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.
