Tactics and Techniques of Electronic Warfare: Electronic Countermeasures in the Air War Against North Vietnam: 1965-1973

Tactics and Techniques of Electronic Warfare: Electronic Countermeasures in the Air War Against North Vietnam: 1965-1973 by Bernard C. Nalty

(https://media.defense.gov/2011/Mar/23/2001330092/-1/-1/0/AFD-110323-034.pdf)

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• How did the United States try and defend against Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites?
• How did the North Vietnamese and their allies react to US countermeasures?
• What was Project Vampryus?
• What was a QRC-128?

Description:

This 208 page work tells of the efforts by the United States and by North Vietnam to jam each other’s air fighting equipment. Considerable detail on tactics is available. Limitations of the materials, owing to intelligence concerns, are clearly noted.

The work opens with a list of maps and illustrations. Then comes a set of mostly chronological chapters that speak about technologies used and the successes and failures that came with it. Some accounts of lost aircraft are included. It concludes with a glossary of terms and an “abstract” which appears to document what sources were used in preparing this volume.

This book will help equip any USAF pilot characters in stories of this era and may help give them opinions on specific kinds of jamming equipment.

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Air Force in Southeast Asia: The RF- 101 VOODOO, 1961-1970

The Air Force in Southeast Asia: The RF- 101 VOODOO, 1961-1970, by William H. Greenhalgh, Jr. (1979). 169 pages. – http://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/101-150/AFD-090529-066.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Where can I find an example of an aircraft that disappeared without a trace?
• What sort of recon was done during Able Mable Alpha?
• Why were photo interpreters unhappy with small format cameras?

Description:

The story of one fighter based reconnaissance program in Vietnam. Chapters include the development of the aircraft and its camera, information about missions flown and factors that contributed to the withdrawal of the Voodoo aircraft in 1970.

Appendix III is a listing of crashed and missing aircraft, which might provide story jump off points for writers.

Aces & Aerial Victories in the United States Air Force in Southeast Asia 1965-1973

Aces & Aerial Victories in the United States Air Force in Southeast Asia 1965-1973, by R. Frank Futrell, et al (1976). 188 pages.  https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001329821/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-010.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• What was the radar scanner aboard a B-52 called?
• What does an exploding MIG look like?
• What did the insignia of the 335th Tactical Fighter Wing look like?
• Who used a gorilla in their insignia? Or a bat?
• What weapons could be found on an F-4D aircraft?
• What did a basic fighter escort look like?

Description:

From the preface:

Aces and Aerial Victories is a collection of firsthand accounts by Air Force fighter crews who flew combat missions over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973. They recall their air battles with enemy MIG fighters, the difficult and dangerous tactical maneuvers they had to perform to survive, and their victories and defeats. The narratives are taken directly from aircrew after-action reports. A number of direct quotations have been altered, but only to clarify for the reader the very specialized language of their profession (e.g., code words).

The work includes lists of illustrations, tables plus maps and charts. It also includes a glossary and index.

In addition to the first hand accounts mentioned above, writers should find chapter 4, The men: their units, tools and tactics to be helpful as it has many diagrams, tables, insignias, etc.

U.S. Air Force’s First War: Korea 1950-1953 Significant Events

U.S. Air Force’s First War: Korea 1950-1953 Significant Events
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8c3a/588e1dd6519aad537c73bf433798e6f2d86c.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• When did US intelligence find vital parts from a MIG 15?
• How many sorties did the Fifth Air Force run in April 1951?
• What was the effect of the first attack against previously excluded irrigation dams on May 13, 1953?

Description:

From the preface:

The chronology points out the relationship of these operations to the land battle, naval operations, and important political and diplomatic events. It also identifies such USAF historical firsts as the first all-jet air battle, the introduction of new weapons systems, and the initiation of tactics, techniques, or procedures that had a major impact on later air operations. The chronology also identifies important people, such as key commanders, recipients of the Medal of Honor, and aces. Finally, it attempts to summarize those USAF events in Korea that best illustrate the air war and the application of airpower in the theater.

The chronology offers a monthly summary, then a listing of daily events.

United States Air Forces in Korea, 1950-1953

The United States Air Forces in Korea, 1950-1953, by Robert F. Futrell (1961). 774 pages.

(Paper: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55117954)
(PDF: https://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329903/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-022.pdf)

 

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Who commanded the US Far East Forces in May 1951?
• What did AFOOP stand for?
• Who was the youngest American flying ace in the Korean War?
• What did the aftermath of a napalm strike look like?

 

Story Ideas:

Aside from providing background for stories set in this time and place, writers may find the attitudes of the Air Force towards air power useful in describing military views of other weaponry in science fiction stories. Similarly events at the United Nations and at the truce talks might have value in describing similar situations in fictional wars here and elsewhere.

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 1 July 1952-27 July 1953

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 1 July 1952-27 July 1953, by Robert F. Futrell (1956). 352 pages.

(Paper: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12234957)

 

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Why was the area around Kaesong known as “Holy Land” in the Korean War?
• Where can I learn more about the Photographic Technical Services during the Korean War?
• Where can I find a map of North Korean searchlights in 1953?

Description:

Like its predecessor publication, this work ”is conceived as an operational history, with no more consideration for administrative and logistical problems than is necessary to understand the employment of air units in combat.”

In addition to the main text, there is a glossary, footnotes and an index. There is also a list of maps and charts. Index entries for operation and specific mission names are in uppercase.

All three of these volumes ought to provide helpful background in stories featuring military characters during the 1950s.

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 1 November 1950-30 June 1952

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 1 November 1950-30 June 1952 by Robert F. Futrell (1955). 296 pages. –  http://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090601-064.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Where can I learn more about the operations of the Korean Weather Service?
• What were the areas of Communist MIG-15 operations?
• Where can I find a map to North Korean airfields?
• What was Operation Bullrat?

Description:

Like its predecessor publication, This work ”is conceived as an operational history, with no more consideration for administrative and logistical problems than is necessary to understand the employment of air units in combat.”

In addition to the main text, there is a glossary, footnotes and an index. There is also a list of maps and charts. Index entries for operation and specific mission names are in uppercase.

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 25 June-1 November 1950

United States Air Force Operations in the Korean Conflict, 25 June-1 November 1950, by Robert F. Futrell (1951). 139 pages. – http://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090601-061.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Where were the principal communications lines of Korea in 1950?
• How was the US Far East Command organized prior to the Korean War?
• What do bridges look like when they are destroyed?

Description:

From the foreward: “The monograph is conceived as an operational history, with no more consideration for administrative and logistical problems than is necessary to understand the employment of air units in combat.”

In addition to the main text, there is a glossary, footnotes and an index. There is also a list of illustrations and a list of maps and charts. Index entries for operation and specific mission names are in uppercase.

Women Pilots with the AAF, 1941-1944

Women Pilots with the AAF, 1941-1944, by J. Merton England and Joseph Reither (1946). 122 pages. – http://www.afhra.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090529-109.pdf

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• When did women pilots start to fly with Army Air Forces (AAF)?
• How were women pilots trained and did it differ from the training offered to men?
• What tasks did women pilots perform?
• How were women pilots perceived by their male counterparts and commanding officers?
• When was the program of allowing women pilots terminated?

Description:

From the introduction:

This study describes the adoption of the program, the training of women pilots, the uses made of them, and the attempt to incorporate them into the Army. In connection with these topics, consideration is given to the administration of the program–including the differing ideas about how many women pilots there should be, how they should be organized, and how they should be directed.

The main text of the work is followed by a glossary, a bibliographical note, an appendix featuring commentary from reviewers and an index.

Special Operations: AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements, 1943-1945

Special Operations: AAF Aid to European Resistance Movements, 1943-1945, by Harris G. Warren (1947). 259 pages.
(PDF)

Representative questions that can be answered with this resource:

• Where can I find maps of drop zones used to supply Resistance cells?
• What were some of the propaganda periodicals dropped by the Allies?
• What were enemy soldiers expected to take away from “One Minute That Could Save Your Life?”
• Where did the Maquis operate? What did they do?
• What was it like to be on a flight to supply the Greek Resistance?
• What was it like to be an Allied officer fighting with the French Resistance?

Description:

From the forward:

The study describes special operations of the AAF in both the European and Mediterranean theaters, giving the background of the resistance movements; the establishment of Allied agencies and air units to aid the Underground; the planning and execution of the missions; supply operations to western Europe, the Balkans, Italy and Poland; infiltration and evacuation of personnel; and propaganda-leaflet missions from the United Kingdom and Italy. Twenty-three appendixes contain detailed analyses, while a number of maps and charts illustrate the problems encountered in these special operations.

This work has potential to inform activities and characteristics of fictional resistance groups in many eras.