Werrell, Kenneth P. 1938-

PERSONAL:

Born August 6, 1938. Education: Duke University, Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Home—VA.

CAREER:

Writer and academic. Radford University, VA, professor of history. Military service: U.S. Air Force, pilot.

WRITINGS:

Eighth Air Force Bibliography: An Extended Essay and Listing of Published and Unpublished Materials, MA/AH Publishing (Manhattan, KS), 1981.

The Evolution of the Cruise Missile, Air University Press (Maxwell Air Force Base, AL), 1985.

Archie, Flak, AAA, and SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense, Air University Press (Maxwell Air Force Base, AL), 1988, updated edition published as Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense, 2005.

Blankets of Fire: U.S. Bombers over Japan during World War II, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1996.

Chasing the Silver Bullet: U.S. Air Force Weapons Development from Vietnam to Desert Storm, Smithsonian Books (Washington, DC), 2003.

Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 2005.

Contributor of essays and articles to periodicals, including Air University Review, the Journal of Military History, and the Journal of American History.

SIDELIGHTS:

American military historian Kenneth P. Werrell, born August 6, 1938, is a former United States Air Force (USAF) pilot and is a retired history professor from Virginia's Radford University. Werrell has contributed numerous articles and essays to periodicals in his field, including Air University Review, the Journal of Military History, and the Journal of American History. Additionally, Werrell has authored several publications detailing military and historical events, including The Evolution of the Cruise Missile; Archie, Flak, AAA, and SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air Defense; Blankets of Fire: U.S. Bombers over Japan during World War II; Chasing the Silver Bullet: U.S. Air Force Weapons Development from Vietnam to Desert Storm; and Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea.

The majority of Werrell's works juxtapose military history with military technology and hardware, such as The Evolution of the Cruise Missile, published in 1985 by Air University Press. This text, which "describes the progressive development" of the cruise missile, was "published as part of the Air University Press's 20th-century aerospace history program," according to Virginia H. Sahm's article for Technology and Culture. Sahm explained that the "study also addresses, to some extent, the bureaucratic problems and interservice bargaining that take place in the development and deployment of a new weapons system as they apply to the cruise missile." Werrell charts the motivations behind the device's inception, forecasts the future and longevity of this particular weapon, and describes its prospective nuclear capabilities. Sahm stated that, "despite some editorial flaws," the text is a "most concise work." Sahm further pointed out that Werrell includes a survey of USAF personnel, and a statistical analysis of the survey's results, to back his theory regarding the weapon's advancement. Furthermore, Journal of American History contributor Elizabeth A. Muenger observed that "the story is more complex than one might assume," and she called Werrell's inclusion of information regarding the German V-1 weapon "especially interesting."

In 2003, Werrell released Chasing the Silver Bullet, a history detailing weapons development from the Vietnam War to operation Desert Storm. The text covers approximately thirty years of military history and attempts to illustrate the impact of decades-long technological advances upon the USAF. George M. Watson found that a "major theme of the study is how the USAF, designed for one kind of warfare, found its technology flawed in the Vietnam War, and how it got back on the right track to field superior technology and a world-beating force in the Gulf War" in an essay for Air Power History. In addition, Watson maintained that "Werrell lists the types of air force weaponry to include fighters, bombers, missiles, munitions, as well as space activities and traces their historical evolution functional and actual uses." Likewise, Werrell's Sabres over MiG Alley, a 2003 Smithsonian Books publication, explores the development and advances of American military technologies, specifically within the Air Force, during the Korean War. A Reference & Research Book News contributor briefly noted the inclusion of pilot interviews, research from archival sources, and information regarding breaches of international airspace. Werrell parallels the F-86, or Sabre, to the Russian MiG-15 in an effort to explain how the American fighter jet aptly performed against its rival despite several mechanical limitations. Phillip S. Meilinger, in an essay for Air Power History, reported that Werrell "notes some of the other less publicized aspects of the air war over North Korea" such as fratricidal, braggart, and cowardly behaviors among pilots and servicemen. Accordingly, Meilinger described Chasing the Silver Bullet as "an excellent and enjoyable book that puts a personal face on the decisive air battles over Korea."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Air Power History, September 22, 2005, George M. Watson, review of Chasing the Silver Bullet: U.S. Air Force Weapons Development from Vietnam to Desert Storm, p. 59; September 22, 2006, Phillip S. Meilinger, review of Sabres over MiG Alley: The F-86 and the Battle for Air Superiority in Korea, p. 58.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, December 1, 1996, review of Blankets of Fire: U.S. Bombers over Japan during World War II, p. 680.

International History Review, May 1, 1997, Conrad C. Crane, review of Blankets of Fire, p. 426; September 1, 2006, James I. Matray, review of Sabres over MiG Alley, p. 652.

Journal of American History, December 1, 1986, Elizabeth A. Muenger, review of The Evolution of the Cruise Missile, p. 816; March 1, 2001, Thomas A. Julian, review of Blankets of Fire, p. 1564.

Journal of Military History, October 1, 1997, Stephen L. McFarland, review of Eighth Air Force Bibliography: An Extended Essay and Listing of Published and Unpublished Materials, p. 829; July 1, 1998, Stanley L. Falk, review of Blankets of Fire, p. 667; July 1, 2004, Wayne Thompson, review of Chasing the Silver Bullet, p. 1015; October 1, 2006, Stephen Budiansky, review of Sabres over MiG Alley, p. 1104.

Reference & Research Book News, November 1, 2005, review of Sabres over MiG Alley.

Technology and Culture, April 1, 1987, Virginia H. Sahm, review of The Evolution of the Cruise Missile, p. 384.

ONLINE

Air University Review Online,http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ (January, 1981), Kenneth P. Werrell, "The Cruise Missile: Precursors and Problems."

Casemate Publishing,http://www.casematepublishing.co.uk/ (August 4, 2008), review of Sabres over MiG Alley.