paperback)

Elwood Quesada was one of those nearly forgotten pioneers of tactical air power during World War II. With the Ninth Air Force, Quesada would develop the concept of close air support to levels very similar to how it is practiced even today. Two key innovations were the use of Microwave Early Warning (MEW) radar and the technology for "combat column cover". MEW radar was originally a field radar designed for defensive purposes, to warn of an enemy air attack. As German aircraft rapidly became scarce, the radar came to be used for air traffic control, to keep track of and direct fighter-bombers in the air to fresh targets in real time. The second innovation was to provide radios that could talk directly to the planes (a simple idea, which had never been done before!) in the tanks of the attacking columns. The combination of the two meant that U.S. Army units could call in close air support on top of an enemy position in minutes, a capability that no other army, including the British, had during World War II.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the book does leave some holes in its treatment of the history of U.S. tactical air power. U.S. and British air power during WWII in general was not very good at destroying tanks - the available weapons (bombs and rockets) were simply too inaccurate. But it did have a tremendous effect on the Germans' ability to mount cohesive counterattacks and severely restricted their freedom of movement and destroyed their supplies.

Also, although Quesada pioneered the main techniques for close air support during WWII, Gen. Otto Weyland of XIX TAC would become its greatest practitioner, working closely with Patton and the Third Army, and contributing tremendously to the success of the Third Army.

Thus, two additional excellent books to read are "Air Power at the Battlefront" by Ian Gooderson and "Patton's Air Force" by David Spires. The first book gives a much more accurate look at Allied tactical air power, and the second points out that Patton's tremendous success was due in no small part to the contributions of Weyland's XIX TAC.

Two other fascinating points in this biography of Elwood Quesada are his postwar battles with pretty boy Hoyt Vandenberg, and his marriage to Kate Putnam, heiress to the Pulitzer fortune.

Vandenberg was appointed the head of the Ninth Air Force during WWII despite knowing nothing about tactical air power and later became the Chief of Staff for the new US Air Force. Vandenberg was the classic example of how far you can get in life if you look good, talk good, and play a great game of golf. He was also responsible for starting the USAAF's long slide away from having the proper equipment and weapons to do close air support the right way. Quesada was forced out of the Air Force by Vandenberg. Weyland would be exiled to non-combat jobs until the Korean War forced Vandenberg to bring him back as he now needed somebody who actually knew how to do tactical air support.

Yes, they ended up naming that missile base outside of Santa Barbara after this dumbkin pretty boy, Vandenberg Air Force Base. Something I think about every time they test fire off one of those Minutemen missiles and I see the missile contrails in the sky (they can be quite colorful and beautiful). They should rename the base after somebody more deserving.

Quesada's marriage to the widowed Kate Putnam allowed him to tap into the high society of the rich and famous. Which is why he could quit the Air Force whereas Weyland had to stay in and swallow his pride for several years. Quesada would go on to many different jobs and pursuits, none lasting more than three years or so.

A fascinating story of a fascinating man during the critical birth period of the U.S. Air Force.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He was also the creator of Dulles Air Port & L'Enfant Plaza, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: OVERLORD: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II (Hardcover)

I knew the General. In addition to his achievements in WW II, he devoloped the concept of an airport where incoming and out going passengers moved on separate floors (Dulles)With David Rockefeller they created the magnificent L'Enfant Plaza in Wash.D.C. His stories of growing up in Washington could be another book, not to mention his civilian achievements in Washington. The story of his flying Ike behind German lines after the D day invasion in a 2 seat P 51 to prove his point over German positions (much to the chagrin of Gen. Bradley) is one of my favorites. He had a picture in his office of he and Tooey Spaatz from their early days in "Jennies" with oil all over their faces except where their goggles were. Right out of "Dawn Patrol". This book is long over due.