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Case studies in the achievement of air superiority PDF

698 Pages·1994·16.24 MB·English
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SPECIAL STUDIES Case Studies in the Achievement of Benjamin Franklin Cooling Editor AIR FORCE HiStBry MzGeumS PROGRAM 1994 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Case studies in the achievement of air superiority / edited by Benjamin Franklin Cooling. 632 p. cm.--(Special studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-912799-63-3 1. Air warfarexase studies. I. Cooling, B. Franklin. 11. United States. Air Force. Center for Air Force History. 111. Series: Special studies (United States. Air Force. Center for Air Force History) UG630.C277 1991 90-29998 358.4’ 14-dc20 CIP For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword Writing in 1978, General William W. Momyer, former Commander of the Tactical Air Command and a distinguished veteran fighter pilot, stated that: The contest for air superiority is the most important contest of all. for no other operations can be sustained if this battle is lost. To win it, we must have the best equipment, the best tactics, the freedom to use them, and the best pilots. Certainly, the wide-ranging case studies examined in this book confirm this message, as do more contemporary experiences from the Falklands War, the Bekaa Valley, and, most recently, the Gulf War of 1991. The historical roots of air superiority date to the First World War, which marked the emergence of the fighter airplane, offensive and defen- sive fighter doctrine, and the trained fighter pilot. By the end of the war, the Imperial German Air Service had been decisively outfought, and though occasional bitter air combat still occurred, the Allied air arms were free to harass and attack German ground forces wherever and whenever they chose. After the war, there were defense commentators who injudiciously predicted-not for the last time-that the era of dogfighting was over; higher aircraft speeds would make maneuvering air combat a thing of the past. Instead, the lesson of the importance of air superiority was rediscov- ered in the skies over Spain, and confirmed again throughout the Second World War. Having tenaciously wrested air superiority from the Luftwaffe, the Allies in 1941 went on to achieve genuine air supremacy, a situation acknowledged by General Dwight Eisenhower, who, riding through Nor- mandy after D-Day, remarked to his son: “If I didn’t have air supremacy, I wouldn’t be here.” Sadly, many of these lessons were lost in the post-Second World War era, when technology advances-supersonic design theory, nuclear weap- ons, and “robot” aircraft-seemed to signal an end to the traditional air-to- air fighter-even though the experience of the Korean War demonstrated that transonic jet combat was not merely possible, but the new normative form of air warfare. Indeed, the fighter airplane underwent a dramatic transformation into a nuclear-armed strike aircraft, now that popular wis- dom held that surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles foreshadowed the end of the era of “classic” air combat. That prediction collapsed in the face of the Vietnam war and the experiences of the Middle East. The 1970s witnessed both a revolution in fighter aircraft design (spawned by the technology advances of the 1960s and 1970s) and a return to basics in both design fun- damentals and the training of fighter pilots. Operations in the Falklands war, over the Bekaa Valley, and most recently, during DESERTS TORMco n- firmed not only the benefits of this revolution and rediscovery, but also the enduring importance of air superiority. During DESERTS TORM(w hich occurred while this book was in press) the airmen of the United States Air Force established air superiority over Iraq and occupied Kuwait from the outset of the war, defeating the Iraqi air force both in the air and on the ground. By so doing, they created the con- ditions essential for decisive air war. Strike and support aircraft and heli- copters could go about their duties without fear of molestation from enemy aircraft. Iraq’s forces, pinned in place, were denied any respite from pun- ishing air attack. Because of coalition air supremacy, coalition land opera- tions could be undertaken with an assurance, speed, and rapidity of pace never before seen in warfare. Bluntly stated, the Gulf war demonstrated that with air superiority, General Norman Schwarzkopf could undertake his famed “Hail Mary” play. Lacking air superiority, Iraq paid dearly. Its 111 Corps became vulnerable to air attack-stuck in a traffic jam out of Kuwait City on the “Highway of Death.” Air superiority, like democracy itself, must be constantly secured and renewed. In recognition of this, the United States Air Force is developing the F-22 Advanced Tactical Fighter to ensure that America retains its tech- nological edge well into the 21st century. The case studies in this volume, encompassing several major air-to-air battles, eloquently demonstrate why the quest for air superiority remains critically important for today’s Air Force. RICHARD P. HALLION Air Force Historian United States Air Force Historical Advisory Committee Professor Roger E. Bilstein Col. Donaid S. Lopez University of Houston USAF, Retired Clear Lake National Air and Space Museum Dr. Christopher J. Bowie Mr. Felix C. Lowe The RAND Corporation Smithsonian Institution Press Lt. Gen. Charles G, Boyd Dr. Peter Paret Commander, Air University Institute for Advanced Study Professor Wayne S. Cole Ms. Ann Petersen University of Maryland The General Counsel, USAF College Park Lt. Gen. Bradley C. Hosmer Gen. Bryce Poe, I1 Superintendent, USAF USAF, Retired Academy Air Force Historical Foundation Acknowledgments The essays in this anthology of air superiority campaigns were written by some of the nation’s foremost military and air historians. Individuals who participated in the review of the entire manuscript included Gen. William W. Momyer, USAF (Ret.); Dr. Richard H. Kohn, Chief of the Office of Air Force History; Dr. Alfred Goldberg, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Dr. Dennis Showalter of Colorado College; and Col. Fred Shiner, Herman S. Wolk, and Bernard Nalty from the Center for Air Force History. Dr. Benjamin Franklin Cooling served as general editor of the volume. Laura Dahljelm of Center for Air Force History edited the manuscript and gathered the photographs and artwork, and Anne E. Johnson shep- herded the book through the publications process. Financial support was provided by Col. John A. Warden I11 of the Office of the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations. Photographs appearing in this volume are primarily from the collec- tions at the Department of Defense Still Media Records Center, the National Air and Space Museum, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives. Those sources of illustrations outside official U.S. government repositories are noted. “MiG Sweep,” by renowned aviation artist Keith Ferris, is reproduced on the cover and dustjacket, courtesy of the USAF Art Collection. Lori Crane of Headquarters Air Force Graphics designed the cover, and Kathy Jones supplied the art for reproduction. vii Contents Page Foreword ..................................................... v Acknowledgments ............................................. vii Introduction ................................................... xiv 1 Developments and Lessons Before World War I1 Leonard Baker and B. F. Cooling ........................... 1 2 The Luftwaffe Against Poland and the West Williamson Murray ........................................ 65 3 The RAF and the Battle of Britain Robin Higham ............................................ 115 4 The Soviet Air Force Against Germany and Japan Kenneth R. Whiting... ..................................... 179 5 Northwest Africa, 1942-1943 David Syrett .............................................. 223 6 Operation OVERLORD W. A. Jacobs... ........................................... 271 7 Air Superiority in the Southwest Pacific Joe Gray Taylor ........................................... 323 8 Air War Against Japan Alvin D. Coox ............................................. 383 9 Korea Thomas C. Hone .......................................... 453 10 Southeast Asia Thomas C. Hone .......................................... 505 ix 11 The Israeli Experience Brereton Greenhous ....................................... 563 12 Some Concluding Insights I . B . Holley. Jr ............................................. 609 Contributors .................................................. 627 Index ......................................................... 633 Maps RAF/Luftwaffe Bases .......................................... 131 British Radar Cover ............................................ 156 German Invasion of Russia ...................................... 191 Operation TORCH.. ............................................. 230 Tunisia ........................................................ 234 Eighth Air Force Targets ........................................ 282 "Big Week" Operations ......................................... 289 Southwest Pacific ............................................... 326 Central Pacific ................................................. 350 The Philippines ................................................. 358 Military Districts of Japan ....................................... 388 Boundaries for the Air Armies ................................... 420 Korea ......................................................... 456 North Vietnam with Exclusion Zones ............................. 516 USAF Bases in Southeast Asia ................................... 519 North Vietnam Route Package Areas ............................. 529 North Vietnam Early Warning Radar ............................. 542 USAF Air Refueling Patterns .................................... 548 The Middle East ................................................ 564 Photographs Sopwith Camel ................................................. 4 Fokker Eindecker .............................................. 5 Count Gianni Caproni de Taliedo ................................. 8 Maj . Gen . Hugh Trenchard ...................................... 12 Guilio Douhet; Brig . Gen . William Mitchell ....................... 13 X

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Writing in 1978, General William W. Momyer, former Commander of the Tactical Air Command and a distinguished veteran fighter pilot, stated that: The contest for air superiority is the most important contest of all, for no other operations can be sustained if this battle is lost. To win it, we must h
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