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    Evolution or revolution? : the impact of the 1991 Gulf War on United States Air Force doctrine : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Wairau, Warren
    One of mankind's greatest accomplishments this century has been the realisation of powered flight. Aviation has significantly changed the way that humans think, live and, for better or worse, wage war. The advent of airpower has revolutionised the conduct of warfare during the twentieth century as the development of platforms with the ability to project military power while operating above the earth's surface has opened a third dimension to armed conflict. Technological advances has made man's ascent into the air possible and it has progressively become the most important sphere of modern warfare. Airpower entails the use of the air not just as a medium for transit, as in the case of a projectile, but also for manoeuvre, deployment and surprise which includes aircraft, non-ballistic cruise missiles and more increasingly, space assets. Constrained by geography and the physical environment to a much lesser extent than surface forces, airpower enjoys speed, reach, responsiveness and perspective far exceeding those of land or seapower. Today, aircraft are able to fly unlimited distances and deliver a variety of weapons upon targets with unprecedented destructive capacity. As well as applying direct firepower, aircraft are able to protect and enhance the combat power of all other friendly forces, regardless of their operational spheres. Indeed, the versatility, range, speed, precision and lethality of contemporary airpower have made it such an integral component of modern warfare that no major military operation can be efficiently conducted without it. In many instances, airpower has demonstrated that it can be the dominant form of military power.
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    Kiwi 'drivers' and 'lookers' : an analysis and examination of the significant contribution of New Zealand Fleet Air Arm Aircrew, of the British Pacific Fleet, to Allied Naval Operations 1944-1945 : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Thomson, Patrick Jeremy Lyon
    This thesis addresses a neglected and under-researched area of New Zealand historiography in World War II: the contribution of New Zealand Fleet Air Arm aircrew serving with the British Pacific Fleet (BPF), from December 1944 to the end of hostilities with Japan in August 1945. The operational experiences, services and sacrifices of these airmen are examined within the wider context of New Zealand’s diplomacy and strategy for the Pacific war. Three research questions are posited. First, what were New Zealand’s different responses to Japanese military aggression in the Pacific, from 1941 to 1944, particularly in association with its allies? Second, what was the genesis of the British Pacific Fleet, and what were its structures and strategic functions? Third, in what ways did New Zealand aircrew contribute to the British Pacific Fleet’s Air Arm operations from 1944 to 1945?