War From Above the Clouds: B-52 Stratofortress Operations during the Second Indochina War and the Effects of the Air War on Theory and Doctrine - Vietnam, Arc Light, Commando Hunt, Linebacker Bombing

This superb report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Dr. William P. Head's book is an examination of B-52 operations in Vietnam and how the air war affected airpower doctrine and theory. His study examines the evolution of this awesome manned strategic weapon in Vietnam to see how the design of the B-52s originally intended mission alteredif at allthe theories of airpower first put forward by Giulio Douhet and William "Billy" Mitchell. Dr. Head also analyzes how this same operational alteration affected official United States Air Force (USAF) doctrine first formulated by Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces leaders before and during World War IIlater modified in the 1950s after the USAF became a separate service.

In the aftermath of World War II, airmen had to reevaluate the old theories. Would the bombers always get through? The lessons of the war seemed to indicate that the answer to this question was no, not without long-range fighter escorts such as the P-47 and P-51. Airpower leaders also rightly noted that bombing technology and the quantity of bombers had not been sufficient in World War II to allow airpower to be decisive. Dr. Head contends that the lack of a definitive test for the theory that airpower decisively affects the outcome of war continued during the Vietnam or Second Indochina War.

INTRODUCTION * AIRPOWER THEORY AND DOCTRINE IN THE 1950s * Airpower Enters the Vietnam War * America Is Drawn in Deeper * DEVELOPMENT OF THE B-52 STRATOFORTRESS * Insurgency War and Doctrine in the Early 1960s * Arc Light (B-52 Raids, 1965-68) * Modifying the B-52 Fleet * Arc Light Expands and Airpower Controversies Grow * Arc Light Operations Continue * AIR FORCE THEORY AND DOCTRINE IN THE 1960s * KEEPING A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT * Project CHECO * Corona Harvest * Summary * MENU BOMBING * COMMANDO HUNT OPERATIONS * AIR FORCE THEORY AND DOCTRINE IN THE EARLY 1970s * Linebacker I * Linebacker II * AIR FORCE DOCTRINE AFTER VIETNAM * CONCLUSIONS * NOTES * GLOSSARY

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