The book is an authoritative history on the Army Air Defense Artillery Branch on Fort Bliss, Texas. Fort Bliss in 1940 was a cavalry post located on the Texas border. The post itself occupied the sixth location of what had been called Fort Bliss. In the summer of 1940 a number of Army National Guard antiaircraft regiments were called to active duty to spend one year protecting American cities and territories from air attack. In September the first antiaircraft regiment, the 202nd Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) Regiment, arrived at Fort Bliss. Over the next four years the post became an antiaircraft training center and finally the Army antiaircraft training center. After the war, Fort Bliss became the premier guided missile testing and training center for the Army. All of the Nike missile battalions deployed to protect American cities during the Cold War trained there. As time passed, Fort Bliss expanded to 1.1 million acres, one of the largest Army posts in the world. By 1946, the antiaircraft arm was the owner of Fort Bliss. By 1957, the post had become the Air Defense Center and School for the United States Army. This book is the story of that progression until the Base Realignment and Closure announcement in 2005. By 2011, the Air Defense Artillery Center and School will be located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This will end the era of Air Defense Artillery ownership of Fort Bliss, Texas

A World War II unit history of the 482nd AAA AW (SP) Battalion. Batteries of this unit fought in Bastogne and St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge. It also defended the Remagen Bridgehead over the Rhine.

“It covers, chapter by chapter the anti-air battle in wars from Yom Kippur (1973) onwards . . . a readable, well researched and well-presented book.” —Army Rumour Service (ARRSE) Anti-aircraft artillery truly came into prominence during the Second World War, shooting down more aircraft than any other weapon and seriously affecting the conduct of air operations. Development continued into the Cold War, resulting in the extensive introduction of surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs. Though the first combat success of such weapons was during the Vietnam War, when a Soviet-designed S-75 Dvina missile shot down a USAF F-4C Phantom on 24 July 1965, it was the Yom Kippur War of 1973 which brought surface-to-air missiles to the center stage. During this short but bitter conflict, Egyptian and Syrian air defenses shot down nearly fifty Israeli aircraft in the first three days alone—almost a fourth of Israel’s entire combat aircraft fleet. In all, Israel lost 104 aircraft during the war and, for the first time, more aircraft were lost to SAMs than any other cause. The age of surface-to-air missiles had dawned. In this unique examination, the author details the development of not just surface-to-air missiles, but all anti-aircraft artillery, since 1972. The part that such equipment played in all of the major conflicts since then is explored, including the Soviet Afghan War, the Falklands War, in which Rapier was deployed, the conflict in Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia, the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 1993. The investigation is brought right up to date by a study of the weapons, tactics and engagements seen in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Archie to SAM is an update to Kenneth Werrell's Archie, Flak, AAA, and SAM published in 1988. He continues to study ground-based air defense systems in new events, including the Gulf War. In rescuing ground-based air defense systems from long neglect, Werrell delves into such topics as tactics, leadership, change, and innovation