Archie to SAM a Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense
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Archie to SAM A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense Second Edition KENNETH P. WERRELL Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama August 2005 Air University Library Cataloging Data Werrell, Kenneth P. Archie to SAM : a short operational history of ground-based air defense / Kenneth P. Werrell.—2nd ed. —p. ; cm. Rev. ed. of: Archie, flak, AAA, and SAM : a short operational history of ground- based air defense, 1988. With a new preface. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58566-136-8 1. Air defenses—History. 2. Anti-aircraft guns—History. 3. Anti-aircraft missiles— History. I. Title. 358.4/145—dc22 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public re- lease: distribution unlimited. Air University Press 131 West Shumacher Avenue Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6615 http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil ii In memory of Michael Lewis Hyde Born 14 May 1938 Graduated USAF Academy 8 June 1960 Killed in action 8 December 1966 A Patriot, A Classmate, A Friend THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii DEDICATION . iii FOREWORD . xiii ABOUT THE AUTHOR . xv PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION . xvii PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION . xix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . xxi 1 ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE THROUGH WORLD WAR II . 1 British Antiaircraft Artillery . 4 The V-1 Campaign . 13 American Antiaircraft Artillery . 22 German Flak . 24 Allied Countermeasures . 42 Fratricide . 46 The US Navy in the Pacific . 49 Japanese Antiaircraft Artillery . 53 The Lessons of World War II . 57 Notes . 59 2 FROM GUNS TO MISSILES, 1945–1965 . 69 Antiaircraft Returns to Combat: The Korean War . 75 Antiaircraft Missiles . 81 Notes . 106 3 AIRMEN VERSUS GUERRILLAS: VIETNAM . 113 French Operations . 113 America Enters the War . 114 v CONTENTS Chapter Page SAMs Join the Fight . 119 American Air Operations through Linebacker I . 127 Linebacker II . 132 Conclusions . 137 Notes . 139 4 OPERATIONS BETWEEN VIETNAM AND THE PERSIAN GULF . 147 Arab-Israeli Wars: 1948, 1956, 1967–1973 . 147 The 1973 War . 149 Combat since 1973: Bekaa Valley . 155 American Air Strikes in the Middle East, 1983–1986 . 157 Indo–Pakistani War . 159 The Falkland Islands/Malvinas War, 1982 . 160 Other Actions in the 1980s . 168 Summary . 173 Notes . 174 5 BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE: THE EARLY YEARS TO 1991 . 181 Army Development . 182 The Kennedy Administration . 185 Ballistic Missile Defense: Rebirth . 196 The Strategic Defense Initiative: Star Wars . 197 The Gulf War: Patriot versus Scud . 199 The Patriot . 202 Patriot in Action . 204 Notes . 208 6 GROUND-BASED AIR DEFENSE SINCE 1990: THE GULF, THE BALKANS, AND AFGHANISTAN . 217 War in the Persian Gulf . 217 Air Defense since 1991: Iraq, Balkans, and Afghanistan . 229 Notes . 232 vi CONTENTS Chapter Page 7 BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE IN THE 1990s . 237 TMD Hardware: PAC-3, MEADS, Arrow, Naval Developments, and THAAD . 239 Navy Systems . 244 A New Threat . 248 George W. Bush and BMD . 257 Notes . 260 8 SUMMARY, TRENDS, AND CONCLUSIONS . 269 Summary . 269 Trends (Speculations) . 273 Conclusions . 275 INDEX . 277 Illustrations Figure 1 Improvised antiaircraft artillery (AAA) . 2 2 Standard US heavy AAA gun during the interwar years . 4 3 German 88 mm gun . 5 4 3.7-inch gun on a Pile mattress . 7 5 British women in training . 8 6 Rocket firings . 9 7 British 40 mm light antiaircraft gun and crew . 12 8 Diving V-1 bomb prior to impact in London . 12 9 Diagram of initial defensive deployment . 14 vii CONTENTS Figure Page 10 Pile mattress . 16 11 Diagram of final defensive deployment . 18 12 Barrage balloons . 21 13 US 90 mm M-1 gun . 23 14 US quad .50 gun . 25 15 German 40 mm Bofors . 26 16 German 88 mm gun . 27 17 German 128 mm AAA gun . 29 18 German railroad-mounted 128 mm guns . 30 19 B-24 at Ploesti . 31 20 Ploesti smoke screen . 32 21 Taifun . 36 22 Enzian . 37 23 Rheintochter . 38 24 Schmetterling . 39 25 Wasserfall . 40 26 Falling B-24 . 42 27 Damaged B-17 . 43 28 Chaff . 44 29 German 20 mm gun . 46 viii CONTENTS Figure Page 30 George Preddy . 48 31 USN 20 mm gun . 51 32 USN 40 mm gun . 52 33 A-20 aircraft sequence . 54 34 Falling B-29 . 56 35 Duster . 70 36 Skysweeper . 71 37 Vulcan Phalanx . 72 38 Vulcan M163 . 73 39 F-51 Mustang . 77 40 Army SAMs . 82 41 Nike Ajax . 84 42 Nike Hercules . 86 43 Bomarc . 89 44 Thunderbird . 90 45 Seaslug . 91 46 Hawk launch . 93 47 Hawk intercepting an F-80 . 94 48 Mauler . 95 49 Chaparral . 97 ix CONTENTS Figure Page 50 Redeye launch . 99 51 Stinger launch . 102 52 Avenger . 103 53 Bradley Linebacker . 104 54 SA-7 Grail . 105 55 Captured North Vietnamese antiaircraft gun . 116 56 North Vietnamese gunners . 119 57 SA-2 position with missiles . 120 58 SA-2 launch . 122 59 EB-66 . 123 60 Navy A-4 firing Shrike . 124 61 Wild Weasel . 126 62 Damaged B-52 . 129 63 EA-6B Prowler . 131 64 Talos . 136 65 Terrier . ..