Research for Bombing

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AFP 110-31: 'International Law--The Conduct of Armed Conflict and Air Operations' And the Linebacker Bombing Campaigns of the Vietnam War
November 1, 1987
AFP 110-31, 'International Law--The Conduct of Armed Conflict and Air Operations', is the first pamphlet published by the United States Air Force on the law of war. Its purpose is to explain the principles of the law of armed conflict, particularly as they apply to air operations. Chapter 5 of the pamphlet concerns 'Aerial Bombardment' and sets forth restrictions designed to protect civilian populations from unnecessary suffering. This paper addresses these concerns by applying the standards in AFP 110-31 governing aerial bombardment to two particularly controversial aerial campaigns of the Vietnam War--Lindbacker I and Linebacker II.
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A COMPARISON OF THE ECONOMIC COST AND MILITARY SUITABILITY OF THE HIGH PERFORMANCE SEAPLANE WITH OTHER ALTERNATIVE AIRCRAFT FOR BOMBARDMENT MISSIONS
June 1, 1974
This study examines the proposal that in a sustained campaign, high performance seaplanes operating from either advanced mobile bases or North American bases might prove to be the best solution and the cheapest, in terms of economic effort, to maintain.
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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A-1 BOMBING ATTACKS ON BRIDGES
April 1, 1965

This study determines the effectiveness of various A-1 aircraft payloads against bridges. The optimum load, regardless of bridge type, consists of eight 500 pound bombs plus additional ordnance as permitted by radius, loading time, and weight considerations. The effects of different intervalometer settings and approach angles are also analyzed: effectiveness is reduced if long intervalometer settings are used, but is insensitive to approach angle if the optimum setting is used. Data for adjusting the effectiveness estimate to reflect variations in bridge size and delivery accuracy are also provided.

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BALLISTIC DISPERSION OF MK-80 SERIES BOMBS DELIVERED IN STICKS BY THE A-4 AIRCRAFT
December 1, 1964
The ballistic dispersion of low drag bombs dropped in sticks from the A-4 aircraft is calculated from test data. The data is inadequate to permit determination of whether dispersion depends on slant range or time of fall, but an estimate can be made for delivery parameters of interest.
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SOME FACTORS AFFECTING THE FEASIBILITY OF VERY LONG RANGE BOMBING FROM NORTH AMERICAN BASES
September 1, 1949
The relative capabilities for the delivery of bombs to USSR target areas circa 1950 are estimated for typical medium and heavy bombers - the B-36, B-50, and B-47. The effects of navigation errors, bombing accuracy, diversionary raids, and hours of darkness are discussed. These measures are combined to compare the relative suitability of aircraft types and flight plans, and to provide rough estimates of force requirements for conventional or atom bombing campaigns. Measures of the economic cost, and the cost in strategically critical aviation fuel, per ton of bombs delivered, are compared for the various aircraft, flight plans, and refueling plans.
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