The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1940-1943 A History o
This book explores the development of tactical air power in Britain between 1940 and 1943 through a study of the Royal Air Force’s Army Co-operation Command. It charts the work done by the Command during its existence, and highlights the arguments between
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Matthew Powell
The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1940–1943
Matthew Powell
The Development of British Tactical Air Power, 1940–1943 A History of Army Co-operation Command
Matthew Powell Cwmbran, United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-137-54416-2 ISBN 978-1-137-54417-9 DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-54417-9
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016947263 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image © Antony Nettle / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London
For my grandmother Roseann Fraser
INTRODUCTION
Although the First World War ended with the existence of an independent air force in Britain, the majority of the work undertaken in the air during the war had been in aiding the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to defeat Germany. One of the major developments in air power that came out of the First World War was in its application at the strategic level, through attacks on the German homeland. These attacks had been limited in both scale and damage done but they sowed the seeds for how the Royal Air Force (RAF) would look to develop air power in the future. During the interwar period, army support tasks, such as close air support, battlefield air interdiction and artillery spotting and reconnaissance were relatively neglected in comparison to the thinking on how to apply air power at the higher levels of war. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the newly created Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was not held in high regard by the army authorities who were to control its missions.1 Aircraft, however, were to prove their use in the earliest campaigns of the war when they were initially used i
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