Air Power in the Nuclear Age, 1945–84: Theory and Practice PDF
Preview Air Power in the Nuclear Age, 1945–84: Theory and Practice
AIR POWER IN THE NUCLEAR AGE, 1945-84 Also by R. A. Mason AIR POWER IN THE NEXT GENERATION (editor with E. J. Feuchtwanger) READINGS IN AIRPOWER THE ROYAL AIR FORCE TODAY AND TOMORROW BRITISH AIRPOWER IN THE 1980s: The Royal Air Force AIR POWER IN THE NUCLEAR AGE, 1945-84 Theory and Practice SECOND EDITION Air Marshal M. J. Armitage, KCB, CBE, RAF Air Commodore R. A. Mason, CBE, MA, RAF Foreword by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Cameron of Balhousie M MACMILLAN © Sir Michael Armitage and R. A. Mason 1983, 1985 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First edition 1983 Reprinted 1984 Second edition 1985 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-38660-6 ISBN 978-1-349-17964-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-17964-0 Contents List of Maps vi Foreword by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Cameron of Balhousie vii Preface to the Second Edition ix Glossary xi List of Abbreviations xiii The Dominant Factor 2 Air Power in Korea 20 3 Air Power in Colonial Wars 46 4 The Air War in South-East Asia 83 5 Air Power in the Middle East 114 6 Soviet Air Power 1945-1984 144 7 Air Power in NATO 188 8 Two Expeditions-Suez and the Falklands 214 9 Challenge and Opportunities 244 Notes and References 280 Select Bibliography and Further Reading 303 Index 308 v List of Maps Air War against North Korea 21 2 North and Central Indo-China 47 3 'White Areas' in Malaya, 1955-9 63 4 The Radfan 76 5 Central Kenya 80 6 South-East Asia 89 7 Route Package System 102 8 The Arab-Israeli Theatre, 1967-73 115 9 Suez 1956 215 10 The Falkland Islands 224 vi Foreword Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Cameron of Dalhousie There has never been the same extent of strategic debate about the principles, effectiveness and uses ofland or sea power as there has about air power. This is perhaps because it was the last arrival on the military scene and it used a little-understood third dimension. Its potential was greeted with much suspicion by a large percentage of so-called strategic thinkers. Churchill and Smuts, however, were in no doubt that one day it would dominate the battlefield and sea-lanes. Armies and navies saw the development of air power as a threat to their share of the limited financial cake and so tried hard to stifle its growth. Unfortunately, the early air power advocates, perhaps in the nature of a precocious child, were inclined to overcall their hand on occasions and when put to the test could not entirely deliver the goods. Technology of the day did not move as quickly as doctrine. Seversky's dream that 'air power would be the key to survival' has not even yet been proved conclusively and there are still facets of modern warfare where its effectiveness can be limited. The joint authors of this book are advanced and enlightened thinkers about the doctrine of air power as a vital and perhaps the most important element of modern and future warfare. This has not prevented them producing an objective study of what it can and cannot do, now and in the years ahead. My conclusion is that though air power may have been last on the scene in the military sphere, its potential in what is progressively a global scenario and coupled with the staggering developments in weapon and other technology may one day soon make it the 'key to survival'; if it is not that already. vii Preface to the Second Edition The 'Nuclear Age' began in August 1945 when a single aircraft destroyed Hiroshima with one bomb. Since then the spectre of nuclear warfare between the super-power alliance blocs has influenced the evolution of all kinds of military power: on the ground, at sea and in the air. Yet, fortunately, no such war has taken place. Instead, conflicts have been waged intermittently in the past forty years with conventional weapons. Air Power in the Nuclear Age is therefore concerned with the theories of air power, influenced both by the presence of nuclear weapons and by the practice of air power in conventional and in many respects traditional conflicts. The authors have not sought to present a complete historical record of theory and practice between 1945 and 1984, but rather to examine specific campaigns or regions which they believe to have been particu larly important. The emphasis is not on tactical operations, although several are examined in detail, but rather on the contribution of air power to a military campaign or to co-ordinated military strategy in pursuit of a political objective. The authors have sought to illustrate both the potential and the limitations of air power. The essential relationship between air power and ground and naval forces has not been underestimated, but because the emphasis in this study is on the role of air power, the often parallel operations on land and at sea have not been dealt with in any detail. Nor has it been possible in such a brief study to pursue such vital considerations as those of manpower, or of the industrial base or the economic resources on which air power must ultimately depend. As to sources, some of them, for example, the French, but more important the Soviet, the Chinese, the Vietnamese and the North Korean, are still limited and restricted, and because of that the view taken by the authors has been not only limited to that of professional airmen but of British airmen, something that helps to explain at least the basis of the selectivity that has had to be applied. ix X Preface to the Second Edition In examining and analysing the theories and the practice of air power, the authors have been given a great deal of help from civilian and military friends in several countries, but the representation of facts and the conclusions that are drawn from them here are the sole responsibility of the authors, and they imply no endorsement from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence nor, indeed, from any other agency or individual. The authors are very deeply indebted to the patient co-operation of Mr John Andrews, Chief Librarian, The Ministry of Defence, London; Mr Chris Hobson and his staff at the Royal Air Force Staff College Library; Air Commodore Henry Probert, Head of the Air Historical Branch of the Ministry of Defence; and Mr Michael Root and his staff in the Staff College Drawing Office. Finally, the authors wish to ac knowledge the unfailing good humour under stress of our typists Miss Glenys Evans, Mrs Daphne Stent, Miss Jean Bolton, Mr John Hunter, BEM, Mr Geoff Blair and Miss Janet Crouthers. M.J.A. R.A.M.
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