This is the second in a series or historical studies on the role or the Air Force in space activities, prepared by the USAF Historical Division Liaison Office. The first study, The Threshold of Space 1945-1959, described the evolution of the national space program with emphasis on the responsibilities or the Air Force. For the present study, the author adopted a broad approach that permitted timely coverage or USAF space policies, plans, and programs within the context or both the national space program and USAF strategic objectives. This office will also prepare comprehensive studies on...

This study in the Historical Analysis Series examines a subject of importance not only to the Army but also to the Air Force: the origin and development of American close air support doctrine and practice in World War II. The idea for the study resulted from a review of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff, concluded on 22 May 1984, and of the initiatives that emerged from that historic document, particularly Initiative 24, which reaffirmed the Air Force's mission to provide close air support to the Army. The project has been a cooperative effort...

This historical report reviews plans and policies affecting the air war in Southeast Asia. as they were discussed, reviewed, and ordered implemented in 1970 by the White House, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Air Force. It is the fourteenth in a series of such reports published by the Office of Air Force History since 1965. In this study, the author discusses the Air Force's role in supporting the President's decisions to withdraw American ground troops from the theater and rely primarily on air power to provide continuing U.S. support to the South...

The development, production, and operational deployment of intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles probably constitutes the most intensive, complex, and expensive military program ever undertaken in American history. Certainly, it far exceeds in scope any other program attempted during a peacetime period. The objective of the program was far more than just the attainment of operational weapon systems. The continuance of peace, an uneasy one to be sure, and the very future and well-being of the "free world" depended in large measure upon a successful and energetic...

This historical monograph was originally planned as part of a multi-volume history of the USAF guided missile program. However, personnel, organizational, and program realignments within the USAF Historical Division Liaison Office (AFCHO) forced abandonment of these plans. Consequently, the scope of the study is not that initially contemplated but its content seemed of sufficient interest to warrant publication. The monograph covers generally the so-called national guided missile program that slowly evolved between the closing months of World War II and the beginning of the Korean War. More...

Covering the efforts of the United States from 1945 to September 1959 to wrestle with the unknown ramifications of space, this history includes both the civilian and military activities. An Air Force History of Space Activities presents a more detailed treatment of information published in 1960 under the title of Threshold of Space, 1945-1959. Other monographs on this subject include The Air Force in Space, 1959-1960, and (in draft) a sequel for fiscal year 1961. The author of this history begins with the work of the early pioneers in rocketry, the first satellite feasibility studies by the...

The Threshold of Space is a brief study of the national space program from 1954 through 1959 with emphasis on the role of the Air Force. It was originally prepared as a chapter for inclusion in the History of Headquarters USAF, Fiscal Year 1959. Because of the importance and timeliness of the subject, the chapter is being issued as a separate study to make it more quickly available throughout the Air Force. Based chiefly on official documents, The Threshold of Space is a precis of a much more detailed history on the space program currently being prepared. Rather than confining itself to...

Under normal circumstances, the command and control of the nation's strategic air forces is a tremendous task. At the start of the 1960's, for example, an average of 122 bomber and tanker aircraft of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) were airborne each day, with inflight refueling taking place at the rate of once every 6.8 minutes. Large-scale exercises by the command often involved more than 500 aircraft. The enormous size of SAC, with 260,000 men and thousands of aircraft scattered around the globe and with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's) beginning to enter the force, greatly...

USAF Logistics, 1958-1959, is an account of Air Force efforts during these years to improve the quality of its logistic system to meet the rapidly changing military situation. Since time and space limitations did not permit a thorough discussion of all important aspects of the USAF logistic system, this study concentrates on certain issues that reflect changes in basic policy. These include logistic planning to provide the optimum in war readiness, the relationship between the Air Force and American industry, and certain significant efforts to streamline the supply, maintenance, and...

USAF Logistic Preparations for Limited War, 1958-1961, discusses a vital military problem that faced the Air Force during these years of international crises. When the full meaning of the limited war threat was recognized it became necessary to provide logistic readiness for limited war operations while firmly maintaining the capability to wage general war. The author, Charles H. Hildreth, has discussed the causes for the change in policy, efforts to improve the war readiness materiel posture, availability of conventional weapons, procurement of aircraft, training of crews, and airlift...