Airstrike
An airstrike, air strike, or air raid
In close air support, air strikes are usually controlled by trained observers on the ground for coordination with ground troops and intelligence in a manner derived from artillery tactics.
History
Beginnings
The first large scale air raid occurred during World War I in 1915, when London was bombed by 15 German Zeppelin dirigibles at night. Since the residents of London, and many of its defenders, were asleep, a loud warning system for air raids made sense, leading to the creation of the air raid siren.[2]
World War II
It was not until
The importance of precision targeting cannot be overstated: by some statistics, over a hundred raids were necessary to destroy a point target in World War 2; by the
After World War II
In the Malayan Emergency of the 1950s, British and Commonwealth Avro Lincoln heavy bombers, de Havilland Vampire fighter jets, Supermarine Spitfires, Bristol Brigands, de Havilland Mosquitos, and a host of other British aircraft were used in Malaya in operations against guerillas. However, the humid climate played havoc with the Mosquito's wooden airframe, and they were soon deployed elsewhere. This period also marked the last combat deployment of British Spitfires.
During the Vietnam War, airstrikes and their doctrine were adjusted to fit the jets, like the North American F-100 Super Sabre, Republic F-105 Thunderchief, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which were entering the U.S.A.F. and U.S.N. inventory. These aircraft could fly faster, carry more ordnance, and defend themselves better than the F-4U Corsair and North American P-51 Mustang fighters that fought during the Korean War, albeit at the cost of the R&D of the aircraft itself, the weapons, and, most important to the man on the ground, fuel and loiter time, though this situation was slightly alleviated with the introduction of aircraft like the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, LTV A-7 Corsair II, and Lockheed AC-130 gunships.
Today, airstrike terminology has extended to the concept of the
Airstrikes can be carried out for strategic purposes outside of general warfare. Operation Opera was a single eight-ship Israeli airstrike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor, criticized by world opinion but not leading to a general outbreak of war. Such an example of the preventive strike has created new questions for international law.
Airstrikes, including airstrikes by drones, were extensively used during the
Non-combatant deaths
Airstrike campaigns often cause the deaths of
See also
- Aerial bombing of cities
- Aerial warfare
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Strategic bombing
- Time on target
References
- ^ "air strike- DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
- ^ "London's World War I Zeppelin Terror". History Channel.
- ^ "air, n.1". oed.com.
- Gordon, Michael (eds.). "U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Have Killed Hundreds, Maybe Thousands of Civilians". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Woods, Chris (3 December 2014). "Pentagon in Denial About Civilian Casualties of U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Dilanian, Ken (1 October 2014). "Airstrikes launched amid intelligence gaps". PBS NewsHour. Washington: PBS. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ "Practice Relating to Rule 14. Proportionality in Attack". Customary IHL. International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- Find Articles.
External links
- Media related to Airstrikes at Wikimedia Commons