Bombs, Cities, and Civilians

1993 History

Author : Conrad C. Crane
Release : 1993
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

Book Synopsis Bombs, Cities, and Civilians by : Conrad C. Crane

Download or read book Bombs, Cities, and Civilians written by Conrad C. Crane. This book was released on 1993. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the might and capabilities of American airpower have grown during the last 60 years, so has the controversy about its use in the intentional and indiscriminate wartime bombardment of civilians. In Bombs, Cities and Civilians, Conrad Crane maintains that, for the most part, American airmen in World War II remained committed to precision bombing doctrine. Instead of attacking densely populated urban areas simply to erode civilian morale, Army Air Forces adhered to a policy that emphasised targeting key industrial and military sites. He demonstates that while the British, Germans and Japanese routinely conducted indiscriminate aerial bombardment of enemy cities, American airmen consistently stayed with daylight raids against carefully selected targets, especially in Europe. Daytime precision missions were usually far more dangerous than night area attacks, but such Army Air Forces tactics increased bombing efficiency and also reduced the risk of civilian casualties.

American Airpower Strategy in World War II

2016-04-05 History

Author : Conrad C. Crane
Release : 2016-04-05
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 025/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis American Airpower Strategy in World War II by : Conrad C. Crane

Download or read book American Airpower Strategy in World War II written by Conrad C. Crane. This book was released on 2016-04-05. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Resistance is a product of will times means, Carl von Clausewitz postulated in his treatise On War. In his 1993 Bombs, Cities, and Civilians, which the American Historical Review judged "must reading for anyone interested in the subject of air warfare," Conrad C. Crane focused on the moral dimension of American air strategy in World War II—specifically, the Allied effort to break the enemy's will through targeting civilians. With decades of research and reflection, and a wealth of new material at his command, Crane returns to the subject of America's WWII airpower strategy to offer an analysis fully engaged with the "means" side of Clausewitz's equation: the design and impact of strategic bombing of the enemy's infrastructure and thus its capacity to fight. A marked advance in our understanding of the use of airpower in war in general and the Second World War in particular, Crane's work shows how, despite an undeniable lack of concern about civilian casualties in Germany and Japan late in the war, American strategic bombing in WWII consistently focused on destroying the enemy's war-making capacity instead of its collapsing will. Further, Crane persuasively argues that in the limited wars since then, separating such targets has become increasingly more difficult, and all air campaigns against states have subsequently escalated to accept greater risks for civilians. American Airpower Strategy in World War II also provides an expanded close look at the use of airpower in the last three months of the strategic air war against Germany, when so many bombing missions relied upon radar aids, as well as the first direct comparison of 8th and 15th Air Force bombing campaigns in Europe. The result is the most coherent and concise analysis of the application and legacy of Allied strategic airpower in WWII—and a work that will inform all future practical and theoretical consideration of the use, and the role, of airpower in war.

American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953

2000 History

Author : Conrad C. Crane
Release : 2000
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
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Book Synopsis American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953 by : Conrad C. Crane

Download or read book American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953 written by Conrad C. Crane. This book was released on 2000. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Korean War was the first armed engagement for the newly formed U.S. Air Force, but far from the type of conflict it expected or wanted to fight. As the first air war of the nuclear age, it posed a major challenge to the service to define and successfully carry out its mission by stretching the constraints of limited war while avoiding the excesses of total war. Conrad Crane analyzes both the successes and failures of the air force in Korea, offering a balanced treatment of how the air war in Korea actually unfolded. He examines the Air Force's contention that it could play a decisive role in a non-nuclear regional war but shows that the fledgling service was held to unrealistically high expectations based on airpower's performance in World War II, despite being constrained by the limited nature of the Korean conflict. Crane exposes the tensions and rivalries between services, showing that emphasis on strategic bombing came at the expense of air support for ground troops, and he tells how interactions between army and air force generals shaped the air force's mission and strategy. He also addresses misunderstandings about plans to use nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in the war and includes new information from pilot correspondence about the informal policy of "hot pursuit" over the Yalu that existed at the end of the war. The book considers not only the actual air effort in Korea but also its ramifications. The air force doubled in size during the war and used that growth to secure its position in the defense establishment, but it wagered its future on its ability to deliver nuclear weapons in a high-intensity conflict—a position that left it unprepared to fight the next limited war in Vietnam. As America observes the fiftieth anniversary of its initial engagement in Korea, Crane's book is an important reminder of the lessons learned there. And as airpower continues to be a cornerstone of American defense, this examination of its uses in Korea provides new insights about the air force's capabilities and limitations.

The Rise of American Air Power

1987-01-01 History

Author : Michael S. Sherry
Release : 1987-01-01
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 000/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Rise of American Air Power by : Michael S. Sherry

Download or read book The Rise of American Air Power written by Michael S. Sherry. This book was released on 1987-01-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This prizewinning book is the first in-depth history of American strategic bombing. Michael S. Sherry explores the growing appeal of air power in America before World War II, the ideas, techniques, personalities, and organizations that guided air attacks during the war, and the devastating effects of American and British "conventional" bombing. He also traces the origins of the dangerous illusion that the bombing of cities would be so horrific that nations would not dare let it occur - an illusion that has sanctioned the growth of nuclear arsenals.

How Effective is Strategic Bombing?

2001 History

Author : Gian P. Gentile
Release : 2001
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 352/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis How Effective is Strategic Bombing? by : Gian P. Gentile

Download or read book How Effective is Strategic Bombing? written by Gian P. Gentile. This book was released on 2001. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Popular eBooks

Bombs, Cities, and Civilians

American Airpower Strategy in World War II

American Airpower Strategy in Korea, 1950-1953

The Rise of American Air Power

How Effective is Strategic Bombing?

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