Aviation technology progressed by leaps and bounds during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Although much of this was due to advances in airframe design, much less appreciated is the role of aero engine development. This book focuses on this aspect, particularly German piston aero engine design and development, which has been generally under researched and under published compared to Allied piston aero engines. It covers key piston aero engines such as those produced by Daimler-Benz, BMW, and Junkers, as well as less well appreciated engines such as those produced by Siemens, Argus, and Hirth. It also covers turbojets and rockets, particularly the Junkers Jumo 004 and Walter 109-509 that powered the infamous Messerschmitt Me 262 and Me 163 jet and rocket fighters. Finally, the book concludes with tables comparing Allied and German piston engines, a glossary of key terms, and a bibliography....

Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 200 maps, plans, and photos. This book is a comprehensive analysis of an air force, the Luftwaffe, in World War II. It follows the Germans from their prewar preparations to their final defeat. There are many disturbing parallels with our current situation. I urge every student of military science to read it carefully. The lessons of the nature of warfare and the application of airpower can provide the guidance to develop our fighting forces and employment concepts to meet the significant challenges we are certain to face in the future.

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 multinational 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.

One of the most significant innovations in modern warfare has been the appearance and development of air power, a technology which demanded technical and financial investment on a whole new scale and which ultimately changed the fundamental nature of war itself. This book covers the history and development of the German air force from 1935 to 1945, with descriptions and illustrations of almost all of the Luftwaffe's airplanes, including fighters, jet fighters, dive-bombers, ground attackers, medium and heavy bombers, jet bombers, seaplanes, flying boats and carrier planes, transport and gliders, reconnaissance and training aircrafts, helicopters, and many futuristic projects and other rarities.

Book illustrated with photos and cutaways of all types of German aircraft form the Second World War.

During World War II, aviation was among the largest industrial branches of the Third Reich. About 40 percent of total German war production, and two million people, were involved in the manufacture of aircraft and air force equipment. Based on German records, Allied intelligence reports, and eyewitness accounts, this study explores the military, political, scientific and social aspects of Germany's wartime aviation industry: production, research and development, Allied attacks, foreign workers and slave labor, and daily life and working conditions in the factories. Testimony from Holocaust survivors who worked in the factories provides a compelling new perspective on the history of the Third Reich.

Airpower is not widely understood. Even though it has come to play an increasingly important role in both peace and war, the basic concepts that define and govern airpower remain obscure to many people, even to professional military officers. This fact is largely due to fundamental differences of opinion as to whether or not the aircraft has altered the strategies of war or merely its tactics. If the former, then one can see airpower as a revolutionary leap along the continuum of war; but if the latter, then airpower is simply another weapon that joins the arsenal along with the rifle, machine gun, tank, submarine, and radio. This book implicitly assumes that airpower has brought about a revolution in war. It has altered virtually all aspects of war: how it is fought, by whom, against whom, and with what weapons. Flowing from those factors have been changes in training, organization, administration, command and control, and doctrine. War has been fundamentally transformed by the advent of the airplane.

Drawn from newly-available historical archives, this German air force history is “packed with many fascinating revelations.” (IPMS/USA) The end of the Second World War in Europe was an epoch of complete social, cultural and technological upheaval. In the realm of military and aviation history this period was revolutionary. The eclipse of the piston-engine, and the introduction of electronic detection equipment, rockets and airborne weapons in previously unknown quantities changed the face of the air war and paved the way for post-war developments in aviation technology. Many details of this crucial phase of the war remained hidden for many years in top-secret files, but in this fascinating new history Manfred Griehl makes use of recently declassified sources, alongside his own vast collection of photographs, to provide a fresh look at the story of the Luftwaffe. Among the many aspects he covers are the new models of Bf 109 and Fw 190; the Me 262 jet plane; the establishment of He 162 squadrons; Stukas and Fw 190 fighter-bomber operations on the Eastern Front; Me 262 Blitzbombers in the West, the recruitment of 1928-born Hitler Youth into the two hundred glider schools; the increasing importance of remote-controlled air-to-air rockets; and the development of heavy bombs, remote-controlled bombs, atom bombs and Germany’s chemical and bacteriological arsenal. Brimming with intriguing discoveries, such as the existence of the real-life Luftwaffe kamikaze squadron, this meticulously researched and fully illustrated book will be of interest to historians and enthusiasts alike.

From Iraq to Bosnia to North Korea, the first question in American foreign policy debates is increasingly: Can air power alone do the job? Robert A. Pape provides a systematic answer. Analyzing the results of over thirty air campaigns, including a detailed reconstruction of the Gulf War, he argues that the key to success is attacking the enemy's military strategy, not its economy, people, or leaders. Coercive air power can succeed, but not as cheaply as air enthusiasts would like to believe.Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. In this now-classic work of the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps military strategists and policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates.

This collection of essays reflects the proceedings of a 1991 conference on "The United States Air Force: Aerospace Challenges and Missions in the 1990s," sponsored by the USAF and Tufts University. The 20 contributors comment on the pivotal role of airpower in the war with Iraq and address issues and choices facing the USAF, such as the factors that are reshaping strategies and missions, the future role and structure of airpower as an element of US power projection, and the aerospace industry's views on what the Air Force of the future will set as its acquisition priorities and strategies. The authors agree that aerospace forces will be an essential and formidable tool in US security policies into the next century. The contributors include academics, high-level military leaders, government officials, journalists, and top executives from aerospace and defense contractors.