The Cold War: The Rise Of Air Power

“Never before had so much brain-power been focused on a single problem.”(Laurence qtd. in “Eyewitness”). Many inventions can be said to have changed the world, and the way it worked. Only a core few of these many inventions can be said to change air warfare, and few of those are as game-changing as the B-29 Superfortress by Boeing. The B-29 was the plane that dropped the atomic bombs in World War Two (“bomber”). The plane by Boeing was used most in World War Two as a strategic long-range bomber. This invention revolutionized the concept of war, and war is a factor in all life on planet earth. The B-29 bomber changed warfare by sparking the innovation of aircraft technology, saving lives, and allowing more power to be carried by the means

     The name General Carl ‘Tooey’ Andrew Spaatz has become synonymous with the phrase air power and strategist. Air power has come along way since Wilbur and Orville launched the first airplane in 1902 in the city of Kitty Hawk. Famous engineers have taken the Wright-Brothers design and made great improvements to them while slowly integrating these new powerful means of transportation, weaponry and communication aids into the military. Since the onset of World War I there has been a debate on how to most effectively use these new airplanes in the Army’s collection. Most individuals believed that airplanes should be under control of the Army theater commander, while very

The Cold War Era that followed the end of World War II was unlike any Americans had seen before. After defeating Germany and its allies in the war, the United States faced a change on the home front: young Americans rushed into marriage and parenthood in unprecedented numbers. In Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era, Elaine Tyler May describes these changes from the end of the war through the early 1960s. The author makes a compelling range of arguments about the changes that affected Americans during this period. Mainly, May argues that the “domestic containment” that arose after World War II promoted the new dynamic of a suburban lifestyle, in part because of the increasing fright of looming communism during the Cold War Era.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major event in the history of the United States (U.S.). The simplest elaboration of this traumatic event and the effects that reformed the way American’s viewed the security of the heavens is the goal. There are numerous events that transpired before, during, and after the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The ambition of this essay is to in the most simplistic of elaborations is to produce the different methodology that was applied to air security following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The achievement of this goal will be dispersed into three different sections. The three sections will illustrate the United States mentality in regards to air

In the books of history, World War II was the most widespread and by far the deadliest war ever recorded in history. According to “article by History.com” (2016), “the Second World War involved more than 30 countries in the world and was responsible for more than 50 million both military and civilian deaths”. (Para 1). The Second World War commenced by the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany lead by the famous Adolf Hitler and lasted for around six noxious years before both Germany and Japan were conquered in 1945. The battle in the World War II adopted various techniques during the war including the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. The major component however during the war was the air warfare that presented the major threats during the

The introduction of aircraft had begun a new era in warfare. No longer were military powers limited to the boundaries of vehicles that were restricted to land. The evolution of aircraft technology helped pioneer a new type of combat strategy that played a significant role in determining the outcome of a battle. Air combat also influenced the economies of the participating countries. The whole cycle of airplanes from the assembly line to the pilot became factors that added up to become an advantage or disadvantage.

In World War Two (WWII) air combat was a commonly used war tactic. Many countries in WWII had an Air Force. The Air Forces usually consisted of bombers and fighters. The United States who entered the war after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor had a particularly large Air Force. The U.S. Air Force Had several groups but a major Air Force group was the Eighth Air Force. The Eighth Air Force’s role in WWII was essential to the defeat of Hitler’s Nazi rule by bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. Wich was done successfully after we dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.

On July 17th, 1989, the B-2 Bomber flew its first planned flight. The B-2 Bomber is known for its super stealth mode. Due to setbacks, the bomber has had many failures. The B-2 is not as stealth as the Airforce would have hoped. The aircrafts stealth is generated by airframe that absorbs radar signals so that little is reflected back to radar systems. This helps the enemy not be able to detect the aircraft in sight. The Airforce as well as many agree that it is still a great aircraft to have in the air even with the setbacks. Many are trying to face these problems and help increase the value of the bomber.

Most strategists during the First World War saw no military future for aviation. The French Marshal Ferdinand Foch once said, “Aviation is good sport, but for the Army it is useless” (Bailey 10); however, as air technology advanced in the 1920s, the idea of air power gained strength. World War II was the

“The power of an Air Force is terrific when there is nothing to oppose it” (Churchill,

After World War II came to a stop in the mid-20th century, a new rivalry began known as the Cold War. This battle sorrowed the world’s two great powers the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union against each other. Beginning in the late 1950s, space would become another tense stage for this competition, as each side wanted to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and by extension its political-economic system.

From the early age of airpower development in the United States, airpower theorists, and advocates believed and prophesized, that airpower can win the war by itself. Turning back to the age prior to the independence of the United States Air Force (USAF) as a service, airpower advocates emphasized that bomber will always get through and that it will produce decisive blow to the enemy and win the war. Moreover, they argued that airpower alone could win the war quickly without the need to employ other services, that it is cheaper because bombers replace large force employment costs and precisely hitting only important targets avoids collateral damage. That promise of the early airpower advocates continued to be the core belief of the new independent United States Air Force after 1947. Looking its promise over the past 70 years the airpower gradually advanced toward its fulfillment and with rapid technology advances, that the USAF is highly dependent on, airpower finally achieved its promise. The airpower proved to end wars more quickly and save lives of solders, to cost less in order to achieve military and political objectives, and to avoid collateral damage with its precision capabilities. Nevertheless, implications of achievement of promise can be that airpower can be used as a mean of political objectives that can severely limit or misuse airpower’s capabilities.

The air war in North Africa highlighted the gap in US air doctrine’s emphasis on exclusive strategic bombing. Tactical airpower

The concept of airpower and its effectiveness against the enemy’s fielded military forces is well documented in a number of literatures. In the history of American military, airpower has been considered not only as the sharpest military sword but also a highly versatile set of tools used to effectively promote national strategy. Airpower’s effectiveness in support of national strategy has significantly improved since 1945. The study of airpower exposed certain consistencies which have affected its effectiveness. The theory and practice of airpower filled the past century with frequently persuasive victories coupled with a historical documentation packed with arguable failures. It is important to note that the effectiveness of airpower, as a military operational strategy, has triggered a debate among proponents and non-proponents. Some airpower theorists have debated its effectiveness. Throughout history, the many claims about airpower’s decisiveness to independently win wars or conflicts have hindered the notional and real application of this instrument of power. This essay highlights factors which consider the scope of the strengths and limitations of airpower that has been and will continue to be effective throughout the 21st century.

This essay examines whether or not airpower, along with its technological advances, improved or diminished the United States (US) ability to wage war according to the tenets of jus in bello. The goal of war should not be total annihilation of the enemy without regard to life and property. Although there are many perspectives on this topic, most philosophers believe technologically advanced air power has gone outside the realm of jus in bello. However, based on careful analysis, research shows leaders are required to follow the laws of war and exercise sound judgment. This argument is supported by examining just war theory and the key tenet jus in bello as it applies to technological advances in airpower.