Fifty years ago the Marine Corps was searching, as it is today, for new weapons and techniques which would increase its combat capability as a military force-in-readiness. The new weapon found was the airplane, a controversial device, which was to ca use revolutionary changes in concepts of warfare. The Marines added this new weapon to their team to improve their capability for carrying out the time-honored mission of the Marine Corps-the seizure and defense of advanced naval bases and the conduct of such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign. The present Marine Corps air-ground team does not trace its conception back to the day when the first Marine aviator was designated Naval Aviator Number 5, but certainly this was the beginning of the evolution in weapons and tactics which gives the Marine Corps its high, present-day, air-ground capability.
Marine Corps aviation was well represented in World War I, but not until the "Banana Wars" during the Twenties did the Marines first begin to exploit the potential of the airplane in direct support of ground troops. In Haiti, Marine aviators pioneered the technique later called glide bombing, while in Nicaragua, they experimented with dive bombing in support of riflemen who controlled their attacks from the ground. Also in La tin America, the Marines used the airlift to transport troops and supplies to the front and evacuate the wounded from front line positions. After this beginning, Marine aviators refined close air support so that it became not only an acceptable technique but also a vital system for the support of troops in co-ordination with artillery and naval gunfire. An observation made during the Korean War points up how well this system was received: "The value of close air support for ground troops as provided by Marine flyers cannot be measured in words- and there is not enough that can be said for their aerial barrages that have cut a path for the infantry." This statement can be considered to be objective, since the spokesman was an Army general.
Such an observation pays tribute to Marine Corps determination to organize a Division Wing team in which Marine aviation could operate to furnish the best support possible for Marine ground forces. Such a team gets air units ashore early so that they can maintain a high tempo of air operations, and permits the release for other strike assignments of attack carriers supporting the operation.
The basic principle on which Marine aviation policy is based, therefore, is that the mission, functions, tasks, organization, and employment of aviation shall be in consonance with, and responsive to those of the Marine Corps as a whole. From this basic principle is derived the primary function of Marine aircraft wings: to support and sustain other Fleet Marine Force elements in combat. This includes a collateral mission of augmenting carrier-based air units of the Navy.
In accordance with public law, the combat units of Marine aviation must be organized into three aircraft wings, with each wing being balanced to provide the support necessary for the air-ground team concept. The wing is a complete package of tactical aviation. It is the smallest organization which includes and operates all the functional types of aircraft and services necessary for effective, expeditionary, combat air operations. The wing contains the personnel and equipment required to perform four tasks:
1. Tactical Air Support- to provide a variety of air-to-surface attacks against enemy installations and personnel in direct support of the landing force.
2. Anti-air Warfare-to provide the landward extension of the amphibious task force with a counter-air effort in order to maintain air superiority and isolate the battlefield. This includes the facilities for detection, identification, and destruction of enemy airborne threats.
3. Assault Air Transport- to provide airlift for movement of personnel and high priority cargo into and within the objective area.
4. Aerial Reconnaissance- to provide visual, photographic, and electronic aerial reconnaissance which is immediately responsive to the requirements of the landing force.
The tactics, techniques, and equipment used to accomplish these four tasks are, of course, tailored as closely as possible to the type of environment in which they are expected to operate, and to the quality of the opposition they will encounter.
Past experiences indicate that the best Soviet military equipment arrives at trouble spots in short order. This was demonstrated in Korea and Indochina, and there are evidences of it in Cuba today. It is well known that the Satellite countries are provided with first-line Soviet radars, missiles, aircraft, and technicians. There is virtually no situation, be it limited war, brush-fire, or lesser crisis, in which the probability of our encountering first line opposition can be ruled out. Hence, there can be no situation where second-class machines will be good enough to do the job.
The introduction of nuclear weapons and the subsequent indecision as to the wisdom of employing these weapons on the battlefield have greatly influenced tactics. The possibility of having to cope with nuclear weapons has called for a new order of tactical mobility, the dispersal of units for passive defense coupled with the ability to re-concentrate rapidly to fight. This mobility represents no departure from sound military precepts, but is a 20th century application of the principles of war laid down by Jomini and employed so successfully by Napoleon 150 years ago.
The helicopter was a partial answer to this required mobility. Recognizing the new face of warfare, the Marine Corps set to work to fashion a concept which would give the amphibious landing force increased depth, flexibility, speed, and power by means of helicopter-borne assault troops. By-passing enemy strong points and attacking where enemy defenses are weakest is normally the ideal tactical maneuver- the envelopment. The vertical envelopment concept was developed, using helicopters to achieve a bypass by air, and was later revised and extended to give greater impact and flexibility, and to possess greater resistance, under all conditions of warfare-nuclear or non-nuclear.
Dispersion of forces and increased depth of the amphibious assault brought other major problems. Wide dispersal of naval forces would take ships out of gunfire support. Also, the number of naval guns decreased as some were replaced by antiaircraft missiles. Airlifted assault elements carried less of their own fire support due to weight of weapons and ammunition. This gap could only be filled by attack aviation assuming an increased responsibility for heavy fire support. Since the systems to be replaced were capable of all-weather operations, Marine aviation was required to provide an around-the-clock, all-weather support capability. One lesson learned in Korea was the necessity for being trained and equipped to fight at night. The enemy not only fought but also resupplied his lines at night and in bad weather. Rails and roads that were cut each day were repaired and used each night. It is the opinion of some military analysts that North, as well as South, Korea might have been saved in the Korean War had United Nations forces been equipped with an adequate all weather air attack capability.
All-weather attack capability is being realized with the introduction of the A2F Intruder, specifically designed for this purpose. To increase the effectiveness of the currently used A4D Skyhawk in carrying out the air support role, certain modifications have been developed which dramatically improve the capabilities of this aircraft in the non-nuclear, limited war role. This small attack aircraft can now carry a great number and assortment of bombs, rockets, and new ordnance developments. Improvement in electronic navigational equipment gives the versatile A4D a limited all-weather capability, i.e., acceptable navigation to the target in any weather or at night, but with a visual delivery of weapons. This mix of attack aircraft meets the problem of diminishing amounts of artillery and naval gunfire. Further, the growth potential of the A2F weapons system appears sufficient to meet expected future requirements for tactical support.
Marine attack squadrons are tied in closely with the ground units they will support through wing control agencies, which are fully and continuously informed in regard to the ground battle. Tactical air control parties are organic elements of the headquarters of each Marine division, regiment, and battalion. These control parties, composed of Marine aviators and communications personnel, function in a special staff and advisory capacity except at the battalion level where the forward air controller is in an observation post to observe the target and control the strike.
Close co-ordination and training between wing and division allows a relationship in the Marine Corps between aviator and ground officer similar to that which has always existed between infantry and artillery elements. This team spirit, so necessary for success in combat, has often been difficult to achieve in the vacuum sometimes created by organization and employment of air weapons systems along functional lines.
For the air superiority role, to insure isolation of the battlefield from air attack, Marine aviation employs two types of supersonic fighter aircraft. The less sophisticated F8U Crusader is employed in numbers for what used to be termed the visual intercept. Because of aircraft speeds today, however, even this "visual" fighter has been modified to include target acquisition radar to assist the pilot in locating his target. The F4D Skyray, the current "all-weather" fighter, is soon to be replaced by the F4H Phantom II, a twoplace fighter employing a radar operator to read and control the extensive target acquisition equipment necessary for intercept at Mach 2 airspeeds. This combination of aircraft is capable of coping with the best fighters or bombers which an enemy can put into the sky.
The air control squadrons which provide the information for successful intercept of enemy targets are component elements of the wing, training continuously with the pilots they will direct in combat. Such an arrangement insures maximum performance from both the pilots and the radar ground controllers who, by working as a team, recognize the optimum capabilities and limitations not only of the equipment, but more important, of the individual pilots and radar operators.
The aircraft employed for assault transport fall into two categories: fixed-wing transport for intra-theater movement of high priority personnel and supplies, and the vertical0take-off-and-landing (VTOL) transport, now typified by the helicopter, for tactical movement of certain assault forces in the ship-to-shore movement and subsequent special tactical operations ashore.
The fixed-wing transport program is being modernized with the introduction of the GV-1 Hercules, which will provide in-flight refueling for staging fighter and attack squadrons into the objective area. In the past, it has been usual to employ aircraft carriers to ferry Marine tactical aircraft to the battle area. However, any situation which requires rapid response on the part of the Marine Corps may also find the Navy carrier force heavily committed in the same or other situations, so that carriers may not be available for this duty. The GV-1 tanker is readily converted to an assault transport by removal of the internal in-flight refueling tanks. The take-off and landing characteristics of this aircraft make it ideally suited to short field operations, thereby providing an emergency resupply system which will insure the ability of the landing force to sustain the assault logistically.
For the mobility required in a vertical envelopment operation, the Marine Corps presently employs two types of VTOL assault transports. The HUS, a transport version of the Navy's ASW helicopter, has the primary mission of lifting assault troops, although it will readily haul cargo either carried internally or in an external cargo net. The larger HR2S is capable of lifting the heavier loads of weapons, equipment, and supplies needed to sustain helicopter-borne assault troops in their initial attack. Clamshell doors and ramp provide expeditious unloading.
This capability of the helicopter for troop and cargo movement has been so well received that many revisions have been necessary in amphibious shipping requirements. The most essential new type is the amphibious assault ship, designated the LPH, now under construction. This class of ship will be able to carry a battalion landing team with its equipment. The flight deck, elevators, and handling equipment of the LPH are designed for operating a squadron of helicopters for rapid ship-to-shore movement of its full assault complement. Interim LPH ships consist of converted World War II carriers which have become overage for their original mission. Other ship conversions include the addition of a limited flight deck to the current LSD, to expedite unloading, using airlift in addition to conventional landing craft. Finally, most of the amphibious ships will contain a helicopter landing platform for unloading, on call, high priority items of supply or personnel. The helicopter is a vital component of the modern amphibious assault. The future calls for an even higher order of performance in this VTOL vehicle.
Aircraft employed in the reconnaissance role vary because of the wide range of intelligence information required by the landing force. The high performance aircraft used for photo reconnaissance and post-strike assessment is the F8U-1P, the photo version of the basic F8U fighter. The aircraft employed in electronic reconnaissance is the F3D-2Q, converted from its original role as an all-weather fighter. In the low performance category, for artillery spotting and visual observation of the battlefield, a small fixed-wing aircraft, the OE-2 Grasshopper, and a light rotary wing type, the HOK, are employed.
Essential to their function as part of the division-wing team is the capability of all components of the Marine aircraft wing to move ashore rapidly and operate in an expeditionary atmosphere. This means that airfield construction requirements have been drastically reduced. No longer can time and heavy equipment be afforded to construct large airfields, even though runway requirements for present day aircraft have more than doubled since World War II. The ultimate answer to this problem appears to be the development of VTOL aircraft in all categories. Vertical-rising, high-performance aircraft, however, are still a long way in the future. In the interim period, Marine Corps aviation has developed the small expeditionary airfield for use during the early phases of an operation.
This small airfield uses certain aircraft carrier techniques and equipment. For normal arrestment of landing aircraft, a light field arresting gear, consisting of cross-runway pendants attached to energy absorbers, engages the tailhook on the aircraft, smoothly decelerating it on a runway not much longer than a carrier flight deck. A field expeditionary catapult puts aircraft into the air. A field barricade is available for emergencies. A portable mirror landing system, similar to that used so successfully aboard ship, indicates to the pilot the proper glide path for a spot landing into the arresting gear. With Marine pilots routinely trained for carrier operations, this small airfield operation is easily accomplished.
These small airfields are surfaced with rugged metal planking for the landing areas of the runways and a lighter weight matting for the taxiways and hardstands. Certainly if there is an existing airfield in the battle area and its use would not adversely influence the ground commander's role, the conventional airfield would be employed as soon as possible. For the many areas of the world where no jet airfields exist, however, Marine aviation is equipped to move ashore and operate its variety of tactical aircraft within hours after a beachhead is established.
To feed the thirsty jets that would be flown from these small fields, Marine aviation has developed the bulk fuel handling system. The system consists of lightweight collapsible rubber cells which are helicopter transportable and are easily assembled into a tank farm with fuel pumped directly from a tanker anchored off-shore. Such a system can be operated many miles inland by using flexible pipeline and booster pumping stations.
The fact that this small tactical airfield capability is in the Fleet Marine Force today means that the air-ground team can land and operate in almost any area of the world. As to the future, there is every indication that the team as presently constituted will continue to function as the optimum force-in readiness for world-wide commitment to deter or quell armed conflict. New equipment and weapons are being developed as fast as new ideas, research, and technology permit, making Marine aviation ever more responsive to the tactical needs of the ground commander. This unique combination of integrated land and air power is designed to move rapidly into trouble spots, and has the demonstrable ability to stay and operate indefinitely. These two factors are assured by the logistic support provided by the amphibious fleet, which points up the continuing need for strong, balanced, fleet forces.
At the close of 50 years of Naval and Marine aviation development, Marine Corps aviators find themselves in an era of more rapid change than ever before. This challenge is being met through vision and foresight. By combining the best aircraft, techniques, and training for the air support role, the United States is being provided with a force-in -readiness, the Marine air-ground team, which has no equal in the world today.