1 Jul 1999

They Served Here

Colonel Benton provides a glimpse of the history of Maxwell Air Force Base by highlighting the careers of 33 airmen who served at the base at some point in their military careers. Some of the individuals portrayed were pioneers in the development of airpower and provided military leadership from World War II to the present. Others such as Glenn Miller, Clark Gable, and Bill Stribling were notable for their accomplishments in other fields. The stories told here highlight the critical, close interrelationships between the military and local society. [Jeffrey C. Benton / 1999 / 89 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-074-4 / AU Press Code: B-71] Read This Book Now

1 May 1999

The Air Force Role in Developing International Outer Space Law

Colonel Terrill provides an in-depth examination of the historical evolution of Air Force thinking and action on the development of international law as it applies to outer space. He traces the Air Force's continual resistance to treaties and other conventions that would have defined the demarcation of the "boundary" between airspace and outer space. He shows that the Air Force position was grounded in the unwillingness to define outer space narrowly before the military had thoroughly researched and tested technological capabilities that could be employed in space. Terrill concludes by raising concerns about current issues that come into play on efforts to refine international law as it relates to outer space. These issues include technological advances and possible future international cooperation in space ventures. [Delbert R. Terrill Jr. / 1999 / 155 pages /ISBN: 1-58566-066-3 / AU

1 Apr 1999

The Air Campaign

In light of the age-old belief of Confucius that no idea is new, Dr. Mets examines the role of Col Warden in the Gulf War to determine if a revolution in military affairs had occurred. He relies on several twentieth-century antecedents to Warden, including Giulio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and Billy Mitchell to distill a pattern. Mets also addresses whether "the argument that antedated the Gulf War to the effect that such conflicts between states using conventional weapons and methods are a pressing phenomenon." The concluding chapter provides an overview of Mets's discussion. [David R. Mets / 1999 / 98 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-063-9 / AU Press Code: B-65] Read This Book Now

1 Dec 1998

The Development of Military Night Aviation to 1919

Major Fischer examines the development of military night aviation from its origins through the First World War. Emphasis is on the evolution of night flying in those countries that fought on the Western Front, namely France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. While night flying occurred in other theaters, the most intense air effort was clearly in the west. There, belligerents pressed aviation technology and tactics to the limits. To illustrate the rapid development of night military aviation during the First World War, the author surveys the state of night flying prior to August 1914. The author concludes that the Western Front belligerents failed to appreciate and conserve the lessons of night flying learned during the First World War. [William Edward Fischer Jr / 1998 / 172 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-064-7 / AU Press Code: B-66] Read This Book Now

1 Sep 1998

Battlefield of the Future

The authors of the essays in this book focus on issues relating to strategy and war fighting as the world moves into the twenty-first century. In these ten essays, the authors examine the debate over the future of airpower, the unique threat of biological warfare, the impact of the information revolution on warfare, and how changes in military technology might require a rethinking of the principles of warfare. These authors address whether new military technologies, new organization for warfare, and new strategies for employing forces on future battlefields will produce a revolution in military affairs. [Barry R. Schneider and Lawrence E. Grinter / 1998 / 286 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-061-2 / AU Press Code: B-64] Read This Book Now

1 Jun 1998

The Army and Its Air Corps

From the Armistice in 1918 to the late 1930s, there was continuous controversy over the place of aviation in the military establishment. This book details how airpower visionaries, with varying degrees of tact, often risked charges of insubordination in preaching the gospel of airpower. As aviation technology advanced and as Army leaders were "educated" in the capabilities of aircraft, they showed genuine interest in the potential of airpower. The author contends that their decisions often favored the Air Corps and that the Air arm received a lion's share of the Army budget during a period of extreme austerity. Dr. Tate states that the Air Corps, far from being a stepchild, had become a princess by the late 1930s. [James P. Tate / 1998 / 217 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-059-0 / AU Press Code: B-62] Read This Book Now

1 Mar 1998

The Quest

This biography of Maj Gen Haywood S. Hansell Jr. provides an in-depth look at the life and career of one of airpower's pioneer thinkers. General Hansell's professional life was devoted to the theory and practice of strategic airpower—the single most controversial military debate of the twentieth century. Hansell believed that wars could and should be won through precision bombing of military and industrial / commercial targets, a theory and practice that the United States Army Air Forces abandoned during World War II because of the dictates of existing technology, the demands of combat, and the fact that the passions of war swept away any moral concerns involving strategic bombing. Nevertheless, Hansell's main contribution to air doctrine was the concept that through selective targeting and an ability to place the bombs on those targets, airpower could win wars by crippling an enemy's

1 Mar 1998

Rise of the Fighter Generals

Colonel Worden relies on oral histories, personal interviews, military and social histories, quantitative data, and sociological research to show how fighter generals rose to domination in the Air Force. From its inception through the 1960s, the Air Force was dominated by bomber pilots. Embracing an absolutist perspective, bomber pilots struggled to maintain their dominance. In the 1960s, however, they saw their positions of leadership slowly yielding to the experience, broader education, and pragmatism of fighter pilots. This study terminates in 1982 when the leadership changes with the selection of a string of generals with fighter backgrounds as Air Force chiefs of staff. [Mike Worden / 1998 / 291 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-048-3 / AU Press Code: B-51] Read This Book Now

1 Mar 1998

The Development of the B-52 and Jet Propulsion

National security decision makers face an uncertain world where the accelerated growth of knowledge has changed the character of technological advance and destabilized long-standing relations within and among the military services. Dr Mandeles separates the principles that guide decision making from the proverbs through a case study of decision making in the early post-World War II period. This study examines the impact of organization on the invention and development of jet propulsion-in the form of the B-52-and illustrates both the organizational conditions conducive to developing new operational concepts and the organizational innovations necessary to implement new technology. This study also examines how the Air Force organized to learn and acquire new technology, how the Air Force conceived or identified problems, and how it organized to ensure management would respond to program

2 Jan 1998

Airpower and Ground Armies

These four independent essays provide a perspective on airpower doctrine development that varies somewhat from the usual view. Essay 1 describes the organization, doctrine, operational practices, and personality of the air forces in the western desert from 1940 to 1943. Essay 2 describes and analyzes the events in northwest Africa during Operation Torch while the third analyzes the machination in policy development in Washington. Essay 4 analyzes the great tactical aviation exercise in northwest Europe, emphasizing the famous cooperation between George S. Patton and Otto P. Weyland. [Daniel R. Mortensen, ed. / 1998 / 224 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-047-7 / AU Press Code: B-50] Read This Book Now