Air Battle Central Europe

by Alfred Price

The Red Army is pouring over the border, hitting NATO with its superiority in tanks, men, and conventional firepower. How would the U.S. and its allies strike back? The Allied Tactical Air Force is composed of American and European pilots strapped into the cockpits of the world's most lethal aircraft. With F-14s, the long-range F-111F, Harriers, and missile-firing anti-tank helicopters, they are ready to strike behind enemy lines, neutralize the Soviet Air Force, and blunt the armor/infantry attack. Written by a leading expert, drawing on the words of the men who would do the fighting and the commanding, here is a riveting look into the million-dollar killing machines, the high-tech weapons systems, the formations, the reconnaissance, and the split-second coordinating it will take to battle the enemy. From defense suppression to knocking out bridges to high-altitude dogfights, Air Battle Central Europe shows what the battle would really be like — and who would win it. “Pervaded with realism … an excellent contribution to the literature on tactical airpower.” — Benjamin S. Lambeth. The Rand Corporation Alfred Price served as an aircrew officer in the Royal Air Force and, during a flying career spanning fifteen years, he logged some 4,000 flying hours. While in the service he specialized and instructed in air fighting tactics. Now working full time as an author, he has written more than thirty books on aviation subjects including Battle of Target Berlin and One Day in a Long War on the hardest-fought action over North Vietnam. He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and compiles aviation questions for the popular BBC programme Mastermind.

Genres: Military Fiction, Aviation, Military History, History, War

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 1986

About the author

Alfred Price seved for 16 years as an aircrew officer in the Royal air Force where he specialised in electronic warfare and air fighting tactics.

He left the RAF in 1974 and thereafter he worked full time as a writer on aviation subjects.

He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather dry overview of how a potential air war could have developed over Europe if there ever were a conflict between the Warsaw Pact and NATO in the late 80s / early 90s. Each chapter is a combination of summarization by the author and direct quotes from a high-ranking officer involved in each aspect of air warfare. There are chapters covering high-speed, deep-penetrating interception, close air support, the role of helicopters, electronic warfare, etc. No mention of long-range and/or strategic bombers, however.

Every officer spoken to is also highly orthodox and dogmatic. They are very committed to the singular role whichever aircraft they specialize in is designed for and are adamant that to use them in any other fashion would be wasteful, stupid, and off-mission, which would render them essentially useless and ineffective. Whilst I understand this thinking, because yes, these machines are highly specialized, I see this attitude leading to field commanders screaming into the radio for support and the air commander saying, "Nope, sorry...can't help you, well I could but we'd only by like 50% helpful. So, my aircraft will sit here and wait until our "actual" mission develops." It's also highly short-sighted in how these aircraft are designed with all the bells and whistles, but because of budgetary considerations, we only use like 1/3 of the bells and 1/2 the whistles. Each officer seems to also conclude that, because of this, the first few days of the war will be an exchange of all these weapons - and then we'll be out of them - so we'll go back to lobbing the cheap stuff at each other that we've been storing since the end of WW2.

Also, almost every officer spoken to pretty much comes to the conclusion that they believe no such war would ever manifest unless there were grave miscalculations made by either side - although they are all of the belief that in every single possible potential scenario the Warsaw Pact would always be the aggressor - always. Considering the USA's penchant for "preventative war" in the late 90s and continuing in to the 2000s, I have no faith in this assessment.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1986 at the height of the NATO vs. Warsaw Pact standoff in Europe, the book is collection of interviews with planners and squadron commanders of the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force, covering NATO's Northern Army Group. The interviews cover the most important aircraft types on the frontlines, and except for a few omissions (such as the existence of the F-117), the conversations about aircraft strengths and limitations, tactics and doctrine are surprisingly detailed. I assume the book must have gone through a classification review at the time, but we can be grateful the censors were generous.

Though some of the same aircraft are being used today, they have been upgraded so heavily now that this reads as a historical document, rather than a primer on current technology or doctrine. A fun read with a lot of hard-to-find detail, appropriate for a pilot or hobbyist.

[MR CHRISTOPHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

It is thought provoking to sit reading this book in 2019, and learn the way things would have happened in a conflict back in the 1980s.

F111, Phantom, Lightning, A10, Jaguar and Tornado all superb aircraft all passed in to history, have they been replaced by better?

[♥ Joy Joy ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2 stars is only because this isn't my kind of read and not something I'd re-read. It is put together well and very informative, though. I would recommend for those interested in non-fiction and military related reading.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book about potential 1980s air war

I really liked reading from pilots and generals how if the Cold War went hot how they’d employ their jets over Central Europe. Lots of little factoids for the aviation geek.