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

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Stars of the Gulf War, opposite, top to borrom: Spectacularly demonstrating the value of stealth technology, the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk fighter performed almost perfectly. The KC-135 Stratotanker’s latest version provided necessary aerial refueling over huge distances, and Boeing 6 3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft ensured the Allied air supremacy that won the day over Iraq. Making yet another vital contribution over the battlefield, the ven- erable B-52, the USAF’s longest-serving aircraft, provided heavy, high-altitude bombing capability. The USAF effectively rendered useless massively reinforced concrete aircraft shelters, such as those above, top and center, and vital oil production and storage facilities, borrom, with bombing precise enough to leave little col- lateral damage.
tionally-televised attack by two F-l17A Nighthawks on the so-called AT&T communications building in downtown Baghdad. Air Force and Navy cruise missiles hit additional targets, including government build- ings and power plants. It was the beginning of a thirty-eight day aerial offensive consisting of four phases: a strategic campaign against Iraq, an air superiority campaign, an effort to weaken Iraqi ground units in Kuwait, and, eventually, close air support for the ground offensive. Over 2,000 combat aircraft in the Coalition inventory struck targets in all four components to be struck simultaneously. Contrasted sharply with the 12 sorties Eighth Air Force launched on August 17, 1942, in its first strike against German targets in World War 11, the Coalition flew 2,759 combat sorties on day one of the Gulf air offensive. The air war defied easy analysis because of simultaneous strikes against targets in all of Warden’s concentric rings. In past wars identifi- able campaigns were mounted against various kinds of targets-ball bearing, aircraft assembly, oil production, transportation, irrigation, power dams, or interdiction, but in the Gulf War such attacks and more were mounted concurrently. Unlike AWPD planners of 1941, Gulf War planners did not have to choose between target categories-they selected targets from among all categories. Coordinating the two or three thousand sorties required per day was the responsibility of Lieutenant General Charles Homer, the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC). He controlled all aircraft in the theater except those of the Navy in sorties over water, those of the Marines supporting their own ground units, and helicopters flying below five hundred feet. The lesson of conflicting responsibilities, priorities, and command and control represented by the “route packages” of Vietnam had been learned well. Despite problems with intelligence and communication between the diverse Coalition air forces, never had there been such a carefully directed air campaign. 78 Lieutenant General Charles Horner, Joint Force Air Compo- nent Commander (JFACC) for Operation DESERT STORM, ran the coalition air war.
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A Concise History of the U.S. Air F
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The Genesis of American Air Power T
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vivid contrast to aerial achievemen
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For sale by the US. Government Prin
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In the United States an outpouring
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commander, General John Pershing, c
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Early Military Aviation Leaders The
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served him well at St. Mihiel in Se
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No one in the Air Service was parti
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direct or indirect support of other
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Interwar Aircraft In amazing techno
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AF) on March 1, 1935. This first Am
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World War 11-Global Conflict Despit
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35 percent of America’s total inv
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Principal American participants at
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Page 39 and 40: Molding the Line in the Pacific Top
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Page 51 and 52: Principal American air commanders a
Page 53 and 54: Korean War fighters. North American
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Page 71 and 72: The Tet offensive proved a military
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