The war in theair 1914-1994 Edited by Alan Stephens Air Power Development Centre © Commonwealth of Australia 2009 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Disclaimer The views expressed are those of the authors and conference participants, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defence, the Royal Australian Air Force or the Government of Australia, or the official policy or position of the respective armed forces or governments of the overseas participants. The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this record of proceedings. Release This document is approved for public release. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included. First published 1994 by Air Power Studies Cenre Reprinted 2002 by Aerospace Centre (formally Air Power Studies Centre) Second edition 2009 this edition published, with corrections, by Air Power Development Centre (formally Aerospace Centre) National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Title: The war in the air 1914-1994 / editor, Keith Brent. Edition: 2nd ed. ISBN: 9781920800413 (pbk.) Notes: Includes index. Subjects: Air power--History--Congresses. Air warfare--History--Congresses. Other Authors/Contributors: Brent, Keith, 1944- Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Air Power Development Centre. Dewey Number: 358.4 Published and distributed by: Air Power Development Cenre Level 3, 205 Anketell Street TUGGERANONG ACT 2900 Tel: 02 6266 1084 Cover: Pictured on the cover are seven influential theorists and practitioners of air power. Clockwise from the top: General Giulio Douhet, Colonel John A. Warden, Sir John Slessor, General H.H. Arnold, General William Mitchell, Air Vice-Marshal H.N. Wrigley and Lord Trenchard. Contents Preface to the 1st Edition ..............................................................................................................................iv Preface to the Reprinted Edition .................................................................................................................iv Preface to the 2nd Edition..............................................................................................................................v Notes on Contributors .................................................................................................................................. vi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... x Air Power in World War I, 1914–1918 ........................................................................................... 1 Robin Higham The True Believers: Air Power Between The Wars .............................................................19 Alan Stephens Did the Bomber Always Get Through? The Control of Strategic Air Space, 1939–1945 ..............................................................................................................................45 John McCarthy World War II:Air Support for Surface Forces .......................................................................57 Vincent Orange World War II: The Bombing of Germany ...................................................................................71 Richard Overy ‘Definite Limitations’: The Air War in Korea 1950–1953 .................................................95 Jeffrey Grey The Air War in Vietnam: Re-evaluating Failure .................................................................113 C.D. Coulthard-Clark Air Power as a National Instrument: The Arab-Israeli Wars ....................................127 R. A. Mason ‘It Was a Bit of a Close Call’: Some Thoughts on the South Atlantic War ......147 R.G. Funnell Air Power in Peripheral Conflict: From the Past, the Future? ...............................171 Dennis M. Drew Soviet Air Power in the New Russian Mirror ......................................................................201 Benjamin S. Lambeth Air Operations in the Gulf War ..................................................................................................225 Sir Patrick Hine New Era Warfare ..................................................................................................................................239 General Charles A. Horner The Future of Air Power .................................................................................................................249 Richard P. Hallion Index ............................................................................................................................................................273 iii The War in the Air Preface to the 1st Edition Papers have been printed as presented by the authors, with only minor changes to achieve some consistency in layout, spelling and terminology. The transcripts of the discussions which followed papers have been edited for relevance, clarity and brevity. Copies of the edited transcripts were sent to authors for comment before publication. My thanks are due to my colleagues from the Air Power Studies Centre, Group Captain Gary Waters and Wing Commander Mark Lax, for assisting with proof-reading and to Mrs Sandra Di Guglielmo for research assistance. Alan Stephens, Air Power Studies Centre Canberra, May 1994 Preface to the Reprinted Edition This book contains the proceedings of a conference held by the Royal Australian Air Force in Canberra in 1994. Since its publication by the RAAF’s Air Power Studies Centre in that year the book has become a widely-used reference at universities, military academies and other educational institutions around the world. The application of aerospace power has seen significant developments since 1994, most notably through American-led operations in Central Europe and Afghanistan, and continuing technological advances with weapons, uninhabited vehicles, space-based systems and information systems. But notwithstanding those developments and the passing of eight years, the value of this anthology of air power in the 20th century seems undiminished. Alan Stephens, RAAF Aerospace Centre Canberra, January 2002 iv Preface to the 2nd Edition In the preface to the reprint of this book in 2002, the editor Dr Alan Stephens opined that even with the passing of eight years since the conference, the value of the anthology seemed undiminished. This second edition, produced seven years after the reprint, is proof of its continuing relevance as an authoritative reference book on air power, for not only military but also other academic institutions. This book is the collection of papers and selected transcripts of discussions that followed the presentations in the conference held in March 1994. The embellishments that are necessary in published proceedings of a conference have been consciously removed, to improve its appeal as an authoritative reference book of value in a wide spectrum of interest. Although the papers were written and presented in 1994, they contain some truisms that are equally relevant today, regarding the application of air power in the pursuit of national security. The book, therefore, has not diminished in its importance as an in-depth study of the background and conceptual development of the employment of air power. We recommend this book to all serious students of military matters. Air Power Development Centre Canberra, March 2009 v The War in the Air Notes on Contributors Professor Robin Higham Professor Robin Higham was born in the United Kingdom and educated on both sides of the Atlantic. He served as a First Sergeant Pilot in the RAF from 1943 to 1947, ending up in Southeast Asia Command on Dakotas with No. 48 Squadron and then as an airfield controller. He graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1950 and received his PhD there in 1957. He has taught military history at Kansas State University since 1963. He has been the editor of Military Affairs (1968–1988) and Aerospace Historian (1970– 1988), and remains editor of the Journal of the West (1977–). He has published a number of books, including Britain’s Imperial Air Routes (1960), The British Rigid Airship, 1908–1931, and Air Power: A Concise History (1975 and 1988), and many papers and articles. He is currently researching a book on The Royal Air Force and Preparation for War, 1933–1941. Dr Alan Stephens Dr Alan Stephens is a senior research fellow at the RAAF’s Aerospace Centre. Before joining the Centre he was a principal research officer in the Australian Federal Parliament, specialising in foreign affairs and defence; prior to that he was a RAAF pilot, where his postings included the command of No. 2 (Canberra) Squadron in 1980–81. Dr Stephens is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on security and air power. He is currently writing an official history of the RAAF from the end of World War II to the withdrawal from Vietnam. Associate Professor John McCarthy Associate Professor John McCarthy has been a Teaching Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Resident Scholar at the Australian National University, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in History at the Faculty of Military Studies, and Associate Professor at the University College, University of New South Wales. His work includes