Korea 1950–53

B-29s, Thunderjets and Skyraiders fight the strategic bombing campaign

Korea 1950–53 cover

Korea 1950–53

B-29s, Thunderjets and Skyraiders fight the strategic bombing campaign

Description

A spectacularly illustrated new history and analysis of the strategic bombing campaign in the Korean War, which saw the last combat of America's legendary B-29s.

Just five years after they defeated Japan, at the dawn of the jet age, the most advanced bomber of World War II was already obsolescent. But the legendary war-winning Superfortresses had one more war to fight, in the strategic air campaign against North Korea.

The bombers' task was to destroy North Korea's facilities for waging war, from industry and hydroelectric dams to airfields and bridges. However, it was a challenging campaign, in which the strategy was not merely military but political. In this fascinating book, airpower scholar and former RAF pilot Michael Napier explains how the campaign was fought, and how the technique of 'bombing to negotiate' that would become notorious in Vietnam was already being used in Korea. He analyses in detail the relationship between battlefield progress, armistice negotiations and the bombing strategy developed over the complex campaign.

In the skies over Korea, the B-29s operated in a new world dominated by jet fighters and jet age technology, and tactics were developing rapidly. Packed with original illustrations, this book includes dramatic air scenes featuring B-29s, MiG-15s, AD Skyraiders and Skyknight jet nightfighters in action. It also includes maps, 3D recreations of missions and explanatory 3D diagrams to bring the conflict to life.

This is a fascinating, dramatic account of the last battles of the piston-engined aircraft era as the superpowers vied for victory in the first clash of the Cold War.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES
-UN air power
DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES
- Air defence in North Korea
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
- Air power in a complex war
- Orders of battle
THE CAMPAIGN
- Industry, power and interdiction
- Industrial targets
- Strategic interdiction
- Bombing the bridges
- 'Dambusters,' airfields and 'Black Tuesday'
- Night bombing - 1
- Air pressure
- Night bombing - 2
- The Sinanju and Yongmidong bridges
- Air Pressure –the irrigation dams
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
INDEX

Product details

Published 28 Sep 2023
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781472855534
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations Illustrated throughout with around 60 photos and at least 14 pages of colour illustrations
Series Air Campaign
Short code ACM 39
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Michael Napier

Michael Napier qualified as an RAF strike/attack p…

Illustrator

Mads Bangsø

Mads Bangsø is an aviation artist with many years…

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