How The Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare

by Walter J. Boyne

"Walter Boyne has made what could be a prosaic subject read like one of his thrillers. It never slows and is packed with an immense amount of information and sometimes alarming, but illuminating, insights. This guy is good!"
-Budd Davisson, editor in chief, Flight Journal magazine

"Anyone interested in helicopters or flying generally will find this book indispensable."
-Philip Handleman, Handleman Filmworks

"In yet another home run, Walter Boyne sets forth and definitively explains the transformational importance the helicopter has gained on American battlefields from Korea to Iraq and Afghanistan. This is an insightful and thought-provoking book."
-Eric Hammel, author, The Road to Big Week

The vertical lift aircraft was a unique invention when introduced to combat during World War II. Since then, it has changed the way we perform transport, soldier extraction, and close air support. Carefully cataloging the steps from idealistic concept to fantastic killing machine, this historical overview touches on the major points of the helicopter's developmental journey.

The helicopter has proven advantageous in overcoming problematic geography and terrain and has empowered the United States military in ways previously unimaginable. Unfortunately a combination of factors, including arguments over the machine's role in the military, operating costs, maintenance, and the increased attention toward nuclear weapons, has stalled its progress. Blaming Congress and the Department of Defense for this irresponsible oversight, this account simultaneously pays tribute to all those who made the technological advancements possible.

Walter J. Boyne cofounded the cable channel Wingspan, the Air and Space Channel, which was bought out by the Discovery Channel in 1998. Since then he has appeared as a commentator, discussing aviation, space, and military events on broadcast networks and on such cable channels as the History Channel, A&E, the Discovery Channel, and the Military Channel. Boyne, a retired air force colonel, was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007 and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Medal by the Air Force Association in 2010. He is the author of more than fifty fiction and nonfiction books on his subject of expertise, including The Influence of Air Power upon History, available from Pelican. He resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife, Terri.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Walt Shiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Walt Boyne has delivered a book that goes beyond just the history of the subject. He has managed to take the history of the military development and use of the helicopter from its inception to today's battlefields and beyond, while keeping it all in context. I can't imagine another military aviation historian handling this subject better.

Boyne describes the first combat search-and-rescue mission, of a downed liaison pilot and his three wounded passengers, flown by a US Army pilot in a newfangled Sikorsky YR-4B deep in the jungles of Burma. He then traces the subsequent development of military helicopter aviation, complete with the service rivalries and political machinations that alternately helped and hindered progress.

I found his in-depth approach to the helicopter's coming-of-age during the Vietnam War of particular value. Boyne, as usual, pulls no punches when describing the tactical, strategic, and political decisions, and blunders, that surrounded the growing combat importance of the helicopter. The history of how the employment of the helicopter surmounted technical shortcomings with in-the-field innovations and the sheer bravado and courage of the aircrews.

This book, however, does not present a myopic, US-only viewpoint. No, Boyne delves into the world of Soviet/Russian helicopter development and employment. And it does not end with descriptions of the amazing feats of today's helicopter crews in Iraq and Afghanistan. He winds up this fascinating history with a clear-eyed look ahead at the future of helicopters in military engagements yet to come. Boyne's final paragraph is worth quoting:

The helicopter has significantly changed the face of modern warfare. It has done so despite restrictions placed on its performance by its inherent design features. And perhaps more than anything else, it has done so because of the brave, talented aircrews who flew the helicopter in the most intensely dangerous conditions of warfare that have even been seen.

Need more proof? Consider the recent helicopter assault in Afghanistan that led to the death of Usama Bin Laden. Can you imagine any more effective demonstration of the unique combat utility of the helicopter?

[Rachel Bayles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, solid book.