ABSTRACT
At Mortain both American and German accounts of the battle acknowledge that the intervention of the fighter-bombers, particularly the rocket-Typhoons, was decisive. Given the evidence from the ORS ground surveys of the battle area, which seems conclusive, this could only have been as a result of the air attacks disrupting the enemy attack and causing panic - hence the number of German tanks subsequently found abandoned. Thus the reputation of the Typhoon as an effective 'tank killer' was really based upon the quite terrifying effect of salvoes of the 3-inch rocket and the fact that, despite its lack of pinpoint accuracy, the weapon could nevertheless be placed with more accuracy than freefall bombs, thereby enabling the Typhoons to engage German armour which was very close to the positions of Allied troops.
