Customer Reviews

B-52 Stratofortress Units In Operation Desert Storm (Combat Aircraft 50)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The B-52 Stratofortress often gets the back page to its newer counterparts. This book does a good job of covering the BUFF's action in Desert Storm, the B-52G's last hurrah.

The book goes a bit farther than many in regards to photography. The images within are not the almost-cliche'd images that can be found easily in a Google search. The writing is a bit awkward at times, but the author gets most of the facts right. The author covers a large amount of information and does justice to the great benefit of the BUFF in Desert Storm's success.

In regards to previous reviews regarding apparent errors, the B-52G/H CAN carry 6 external Mk-84s, but the load letters that regulate how weapons are loaded limited loading to 5 weapons (2-1-2 config). A 3-0-3 config is allowed now, but at the time, that information is correct.

From the perspective of the role of the B-52 operating out of Diego Garcia, is was a pretty accurate depiction of the role of the old bomber. The author made the mistake of lumping the combat effectiveness of all of the units into one summary which does not accurately portray the success of the 4300 PBW.

Book provides plenty of detail on many individual sorties/operations. However, due to short length of the book (96 pages but only half that in text due to many illustrations), this has short changed the discussion and analysis of the aircraft's performance and role. The author has included many individual stories, first hand, from those involved in the operations. These take up a relatively large part of the book. However, again due to short length of book, this comes at the cost of less higher level analysis regarding performance and success/failures of different type of operations as opposed to individual missions.

The book has excellent color plates with detailed illustrations of a large number of camo patterns and other details. If a reader is interested in using this as a guide to painting one of the aircraft involved he will find this an excellent reference (5 star if this is your goal). There are about 10 pages of color plates and detailed non-picture illustrations that would be excellent for model builders.

While researching an Air Force history project in 1992, I became aware of a Desert Storm B-52 strike that launched from Wurtsmith AFB and recovered in Saudi Arabia. My "Wurtsmith B-52s Launched Raid on Iraq During Gulf War" appeared in the October 12, 1992, issue of Air Force Times, evidently breaking the story (the people of the base town, Oscoda, Mich., knew about the mission but they also know how to keep a secret). Against that background, one will understand that since then I've casually paid attention to Gulf War books and magazine articles about the air war. I have only found that mission mentioned twice since my newspaper story, in a few lines.

Jon Lake's book changes that. The Wurtsmith mission is the subject of the cover of this fine book. The cover caption summarizes the mission and he devotes several pages to it, often in the words of men who flew the mission and with photos they took. So, this historic SAC intercontinental combat mission is no longer obscure and history has been done a fine service by the author.

The rest of the book is excellent as well. The author's well-presented conclusions about how B-52s were employed in Desert Storm are quite interesting.

Let's start with the positive. The subject in an interesting one, the author has clearly done much research, and the material is available nowhere else. The color plates are attractive and informative. The war stories, particularly of the Wurtsmith missions and the Secret Squirrel mission, are outstanding. The authors has information about individual airplanes which is a very ambitious thing to do.

Now for the bad. The designation of the Strategic Radar is the AN/APQ-166, not AN/APQ-156. That radar replaced the OY-73/ASQ-176, not the ASQ-176. The HSAB can carry six Mk 84 bombs, not five. Various acronyms (ELE, KBX, etc.) are not spelled out the first time they are used. There are some annoying typographical errors also. These are not huge things but I have gotten accustomed to higher quality from this author and this publisher.