Courage and Air Warfare: The Allied Aircrew Experience in the Second World War

by Mark K. Wells

Overview

Colonel Wells investigates the nature of aerial warfare and the men who took part. The book analyzes aircrew selection, reaction to combat, adaptability to stress, morale, leadership and combat effectiveness, and compares the efforts of the US Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780714641485
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/30/1995
Series:	Studies in Air Power , #2
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Authored by Wells, Mark K.

Table of Contents

Undertaking a dissertation and then a book on the subject of air crew courage in two airforces is itself an act of courage. The topic must ever be a subjective one shrouded in a whole host of imponderables. It is one also with a heavy burden of emotion arising from the deepest feelings of the survivors - and one with potential traps of national and service pride...But in the end Col. Mark Wells gets it right...Courage and Air Warfare is well written and well researched. It is relevant to the labours of readers in many different career fields - but especially to those who would aspire to the command of flying units. Give it a very high place on your reading list. Dr David Mets, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Airpower Journal



"Buy the book if you have any interest, or even a disinterested need to know, about medical support to aviators in combat, about how national and cultural expectations can influence military personnel policies in such remarkably different ways, or about the difficulties in defining the ideal results against which to measure actual combat performance." David R Jones, MD, MPH - Aviation, Space and Enviromental Medicine



Journal of Military History, Vol 60, No 4

"This is a remarkably well-documented study."



Bulletin of the History of Medicine

"Wells has made an outstanding contribution to the understanding of war and its effect on aircrews. Writing in an area which has been little documented for the broad readership, including historians and medical scientists, he has presented in a well-written and systematic volume information from World War II that has not previously been pulled together in one place.

Editorial Reviews

Wells (history, US Air Force Academy) examines first-hand reflections as well as reports and official documents to gain insight into the unique nature of air combat, its effects on aviators of the US Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command, and the military policies which sprang from the aircrews' experiences. B&w photos. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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