Strategic Bombing by the United States in World War II

Strategic Bombing by the United States in World War II PDF Author: Stewart Halsey Ross
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476616116
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
The United States relied heavily on bombing to defeat the Germans and the Japanese in World War II, and air raids were touted as "precision" bombing in American propaganda. But was precision possible over cloud-covered Europe or a darkened Japanese countryside? Could the vaunted Norden optical bombsight in fact "drop bombs into pickle barrels" as advertised? Were the American aircrews well trained and well protected? How good were their airplanes? What were the results of the costly raids? This work sets suppositions against facts surrounding the United States' use of strategic bombing in World War II. Chapters cover the events leading up to World War II; the start of the war; the seers and the planners; the airplanes, bombs, bombsights, and aircrews; the planes Germany used to defend itself against American planes; the five cities (Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki) that experienced the most destruction; and the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of the damage done by aerial bombing. The book also probes the government's myth-building statements that supported America's view of itself as a uniquely humanitarian nation, and analyzes the role played by interservice rivalry--"battleship admirals" against "bomber generals."

Strategic Bombing by the United States in World War II

Strategic Bombing by the United States in World War II PDF Author: Stewart Halsey Ross
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476616116
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
The United States relied heavily on bombing to defeat the Germans and the Japanese in World War II, and air raids were touted as "precision" bombing in American propaganda. But was precision possible over cloud-covered Europe or a darkened Japanese countryside? Could the vaunted Norden optical bombsight in fact "drop bombs into pickle barrels" as advertised? Were the American aircrews well trained and well protected? How good were their airplanes? What were the results of the costly raids? This work sets suppositions against facts surrounding the United States' use of strategic bombing in World War II. Chapters cover the events leading up to World War II; the start of the war; the seers and the planners; the airplanes, bombs, bombsights, and aircrews; the planes Germany used to defend itself against American planes; the five cities (Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki) that experienced the most destruction; and the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of the damage done by aerial bombing. The book also probes the government's myth-building statements that supported America's view of itself as a uniquely humanitarian nation, and analyzes the role played by interservice rivalry--"battleship admirals" against "bomber generals."

How Effective is Strategic Bombing?

How Effective is Strategic Bombing? PDF Author: Gian P. Gentile
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 9780814731352
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
In the wake of WWII, President Truman established the US Strategic Bombing Survey to determine how effectively strategic air power had been applied during the war. The final study has been used for decades as an objective primary source and a guiding text. Gentile (history, US Military Academy) re-examines this document to reveal how it reflected the American conceptual approach to strategic bombing. He exposes the survey as largely tautological, throwing into question many of the central tenets of American air power philosophy and strategy. He shows how recent problems with bomb damage assessment in the Balkans reinforce his conclusions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Luftwaffe Secret Projects

Luftwaffe Secret Projects PDF Author: Dieter Herwig
Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
This eagerly awaited companion volume to the enormously popular volume on fighters looks at the might-have-been strategic German bombers. Filled with transatlantic jets and projects that were on the drawing board or in prototype form at the war's end. Full color action illustrations in contemporary markings and performance data tables show vividly what might have been achieved had the war continued beyond 1945.

Soviet Strategic Bombers

Soviet Strategic Bombers PDF Author: Jason Nicholas Moore
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
The history of Soviet strategic bombers after the Second World War is a fascinating one: from the reverse-engineering of interned American Boeing B-29 bombers into the first Soviet strategic bomber, the Tu-4; to the huge jet and turbo-prop powered aircraft of today's Russian Air Force. This comprehensive history of these aircraft will deal not just with the development of aircraft that entered service, but of experimental aircraft as well, and projects that were never even built will also be explored. The service life of these bombers will be covered, including both active and retired aircraft, and their use outside of the Soviet Union, in places such as the Middle East and Afghanistan, will be described in detail. The Soviet Union built some of the first jet-powered strategic bombers, and the Tu-95 Bear, the only swept-winged turbo-prop bomber to ever enter service, remains in service to this day. Less successful aircraft, like the graceful but problem-plagued supersonic Tu-22 Blinder, and the Mach 3 Sukhoi T-4 will also be examined.

Flying Blind

Flying Blind PDF Author: Michael Edward Brown
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Flying Blind offers an astute analysis of the role of organizational forces in initiating and shaping weapons programs. Michael E. Brown concerns himself with how weapons programs begin and why they turn out as they do. In the process he redresses a large imbalance in our understanding of how nations arm themselves. In an unmatched account constructed from massive archival work and material declassified through the Freedom of Information Act, the author provides a detailed description of all fifteen postwar U.S. strategic bomber programs, from the B-35 to the B-2. Challenging the conventional wisdom about arms races and the weapons acquisition process, Brown marshals compelling evidence that Air Force reactions to strategic developments, not technological opportunism or industry initiative, brought about many major innovations in those programs. He also discusses competing explanations of the cost, schedule, and performance problems that plague U.S. acquisition efforts. He maintains that powerful strategic and bureaucratic forces lead American military organizations to set their performance requirements far beyond the state of the art and to push their programs as fast as possible. This, he argues, is a recipe for disaster. Developing a comprehensive explanation of the cost and performance problems that plague modern weapons programs, he presents policy recommendations designed to address these issues.

Strategic Bombers

Strategic Bombers PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : B-2 bomber
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description


Death from the Heavens

Death from the Heavens PDF Author: Kenneth P. Werrell
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
"This book is the first to take a comprehensive look at the history of strategic bombing from its beginnings to the present. Written by a historian who is also an expert on the technology of bombing and its application, the work covers the theory, the hardware, and the operations of strategic bombing... Although his book is dominated by aircraft, it also covers air-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. This study offers a critical analysis of strategic bombing and concludes by calling into question the value of this type of warfare"--Dust jacket.

United States Strategic Bombers 1945 - 2012

United States Strategic Bombers 1945 - 2012 PDF Author: Stuart Slade
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 057810525X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A definitive resource from Defense Lion Publications detailing the evolution of the United States Strategic Bomber inventory; from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in World War II through the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Remastered archival documents from the U.S Air Force with design characteristics are also included for each aircraft with authoritative original text that places each one in the context of the development of aviation technology and world history. A look at the future for the next generation of United States Bomber is also discussed in detail. This is an authoritative resource for military historians, aviation buffs or for anyone looking for insight into the bombers that changed the world.

Lectures of the Air Corps Tactical School and American Strategic Bombing in World War II

Lectures of the Air Corps Tactical School and American Strategic Bombing in World War II PDF Author: Phil Haun
Publisher: Aviation & Air Power
ISBN: 9780813179247
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The book is a collection of the 10 most important lectures written by the early leaders of the Air Force, like Muir Fairchild, Harold George, and Laurence Kuter. Haun went to the Air Force Historical Research Center archives and found the original typed lectures and reproduced the ones that best explained the school's philosophy on the primacy of the airplane in the modern battlefield, the offensive capabilities of the bomber, and the vulnerabilities of an industrialized nation. Haun then augmented each lecture with a short summary that provides a historical perspective and a condensing of the key points each instructor wanted to be carried forward.

Always at War

Always at War PDF Author: Melvin G. Deaile
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1682472493
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Always at War is the story of Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the early decades of the Cold War. More than a simple history, it describes how an organization dominated by experienced World War II airmen developed a unique culture that thrives to this day. Strategic Air Command was created because of the Air Force’s internal beliefs, but the organization evolved as it responded to the external environment created by the Cold War. In the aftermath of World War II and the creation of an independent air service, the Air Force formed SAC because of a belief in the military potential of strategic bombing centralized under one commander. As the Cold War intensified, so did SAC’s mission. In order to prepare SAC’s “warriors” to daily fight an enemy they did not see, as well as to handle the world’s most dangerous arsenal, the command, led by General Curtis LeMay, emphasized security, personal responsibility, and competition among the command. Its resources, political influence, and manning grew as did its “culture” until reaching its peak during the Cuban Missile Crisis. SAC became synonymous with the Cold War and its culture forever changed the Air Force as well as those who served.