From author David Baker’s Preface,

This is the first in a series of 15 volumes covering the story of US land-based and naval air power during the Cold War between 1945 and 1990. The series is divided into five separate chronological periods, each with three dedicated volumes subjectively aligned with significant developments in the history of American combat aircraft and US air power.

The intention is to provide a broad, spectral analysis of the origin, design, development and evolution of US Air Force combat aircraft as well as the political, industrial, design and manufacturing base from which they, and their variants, were developed. The volumes provided for each period, covering fighters and bombers, together present a story of US military air power.

David then goes on to explain that Volume 2 will cover bombers (and the origin and evolution of long-range bombing and the creation of strategic air power), Volume 3 will cover post-war naval aviation, Volume 4 will cover the Korean War (1950-53), other volumes will cover the century series (1954-1960), Vietnam War (1961-1975), the closing years of the Cold War when stealth and other advanced combat systems were introduced (1976-1990).

The story of this dynamic introduction to the jet age is told in the first three volumes of this history of US Air Force air power doctrine, a narrative forming the basis upon which the service adapted and changed to meet new requirements as challenges arose throughout the 45 years of the Cold War.

If this first volume portends things to come, this will be a valuable series in the library of any modeler or historian to have on hand. This first volume really is crucial to the entire series; while other volumes may stand alone, this book sets up the series with the history of American air power (primarily the Army Air Forces) during World War II and the early jet age. The information presented is fascinating and plugs a lot of holes in what most people thought about the air campaigns, strategies, production and evolution of air power.

US Air Power 1945-1990, Volume 1 - US Fighters and Fighter-Bombers, 1945-1949 is a part of Helion and Company’s Technology@War series, No. 2 (HEL1756). The 92-page book is complete with extensive photographs, technical details and specifications, and detailed illustrations, composing the following five chapters:

• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Preface
• Introduction
  1. Holding the Peace
  2. Building for War
  3. Lions and Lambs
  4. Fighters For the Force
  5. Roles and Responsibilities
• Appendix: Stalled and Transient Projects
• A Note on Sources
• Bibliography
• About the Author

Typically, I don’t review a book by chapters, but this book facilitates this method, especially as this volume lays the basis for the following 14 volumes.

Holding the Peace – this chapter is fascinating in that, at the height of WWII, American planners were already looking to the future with demobilization and how America would maintain its supremacy in the post-war world. In September 1945, there were over 12.2 million Americans in uniform, and this was down to 1.5 million by 30 June 1947. A lot of experience left military service, as did manufacturing capacity as the air power architects fought for, then won their independence as the US Air Force on 18 September 1947. It was also a time of new technologies, complete with their designs and manufacturing. With military spending falling under the knife during the Harry S. Truman presidency, the services had to do a lot more with less; defense spending in fiscal year 1945 was $111.9 billion compared to $11 billion in 1948. Containment became military policy. The Berlin Blockade and rebuilding Europe became key factors in NATO being formed, and pivotal events shaped the policies thereafter.

Building for War – the details of American industry adjusting to new requirements and industrial techniques is surprisingly interesting, along with the many, often conflicting, bureaucratic requirements, research and development, and integration of former German scientists to advance aviation, particularly jet engine fighters. The section on German engineers is fascinating, as former enemies were paid more than American workers and a 75,000-word German to English dictionary (“a ‘Nazification of terminology’ as the Americans called it”) was created.

Lions and Lambs – this was a short chapter (seven pages) covering the new all-volunteer force, air power education and leadership and the inclusion of females in the 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. The author also highlighted the nascent US Air Force’s use of Hollywood to bolster their image, particularly fighter pilots, despite the service’s focus on deterrence through strategic bombing.

Fighters For the Force – this is the bulk of the book and begins in World War II with amazing detail about manufacturers, numbers of airframes, engines, propellers, etc., including requirements as they evolved, and highlighting the major problems with early jet engine technology. The chapter then goes into detail about the jet fighters and fighter bombers identified in the development of three fighter types: penetration fighter, interceptor fighter, and all-weather fighter (particularly for northern environments). The airframes highlighted are:

• Bell P-59 Airacomet: First Flight: 2 October 1942
• Lockheed P/F-80 Shooting Star: First Flight: 8 January 1944
• North American P-82 Twin Mustang: First Flight: 15 June 1945
• Republic P/F-84 Thunderjet: First Flight: 28 February 1946
• North American Aviation F-86 Sabre: First Flight: 1 October 1947
• Northrop F-89 Scorpion: First Flight: 16 August 1948
• Lockheed F-94 Starfire: First Flight: 16 April 1949

Roles and Responsibilities – this chapter recognizes that post-war strategy would focus on long-range strategic bombing, fighters were necessary for defense – both the United States and Strategic Air Command missions (who had their own fighter force for defense). Details are given about early warning radar, command and leadership, the fighter and bomber mentality (and its effects and causes in terms of types of missions, lengths of missions, casualties and combat stresses), and the emergent Air National Guard with the responsibility for fighter defense of the United States.

Stalled and Transient Projects – this section dealt with the following aircraft:

• Northrop P-61 Black Widow: First Flight: 28 May 1942
• Northrop XP-59: First Flight: 30 September 1943
• Convair XP-81: First Flight: 11 February 1945
• Bell XP-83: First Flight: 25 February 1945
• Convair XF-92: First Flight: 18 September 1947
• Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk: First Flight: 5 March 1948
• McDonnell XF-85 Goblin: First Flight: 23 August 1948
• McDonnell XF-88 Voodoo: First Flight: 20 October 1948
• Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor: First Flight: 9 May 1949
• Lockheed XF-90: First Flight: 3 June 1949
• North American YF-93: First Flight: 24 January 1950

This book is filled with 60 black and white and 30 color photos of the aircraft listed above. The 24 color profiles cover the North American P-51H Mustang, Bell P-59A Airacomet, Bell P-59B, Bell P-80A, North American P-82 Twin Mustang, Republic F-84 Thunderjet, North American F-86A, Northrop F-89 Scorpion, Northrop F-89A-C, Lockheed F-94 Starfire, F-94C, Consolidated Vultee XP-81, Bell XP-83, Convair XF-92, Curtiss-Wright Xp-87 Blackhawk, McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, McDonnell XF-88, Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor, Lockheed XF-90, and North American YF-93.

Author David Baker has an extensive background in the aviation and space industries in both the United Kingdom and United States. He has written over 100 books, serves as an editor for Horizons (Smiths Industries magazine), and has numerous aviation and space awards from both the UK and US. His vast experience is shown throughout the first volume of what promises to be an exciting and informational series of books on US air power.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.