Book Review for A History of Air Warfare 

edited by John Andreas Olsen.

John Olsen’s A History of Air Warfare is a must-read. This book explains
about the development of the use of aviation in the military affairs. It
concentrates on the history side. A history of Air warfare consists of
sixteen chapters that divided into five parts, the first four chronological
(1914–45, 1945–90, 1990–2000, and 2000–06) and the last entitled
“Perspectives.” The final part takes a different tack insofar as one chapter
offers an interesting discussion of small wars from 1913 to the present
while the other two present overviews of the history of airpower and then
forecast different futures for the Air Force.
First part of this book is discussing air warfare between the years 1914-
1945. This period was the beginning of the era of the air warfare. Second
part is period between 1945-1990 and thats marked the up and down of
the air warfare as combat means. Most interestingly, the air forces settled
as an independent service in the military during the period. Third part
describes the development between the period 1990 to 2000 and marked
by the emergence of effect base operation. Moreover air campaign here
gained its glorious time. Forth part discusses air warfare in 2000 until
2006. It was the emergence of global war on terror campaign. Air power
was in the cross road in these years.
The editor has brought together a stellar group of 15 leading air power
historians, at least half of whom are among the top 12 to 15 scholars in
the field. The editor’s stated goal is to produce an introductory text that
provides an overview of air warfare. He delivers much more in this
outstanding collection of high-quality essays that concisely cover air
power from World War I into the future.
Despite the understandable pressure of space restrictions, most of the
chapters convey surprising detail, broad insights, and very useful
endnotes. Not rehashes, these essays employ the most recent
scholarship and will enlighten even the “experts.”
The last two essays, the most controversial in the collection, Martin van
Creveld argues in “The Rise and Fall of Air Power” that since the
dropping of the atomic bomb, air power has been in decline. Aircraft
inventories have shrunk, and aircraft have been increasingly displaced by
missiles and remotely piloted vehicles (RPV). He further observes that air
power has performed “very badly” in wars against guerrillas. Van Creveld
also concludes by noting that because wars of the twenty-first century will
mainly consist of low intensity conflicts, “there probably is no compelling
case for independent air power” (p. 370). Richard Hallion, however,
literally has the last word in his essay “Air and Space Power: Climbing
and Accelerating,” emphatically writing that “It is premature to bury the
manned military airplane, air forces, or air power” (emphasis in original, p.
389). He acknowledges that RPVs will supplant manned aircraft in many
high-risk operations and that fewer rated pilot officers will operate them.
But he insists that air forces won’t disappear since they are “full service
air power providers” (p. 391). However, air power “may well be subsumed
into a larger category of three-dimensional power in which space
predominates” (p. 392). History will determine which writer is closer to the
mark.
In brief, then, this collection of excellent essays covers very well the
history of air warfare. The book does more than achieve the editor’s goals
—it provokes thinking about the advantages and limitations, the
successes and failures of air power, because of its high quality and broad
coverage.
This one-volume anthology provides a comprehensive analysis of the role
that air power has played in military conflicts over the past century.
Comprising sixteen essays penned by a global cadre of leading military
experts, A History of Air Warfare chronologically examines the utility of air
power from the First World War to the second Lebanon war, campaign by
campaign. Each essay lays out the objectives, events, and key players of
the conflict in question, reviews the role of air power in the strategic and
operational contexts, and explores the interplay between the political
framework and military operations proper. The concluding section offers
wider perspectives by focusing on air and space power in both
unconventional and conventional warfare from 1913 to the present. More
than a simple homage to air power, A History of Air Warfare exposes air
powerÆs strengths and weaknesses and, where relevant, illuminates the
challenges of joint operations and coalition warfare. Because of its critical
approach, even treatment, and historical background, the book will appeal
to modern warfare scholars, air power specialists, and general readers
interested in military history alike.

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