Planning the American Air War PDF Download

Author: James C. Gaston
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Author: James C. Gaston
Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc.
ISBN: 0898750598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Even if it hadn't been used, the United States' air war plan for World War II would have been uniquely significant. It marked the first time that airmen in the Army Air Forces were permitted to do their own planning; thus it was a crucially important step in their move toward independence. Further, it raised seriously the question of whether a major industrial nation could be defeated solely through air bombardment. For these reasons and others, the plan deserves attention from all who concern themselves with strategies for national defense.But plans don't write themselves, and the planning process, rather than the finished document, is the focal point of this study. The author uses the plan as a lens for studying that process. He looks through the document to follow events on the floor of the planners' arena.What he finds is that the arena is far from an impersonal, purely intellectual environment. Intellect counts there, he says, but so does the political savvy of a Hal George, the abrasive intransigence of a Ken Walker, the icy persistence of a Laurence Kuter, and the quiet urgency and forethought of a Haywood Hansell. Even a noisy hallway or a foggy bay in Newfoundland can sometimes influence the process. Life isn't always quiet and clear while planners make national choices that shape world history.Though the people and events in this narrative were important to the development of the Air Force, this isn't merely an Air Force story. It's a unique look at the characteristically human process of planning. All who concern themselves with national defense can learn from what four men did in nine days in 1941.James C. Gastons refers to his book as "an inside narrative." His reason is that he is watching the planners from inside the planning room. He is also trying to narrate a story in a way that reveals the human context of an event, much as Herman Melville was doing when he called Billy Budd "an inside narrative.Lieutenant Colonel Jim Gaston learned about war plans in Southeast Asia in 1969-1970. After flying more than 130 combat missions, he was chosen In-Country Fighter Representative for Headquarters Seventh Air Force War Plans. He was responsible for various contingency plans, and he assisted in the massive planning effort for withdrawing U.S. Air Force units from their Vietnamese bases.Since then he has earned a master's degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to flying and teaching, he has published two books (dealing with such diverse topics as airpower and eighteenth-century literature) and contributed to several others. When he wrote this narrative, he was a student at the National War College and a Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Research at the National Defense University. In 1982 Colonel Gaston was (Acting) Head of the Department of English, U.S. Air Force Academy.

Author: John A. Warden, III
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788108093
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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One of the first analyses of the pure art of planning the aerial dimensions of war. Explores the complicated connection between air superiority and victory in war. Focuses on the use of air forces at the operational level in a theater of war. Presents fascinating historical examples, stressing that the mastery of operational-level strategy can be the key to winning future wars. 20 photos. Bibliography.

Author: John WARDEN
Publisher: Potomac Books
ISBN: 9780028810034
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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In "The Air Campaign," Colonel John A. Warden III focuses on the use of air forces at the operational level in a theater of war. The most compelling task for the theater commander, he argues, is translating national war objectives into tactical plans at operational levels. He presents his case by drawing on fascinating historical examples, stressing that the mastery of operational-level strategy can be the key to winning future wars. Colonel Warden shows us how to use air power more effectively -- through mass, concentration, and economy of forces -- because, he warns, the United States no longer holds an edge in manpower, production capacity, and technology. Simply put, an air force inferior in numbers must fight better and smarter to win. This book offers planners greater understanding of how to use air power for future air campaigns against a wide variety of enemy capabilities in a wide variety of air operations. As the reader will see, the classic principles of war also apply to air combat. One of the author's important contributions is to demonstrate that perception to those whose grave responsibility one day may be to plan and carry through a victorious air campaign.

Author: General Giulio Douhet
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1782898522
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

Author: John A. Warden
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Author: Michael S. Sherry
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300036000
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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This prizewinning book is the first in-depth history of American strategic bombing. Michael S. Sherry explores the growing appeal of air power in America before World War II, the ideas, techniques, personalities, and organizations that guided air attacks during the war, and the devastating effects of American and British "conventional" bombing. He also traces the origins of the dangerous illusion that the bombing of cities would be so horrific that nations would not dare let it occur - an illusion that has sanctioned the growth of nuclear arsenals.

Author: Ralph F. Wetterhahn
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147666997X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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 During the first 10 months of the war in the Pacific, Japan achieved air supremacy with its carrier and land-based forces. But after major setbacks at Midway and Guadalcanal, the empire's expansion stalled, in part due to flaws in aircraft design, strategy and command. This book offers a fresh analysis of the air war in the Pacific during the early phases of World War II. Details are included from two expeditions conducted by the author that reveal the location of an American pilot missing in the Philippines since 1942 and clear up a controversial account involving famed Japanese ace Saburo Sakai and U.S. Navy pilot James "Pug" Southerland.

Author: Thomas A. Keaney
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Author: Maurice Matloff
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Combined operations (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 490

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