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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{operational plan
| name        = Project Danny
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| scope       = [[Operation Crossbow]] 
| planned     = briefed at Pentagon in July 1944
| planned_by  = Naval Air Atlantic Staff
| objective   = German [[V-1 flying bomb]] launch sites in Northern France
| executed    = 
| executed_by = never executed, planned for<br/>{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States Marine Corps]]
| outcome     = 
| casualties  = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War II)}}
{{Campaignbox Western Europe (1944-1945)}}

'''Project Danny''' was a [[World War II]] plan for [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Vought F4U Corsair|F4U Corsair]] fighter aircraft to attack German [[V-1 flying bomb]] [[V-1 flying bomb (facilities)|launch sites]] in northern France. Although the squadrons had been trained at [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]] and were loading onto their [[escort carrier]]s for the trip to the North Atlantic, opposition from General Marshall meant that the operation was canceled before departing for the [[European Theatre of World War II|European Theater]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=Adam Jr.|date=26 November 2007|title=Capt Tom Ligget|url=http://www.adamsplanes.com/Liggett%20512.htm|work=Plane Fun|access-date=16 January 2010}}</ref>

==Chronology==
Extensive land-based [[Combined Bomber Offensive]] bombings of German targets had begun in June 1943, followed by [[Operation Crossbow|"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 [[V-1 flying bomb#Operation Eisbär|"Robot Blitz"]] had begun on 13 June, [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Thomas Hinman Moorer]] of the Naval Air Atlantic Staff (NavAirLant) provided a [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] briefing on a June 1944 plan for F4U squadrons of [[Marine Air Group 51]] (MAG-51) (including [[VMF-511]], [[VMF-512]], [[VMA-513|VMF-513]] and [[VMF-514]]) to attack V-1 launch sites from escort carriers in the [[North Sea]]<ref name=tillman>{{cite book |last=Tillman |first=Barrett|year=2002 |orig-date=1979 |title=Corsair: The F4U in World War II and Korea |publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-87021-131-5 |page=116}}<br/>
:a. briefing recollection of Commander Thomas Moorer.</ref> with [[Tiny Tim (rocket)|Tiny Tim]] rockets. The Tiny Tim was a rocket-powered adaption of a {{cvt|500|lb|kg}} bomb - each aircraft carrying a single rocket. The plan was disapproved.<ref name=tillman/>{{Rp|a}} Project Danny was a victim of the intense interservice rivalry that existed in the US armed forces during World War II; [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|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."<ref name=tillman/>{{Rp|a}}

Had the operation proceeded, MAG-51 would have been the second Marine Corsair squadrons to deploy from [[aircraft carrier]]s,<ref name=tillman/> the first being at the [[Bombing of Rabaul (November 1943)|Bombing of Rabaul]] in November 1943.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sherrod|first=Robert|year=1952|title=History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmarinec00sher|url-access=registration|publisher=Combat Forces Press|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mersky|first=Peter B.|year=1993|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html|title=Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942–1944|work=Marines in World War II Commemorative Series|publisher=History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps|access-date=20 October 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Shaw|first=Henry I.|author2=Douglas T. Kane |year=1963|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/II/index.html|title=Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul|work=History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II|access-date=18 October 2006 |via=Hyperwar Foundation}}</ref>

The only contribution the [[United States Navy]] did make to Crossbow operations were the [[Operation Aphrodite|Operation Anvil]] drone attacks on Crossbow sites in August 1944 using surplus bomber aircraft converted to radio-control bombs.

==See also==
* [[United States Marine Corps Aviation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{WWII Operation Crossbow}}
{{V-weapons}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Project Danny}}
[[Category:Operation Crossbow|Project Danny]]
[[Category:Cancelled military operations involving the United States]]
[[Category:Cancelled military operations of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in World War II]]
[[Category:1944 in military history|Project Danny]]