Project Danny was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

plan for

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

launch sites in northern France. Although the squadrons had been trained at

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

and were loading onto their

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

s for the trip to the North Atlantic, opposition from General Marshall meant that the operation was canceled before departing for the European Theater.

Chronology

Extensive land-based Combined Bomber Offensive bombings of German targets had begun in June 1943, followed by "Crossbow" operations attacking German long range weapon facilities in August 1943 and V-1 launch sites in December 1943. In July 1944 after the V-1 "Robot Blitz" had begun on 13 June,

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Thomas Hinman Moorer of the Naval Air Atlantic Staff (NavAirLant) provided a

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

briefing on a June 1944 plan for F4U squadrons of Marine Air Group 51 (MAG-51) (including

VMF-511 Marine Fighting Squadron 511 (VMF-511) was a fighter squadron of the Marine Corps and Marine Forces Reserve during World War II and the Cold War which flew aircraft types such as the F6F Hellcat, F4U Corsair, and the F-8 Crusader. They were orig ...

, VMF-512, VMF-513 and VMF-514) to attack V-1 launch sites from escort carriers in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

:a. briefing recollection of Commander Thomas Moorer. with Tiny Tim rockets. The Tiny Tim was a rocket power adaption of a bomb - each aircraft carrying a single rocket. The plan was disapproved. Project Danny was a victim of the intense interservice rivalry that existed in the US armed forces during World War II; Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall stood up and walked out of the briefing: "That's the end of this briefing. As long as I'm in charge there'll never be a Marine in Europe." Had the operation proceeded, MAG-51 would have been the second Marine Corsair squadrons to deploy from

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s, the first being at the Bombing of Rabaul in November 1943. The only contribution the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

did make to Crossbow operations were the Operation Anvil drone attacks on Crossbow sites in August 1944 using surplus bomber aircraft converted to radio-control bombs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Project Danny Project Danny Cancelled military operations involving the United States Cancelled military operations of World War II United States Marine Corps in World War II Project Danny

Chronology

See also

References