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I doubt they would have moved them from the Navy to the Army. They would have just transferred them to Europe.
I would imagine the U.S. Navy would have moved a considerable amount of it's assets to the Atlantic and Med since the Kreigsmarine was still very much a threat, especially the U-Boats.
The U.S. Army could have used the additional pilots and assets in the ETO/MTO as well.
And while it's not likely, the possibility of U.S. Marine involvement would have been available in both amphibeous and aerial support, particularly in the Med/Italian campaign.
Thanks,
A further question along this line. If there was not need for so many carrier based operations would some of the naval aviators become a land based force and start using land based aircraft?
This is turning into one of these questions where each answer leads to another question.
If the Marines do not participate in Europe with no more war in the Pacific what assignment would they be given?
The problem with trying to use the USN Blue Water assets in the Atlantic is that its a force structure trained, equipped and organized for force projection and not so much for ASW escort work. It is not at all suited to operations in far northern latitudes, and has only limited rough weather capability. these are all limitations that can be overcome, but it would take time....maybe a year or so. you would not see significant force projection into the Atlantic until roughly 2 to 2.5 years after US entry. Probably just in time for Normandy, after which usefulness of additional naval assets in the TO has to be questioned.
But the Navy under a man like King is never going to willingly give over assets to the army or the air force.
Army assets in the Pacific are fairly limited...maybe 2 divs at most until the middle of '43. Air force assets might add 150-300 aircraft to the ETO......in other words, virtually no effect in the ETO
The problem with trying to use the USN Blue Water assets in the Atlantic is that its a force structure trained, equipped and organized for force projection and not so much for ASW escort work. It is not at all suited to operations in far northern latitudes, and has only limited rough weather capability. these are all limitations that can be overcome, but it would take time....maybe a year or so. you would not see significant force projection into the Atlantic until roughly 2 to 2.5 years after US entry. Probably just in time for Normandy, after which usefulness of additional naval assets in the TO has to be questioned.
But the Navy under a man like King is never going to willingly give over assets to the army or the air force.
Army assets in the Pacific are fairly limited...maybe 2 divs at most until the middle of '43. Air force assets might add 150-300 aircraft to the ETO......in other words, virtually no effect in the ETO
There was a fairly significant chunk of the USN involved in ASW and the Atlantic and Mediterranean, in general.
He just won't get them. He may have had a lot of influence on the assets the navy was allocated, but trying to keep those assets in a backwater would not be a career-enhancing move. Ultimately, King would do what he's ordered or he'd get an early start on his memoirs.
.It's not so much the assets the army has in the Pacific at the time: it's the assets that won't go there in 1944 and 1945. Maybe the ships can't be converted into tanks, but the amphibious shipping was in short supply, and it would get moved. And a lot of ships would not get built, as they are superfluous