Following World War II, the onset of nuclear weapons, long-range jet bombers, and ballistic missiles radically changed American foreign policy and military strategy. The U.S. Air Force, led by men of far-sighted vision and uncommon dedication, accepted the challenge of organizing and leading a massive research and development effort to build ballistic missiles. In the quarter of a century since, these weapons have constituted one of the three legs of the strategic triad -- the basis of America's strategy of deterring nuclear war -- yet they have received less attention from the public and within the Air Force than the more glamorous manned bombers of the Strategic Air Command or the missile-launching submarines of the U.S. Navy. This volume attempts to correct the imbalance by telling the story of the development of Air Force ballistic missiles. It concentrates on the first generation of ballistic missiles: the intercontinental Atlas and Titan, and the intermediate-range Thor. Although the effort to develop rockets has a longer history than commonly assumed, the modern history spans the relatively short era from 1945 to 1960. During this brief interval, missiles advanced from drawing board to alert status, where the next generation now remains poised to deter war. The author describes the difficulties involved in the technological competition with the Soviets to be first to develop and deploy a ballistic missile force. With innovative leadership, the Air Force succeeded also in overcoming conflict with the Army and Navy, budgetary constraints, administrative complications, and, of course, formidable engineering problems.
Development of Ballistic Missiles in the United States Air Force, 1945-1960
1990
415 pages
Report
No indication
English
Education, Law, & Humanities , Military Sciences , Surface Launched Missiles , Air force , History , Intercontinental ballistic missiles , Ussr , Competition , Leadership , Reliability , Air force facilities , Evolution(Development) , Rocket research , Rocket laboratories , Intermediate range(Distance) , Postwar , Long range(Distance) , Construction , Air force research , United states government , Flight testing , Atlas missile , Thor missile , Titan missile , Interservice rivalry , Intermediate-range ballistic missiles , Project mx-774 , Post world war ii era , Atomic-equipped missiles , Project mx-1593 , Sputnik , Minuteman missile , Jupiter missile , Teapot committee report , Gillette report
NTIS | 1970
|Engineering Index Backfile | 1960
Defense against ballistic missiles
AIAA | 1992
|Defense against Ballistic Missiles
NTIS | 1992
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