Air Power On Trial: The Siege of Khe Sanh
The 77-day siege of 1968 was Westmoreland's trap for the NVA — Operation NIAGARA, 2,707 B-52 sorties and 59,542 tons of bombs, vindicated air power at a critical moment in Vietnam.
Articles
Aviation history, air power analysis, and military aviation essays by Col. Walter J. Boyne USAF (Ret).
Israel's Savior: Operation Nickel Grass
The 32-day US military airlift that delivered 22,395 tons of war materiel to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, turning near-defeat into survival.
Mule Train: First Combat Airlift in Vietnam
Operation Mule Train — the first US tactical airlift operation in Vietnam, begun December 11, 1961, flying Fairchild C-123 Providers into an undeclared war.
Operation Iraqi Freedom: What Went Right, What Went Wrong, and Why
Written with real-time access to Air Force commanders, Boyne argues that air power decided the war — and that the Chinese bought 2,000 copies while Congress learned nothing.
How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare
From Korea's medevac missions and Vietnam's air cavalry to the Gulf War — and the controversial argument that helicopter design has been stagnant for thirty years.
Japanese Air Power Blunders in World War II
The fatal institutional flaws of Japanese air power in WWII — the IJAAF/IJNAF rivalry, the Zero's zero-protection doctrine, and the catastrophic pilot losses at Coral Sea and Midway.
The Aviation Cadet Programs: 1917–1965
The full history of the US military's aviation cadet programs, from the flying cadets of World War I through the final navigator graduate in March 1965.
Fred Johnsen: Master of the Video
A tribute to Fred Johnsen — museum director, author, publisher, film producer, and videographer — and his extraordinary aviation video work capturing flight at the absolute edge.
Johnny Alison: The First Air Commando
Major General John "Johnny" Alison and Col. Philip Cochran — creators of the First Air Commandos, whose Operation Thursday glider assault in Burma established the template for every special operations air mission since.