Download or read book Rearming the RAF for the Second World War written by Adrian Phillips and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-07-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the RAF rearmed to meet the growing threat from Nazi Germany's remorseless expansion in the late 1930s, it faced immense challenges. It had to manage a huge increase in size as well as mastering rapid advances in aviation technology. To protect Britain from attack, the RAF's commanders had to choose the right strategy and the right balance in its forces. The choices had to be made in peacetime with no guidance from combat experience. These visions then had to be translated into practical reality. A shifting cast of government ministers, civil servants and industrialists with their own financial, political and military agendas brought further dynamics into play. The RAF's readiness for war was crucial to Britain's ability to respond to Nazi aggression before war broke out and when it did, the RAF's rearmament was put to the acid test of battle. Adrian Phillips uses the penetrating grasp of how top level decisions are made that he honed in his inside accounts of the abdication crisis and appeasement, to dissect the process which shaped the RAF of 1940. He looks beyond the familiar legends of the Battle of Britain and explores in depth the successes and failures of a vital element in British preparations for war.
Download or read book Rearming the RAF for the Second World War written by Adrian Phillips and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-07-28 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the RAF rearmed to meet the growing threat from Nazi Germany's remorseless expansion in the late 1930s, it faced immense challenges. It had to manage a huge increase in size as well as mastering rapid advances in aviation technology. To protect Britain from attack, the RAF's commanders had to choose the right strategy and the right balance in its forces. The choices had to be made in peacetime with no guidance from combat experience. These visions then had to be translated into practical reality. A shifting cast of government ministers, civil servants and industrialists with their own financial, political and military agendas brought further dynamics into play. The RAF's readiness for war was crucial to Britain's ability to respond to Nazi aggression before war broke out and when it did, the RAF's rearmament was put to the acid test of battle. Adrian Phillips uses the penetrating grasp of how top level decisions are made that he honed in his inside accounts of the abdication crisis and appeasement, to dissect the process which shaped the RAF of 1940. He looks beyond the familiar legends of the Battle of Britain and explores in depth the successes and failures of a vital element in British preparations for war.
Download or read book The Right of the Line written by John Terraine and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2010-04-06 with total page 861 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditionally, the right of the line is the vanguard, the place of honour and greatest danger in battle. In this history of the Royal Air Force during the European War of 1939-45, John Terraine shows how the RAF, which in 1939 was small and inadequate for the task it was called upon to perform had, by the end of the war, taken up its proper position. He describes the build-up to war, the early tests in France and at Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, the RAF in North Africa and the Mediterranean, the strategic air offensive over Germany and eventual victory in Europe.His best book yet The TimesJohn Terraine is a fine historian but he also believes that history should be exciting and readable The Listener
Download or read book Victory to Defeat written by Richard Dannatt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-09-14 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling history of the decline of an army from the triumph of victory in 1918 to defeat in 1940 and why this happened. A salutary warning for modern Britain. The British Army won a convincing series of victories between 1916 and 1918. But by 1939 the British Army was an entirely different animal. The hard-won knowledge, experience and strategic vision that delivered victory after victory in the closing stages of the First World War had been lost. In the inter-war years there was plenty of talking, but very little focus on who Britain might have to fight, and how. Victory to Defeat clearly illustrates how the British Army wasn't prepared to fight a first-class European Army in 1939 for the simple reason that as a country Britain hadn't prepared itself to do so. The failure of the army's leadership led directly to its abysmal performance in Norway and France in 1940. Victory to Defeat is a captivating history of the mismanagement of a war-winning army. It is also a stark warning that we neglect to understand who our enemy might be, and how to defeat him, at the peril of our country. The British Army is now to be cut to its smallest size since 1714. Are we, this book asks, repeating the same mistakes again?
Download or read book Air Force Blue The RAF in World War Two Spearhead of Victory written by Patrick Bishop and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2018 the RAF is one hundred years old. In his new book, destined to be a classic, Patrick Bishop examines the high point of its existence – the Second World War, when the Air Force saved the nation from defeat then led the advance to victory. A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Download or read book RAF Handbook 1939 1945 written by David Wragg and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2007-01-18 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It opens with a brief history of the service, followed by a chapter that reviews its situation on the outbreak of war. The chapters that follow look at the structure of the RAF, from the Air Ministry and Chief of the Air Staff down to squadron level, to include each of the Commands, including Transport Command (a creation of the war years). The main aircraft types used are listed, as well as a full listing of squadrons and airfields in the British Isles. The training of personnel, and such matters as uniforms, rank insignia, medals and life on a typical airfield, are also covered. The main battles or campaigns in which the service was involved are also described.
Download or read book Rearming the French written by Marcel Vigneras and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reemergence of French national forces in the war against the Axis Powers, and the role of large-scale American aid.
Download or read book RAF Bomber Command in World War II written by Denis Richards and published by Penguin Group. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Churchill acknowledged the vital contribution of RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War, it has recently come under fire from a whole generation of historians. They claim that the RAF offensive against Germany was immoral because so many civilians were killed, and wasteful because so many attacks were not on specific military targets. In this powerful book Denis Richards describes the Command's difficulties and failures, but also redresses the balance by making clear the magnitude of its achievements. His fascinating account dramatically re-creates the gruesome and protracted battle fought for almost five and half years in the night skies, in which over half the aircrew became casualties. Truly, it was 'the Hardest Victory'. Book jacket.
Download or read book The Bombers written by Norman Longmate and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The RAF s French Foreign Legion written by G H Bennett and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the relationship between the Royal Air Force and the French Fighter pilots who flew for the RAF during WWII.
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Men and planes written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book No 7 Bomber Squadron RAF in World War II written by Tom Docherty and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of one of the RAF's oldest and most distinguished heavy bomber squadrons in WW2, although an outline history of the unit since it was formed in WW1 and its post-war history are included. It was the first operational Stirling Squadron, the RAF's first four engine heavy bomber, and flew the first long-distance raids into the heart of Nazi Germany. This new aircraft was a break-through in terms of range and bomb load but it was also an aircraft that suffered from many teething problems. Long-distance navigation was also a black art before the introduction of radio navigation systems and the squadron suffered many fatalities in those early wartime years. Having gained expertise in their task the unit was the first to be equipped with the H2S navigational aid and eventually became one of the original elite Pathfinder squadrons. When the Lancaster came into service the Squadron re-equipped and joined 8 Group and had the dubious reputation of suffering the third greatest loss of aircraft in Bomber Command. It did however participate in more Lancaster raids than any other 8 Group squadron.
Download or read book The Second World War in Europe written by S.P. Mackenzie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an updated edition of the first truly concise introduction to the history of World War II in the West. The author, S. P. MacKenzie traces the major events on both fighting front and home front, explaining what happened and, just as importantly, why the balance of fortunes swung first towards the Axis and then towards the Allies. Along with overviews of the origins and consequences of the conflict, the book: Provides a narrative account of the course of events on land throughout the war Contains sections specifically devoted to societies and economies; resistance movements and collaboration; technology and intelligence; alliances and strategy; the war in the air and at sea Assesses the impact of the war and introduces the key historiographical debates surrounding it Far from being a blow-by-blow account, the book shows how the Second World War can only be understood by taking all the contributing factors - military, economic and social among others - into account. In addition to the existing wealth of useful supplementary material, this edition has been updated to include a colour illustration section and, for readers interested in learning more, a detailed narrative guide to published historical literature. Admirably succinct yet academically rich, this is the essential introduction to the Second World War in the West.
Download or read book British World Policy and the Projection of Global Power c 1830 1960 written by T. G. Otte and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-09-26 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reshapes the discourse surrounding the nature of British global power in this crucial period of transformation in international politics.
Download or read book The Hardest Victory written by Denis Richards and published by . This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The work of the RAF offensive against the Germans in the Second World War is described : difficulties and failures, claims of wasteful and immoral attacks, policies and personalities, organization, Intelligence, and technical developments as well as the magnitude of the Bomber Command's achievement. Stressing the great contribution made by Dominion and Allied air crews and the essential interdependence of the British and American air operations, and drawing on correspondence with some 200 surviving aircrew and groundcrew, the author offers fresh insights into the human element in the long and bloody business of bombing Britain's enemies.
Download or read book United States Army in World War II written by United States. Military History, Office of the Chief of and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Development of British Tactical Air Power 1940 1943 written by Matthew Powell and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-10 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 the RAF and Army on this contentious issue in Britain. Much is known about the RAF both in the years preceding and during the Second World War, particularly the exploits of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands, yet the existence of the RAF’s Army Co-operation Command is little-known. Through extensive archival research, Matthew Powell maps the creation and work of the RAF’s Army Co-operation Command through an analysis of tactical air power developments during the First World War and inter-war periods, highlighting the debates and arguments that took place between the Air Ministry and the War Office.
