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Aerial Warfare: The Battle for the Skies
Aerial warfare which has dominated western war-making for over 100 years, and despite regular announcements of its demise, it shows no sign of becoming obsolete. Frank Ledwidge offers a sweeping look at the history of air warfare, introducing the major battles, crises, and controversies where air power has taken centre stage, and the changes in technology and air power capabilities over time. Highlighting the role played by air power in the First and Second WorldWars, he also sheds light on the lesser-known theatres where the roles of air forces have been clearly decisive in conflicts, in Africa, South America, and Asia.Along the way, Ledwidge asks key questions about the roles air power can deliver, and whether it is conceptually different from other forms of combat. Considering whether bombing has ever been truly effective, he discusses whether wars can be won from the air, and concludes by analysing whether there is a future for manned air power, or if it is inevitable that drones will dominate 21st century war in the air.
- GenresHistoryMilitary Fiction
196 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2018
11 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 2, 2018
Short, but not gripping. Adequate, pedestrian writing. Eh. DNF.
August 27, 2020
This book is an excellent history of thought of the concept and practice of aerial warfare, from its inception during the early-20th century and the first world war, to very briefly, our modern time at the start of the drone-era and automatic aerial combat. The book does a good job of not dumbing down the broad debates and evolutions in doctrine, and actually introduces the motivation and concept of “Offensive Counter Air” (OCA), the practice of identifying key points in your opposition’s air-supply and deployment network and attacking them to prevent their ability to project air power onto your forces and territory, and uses this key concept to explain the dual paths air combat doctrine took in the 20th century, 1. As an independent arm that could be used individually to effect strategic outcomes 2. As a support branch to the other 2 arms of professional militaries, the army and navy.
The book spends most of its time anchoring the discussion on a few major historical conflicts, the majority of which is World War 2, both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, and goes into fair detail of the doctrinal differences between German High Command (OKW) and the American conception of air-war, which initially split the body into the US-Army airforce and the US-Navy airforce. The conversation around German thought was interesting, as 1. Initial German doctrine emphasized strategic bombing vs. close-air support for infantry 2. German bomber doctrine did not initially emphasize terror bombings against civilian populations. Eventually, both of these points would be reversed, both through the implementation of the blitzkrieg & the vengeance bombings, but with respect to the later fact, the planners believed (rightfully) that bombing civilian targets would not subdue the opposition’s will to fight, but heighten it.
Ironically, Allied high command believed the opposite, and there is no evidence to suggest that the reciripcal Allied terror bombings of German cities weakend the German will to fight. The book does point out that air power was critically important in one aspect of the war effort, in that 700k German soldiers were dedicated to man the anti-air defense positions in Germany & that 80%+ of all produced munitions were deployed to supply those positions vis-a-vis German ground & armor units at the fronts. Other interesting points about WW2 are the way the British used air, which was an extension of their intelligence & information apparatus. This facet of air operations is less emphasized in the public conversation, but in a very real way, information is absolutely king in conflict, and the ability to know or anticipate where oppositions units will be via radar or other sensing mechanisms, allows one to better effect the economy of forces, which was a great multiplier in the case of the RAF vs. the Luftwaffe.
The book proceeds to go over air combat in Korea, Vietnam, and a few non-American conflicts, including broadly how air power was developed in Israel via the IAF. The example of the IAF harkens back to the RAF experience, which again serves as a powerful example of the value of information vs. the capability to deliver munitions via air, and how given the choice, the former is superior often to the later. The author does justice to John Boyd by dedicating a segment of the later chapter to his ideas, specifically the OODA loop, and his development of fighter-combat doctrine, as well as Boyd’s influence on “maneuver warfare” and its impact in Operation Desert Storm.
The author does a great job of using each historical conflict or era to evolve the conversation on doctrine, and it’s very easy for the reader to remember how these disparate facts both fold back into the theoretical conversation. A good example of this is the discussion on the NATO campaigns against Serbia in the late 90s, which was a test to the idea that an airforce by itself could effect change. It’s debatable the outcome of this notion with respect to Serbia. Finally, the author reaches our modern era, which includes both the drone warfare of the 2000s in Afghanistan and various other parts of the “middle east” as well as the recent innovations in Russia & China to disrupt and prevent air-superiority or operations within their near-abroads via advanced missile technologies.
The reader gets a sense that this is a continually evolving subject area, and one that will be ever increasingly informed by the advent of high-technology, especially machine learning and artificial intelligence. Overall, a great read, fast and understandable. Looking forward to a sequel book. Recommended.
The book spends most of its time anchoring the discussion on a few major historical conflicts, the majority of which is World War 2, both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, and goes into fair detail of the doctrinal differences between German High Command (OKW) and the American conception of air-war, which initially split the body into the US-Army airforce and the US-Navy airforce. The conversation around German thought was interesting, as 1. Initial German doctrine emphasized strategic bombing vs. close-air support for infantry 2. German bomber doctrine did not initially emphasize terror bombings against civilian populations. Eventually, both of these points would be reversed, both through the implementation of the blitzkrieg & the vengeance bombings, but with respect to the later fact, the planners believed (rightfully) that bombing civilian targets would not subdue the opposition’s will to fight, but heighten it.
Ironically, Allied high command believed the opposite, and there is no evidence to suggest that the reciripcal Allied terror bombings of German cities weakend the German will to fight. The book does point out that air power was critically important in one aspect of the war effort, in that 700k German soldiers were dedicated to man the anti-air defense positions in Germany & that 80%+ of all produced munitions were deployed to supply those positions vis-a-vis German ground & armor units at the fronts. Other interesting points about WW2 are the way the British used air, which was an extension of their intelligence & information apparatus. This facet of air operations is less emphasized in the public conversation, but in a very real way, information is absolutely king in conflict, and the ability to know or anticipate where oppositions units will be via radar or other sensing mechanisms, allows one to better effect the economy of forces, which was a great multiplier in the case of the RAF vs. the Luftwaffe.
The book proceeds to go over air combat in Korea, Vietnam, and a few non-American conflicts, including broadly how air power was developed in Israel via the IAF. The example of the IAF harkens back to the RAF experience, which again serves as a powerful example of the value of information vs. the capability to deliver munitions via air, and how given the choice, the former is superior often to the later. The author does justice to John Boyd by dedicating a segment of the later chapter to his ideas, specifically the OODA loop, and his development of fighter-combat doctrine, as well as Boyd’s influence on “maneuver warfare” and its impact in Operation Desert Storm.
The author does a great job of using each historical conflict or era to evolve the conversation on doctrine, and it’s very easy for the reader to remember how these disparate facts both fold back into the theoretical conversation. A good example of this is the discussion on the NATO campaigns against Serbia in the late 90s, which was a test to the idea that an airforce by itself could effect change. It’s debatable the outcome of this notion with respect to Serbia. Finally, the author reaches our modern era, which includes both the drone warfare of the 2000s in Afghanistan and various other parts of the “middle east” as well as the recent innovations in Russia & China to disrupt and prevent air-superiority or operations within their near-abroads via advanced missile technologies.
The reader gets a sense that this is a continually evolving subject area, and one that will be ever increasingly informed by the advent of high-technology, especially machine learning and artificial intelligence. Overall, a great read, fast and understandable. Looking forward to a sequel book. Recommended.
January 25, 2025
This is a whistle-stop introduction to Aerial Warfare theory and practice from their inception to the early 21st Century.
H.G. Wells wrote about the terrifying military potential of flying machine in his 1909 book “War of the Skies”, a mere 6 years after the Wright Brothers made the first powered winged flight. Before this hot air balloons had been used sparingly in the 18th and 19th centuries for reasons of gaining reconnaissance advantage over an opposing force.
World War One rapidly accelerated the development of military aircraft and pushed warring states to find new roles for them. Aerial observation by the French Military was crucial to the “miracle on the Marne” which allowed the allied defence of France to cement itself. The staple role for WW1 aircraft on both sides seem to fall into reconnaissance roles, especially for sighting the positions of artillery to direct counter-battery fire. At the same time the little known first Blitz took place on UK towns and cities, carried out first by German Zeppelin airships and later by winged Gotha bombers.
Between the wars military aircraft development piggy backed off a boom in civilian aircraft development from racers to travellers for leisure. Racing planes in particular would influence the design for the UK’s most iconic fighter in the next war; the Spitfire.
World War Two saw an expansion in several different disciplines in Aerial Warfare including but not excluding; Naval Aviation, Close Air Support, interdiction and strategic bombing. The author has done well to describe how the reality of this conflict in particular interacted with the strong theories that certain allied aviation schools had about how air power could be applied. Strategic Bombing in particular carried a high cost in blood for those flying the planes as well as those at the mercy of them.
The Cold War period saw both the development of high performance winged aircraft designed to take on the best of forces on the other side of the Iron Curtain, but also saw efforts directed at dealing with counterinsurgencies. Helicopters in particularly useful for powers taking on insurgencies, allowing entire divisions to be moved by air if needed.
If anything, the wars of the early 21st century for the West have seen a back to the future moment with the fighting of new insurgencies. However, not everyone is convinced that this is anywhere near the end point of air power.
This book does a commendable job in explaining not only the history of Aerial Warfare practically, but also how theories have sought to influence it’s development. Demonstratively, wars cannot be won through the use of Aerial Warfare alone. Yet one side fighting without control of the skies faces an uphill struggle and often a fatal one. The author does well to challenge the readers with real and existential questions faced by air forces. Does the integration of the battlefield make independent air forces obsolete? Should air forces take account of Space to become Aerospace forces, or should that be the preserve of a dedicated branch in itself? Maybe the whole concept of completely separate services holds a country’s defence potential back? Israel has several segments of one defence organisation for instance.
There is an intelligent discussion about drone warfare, although the author honestly yields to more dedicated authorities about this subject and cyber warfare for more elaboration. One question which I think was neglected seems to expose the age of the book (at least 5 years old). That is the question of whether the age of great power vs great power wars is over. Sadly, I believe the Russian invasion of Ukraine has answered this question for us. Therefore, more discussion is warranted about where Aerial Warfare will go next.
As far as this book goes, it is straight to the point, informative and thoughtful on the debates within it’s subject matter.
H.G. Wells wrote about the terrifying military potential of flying machine in his 1909 book “War of the Skies”, a mere 6 years after the Wright Brothers made the first powered winged flight. Before this hot air balloons had been used sparingly in the 18th and 19th centuries for reasons of gaining reconnaissance advantage over an opposing force.
World War One rapidly accelerated the development of military aircraft and pushed warring states to find new roles for them. Aerial observation by the French Military was crucial to the “miracle on the Marne” which allowed the allied defence of France to cement itself. The staple role for WW1 aircraft on both sides seem to fall into reconnaissance roles, especially for sighting the positions of artillery to direct counter-battery fire. At the same time the little known first Blitz took place on UK towns and cities, carried out first by German Zeppelin airships and later by winged Gotha bombers.
Between the wars military aircraft development piggy backed off a boom in civilian aircraft development from racers to travellers for leisure. Racing planes in particular would influence the design for the UK’s most iconic fighter in the next war; the Spitfire.
World War Two saw an expansion in several different disciplines in Aerial Warfare including but not excluding; Naval Aviation, Close Air Support, interdiction and strategic bombing. The author has done well to describe how the reality of this conflict in particular interacted with the strong theories that certain allied aviation schools had about how air power could be applied. Strategic Bombing in particular carried a high cost in blood for those flying the planes as well as those at the mercy of them.
The Cold War period saw both the development of high performance winged aircraft designed to take on the best of forces on the other side of the Iron Curtain, but also saw efforts directed at dealing with counterinsurgencies. Helicopters in particularly useful for powers taking on insurgencies, allowing entire divisions to be moved by air if needed.
If anything, the wars of the early 21st century for the West have seen a back to the future moment with the fighting of new insurgencies. However, not everyone is convinced that this is anywhere near the end point of air power.
This book does a commendable job in explaining not only the history of Aerial Warfare practically, but also how theories have sought to influence it’s development. Demonstratively, wars cannot be won through the use of Aerial Warfare alone. Yet one side fighting without control of the skies faces an uphill struggle and often a fatal one. The author does well to challenge the readers with real and existential questions faced by air forces. Does the integration of the battlefield make independent air forces obsolete? Should air forces take account of Space to become Aerospace forces, or should that be the preserve of a dedicated branch in itself? Maybe the whole concept of completely separate services holds a country’s defence potential back? Israel has several segments of one defence organisation for instance.
There is an intelligent discussion about drone warfare, although the author honestly yields to more dedicated authorities about this subject and cyber warfare for more elaboration. One question which I think was neglected seems to expose the age of the book (at least 5 years old). That is the question of whether the age of great power vs great power wars is over. Sadly, I believe the Russian invasion of Ukraine has answered this question for us. Therefore, more discussion is warranted about where Aerial Warfare will go next.
As far as this book goes, it is straight to the point, informative and thoughtful on the debates within it’s subject matter.
August 31, 2019
A short but ample read into a field that most are unable to experience firsthand. Frank Ledwidge a military intelligence officer who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya offers an overview of air combat through the years while tackling the basic principles of aerial warfare and aircraft. Aerial Warfare offers the first short history of air warfare, analysing its influence on wars, campaigns and conflicts as far back as the pre-WW1 period, while demonstrating how military operations from the air impact political decisions on the ground. And contemplates upon the advances in air power technology and capabilities, and the impact this has on warfare as a whole. A great read for anyone interested in aviation or even better- Aerial Combat ;)
March 3, 2023
A primer on the theory and practice of aerial warfare. I’m glad he included the list of acronyms in the beginning.
December 21, 2024
Fun read!
January 29, 2019
A good short introduction to the evolution and dominant theories about Aerial warfare. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone well versed in this field, but if you’ve got a casual interest it’s not a bad starting point.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews