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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 ...

F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

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 Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...

launch sites This article constitutes a list of rocket launch sites. Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. M ...

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 carriers for the trip to the North Atlantic, opposition from General Marshall meant that the operation was canceled before departing for the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

Chronology

Extensive land-based

Combined Bomber Offensive The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) was an Allied offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was directed against Luftwaffe targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1 April 1944. T ...

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 Thomas Hinman Moorer (February 9, 1912 – February 5, 2004) was an admiral and naval aviator in the United States Navy who served as the chief of naval operations from 1967 to 1970, and as the seventh chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from ...

of the Naval Air Atlantic Staff (NavAirLant) provided a

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek language, 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 polygon, simple pentagon is ...

briefing on a June 1944 plan for F4U squadrons of

Marine Air Group 51 Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

(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 Marine Fighting Squadron 512 (VMF-512) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps during World War II. The squadron was aircraft carrier based during the last year of the war and supported combat operations during the Battle of Oki ...

VMF-513 Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502 (VMFAT-502) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack training squadron flying the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Known as the "Flying Nightmares", the squadron maintains the history of ''Mar ...

and

VMF-514 Marine Fighting Squadron 514 (VMF-514) was a short-lived fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Flying the Vought F4U Corsair, the squadron was originally commissioned to be part of the ill-fated Project Danny ...

) 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 George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

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 carriers, 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 Project Danny was a World War II plan for United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter aircraft to attack German V-1 flying bomb launch sites in northern France. Although the squadrons had been trained at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point ...

Cancelled military operations involving the United States Cancelled military operations of World War II United States Marine Corps in World War II

Chronology

See also

References