Command Of The Air
Command Of The Air

Author: General Giulio Douhet

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 1782898522

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

Broken Wings
Broken Wings

Author: Stephen L. Renner

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2016-11-14

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0253023394

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This “outstanding piece of research” on Hungary’s secret air force program “fills a critical gap in our understanding” of pre-WWII military advancement (John H. Morrow Jr., author of The Great War). In the aftermath of World War I, Hungary was officially banned from maintaining a military air service. Despite this mandate, however, the embattled nation was determined to rearm itself. Drawing upon a wealth of previously untranslated documents, this fascinating history reveals the story of how Hungary secretly built an entire air force during the interwar years. In the early 1920s, Hungarian officials managed to evade and obstruct Allied inspectors at every turn. Unable to pursue domestic manufacturing, the clandestine rearmament program secretly bought planes from Italy and Germany. Great efforts were made to stockpile equipment from the Great War, and the Hungarian government promoted the development of commercial aviation—partly as a front for military flight operations. During the late 1930s, the Hungarian air force went from a secret branch of the army to an independent modernizing force in its own right. But this success came at a heavy cost: increasing German support brought a growing Nazi influence over the country. Hungary entered the Second World War on the side of the Axis in 1941, with its air force soon becoming little more than a Luftwaffe auxiliary force. Besieged by Allied bombings, the Hungarian air force ended the Second World War much as they had the First—salvaging aircraft parts from downed invaders and fighting until they no longer had airfields from which to operate.