US Air Power in Europe

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With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the US forces' arrival in Britain during World War Two, Key.Aero has collated a collection of articles that honour the key role American air power has played in European skies for eight consecutive decades. 

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Reinforcing the UK: USAF Cold War Fighter Deployments

From the late 1970s, the USAF’s Tactical Air Command developed detailed deployment plans to move aircraft to Europe to counter the Warsaw Pact should the Cold War heat up. Dr Kevin Wright looks at how these plans were implemented in Britain from 1978 to 1991.

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Stratospheric Cold War warriors: Alconbury TR-1As

In 1983, the first Lockheed TR-1As arrived at RAF Alconbury to fly reconnaissance missions and gather intelligence on the Warsaw Pact. Dr Kevin Wright talks with Lt Col Bruce Jinneman (ret’d) about his time flying the aircraft from the Cambridgeshire base.

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Jamming Kings - Sembach’s Compass Call EC-130Hs

From 1987 to 1991 the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron operated from Sembach Air Base in Germany. Its EC-130H ‘Compass Call’ aircraft delivered a formidable electronic jamming capability. Dr Kevin Wright examines their operations in Europe and the Middle East in the late Cold War

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Planes, Names and Noses: KC-135s of the 100th ARW

The link between the wartime 100th Bomb Group and its current successor, the 100th Air Refueling Wing has been reinforced by the adoption of wartime nose art. Bob Archer describes how the current KC-135 tankers pay tribute to the B-17s of the ‘Bloody Hundredth.’

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Coronet Buffalo - When 36 A-7s deployed to Waddington

No fewer than 36 Air National Guard A-7 Corsair IIs descended on RAF Waddington in 1985 for Coronet Buffalo. Editor Dino Carrara spoke to two pilots who took part in this memorable Cold War deployment.

Check out our new bookazine  US Air Forces in Europe: 80th Anniversary 

US Air Forces in Europe chronicles 80 years of America’s flying services, from the arrival of the US Army Air Force in 1942, through the formation of the USAF and up to the present day. It details the Americans’ daylight combat in World War Two, the ‘cold war’ that followed, and the all-important NATO defence duties we see today.

Buy it now