Continuities in Four Disparate Air Battles

Since Thucydides chronicled land and naval warfare in 420 B.C., volumes have been written on innumerable battles in search of continuities, principles, and the nature of surface warfare. Air warfare has a comparatively short history. Yet, after 100 years of heavier-than-air flight, and numerous air battles and campaigns, airpower may finally be revealing some of its continuities and immutable principles. If so, what is the best way to find and study the continuities for application by the practitioner? This study examines four dissimilar air battles or campaigns as case studies from WWII to Vietnam (1943-1973) in search of continuities in airpower. They are presented in an operational planning format in the hopes that the cases will more directly transfer to the practitioner. The case studies are limited to U.S., land based, fixed wing, post WWI battles and campaigns. Additionally, relatively well-known cases were selected to aid research, and subsequent additional study by the reader. The narrow focus is intentional to aid brevity. Although the air arms of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps are not included, their contribution to airpower should not be underestimated.