Air Defense Artillery

Although during most of the twentieth century the Antiaircraft Artillery and Field Artillery were part of the Coast Artillery Corps, until it was disbanded in the nineteen fifties. They were both placed under the Artillery Branch, where their missions were deemed more than different than one another. The Air Defense Artillery (or the American Antiaircraft Artillery at the time) was soon designated to be separated from the Field Artillery due to the immense difference in both of their missions. The Field Artillery dealt with the destruction of surface targets whilst the Air Defense Artillery dealt with the destruction of aerial targets. Leading up to nineteen sixty-seven, the Air Defense Artillery separated with the creation of its own doctrine, leading up to the upbringing of

turned a cannon skyward and shot down a union observation balloon. Quite some time would pass before it was thought of as the beginning of Air Defense Artillery, and even more time from when it would go into an all-out combat arm in France. The Secretary of War sent Coast Artillery Corps officers to study the ways of Antiaircraft defense from the English and the French after aircraft were identified as a highly formidable weapon against ground units, this study lead to the creation of the first American Antiaircraft School in Europe which set America on the path to creating the Air Defense Artillery and much later lead to the development of After the more primitive means of weaponry such as the crude (and considered primitive to today’s standards) field guns like the 20mm Flak 38 lead to the need of inventions of higher grade, more powerful weapons such as the 50.cal machinegun, Nike, Hawk and Patriot missiles, it gave the United States an extremely powerful ground to air superiority. What truly made Air Defense possible and although it is speculated amongst