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The Importance Of Airpower In The Korean War

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The use of airpower evolved throughout the Korean War as the nuances of the fighting changed. Conrad Crane covers the entire war from an air perspective, despite his possible biases from twenty-six years in the Army. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Crane also taught there as a Professor of History for nine years. With a strong background in the Army, he understands the importance of tactical air support, but does not allow this to overshadow the importance of airpower on its own. The thesis of the book revolves around the importance of the Korean War for the fledgling Air Force and what they were able to accomplish with limited resources. The book begins with a summary of events from before the war. Airpower played a key role in …show more content…

Interestingly, the Soviet declaration of war against the Japanese is not mentioned in this recapitulate. These successes had an unforeseen consequence for the newly founded Air Force; generals had inflated expectations that influenced Washington, where political leaders worried that strategic bombing could provide amply propaganda opportunities to the enemy (p6). However, this was the exact goal of the USAF at the start of the Korean War.
According to Crane, close air support did not influence the enemy’s decision making, and despite outcry by elements of the army, airmen wanted air interdiction and strategic bombing (p28). Friction between General MacArthur and General LeMay appeared, MacArthur only wanted to attack military targets, while LeMay pushed for targeting city centers. In LeMay’s opinion, this would show the Communists the seriousness of United Nations intervention and Crane pointed out that in LeMay’s defense; eventually aircraft

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