Tactical Air Power And The Vietnam War

Author : Phil Haun
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2023-11-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781009364188

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Tactical Air Power and the Vietnam War by Phil Haun Pdf

This book introduces a much-needed theory of tactical air power to explain air power effectiveness in modern warfare with a particular focus on the Vietnam War as the first and largest modern air war. Phil Haun shows how in the Rolling Thunder, Commando Hunt, and Linebacker air campaigns, independently air power repeatedly failed to achieve US military and political objectives. In contrast, air forces in combined arms operations succeeded more often than not. In addition to predicting how armies will react to a lethal air threat, he identifies operational factors of air superiority, air-to-ground capabilities, and friendly ground force capabilities, along with environmental factors of weather, lighting, geography and terrain, and cover and concealment in order to explain air power effectiveness. The book concludes with analysis of modern air warfare since Vietnam along with an assessment of tactical air power relevance now and for the future.

Author : Dr Donald J. Mrozek
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781786250131

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Air Power And The Ground War In Vietnam, Ideas And Actions by Dr Donald J. Mrozek Pdf

Ultimately, this study is about a smaller Vietnam War than that which is commonly recalled. It focuses on expectations concerning the impact of air power on the ground war and on some of its actual effects, but it avoids major treatment of some of the most dramatic air actions of the war, such as the bombing of Hanoi. To many who fought the war and believe it ought to have been conducted on a still larger scale or with fewer restraints, this study may seem almost perverse, emphasizing as it does the utility of air power in conducting the conflict as a ground war and without total exploitation of our most awe-inspiring technology. Although the chapters in this study are intended to form a coherent and unified argument, each also offers discrete messages. The chapters are not meant to be definitive. They do not exhaust available documentary material, and they often rely heavily on published accounts. Nor do they provide a complete chronological picture of the uses of air power, even with respect to the ground war. Nor is coverage of areas in which air power was employed—South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam—evenly distributed nor necessarily proportionate to the effort expended in each place during the war. Lastly, some may find one or another form of air power either slightly or insufficiently treated. Such criticisms are beside the point, for the objectives of this study are to explore a comparatively neglected theme—the impact of air power on the ground—and to encourage further utilization of lessons drawn from the Vietnam experience.

Author : Ian Horwood
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : History
ISBN : 9781437923827

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Interservice Rivalry and Airpower in the Vietnam War by Ian Horwood Pdf

Explores the rivalry between the armed services of the U.S. relating to the employment of tactical airpower during the Vietnam War. Not being an American, Horwood is able to put a fresh perspective on this complex issue. This study focuses on tactical airpower in S. Vietnam between 1961 and 1968. Horwood avoids a lengthy discussion of the air war over N. Vietnam, focusing instead on the combat operations in the South. He examines a number of issues which are relevant to the use of airpower in irregular warfare: command and control of airpower, the use of airpower at the tactical and the operational-strategic level of war, the role of helicopters, and different service understandings of the proper role of airpower in a counterinsurgency.

Author : Brian D. Laslie
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2015-06-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813160856

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The Air Force Way of War by Brian D. Laslie Pdf

“Laslie chronicles how the Air Force worked its way from the catastrophe of Vietnam through the triumph of the Gulf War, and beyond.” —Robert M. Farley, author of Grounded The U.S. Air Force’s poor performance in Operation Linebacker II and other missions during Vietnam was partly due to the fact that they had trained their pilots according to methods devised during World War II and the Korean War, when strategic bombers attacking targets were expected to take heavy losses. Warfare had changed by the 1960s, but the USAF had not adapted. Between 1972 and 1991, however, the Air Force dramatically changed its doctrines and began to overhaul the way it trained pilots through the introduction of a groundbreaking new training program called “Red Flag.” In The Air Force Way of War, Brian D. Laslie examines the revolution in pilot instruction that Red Flag brought about after Vietnam. The program’s new instruction methods were dubbed “realistic” because they prepared pilots for real-life situations better than the simple cockpit simulations of the past, and students gained proficiency on primary and secondary missions instead of superficially training for numerous possible scenarios. In addition to discussing the program’s methods, Laslie analyzes the way its graduates actually functioned in combat during the 1980s and ’90s in places such as Grenada, Panama, Libya, and Iraq. Military historians have traditionally emphasized the primacy of technological developments during this period and have overlooked the vital importance of advances in training, but Laslie’s unprecedented study of Red Flag addresses this oversight through its examination of the seminal program. “A refreshing look at the people and operational practices whose import far exceeds technological advances.” —The Strategy Bridgei

Author : Brian D. Laslie
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2021-05-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781442274358

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Air Power's Lost Cause by Brian D. Laslie Pdf

The first comprehensive treatment of the air wars in Vietnam. Filling a substantial void in our understanding of the history of airpower in Vietnam, this book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the air wars in Vietnam. Brian Laslie traces the complete history of these air wars from the beginning of American involvement until final withdrawal. Detailing the competing roles and actions of the air elements of the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force, the author considers the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. He also looks at the air war from the perspective of the North Vietnamese Air Force. Most important for understanding the US defeat, Laslie illustrates the perils of a nation building a one-dimensional fighting force capable of supporting only one type of war.

Author : Craig C. Hannah
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : History
ISBN : 1585441465

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Striving for Air Superiority by Craig C. Hannah Pdf

Annotation. "Tactical bombing", Gen. Jimmy Doolittle reportedly observed, "is breaking the milk bottle. Strategic bombing is killing the cow". Most nations have historically chosen between building tactical and strategic air forces; rarely has a state given equal weight to both. The advantages of tactical air power are obvious today as small wars and petty tyrants bedevil us, but in a Cold War world split between continental superpowers, strategic bombing took precedence, with calamitous consequences. In the 1960s, the U.S. Air Force lacked the equipment and properly trained pilots to assure air superiority because the Tactical Air Command (TAC) had become little more than a handmaiden to the Strategic Air Command (SAC). TAC focused primarily on the interdiction of enemy bombers and virtually ignored its other responsibilities. Its aircraft were designed to shoot at large, lumbering bombers and not to engage in dog fights with highly maneuverable MiGs. Hannah shows how a tactical air force that won a victory in World War II deteriorated into a second-rate force flying aging aircraft during the early years of the Cold War, recovered briefly over Korea, then slid into obsolescence during the 1950s. His explanation of why America's fighter aircraft did not work in Vietnam is instructive and unsettling. Hannah explains how TAC struggled through the war in Vietnam to emerge in the 1970s as the best tactical air force in the world. He side-steps politics and inter-service rivalries to focus on the nuts and bolts of tactical air power. The result is a factual, informative account of how an air force first loses its way then finds its mission again.

Author : General William W. Momyer USAF
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781786250728

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Air Power in Three Wars: World War II, Korea, Vietnam [Illustrated Edition] by General William W. Momyer USAF Pdf

[Includes over 130 illustrations and maps] This insightful work documents the thoughts and perspectives of a general with 35 years of history with the U.S. Air Force – General William W. Momyer. The manuscript discusses his years as a senior commander of the Air Force – strategy, command and control counter air operations, interdiction, and close air support. His perspectives cover World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Author : William W. Momyer
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1978
Category : Air power
ISBN : UIUC:30112045754352

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Air Power in Three Wars [WWII, Korea, Vietnam] by William W. Momyer Pdf

Author : Earl H. Tilford, Jr.,Earl H. Tilford
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2008-12-19
Category : History
ISBN : 1603441263

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Crosswinds by Earl H. Tilford, Jr.,Earl H. Tilford Pdf

"Tilford exposes the generals' tunnel-vision. . . . He demolishes the myth that the 1972 'Christmas bombing' brought Hanoi to its knees . . . . His controversial thesis is that the bombing of the North and the interdiction campaign against the Ho Chi Minh Trail were in no way decisive and that USAF leadership obtusely failed to perceive that North Vietnam, an agricultural nation, was simply not susceptible to strategic bombing."--Publishers Weekly ". . . . hard hitting study on the failure of American air power in the Vietnam War . . . . The acute intellectual content of the book and the author's engaging writing style make the book easy to recommend."--Armed Forces Journal International

Author : Anonim
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2024-05-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781428982109

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Air power in three wars by Anonim Pdf

Author : Donald J. Mrozek
Publisher : U.S. Government Printing Office
Page : 212 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1988
Category : Electronic government information
ISBN : UIUC:30112043974861

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Air Power and the Ground War in Vietnam by Donald J. Mrozek Pdf

Dr. Mrozek focuses on expectations concerning the impact of airpower on the ground war. He describes some of the actual effects but avoids treatment of some of the most dramatic air actions of the war, such as the bombing of Hanoi. He observes that the application of airpower is influenced by factors far beyond the battlefield.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 74 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Naval aviation
ISBN : IND:30000139830958

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Command and Control of Air Operations in the Vietnam War by Anonim Pdf

Author : Bernard C. Nalty
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 564 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Government publications
ISBN : UOM:39015053789114

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Air War Over South Vietnam, 1968-1975 by Bernard C. Nalty Pdf

Author : Ralph A Rowley
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2013-04-12
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781939335128

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Close Air Support In Vietnam by Ralph A Rowley Pdf

This study traces the development of close air support tactics and operations in South Vietnam from 1961 through 1973. The early years (1961-64) witnessed the buildup of Farm Gate operations and introduction of the Tactical Air Control System (Barn Door). Tactics evolved for the 0-1 Bird Dog FAC and for such strike aircraft as the T-28 Trojan, B-26 Invader, and A-lE Skyraider. Ordnance problems were tackled and headway made. During the buildup (1965-68) the 0-2A Skymaster and OV-10 Bronco bolstered forward air control. Strike operations were strengthened by the F-100 Super Sabre, B-57 Canberra, F-4 Phantom, F-5 Freedom Fighter, and A-37 Dragonfly. Gunships (the AC-47 Spooky, AC-130 Spectre, AC-119G Shadow, and AC-119K Stinger) also gave excellent assistance to group troops. Support of Special Forces commenced. Inroads were made on problems of coordination, command, and control of tactical air power. Tactics were further refined to meet the changing needs of close air support. In the final period (1969-73) the OV-10 acted as an armed FAC. The A-7 Corsair II entered the war. In 1973 the pullout of American troops began. Lastly, the study discusses the A-10 close air support aircraft.

Author : Jeremy Black
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2016-03-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9781442250970

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Air Power by Jeremy Black Pdf

This essential book offers a compelling and original interpretation of the rise of military aviation. Jeremy Black, one of the world’s finest scholars of military history, provides a lucid analysis of the use of airpower over land and sea both during the two world wars and the more limited wars of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Considering both the theory and praxis of air power, the author begins with hot air balloons, and then highlights the use of zeppelins, piston engine fighters, jet bombers, and finally the so-called Military Revolution of today. While discussing the growth of American and European military aviation, Black, a pioneer in emphasizing the importance of non-Western military history for understanding global developments, also traces the emergence of air power in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Black breaks new ground by exploring not only to conventional war—both inside and outside Europe—but also to the use of air power in unconventional wars, especially critical given to the spread of insurgencies around the globe. He vividly describes traditional debates over the pros and cons of strategic bombing and aircraft carriers versus battleships and gives equal attention to managerial, doctrinal, and technological innovations. The author shows how better management resulted in increasing lethality of close air support of the RAF during the latter part of World War II and at the same times highlights the limits of air power with case studies of the two Gulf Wars. The author goes beyond our traditional understanding of air power associated with bombing and fighter engagements, adding the important elements associated with naval power, including ground/logistics support, anti-aircraft measures, and political constraints. As he explains, air power has become Western politicians’ weapon of choice, spreading maximum destruction with the minimum of commitment. His current and comprehensive study considers how we got to this point, and what the future has in store. Anyone seeking a balanced, accurate understanding of air power in history will find this book an essential introduction.