Airpower and the Cult of the Offensive

By John R. Carter, Major, USAF

Book Id: WPLBN0002170516
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.57 MB
Reproduction Date: 10/16/2012

Title:	Airpower and the Cult of the Offensive
Author:	John R. Carter, Major, USAF
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, World History and History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc., Air Force
Collections:	Authors Community, Philosophy
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Air University Press

Member Page:	Air University Press
Citation APA MLA Chicago R. Carter, Major, Usa, B. J. (n.d.). Airpower and the Cult of the Offensive. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Drawing on the histories of three services—Great Britain’s Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1938, the Israeli Air Force from 1967 to 1973, and the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1965—Major Carter offers three case studies to determine if the cult of the offensive applies to air forces. He concludes that cults of the offensive have indeed influenced airpower doctrine in the past, and that detailed offensive planning and a critical evaluation of capabilities provide two methods for avoiding this potential trap.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION . . .1 THE NATURE OF OFFENSE AND DEFENSE FOR AIRPOWER . . .5 AIRPOWER AND THE IDEOLOGY OF THE OFFENSIVE . . .18 ROYAL AIR FORCE, 1918–38 . . .31 ISRAELI AIR FORCE, 1967–73 . . .52 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE, 1953–65 . . .65 IMPLICATIONS . . .88 NOTES . . .95 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . .107