History of Air Warfare

This title clarifies air power's role in modern warfare. It explores its involvement in operations other than war and low-intensity campaigns. It affords an overall global perspective because of its internationally diverse contributors. This one-volume anthology provides a comprehensive and objective analysis of the part air power has played in military engagements over the past century. Comprised of fifteen essays penned by a global cast of leading military professionals, "A History of Air Warfare" chronologically examines air power's involvement in World Wars I and II, the Cold War period, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, campaign by campaign. The last section focuses on air power in operations other than war from 1913 to the present and contains a concluding chapter on its evolution. Each essay lays out the exposition, objectives, and cast of characters necessary to understand the conflict in question and then inspects the strategic and operational levels of war, as well as the interplay between the politics and military operations proper. More than a simple homage to air power, "A History of Air Warfare" exposes its strengths and its weaknesses and, when relevant, illuminates the challenges within coalition warfare. Because of its even treatment of critical analyses and historical background, the book will appeal to modern warfare scholars, air power theorists, and general readers interested in military history alike.