On May 3, 1943, dozens of airplanes could be seen flying in and out of Royal Air Force Bovingdon Airfield near London, England. Among the aircraft seen that day was a B-24D bomber named Hot Stuff, which carried the Commanding General of US Forces in Europe, Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews -the officer charged with formulating a plan to invade the European continent. Speculation was that General George C. Marshall had called Andrews back to Washington, DC, leading many to believe that Marshall had another promotion in store for Andrews. Tragically, Andrews would never arrive. While attempting to land in Iceland, the bomber crashed into the side of a mountain, with no survivors other than the tail gunner; Andrews's personal papers were also destroyed. In Marshall's Great Captain: Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews, author Kathy Wilson details Andrews's extraordinary life and career. The first biography dedicated to the namesake of Joint Base Andrews, this book sheds a light on Andrews's crucial role in orchestrating US involvement in World War II, as well as the professional relationship and rapport that Andrews and Marshall shared. Drawing on extensive research, Wilson raises Andrews's legacy to its legitimate place within the annals of both air power and World War II history and posits that there is a high probability that Andrews, rather than Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Marshall's first choice for the office of Supreme Allied Commander. Marshall recounted that Andrews was the only one he had a chance to prepare for such a command.

On August 17, 1942, twelve Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Eighth Air Force carried out the first American raid over occupied Europe, striking the rail yards at Rouen, France. Soon after, hundreds of American B-17s and Consolidated B-24 Liberators filled the skies above Europe. Despite frequent attacks against Germany and its allies by four different air forces, American commanders failed to stage a successful air offensive against Germany in the summer and fall of 1943. When victory in the air war against the Axis powers appeared bleak at the threshold of 1944, a change in command accompanied by top-down organizational restructuring allowed the American leaders to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the first time. Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe addresses how the United States swiftly reversed its air war against the Axis powers by re-evaluatingboth individual agency and the structural elements that impeded the US from taking the lead in the European Theatre. Luke W. Truxal argues that the appointment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander incorporated various air commands under a single authority, which allowed them to unify their efforts against a specific strategic objective. In this narrative, victory in Europe hinged on restructuring the air force under one command system in order to wage a series of sustained and targeted bombings against German infrastructure and industry. Truxal's provocative reinterpretation of personality, material, and command organization helps to explain the success of the American war effort in Europe leading up to and after February 1944, when Germany lost 355 fighters during an operation that lasted only five days. This comprehensive and well-written account offers a compelling new assessment of the development of the American war in Europe and emphasizes the importance of developing an "air-mindedness" when evaluating and strategizing large-scale operations.

Is it possible for two combatants who possess equally strong air forces to conduct limited warfare by restraining air operations? In Restraining Air Power, Robert C. Owen asks this question and allows contributing authors to provide theoretical and empirical assessments of restrained air warfare through five historical case studies since 1945. Through an objective analysis of the past, this collection evaluates the principles of escalation and escalation management in conventional warfare scenarios to better understand when, why, and how peer opponents in past conflicts have expanded or restrained air operations. The surge in cyber warfare, the development of artificially intelligent weaponry, and the founding of the US Space Force in 2019 means that analysts and military planners must be prepared to think about escalation management and peer conflict in increasingly complicated and challenging ways. This comprehensive study provides readers with refined theoretical visions of the possibilities and challenges of managing escalation as a powerful mode of warfare between opponents who believe they must choose between sacrificing their own national interests or risking escalated destruction of their economies, military forces, and governing authority. The analysis within the pages of this volume is an attempt to update our understanding of air warfare within a world of unprecedented military complexity and, as such, will hold immense value for specialists in advanced military studies as well as those studying international relations and history.

The Japanese invasion and occupation of China was critical to the outcome of the Second World War. Acknowledging China's precarious situation, the US provided crucial aerial support to China. Even before the declaration of war against Japan, the infamous "Flying Tigers," a volunteer force of American airmen, landed in China only weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japanese and American aircraft fought over the skies of inland China and Southeast Asia for the next four years until the end of the war in August 1945. Aerial combat was extremely dangerous at this time, as aviators were often outnumbered and manning obsolete planes. The stories that surface are often of daring, cowboy-esque pilots like David Lee "Tex" Hill, Robert T. Smith, and Claire Chennault dueling in the sky. Aerial combat was extremely dangerous, and aviators who survived getting shot down faced the reality of being lost, and often injured, in unfamiliar territory. In Fallen Tigers: The Fate of America's Missing Airmen in China during World War II, author Daniel Jackson sheds light on the stories of downed American airmen who attempted to avoid capture by Japanese forces and return to allied territory. In gripping detail, he reveals that the heroism of these pilots was equaled, if not exceeded, by the Chinese civilians and soldiers that risked their lives to return the Americans safely to their airfields. Furthermore, the drive to aid American pilots transcended ideology, as both Chinese communists and nationalists tacitly acknowledged the commonality of their struggle against the Japanese. Drawing upon extensive research in mainland China, Jackson incorporates both American and Chinese sources in this historical drama to show the extent of American/Chinese cooperation. Fallen Tigers is an incredible story of survival in the midst of a brutal war that insightfully illustrates the relationship between missing American pilots and their Chinese allies on the ground who were willing to save their lives at any cost. Filled with compelling personal narratives from memoirs, wartime diaries, and dozens of interviews with veterans, Fallen Tigers will appeal to history buffs and scholars interested in WWII, American wartime aviation, and international relations between the US and China.

In the past century, multinational military operations have become the norm; but while contributions from different nations provide many benefits - from expanded capability to political credibility - they also present a number of challenges. Issues such as command and control, communications, equipment standardization, intelligence, logistics, planning, tactics, and training all require consideration. Cultural factors present challenges as well, particularly when language barriers are involved. In Allies in Air Power, experts from around the world survey these operations from the birth of aviation to the present day. Chapters cover conflicts including World War I, multiple theaters of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Kosovo, the Iraq War, and various United Nations peacekeeping missions. Contributors also analyze the role of organizations such as the UN, NATO, and so-called "coalitions of the willing" in laying the groundwork for multinational air operations. While joint military action has become commonplace, there have been few detailed studies of air power cooperation over a prolonged period or across multiple conflicts. The case studies in this volume not only assess the effectiveness of multinational operations over time, but also provide vital insights into how they may be improved in the future.

Compared to armies and navies, which have existed as professional fighting services for centuries, the technology that makes air forces possible is much newer. As a result, these services have had to quickly develop methods of preparing aviators to operate in conditions ranging from peace or routine security to full-scale war. The first book to address the history and scope of air power professionalization through learning programs, Educating Air Forces offers valuable new insight into strategy and tactics worldwide. Here, a group of international experts examine the philosophies, policies, and practices of air service educational efforts in the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the UK. First, the contributors discuss the founding, successes, and failures of European air force learning programs between the Great War and World War II. Chapters in section two explore how the tense political climate during the Cold War influenced the creation, curriculum, and results of various programs. The final section addresses the post--Cold War era, specifically examining how educational programs are adapting to soldiers' needs and the demands of modern warfare.Featuring contributions from eminent scholars in the field, this volume surveys the learning approaches globally employed by air forces in the past century and evaluates their effectiveness. Educating Air Forces reveals how experiential learning and formal education are not only inextricably intertwined, but also necessary to cope with advances in modern warfare.

Unlike the relative uniformity of conventional warfare, the peculiarities of small wars prevent a clear definition of rules and roles for military forces to follow. During the small wars era, aviation was still in its infancy, and the US military had only recently begun battling in the skies. The US Marine Corps recognized that flexibility and ingenuity would be critical to the successful conduct of small wars and thus employed the new technology of aviation. In Biplanes at War: US Marine Corps Aviation in the Small Wars Era, 1915--1934, author Wray R. Johnson provides a riveting history of the marines' use of aviation between the world wars, a time in which young soldiers were volunteering to fly in combat when flying itself was a dangerous feat. Starting with Haiti in 1915, Biplanes at War follows the marines' aviation experiences in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, China, and Nicaragua, chronicling how marines used aircraft to provide supporting fires (e.g., dive-bombing) to ground troops in close contact with irregular opponents, evacuate the sick and wounded, transport people and cargo (e.g., to assist humanitarian operations), and even support elections in furtherance of democracy.After years of expanding the capabilities of airplanes far beyond what was deemed possible, the small wars era ended, and the US Marines Corps transitioned into an amphibious assault force. The legacy of the marines' ability to adapt and innovate during the small wars era endures and provides a useful case study. Biplanes at War sheds light on how the marines pioneered roles and missions that have become commonplace for air forces today, an accomplishment that has largely gone unrecognized in mainstream histories of aviation and air power.

Following the cataclysmic losses suffered in World War I, air power theorists in Europe advocated for long-range bombers to overfly the trenches and strike deep into the enemy's heartland. The bombing of cities was seen as a means to collapse the enemy's will to resist and bring the war to a quick end. In the United States, airmen called for an independent air force, but with the nation's return to isolationism, there was little appetite for an offensive air power doctrine. By the 1930s, however, a cadre of officers at the US Army Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) had articulated an operational concept of high-altitude daylight precision bombing (HADPB) that would be the foundation for a uniquely American vision of strategic air attack.In Lectures of the Air Corps Tactical School and American Strategic Bombing in World War II editor Phil Haun brings together nine ACTS lecture transcripts, which have been preserved in Air Force archives, exactly as delivered to the airmen destined to lead the US Army Air Forces in World War II. Presented is a distinctive American strategy of high-altitude daylight precision bombing as told through lectures given at the ACTS during the interwar period and how these airmen put the theory to the test. The book examines the Air Corps theory of HADPB as compared to the reality of combat in World War II by relying on recent, revisionist histories that have given scholars a deeper understanding of the impact of strategic bombing on Germany.