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The Foundations of US Air Doctrine

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The Foundations of US Air Doctrine DISCLAIMER This study represents the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Air University Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education (CADRE) or the Department of the Air Force. This manuscript has been reviewed and cleared for public release by security and policy review authorities. iii Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Watts, Barry D. The Foundations ofUS Air Doctrine . "December 1984 ." Bibliography : p. Includes index. 1. United States. Air Force. 2. Aeronautics, Military-United States. 3. Air warfare . I. Title. 11. Title: Foundations of US air doctrine . III. Title: Friction in war. UG633.W34 1984 358.4'00973 84-72550 355' .0215-dc 19 ISBN 1-58566-007-8 First Printing December 1984 Second Printing September 1991 ThirdPrinting July 1993 Fourth Printing May 1996 Fifth Printing January 1997 Sixth Printing June 1998 Seventh Printing July 2000 Eighth Printing June 2001 Ninth Printing September 2001 iv THE AUTHOR s Lieutenant Colonel Barry D. Watts (MA philosophy, University of Pittsburgh; BA mathematics, US Air Force Academy) has been teaching and writing about military theory since he joined the Air Force Academy faculty in 1974 . During the Vietnam War he saw combat with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon, Thailand, completing 100 missions over North Vietnam in June 1968. Subsequently, Lieutenant Colonel Watts flew F-4s from Yokota AB, Japan, and Kadena AB, Okinawa. More recently, he has served as a military assistant to the Director of Net Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and with the Air Staff's Project CHECKMATE. v 90 990SE (9o ( anJ 9119fit In (YF-au, to C.romF CONTENTS Page DISCLAIMER . .. .. .. .. iii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH . .. .. .. .. .. v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . .. .. xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . .. .. .. .. xiii AUTHOR'S FOREWORD . .. .. .. xv Notes . .. .. .. .. .. .. xvii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Notes . .. 3 2 DOUHET AND MITCHELL . .. 5 Douhet's Image ofWar: Unrestrained Offense . .. .. 6 Mitchell's "Aerial Knights" . ... 7 Notes . .. .. .. .. .. 13 3 THE FIRST US STRATEGIC AIR WAR PLAN . 17 Daylight, High Altitude, Precision Bombardment Doctrine . .. .. 18 AWPD-1 . .. .. 18 The Image ofWar in AWPD-1 . .. .. .. 22 Notes . .. .. .. 25 4 THE POLICY AND STRATEGY OF DETERRENCE . .. 27 Brodie's Assumptions . .. .. .. .. 28 Brodie's Image of All-Out War in the Missile Age . .. .. 33 A Paradox of Deterrence Theory . .. .. 36 Notes . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 39 5 A CLAUSEWITZIAN CRITIQUE . .. .. 43 The Core Beliefs of Mainstream US Air Doctrine . .. 43 Some Ramifications . .. .. 45 Friction. .. .. .. .. .. .. 47 Collective Risk. 53 Notes . .. .. .. .. 55 ix Chapter Page 6 FRICTION IN 20TH CENTURY WARFARE . .. 59 Part 1 : Friction in the Combined Bomber Offensive, World War 1I . 60 Weather . .. .. .. 61 October 1943 : Information, Doctrinal Rigidity, Enemy Countermeasures . .. 62 Big Week and the Problem of Industrial Impact Assessments . .. 7 March and April 1944: Friction as a Weapon . 75 Epilogue in Korea: Railway Interdiction, August 1951-May 1952 . .,.,. 85 Part 2: Friction in the Missile Age . 87 The Not-So-Delicate Balance ofTerror . .. 88 The Emergence of Friction in Brodie's Thought . 91 The Cuban Missile Crisis . .. .. 92 Notes . .. .. 95 7 TOWARD A LESS MECHANISTIC IMAGE OF WAR . 105 US Air Doctrine and Laplacian Determinism . 106 Cartesian Hypotheses, Uncertainty, Undecidability. 108 The Human Cost of War . 110 Combat Psychology as Context. 111 Some Consequences of Embracing a More Organic Image of War. .. 116 Learning from History . .. .. 116 Nurturing Military Genius . .. 117 Exemplars for Future Wars: Friction as a Weapon and Entropy .. .. .. 119 Summing Up . .. 121 Notes . .. .. .. 123 APPENDIX General Eaker's Presentation of the Combined Bomber Offensive Plan to the Joint Chiefs ofStaff . 133 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . 151 INDEX . .. .. 159 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1: August 1941 Army Air Corps Plan for an Air Offensive Against Germany . .. 20 Figure 2: Mission to Schweinfurt, 14 October 1943 . .. 64 Photographs Brigadier General William M. "Billy" Mitchell .. .. 8 Major General Haywood S. Hansell, Jr. .. 2,1 General Hansell in August 1943 .. .. 21 "Little Boy Atomic Bomb . .. 30 Prestrike Target Photograph of Hiroshima, Japan . .. 30 Atomic Burst at Hiroshima, 6 August 1945 . .. 31 Atomic Bomb Damage at Hiroshima. .. .. 32 Friction in War: Weather, Weariness . .. .. 49 Friction in War: The Unexpected . .. 50-51 Friction in War: German Flak Over Vienna, Austria . .. 52 Schweinfurt, 14 October 1943: First Wave . .. .. 65 Schweinfurt, 14 October 1943: Third Wave . .. .. 66 Schweinfurt, 14 October 1943: Heading Home . .. 67 Schweinfurt: Post-Strike . .. .. 68 Boeing B-17 Going Down South ofDunkirk, France . ..
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