The War in the Air 1914–1994

The War in the Air 1914–1994 American Edition Edited by Alan Stephens RAAF Aerospace Centre In cooperation with the RAAF Aerospace Centre Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama January 2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The war in the air, 1914-1994 / edited by Alan Stephens ; in cooperation with the RAAF Air Power Studies Centre––American ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58566-087-6 1. Air power––History––Congresses. 2. Air warfare––History––Congresses. 3. Military history, Modern––20th century––Congresses. I. Stephens, Alan, 1944-II. RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. UG625.W367 2001 358.4′00904––dc21 00-068257 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 release: distribution unlimited. Copyright © 1994 by the RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Inquiries should be made to the copyright holder. ii Contents Page DISCLAIMER . ii FOREWORD . v ABOUT THE AUTHORS . vii PREFACE . xv ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . xvii Essays Airpower in World War I, 1914–1918 . 1 Robin Higham The True Believers: Airpower between the Wars . 29 Alan Stephens Did the Bomber Always Get Through?: The Control of Strategic Airspace, 1939–1945 . 69 John McCarthy World War II: Air Support for Surface Forces . 85 Vincent Orange World War II: The Bombing of Germany . 107 Richard J. Overy Definite Limitations: The Air War in Korea 1950–1953 . 143 Jeffrey Grey The Air War in Vietnam: Reevaluating Failure . 169 C. D. Coulthard-Clark iii Essay Page Airpower as a National Instrument: The Arab-Israeli Wars . 191 R. A. Mason It Was a Bit of a Close Call: Some Thoughts on the South Atlantic War . 221 R. G. Funnell Airpower in Peripheral Conflict: From the Past, the Future? . 257 Dennis M. Drew Soviet Airpower in the New Russian Mirror . 301 Benjamin S. Lambeth Air Operations in the Gulf War . 339 Sir Patrick Hine New Era Warfare . 361 Charles A. Horner The Future of Airpower . 377 Richard P. Hallion INDEX . 415 iv Foreword This book is the Air University Press edition of the proceedings of a conference on aerial warfare held by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in Canberra in 1994. Because of the stature of the contributing authors and the excellence of their essays, the original publication by the RAAF’s Air Power Studies Centre has been in great demand and increasingly short supply. This American edition is essentially a reprint, although it is a some- what shortened version with stylistic changes. Its publication will allow a wider audience access to an important segment of airpower literature. Among the book’s virtues are the high levels of expertise of its contributors and the diversity of their backgrounds. Here the American student can sample the views of Australian and British airmen and scholars, as well as some perhaps more familiar American vistas. Each of the book’s contributors speaks with authority, and each discusses a specific area or period in the evo- lution of air and space power from World War I to the near future. Essay subjects include World War I; doctrinal development in the interwar period; strategic bombing and support of surface forces in World War II; and airpower in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Arab-Israeli Wars, Falkland Islands War, and Persian Gulf War. They also include coverage of airpower in such peripheral conflicts as Operation El Dorado Canyon, the Malayan Emergency, and the Israeli raid on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq. We at the Air University Press are pleased to republish this important work and are grateful for the opportunity. Special thanks are due to Dr. Alan Stephens, who not only edited the original book but who did it again for our edition; the Aerospace Centre for allowing us to publish this work; and Professor Dennis M. Drew of Air University’s School of Advanced Airpower Studies, who recognized the value of the original work and the need for a new edition. SHIRLEY BROOKS LASETER Director Air University Press v About the Authors 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 Royal Air Force (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. Professor Higham has been the editor of Military Affairs (1968–88) and Aerospace Historian (1970–88), and remains editor of the Journal of the West (1977–). He has published a number of books, including Britain’s Imperial Air Routes; The British Rigid Airship, 1908–1931; and Air Power: A Concise History, and many papers and articles. He is currently researching a book on the RAF and its preparation for war in the period 1933–41. Dr. Alan Stephens Dr. Alan Stephens is a senior research fellow at the RAAF’s Aerospace Centre. Before joining the center, he was a princi- pal research officer in the Australian Federal Parliament, spe- cializing in foreign affairs and defense; prior to that he was an 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 airpower. He is currently writing an official history of the RAAF from the end of the Second World War 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 vii professor at the University College, University of New South Wales. His work includes the publication of such books as Australia and Imperial Defence, 1918–1939; Australian War Strategy, 1939–1945; and A Last Call of Empire, and numerous articles on defense and foreign policy. He was the foundation president of the Association of Historians of Australian Defence and Foreign Policy and is a member of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Dr. Vincent Orange Dr. Vincent Orange was born in England and served for three years in the Royal Air Force. For many years he has been a New Zealand citizen, and since 1962 has taught at the University of Canterbury where he is a reader in history. He is also a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Dr. Orange has written four biographies of New Zealand airmen, including Sir Keith Park and Coningham. With the cooperation of family members he is currently preparing a book on the life of Tedder. Professor Richard Overy Professor Richard Overy is professor of modern history at King’s College, London. He moved to King’s in 1980 after teaching for some years at Cambridge. He has written exten- sively on the history of airpower, the Third Reich, and the Second World War. His books include The Air War, 1939–1945; Goering: The “Iron Man”; The Road to War; and War and Economy in the Third Reich. He is currently completing a history of the Nazi economy and has been commissioned to write the Oxford history of the Second World War. Dr. Jeffrey Grey Dr. Jeffrey Grey is a graduate of the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales, and currently is a senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University College, Australian Defence Force Academy. He is the author or editor of half a dozen books, including most recently Australian Brass: The Career of Lieutenant General Sir viii Horace Robertson and Vietnam: War, Myth and Memory. He is an author in the current series of official histories, Australia’s Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts, 1948–1975; he has completed the volume on Konfrontasi and is now engaged in a volume on the Royal Australian Navy. Dr. Chris D. Coulthard-Clark Dr. Chris Coulthard-Clark is a former army officer and public servant who is presently working as consultant on a history of Australian Defence Industries Ltd. He received his PhD from University College, Australian Defence Force Academy, in 1991. Dr. Coulthard-Clark has authored, edited, or contributed to 16 books, mostly in the field of Australian defense studies, and has written numerous journal and newspaper articles. His contribution to air history includes The Third Brother and a volume of the official war history series covering the RAAF’s involvement in Vietnam. He is also working part-time on a biography of F. H. McNamara, Australia’s only Victoria Cross winner in the air from the First World War. Air Vice-Marshal R. A. Mason Air Vice-Marshal Tony Mason is the Leverhulme airpower research director of the United Kingdom-based Foundation for International Security. He retired from the RAF in 1989, where his last appointment was air secretary. Over 20 years he has written several books and many articles on airpower, including Airpower in the Nuclear Age with M. J. Armitage, The Soviet Air Forces with J. W. R. Taylor, War in the Third Dimension, and Airpower and Technology.

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