Which World War II Battle had the most aircraft involved?

Question

Which World War II Battle had the most aircraft involved?

Out of the following:

Battle of El Alamein
D-Day
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of Berlin
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Guadalcanal
Battle of Midway
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Okinawa.

Which one had the most aircraft involved? (dogfights, bombers, fighters, etc.)

Answer 1

I would say the Battle of the Bulge. After the weather cleared the German offensive was completely annihilated by allied air power (what was left of it). Subsequently to this the German lines were subjected to thousand plane bomber attacks several times over. Imagine being a German infantry soldier trying to stop allied infantry and looking up to see the sky black with bombers about to drop their load on you. Even before D-Day the allies enjoyed almost complete air superiority and 1000 plane bombing missions were not uncommon. By the way my old man was captured in this battle. He had recently been reduced in rank from Sargent to private. And as a result he went from a safe & cushy job as a cook behind the lines to an infantryman on the line. His company was overun and he hid with about 20 other soldiers on the 2nd floor of a building which later became a shortlived German HQs. After occupying the building, that night a single German soldier with an automatic weapon opened the door to that room and played his flashlight all around the room. There were a lot of prayers sent to heaven at that moment including one by my father. God must have been listening because although the light passed over everyone of them. The German left closing the door behind him as if he didn't see anyone. A 2nd check by the German's at daylight discovered them.

Answer 2

D-Day.

The Allies had every airplane they could find in the air to support that landing. Thousands and thousands of aircraft of all types. Fighter providing cover, Heavy bombers hitting troops concentrations as well as strategic targets. Medium bombers hitting infrastructure, Fighter bombers directly supporting the troops, transports and gliders dropping troops and supplies.

And the Germans launched everything they could to try to intervene.

The land battles listed were just that, land battles and did not directly involve many aircraft.

Even the battle of Midway, which was almost exclusively fought with aircraft only really involved a few hundred planes from either side.

Answer 3

What hound from hell created this question? No one has any idea of how many aircraft clashed over Stalingrad. My own favorite, the battle of the Philippine Sea (Marianas) isn't even on the list. There were two major air battles over Guadalcanal -- Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz -- but neither appears here. Traditionally, the Battle of Guadalcanal indicates surface action from 12 to 14 November 1942.

I'll go with Midway, since that was a major action that involved aircraft only. But as to numbers...?

Answer 4

Had the USA not been able to provide aid to the allies, the allies would have lost. The UK and the Soviet Union received substansial supplies from the USA and without these they would have lost. Eventually Japan would have probably attacked the Soviet Union at Germany's request to ease their loses. This would have prevented The Soviets from using their reinforcements from Siberia to help on the west. Without these reinforcements the Soviets would have lost. As for the UK while they did have air power of Britian, Germany would have enventually gained it back, once Germany was able to develop better weapons. Also the UK received a ton of aid from the USA, so with that cut off they would have had to concentrate on both producing arms and attacking Germany. The outcome would be that Germany and Italy would control most of Europe and the Western portion of the Soviet Union. Japan would have gained control over most of the Pacific and possibly Austrailia and New Zealand. India would have also fallen. Pretty much the USA mainland would have been the next target for the Axis powers.

Answer 5

From your list, I'd have to guess Guadalcanal or Midway.

But the battles over London had more, I just don't know if that counts as a single "battle".

Leyte Gulf probably had the largest navy armada.

Answer 6

It would have to be the battle of Britan, but thats not on the list.

It would probably have to be Midway since its the only major aircraft battle on the list.

Answer 7

Battle of Stalingrad

Answer 8

Im thinking Midway, cuz that was a big naval battle during the war, and planes were used during the fighting...

Answer 9

the only two that kept popping up was the battle of britain or pearl harbor, so i guess it would be d-day