MILITARY BOOKS

Kenneth P. Werrell

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Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea
Kenneth P. Werrell  More Info

The Evolution of the Cruise Missle
Keneth P. Werrell  More Info

Chasing the Silver Bullet
WERRELL KENNETH P  More Info

ARCHIE, FLAK, AAA, and SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense
Kenneth P. Werrell  More Info
BLANKETS OF FIRE : US BOMBERS OVER JAPAN DURING WORLD WAR II
Werrell  More Info
301st Veterans Association (Who Fears)
Kenneth P. Werrell  More Info

 

According to a reader of Blankets of Fire, “I was unsure if I would like this book at first, all a bit too technical. I was wrong, this was a very easy to read and well presented book covering the American Strategic bomber campaign against Japan using the B29 Bomber. It was a well researched account and the technical details in relation to the design & construction of the perfect bomber, training and weapons & tactics used were so well written that the narrative never got boring. Although the subject matter was horrific, the raids against Japanese cities and civilians, the book was a non-bias account of this necessary campaign. I found this book hard to put down and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about this period of WW2 history.”

 

According to the book description of ARCHIE, FLAK, AAA, and SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense, “The title refers to the name that airmen use and have used to describe ground fire against aircraft: ARCHIE in World War I (from the British), FLAK in World War II and Korea (from the Germans), AAA throughout but especially in Vietnam (from the American abbreviation for antiaircraft artillery), and most recently SAM (from the US abbreviation for surface-to-air missiles). This study concentrates on how these weapons developed and how they impacted both US and non-US air operations.”

Kenneth P. Werrell, a 1960 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, piloted a weather reconnaissance aircraft over the northwest Pacific before resigning his commission. After earning his Ph.D. at Duke University, he taught history at Radford University until his retirement.  Kenneth P. Werrell is the author of Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea; Blankets of Fire; Chasing the Silver Bullet; 301st Veterans Association (Who Fears); ARCHIE, FLAK, AAA, and SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense; and, The Evolution of the Cruise Missile.

 

According to the book description of Sabres over MIG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea, “Combining hardware and personnel, design and operations, a former U.S. Air Force pilot and aviation historian focuses on the one clear American victory of the Korean War, the jet fighter battle between the F-86 and the MiG-15. Kenneth P. Werrell explains how, despite being outnumbered, the USAF won air superiority in Korea with an aircraft that was initially inferior to its opponent. His book examines the Sabre’s design and development, its combat service, and efforts to improve its performance. In addition to describing the difficulties encountered with the aircraft, he details the problems with rules of engagement, friendly fire, and personnel. He shows how numerous Air Force pilots, including almost all the aces, abetted by their leaders, violated restrictions and engaged and destroyed MiGs over China.

 

Werrell is first to take such an in-depth look at the F-86, its pilots and operations, in this the first jet versus jet war. One of the few bright spots in the "forgotten war," it is the story of how an outnumbered force, flying an aircraft at the limits of its range, decisively defeated its foe. The author attributes the undisputed aerial victory—the U.S. claimed an eight-to-one air-to-air victory-to-loss ratio—to the skill and aggressiveness of the American pilots, a mixture of World War II veterans and recently trained young men. The winning and retention of air superiority gave UN forces a critical edge in the war, allowing them to fight without fear of air attack while the communists were battered by air power. The study is based on the latest scholarship, including a number of previously untapped sources, and interviews with Sabre pilots”

According to the book description of Chasing the Silver Bullet, “This exhaustive study of 40 years of Air Force high-tech weaponry challenges myths about U.S. military prowess. With a panoramic sweep and shocking frankness unrivaled in the current literature, Ken Werrell reveals the true extent of the Air Force's technological transformation. Chasing the Silver Bullet traces in unprecedented detail the evolution of the Air Force's entire inventory since the Korean War and offers sage analysis of the strategies and doctrine that fashioned the hardware.”

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