#Acquisitions – Precision: A History of American Warfare

The idea of precision has long been a central tenet of American warfare, certainly in the 20th and 21st Centuries. The idea of precision has been particularly prevalent in US air power thinking. In this book, James Rogers provides a history of this idea in the US. While ostensibly a history of the idea, given...

#BookReview – Korean Air War: Sabres, Migs and Meteors, 1950-53

Michael Napier, Korean Air War: Sabres, Migs and Meteors, 1950-53. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2021. Images. Notes. Bibliography. Glossary. Appendices. Index. Hbk. 320pp. In the western world, the Korean War is often thought of as the forgotten war of the early Cold War. This was, at least from an American perspective, because: [l]ike the proverbial shrimp...

#BookReview – Routledge Handbook of Air Power

John Andreas Olsen (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Air Power. Abingdon: Routledge, 2018. References. Index. xix + 405 pp. Hbk. It is often challenging to name a single person who is a critical figure within any discipline. As I reflected here, this is also the case with air power studies if such a discipline exists. One individual...

#BookReview – The Leadership, Direction and Legitimacy of the RAF Bomber Offensive from Inception to 1945

Peter Gray, The Leadership, Direction and Legitimacy of the RAF Bomber Offensive from Inception to 1945. London: Continuum, 2012. Notes. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. Hbk. xv + 346pp. The British Strategic Air Offensive against Germany (SAOG) and the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) remain contentious and divisive areas of debate within the historiography of the Second...

#BookReview – Medium Mark A Whippet

David Fletcher, Medium Mark A Whippet. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2014. Illustrations. Images. Index. 48 pp. David Fletcher is arguably the doyen regarding the history of British armour development in the 20th Century. For many years he worked at The Tank Museum in the UK and has published widely on the subject. In this little volume, published by...

#ReviewArticle – Air Power in Technicolour

John Dibbs and Tony Holmes, Spitfire: The Legend Lives On. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2016. Foreword. Images. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. Hbk. 224 pp. John Dibbs, Tony Holmes, and Gordon Riley, Hurricane: Hawker’s Fighter Legend. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2017. Foreword. Images. Appendix. Bibliography. Index. Hbk. 256 pp. John Dibbs, Kent Ramsey and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Renner, Storm of Eagles: The...

#BookReview – The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam

Andrew Wiest, The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2012. Glossary. Maps. Bibliography. Index. 376 pp. Andrew Wiest, a Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), was the founding director of the university’s Center for the Study of War and Society – now the Dale Center for...

#BookReview – The de Havilland Hornet & Sea Hornet: A Detailed Guide to the RAF & FAA’s Last Twin-engine Fighter

Richard A. Franks, The de Havilland Hornet & Sea Hornet: A Detailed Guide to the RAF & FAA’s Last Twin-engine Fighter. Bedford: Valiant Wings Publishing, 2015. Images. Colour Profiles. Appendices. Bibliography. Pbk. 146pp. The de Havilland Hornet is arguably one of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed. The development of the Hornet can be traced...

#BookReview – Be Bold

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier with David Rosier, Be Bold. London: Grub Street, 2011. Hbk. 256pp. Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier had a long and distinguished career in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Granted a short service commission in 1935 (p. 19), he was the last Air Officer Commander-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of RAF Fighter...