Results by title

America's Pursuit of Precision Bombing, 1910-1945 offers a meticulously researched and lively account of the development of the renowned Norden bombsight and its curious relationship to American strategic bombing doctrine and practice. The Norden bombsight was the United States' first "secret weapon," ultimately the best optical bombsight produced anywhere. It was America's most expensive secret program prior to the Manhattan Project. Its development was supported not by the Army Air Corps, but by the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Ordnance. The work spanned nearly twenty years in absolute secrecy and in clear contravention of military procurement policies and statute law.

Carl Norden, its brilliant and eccentric inventor, was a Dutch national who never became an American citizen. He took little interest in the day-to-day operations of the firm that bore his name, doing the bulk of his design work at his mother's home in Switzerland, even in 1939-40. His designs were sent back to the United States via sealed diplomatic pouch. Complications arose in World War II when the U.S. Navy retained three-quarters of the instruments despite having little need for them. Also, as production shifted from hand-crafting to mass production, the accuracy of the bombsights fell.

McFarland's exhaustive account remains a definitive and authoritative history of this fascinating piece of technology.

The definitive history of how air power transformed the battlefield between two world wars.

Strike from the Sky: The History of Battlefield Air Attack, 1910–1945 is a comprehensive examination of the emergence and evolution of battlefield aviation during the first half of the twentieth century. Written by renowned aviation historian Richard P. Hallion, the book traces the development of air-ground warfare from the earliest military use of aircraft in combat through the decisive campaigns of World War II. Combining operational history with analysis of doctrine, technology, and leadership, Hallion reveals how battlefield air attack became a critical element of modern military strategy.

The study explores major conflicts including the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, colonial campaigns, and the global battles of World War II. Hallion examines the evolution of close air support, air interdiction, reconnaissance, command and control systems, and the aircraft that carried out these missions. He also analyzes how military organizations adapted to the challenges of integrating air and ground forces, creating doctrines that continue to influence military operations today.

Strike from the Sky demonstrates how advances in aviation transformed the battlefield and altered the conduct of war. It remains an essential resource for understanding the origins of modern air power and the technological and strategic innovations that reshaped twentieth-century combat.

How carrier-based air power helped define victory in the first hot war of the Cold War.

In The Naval Air War in Korea, Richard P. Hallion offers a compelling and authoritative account of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps air campaign during the Korean War, a conflict that marked a pivotal transition in the history of military aviation. Through meticulous research and engaging narrative, Hallion examines how carrier-based air power became a decisive factor in supporting United Nations forces across the Korean Peninsula.

From the desperate defense of the Pusan Perimeter and the dramatic Inchon landing to interdiction strikes, close air support missions, and air superiority operations, naval aviators demonstrated extraordinary adaptability in a rapidly changing battlefield environment. The conflict also witnessed the evolution of aviation technology as propeller-driven aircraft served alongside emerging jet fighters, foreshadowing the future of modern air warfare.

Hallion highlights the courage, innovation, and operational effectiveness of Navy and Marine pilots who flew from aircraft carriers positioned off Korea's coasts, projecting combat power far beyond the reach of ground forces. Beyond recounting key battles and campaigns, he explores the strategic lessons learned from the war and their lasting influence on American naval doctrine and Cold War military planning.

A valuable resource for historians, aviation enthusiasts, and students of military strategy, this volume illuminates the crucial role of naval air power in shaping the outcome and legacy of the Korean War.