A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

For sale by the US. Government Printing office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, LX 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-049208-4 ~~
A Concise History of the U.S. Air Force Except in a few instances, since World War I1 no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier or sailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against ene- mies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. Air Force, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources. More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological igno- rance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose. Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, dri- ven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always cov- eted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women and an air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that “last full measure of devotion”; to Women’s Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first American woman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War. Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy’s defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation’s commitment to technology to mas- ter challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.
Page 2 and 3: A Concise History of the U.S. Air F
Page 4 and 5: The Genesis of American Air Power T
Page 6 and 7: vivid contrast to aerial achievemen
Page 10 and 11: In the United States an outpouring
Page 12 and 13: commander, General John Pershing, c
Page 14 and 15: Early Military Aviation Leaders The
Page 16 and 17: served him well at St. Mihiel in Se
Page 18 and 19: No one in the Air Service was parti
Page 20 and 21: direct or indirect support of other
Page 22 and 23: Interwar Aircraft In amazing techno
Page 24 and 25: AF) on March 1, 1935. This first Am
Page 26 and 27: World War 11-Global Conflict Despit
Page 28 and 29: 35 percent of America’s total inv
Page 30 and 31: Principal American participants at
Page 32 and 33: ought to bear against attacking fig
Page 34 and 35: scheduled by the Allies for late sp
Page 37 and 38: Despite heroic efforts to restore p
Page 39 and 40: Molding the Line in the Pacific Top
Page 41 and 42: America’s Air War in Asia Right,
Page 43 and 44: Hansell’s XXI Bomber Command, the
Page 45 and 46: nance, radar, jets, rockets, and a
Page 47 and 48: The newly independent U.S. Air Forc
Page 49 and 50: In addition, vast distances to targ
Page 51 and 52: Principal American air commanders a
Page 53 and 54: Korean War fighters. North American
Page 55 and 56: Air Force attacked 78 cities and to
Page 57 and 58: Atlas, lef, and Titan I, right, int
Page 59 and 60:
off at a moment’s notice; another
Page 61 and 62:
Union. A more capable SR-71 Blackbi
Page 63 and 64:
clude, “We’re eyeball to eyebal
Page 65 and 66:
Vietnam-based Viet Cong, the other
Page 67 and 68:
ombed, the two most famous were the
Page 69 and 70:
Transport Aircraft in Vietnam The U
Page 71 and 72:
The Tet offensive proved a military
Page 73 and 74:
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strate
Page 75 and 76:
meant that warheads could be smalle
Page 77 and 78:
Beginning in March 1985, Soviet Com
Page 79 and 80:
on an enemy army to isolate it on t
Page 81 and 82:
America’s Air War in the Gulf
Page 83 and 84:
tionally-televised attack by two F-
Page 85 and 86:
2 percent of combat sorties. Their
Page 87 and 88:
in the next. An innovator behind fi
Page 89:
Hallion, Richard P. Rise of the Fig
show all

A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?