Within Limits: The U.S. Air Force and the Korean War

Abstract

Despite American success in preventing the conquest of South Korea by communist North Korea, the Korean War of 1950-1953 did not satisfy Americans who expected the kind of total victory they had experienced in World War II. In that earlier, larger war, victory over Japan came after two atomic bombs destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But in Korea five years later, the United States limited itself to conventional weapons. Even after communist China entered the war, Americans put China off-limits to conventional bombing as well as nuclear bombing. Operating within these limits, the U.S. Air Force helped to repel two invasions of South Korea while securing control of the skies so decisively that other United Nations forces could fight without fear of air attack.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA440095

Entities

People

  • Bernard C. Nalty
  • Wayne Thompson

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter IED
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Power
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Fighter Bombers
  • Military Aircraft
  • Military Aviation
  • Military Organizations
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Railroad Cars
  • Tactical Air Support
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Effects

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.