1 Apr 2006

Bombing the European Axis Powers

In Bombing the European Axis Powers Dr. Richard G. Davis, currently a division chief for the US Army Center for Military History, provides a detailed chronological narrative of the Anglo-American strategic bomber offensive against Hitler’s Germany, his European allies, and German-occupied territory. Davis also includes several in-depth discussions covering such topics as the evacuation of Sicily, Allied airpower and the Holocaust, the bombing of Dresden, and overall Anglo-American policy concerning city-area bombing. [Richard G. Davis / 2006 / 648 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-148-1 / AU Press Code: B-99] Read This Book Now

1 Apr 2006

Online Copies of Supplemental CD-ROM Files from Bombing the European Axis Powers

The CD-ROM and online files are divided into two folders: Worksheets and Graphics. The files found in the Worksheets folder are large Excel worksheets containing information from 1939 through 1945 on the Allied bombing campaign. A file named Sheetkey.doc is also stored in the Worksheets folder. This file provides definitions of abbreviations and explanations of codes used in each column of the Allied bombing campaign worksheets. Some of the information may be as short as the name of a country represented by a letter in column "A" of the worksheet, while other entries are extensive explanations for "targets struck" in column "E." The sheet key is critical for understanding the worksheet data.The Graphics folder contains four files: Aircraft.pdf, Charts.pdf, Maps.pdf, and Photos.pdf. The menus in the aircraft, charts, and maps files contain hyperlinks to the specific maps, charts,

1 Sep 2005

Into the Unknown Together

Colonel Erickson examines the use of space exploration as a tool to secure international prestige and national pride as part of the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He looks at the creation of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the evolving NASA-DOD relationship, and the larger context in which this relationship was forged. He focuses on the human-spaceflight projects—Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory—by examining the geopolitical, domestic political, and bureaucratic environments in which decisions concerning these projects were made. By blending in the individuals involved, the obstacles that were overcome, and the achievements of the US space program, Erickson reveals a special transformation that took place during this chapter of Americana. [Mark

1 Aug 2005

Circling the Earth

In December 1942, barely a year after the United States had entered World War II, the American military establishment was already planning a postwar overseas base network. Although initially designed to support an international police force, the plans increasingly assumed a national character as the Grand Alliance dissolved into the confrontations of the Cold War. Dr. Converse not only illustrates how Army, Navy, and Air Force planners went about their work but also analyzes the numerous factors influencing the nature, extent, and location of the projected base system. These included requirements for postwar US physical and economic security, rapidly changing technology, interservice rivalries, civil-military conflicts, and reactions by other nations to the prospect of American bases near or on their soil. [Elliott V. Converse III / 2005 / 265 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-141-4 / AU Press

1 Aug 2005

Archie to SAM

Archie to SAM is an update to Kenneth Werrell's Archie, Flak, AAA, and SAM published in 1988. He continues to study ground-based air defense systems in new events, including the Gulf War. In rescuing ground-based air defense systems from long neglect, Werrell delves into such topics as tactics, leadership, change, and innovation. [Kenneth P. Werrell / 2005 / 308 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-136-8 / AU Press Code: B-28] Read This Book Now

1 Apr 2005

A War of Their Own

Captain Rodman, an instructor weapon-systems officer at Dyess AFB, Texas, examines the distinctive nature of Fifth Air Force's role in the air war over the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. Especially notable is Gen George Kenney's innovative use of light attack aircraft as well as both medium and heavy bombardment aircraft, characterized by theater-specific tactics, ordnance, and structural modifications. A War of Their Own also considers the free exchange of aircraft and missions in the Southwest Pacific—a hallmark of that theater—in terms of the conflict between doctrine and tactics that underlay Fifth Air Force's relationship to the prewar Army Air Corps and the postwar Air Force. The author also notes the relevance of the Fifth's experiences to airpower. [Matthew K. Rodman / 2005 / 184 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-135-X / AU Press Code: B-96] Read This

1 Oct 2004

Creech Blue

Colonel Slife chronicles the influence of the late Gen Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech—a leader, visionary, warrior, and mentor—in the areas of equipment and tactics, training, organization, and leader development. His study serves both to explain the context of a turbulent time in our Air Force's history and to reveal where tomorrow's airmen may find answers to some of the difficult challenges facing them today. Colonel Slife, who addresses such controversial topics as the development of the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine and what it meant to airmen, is among the first to describe what historians will surely see in years to come as the revolutionary developments of the late 1970s/early 1980s and General Creech's central role. Creech Blue enlightens the Air Force on its strongly held convictions during that period and challenges the idea that by 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Air Force had

1 Aug 2004

Technology and Military Doctrine

This compilation of essays includes copies of speeches and articles that Dr. I. B. Holley Jr., Major General, USAFR, retired, has delivered and written throughout his career as a military officer and scholar of military history and thought. In these essays, Holley primarily addresses the need for the Air Force to adapt its doctrine and the processes of formulating and disseminating that guidance as the technology of air and space warfare improves. Dr. Holley’s common message throughout is that the process of how the Air Force develops its doctrine and preaches and teaches that doctrine to its Airmen is as important or, perhaps, more so than its content. [I.B. Holley / 2004 / 176 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-127-9 / AU Press Code: B-93] Read This Book Now

1 Aug 2004

Air-to-Ground Battle for Italy

Brig Gen Michael C. McCarthy wrote this World War II memoir from his perspective as a fighter pilot who flew two years with one squadron first in the P-40 then P-47. During the war, he progressed to major and acting squadron commander. He began training after Pearl Harbor in the Army Aviation Cadet program and continued with P-40 training in Florida. With some of his classmates, he traveled through equatorial Africa ferrying P-40s to Cairo and Cape Bon to join the 57th Fighter Group. This three-part story, set primarily in Italy, captures fears, uncertainties, and accomplishments of ordinary Americans involved in extraordinary events. [Michael C. McCarthy / 2004 / 116 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-128-7 / AU Press Code: B-94] Read This Book Now

1 Jun 2004

Interagency Fratricide

The United States government promulgates national security policy through a complex, recursive negotiation process across multiple interagency players. When coercive intervention requires the use of force, it is imperative to understand the ways in which interagency conflict within the US government influences policies regarding conflict termination and withdrawal. Drawing upon the experiences of 135 interagency participants, Maj Vicki J. Rast, USAF, examines the conflict termination policy development processes for the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) and the Bosnia Conflict (1993–95). [Vicki J. Rast / 2004 / 466 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-126-0 / AU Press Code: B-92] Read This Book Now