US Air Power 1945-1990 Volume 1: US Fighters and Fighter-Bombers, 1945-1949

Images : 60 b/w photos, 30 colour photos, 24 colour profiles, 1 map, 1 diagram,18 tables

 

The Technology@War series seeks to describe the ever increasingly complex technologies employed by the world's militaries from the early twentieth century up to the present day, presenting the information in an authoritative yet accessible format. 

Modern warfare is dominated by technology. Since at least the dawn of the twentieth century, technological revolution has driven the development of naval, air and land warfare to a degree where it can be increasingly said that – arguably – the armed forces man the equipment rather than equip the man.

Whilst the layman can follow the movements of fleets and armies and chart the effects of air attack, understanding the development and employment of ever more sophisticated technologies can be much more difficult, especially given that few areas are more jealously guarded by the world's militaries than the latest developments in technology, even many decades after they entered service.

Technology has always been important across the various domains of warfare; with the imperative to build ships that could see and strike further; aircraft that could fly faster and higher (or, perhaps paradoxically lower) and carry more; ground forces that could fight around the clock in the most hostile of environments and empower the lowliest foot soldier to humble the mightiest tank. And, of course, for every technological measure, there would be a technological countermeasure, as a never-ending race ensued to nullify the enemy's latest development.

But technology encompasses not just the weapons and the sensors, for all of these are of little value without the ability to communicate. Modern technologies seek to unify the domains of land, sea, air, space and now cyber, into one seamless network that shares information across platforms in real time, to allow a commander hundreds of miles from the frontline to know what is happening right now, and to allow the logistician to supply the ever more sophisticated and expensive ordnance to the right place at the right time.

Modern technology has now moved to a point where – arguably – the side in possession of a combination of superior situational awareness and better-functioning logistics is near-certain to win the battle, regardless of the balance of forces.

The Technology@War series aims to bring the @War format to the subject of military technologies and to cut through the morass of misinformation that often permeates the public domain. Technology@War brings subject experts, often with first hand personal experience of the systems in question, to the reader in a concise, accessible, yet authoritative format. 

Each volume is richly illustrated with original photographs, maps and diagrams, and specially commissioned colour artworks showing the technologies and their employment by the world's militaries.