Anti-Aircraft Artillery tells of the development and operational use of this weapon from its inception as an anti-balloon defence at the end of the nineteenth century to the present. Covering weapons of all the major armies and providing an engrossing overview of the use, development and effectiveness of the anti-aircraft gun, this is an ideal and concise history of a fascinating weapon.
A World War II unit history of the 482nd AAA AW (SP) Battalion. Batteries of this unit fought in Bastogne and St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge. It also defended the Remagen Bridgehead over the Rhine.
Anti-aircraft artillery was extensively used in combat in the First World War, though such weapons had made their debut in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, when the besieged French used balloons for observation and communication and the Prussians used the first custom built 1-pounder gun to try and shoot them down. It was, however, not until the Second World War that anti-aircraft artillery came into prominence, shooting down more aircraft than any other weapon and seriously degrading the conduct of air operations. In the battle between the attackers and anti-aircraft artillery, the latter had the upper hand when the war ended. The post-war years saw a decline in anti-aircraft artillery as peace prevailed, and the advent of the jet aircraft seemed to tilt the balance in favour of the aircraft as they flew faster and higher, seemingly beyond the reach of anti-aircraft artillery. It would take all the hi-tech equipment and the guile and cunning that anti-aircraft artillery could muster to try and reclaim pole position. It is that story, of the tug of war between the aircraft and artillery, that forms the narrative of this book – as it traces the history of combat employment of anti-aircraft artillery from the Korean War, in effect the first Jet Age war, to the War of Attrition between Arab states and Israel when the missiles came of age, sending the aircraft scurrying for cover. Anti-Aircraft Artillery in Combat, 1950–1972 is the first attempt to look at the combat performance of ground-based air defences, incorporating the views, analyses and experiences of Soviet, Arab and South Asian Armies. The book looks at the major wars between 1950 and 1972, including the Korean War, Vietnam War, the wars in South Asia in 1965 and 1971, and conflicts in the Middle East, such as the Six Day War.
The book is an authoritative history on the Army Air Defense Artillery Branch on Fort Bliss, Texas. Fort Bliss in 1940 was a cavalry post located on the Texas border. The post itself occupied the sixth location of what had been called Fort Bliss. In the summer of 1940 a number of Army National Guard antiaircraft regiments were called to active duty to spend one year protecting American cities and territories from air attack. In September the first antiaircraft regiment, the 202nd Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) Regiment, arrived at Fort Bliss. Over the next four years the post became an antiaircraft training center and finally the Army antiaircraft training center. After the war, Fort Bliss became the premier guided missile testing and training center for the Army. All of the Nike missile battalions deployed to protect American cities during the Cold War trained there. As time passed, Fort Bliss expanded to 1.1 million acres, one of the largest Army posts in the world. By 1946, the antiaircraft arm was the owner of Fort Bliss. By 1957, the post had become the Air Defense Center and School for the United States Army. This book is the story of that progression until the Base Realignment and Closure announcement in 2005. By 2011, the Air Defense Artillery Center and School will be located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This will end the era of Air Defense Artillery ownership of Fort Bliss, Texas
“It covers, chapter by chapter the anti-air battle in wars from Yom Kippur (1973) onwards . . . a readable, well researched and well-presented book.” —Army Rumour Service (ARRSE) Anti-aircraft artillery truly came into prominence during the Second World War, shooting down more aircraft than any other weapon and seriously affecting the conduct of air operations. Development continued into the Cold War, resulting in the extensive introduction of surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs. Though the first combat success of such weapons was during the Vietnam War, when a Soviet-designed S-75 Dvina missile shot down a USAF F-4C Phantom on 24 July 1965, it was the Yom Kippur War of 1973 which brought surface-to-air missiles to the center stage. During this short but bitter conflict, Egyptian and Syrian air defenses shot down nearly fifty Israeli aircraft in the first three days alone—almost a fourth of Israel’s entire combat aircraft fleet. In all, Israel lost 104 aircraft during the war and, for the first time, more aircraft were lost to SAMs than any other cause. The age of surface-to-air missiles had dawned. In this unique examination, the author details the development of not just surface-to-air missiles, but all anti-aircraft artillery, since 1972. The part that such equipment played in all of the major conflicts since then is explored, including the Soviet Afghan War, the Falklands War, in which Rapier was deployed, the conflict in Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia, the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 1993. The investigation is brought right up to date by a study of the weapons, tactics and engagements seen in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Air raid sirens wail, searchlight beams flash across the sky, and the night is aflame with tracer fire and aerial explosions, as Allied bombers and German anti-aircraft units duel in the thundering darkness. Such "cinematic" scenes, played out with increasing frequency as World War II ground to a close, were more than mere stock material for movie melodramas. As Edward Westermann reveals, they point to a key but largely unappreciated aspect of the German war effort that has yet to get its full due.Long the neglected stepchild in studies of World War II air campaigns, German flak or anti-aircraft units have been frequently dismissed by American, British, and German historians (and by veterans of the European air war) as ineffective weapons that wasted valuable materiel and personnel resources desperately needed elsewhere by the Third Reich. Westermann emphatically disagrees with that view and makes a convincing case for the significant contributions made by the entire range of German anti-aircraft defenses.During the Allied air campaigns against the Third Reich, well over a million tons of bombs were dropped upon the German homeland, killing nearly 300,000 civilians, wounding another 780,000, and destroying more than 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures. Not surprisingly, that aerial Armageddon has inspired countless studies of both the victorious Allied bombing offensive and the ultimately doomed Luftwaffe defense of its own skies. By contrast, flak units have virtually been ignored, despite the fact that they employed more than a million men and women, were responsible for more than half of all Allied aircraft losses, forced Allied bombers to fly far abovehigh-accuracy altitudes, and thus allowed Germany to hold out far longer than it might have otherwise.Westermann's definitive study sheds new light on every facet of the development and organization of this vital defense arm, includi
Drawing upon original documents and first-hand accounts, this text tells the story of Britain's anti-aircraft defenses on the home front during World War II: in the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and the Luftwaffe's cruel campaigns against cathedral cities and coastal resorts. Commissioned to support English Heritage's initiatives to preserve England's wartime remains, this book is also a study of the everyday places where the battles were fought. Thousands of gun batteries were built during the war, and by exploring their design and patterning, the book offers a new perspective of Britain's defense geography and rediscovers the sites which were home to hundreds of thousands of men and, controversially, women. As the second volume in the series "Monuments of War," it makes a powerful case for selected examples to be preserved as historical monuments.
Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 200 maps, plans, and photos. This book is a comprehensive analysis of an air force, the Luftwaffe, in World War II. It follows the Germans from their prewar preparations to their final defeat. There are many disturbing parallels with our current situation. I urge every student of military science to read it carefully. The lessons of the nature of warfare and the application of airpower can provide the guidance to develop our fighting forces and employment concepts to meet the significant challenges we are certain to face in the future.
