Rearming the RAF for the Second World War

Poor Strategy and Miscalculation

By: Adrian Phillips

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Hardcover | 30 June 2022

At a Glance

Hardcover
368 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
16.6 x 24.2 x 3.8

Hardcover

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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.

About the Author

Adrian Phillips spent twenty-five years as an investment analyst with a particular interest in the political background to financial markets. He has a post-graduate degree in history, focused on the development of the top level machinery of government in 1930s Britain.

Industry Reviews

"...a valuable contribution to the historiography of World War II and the challenges of rearmament during the interwar period. Phillips' analysis is rigorous and well-supported, and his insights are likely to be of interest to scholars and general readers alike."-- "History: Reviews of New Books"
"...looks at the methodologies - or lack of them - that led to the force-structure requirements and threat projections that set the direction of RAF rearmament, as expressed in these modernization plans, in the critical prewar years."-- "The NYMAS Review"
"This is a book for anyone with an interest in the history of the RAF and the Second World War."-- "Journal of Military History"
"...the chapters analysing the relationship between the wider government and the Air Ministry are the most engaging. They provide a real depth of understanding of the dynamics at play between the two."-- "From Balloons to Drones"
"...highly recommended to those interested in the how personalities affect doctrine and technology."-- "Air & Space Power History"

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