RAF ON THE OFFENSIVE

'As it became clear that Bomber Command was achieving far less than even the most pessimistic had imagined, it seemed time to rethink Britain's war strategy. Success in Africa had demonstrated that Allied armies were also capable of rapid advances. With the Soviet Union fighting alongside Britain there was no longer any need to rely on the bomber. With Bomber Command achieving little and tactical airpower helping to win battles in the Western Desert it was very difficult to see a way forward for the bomber strategy.' When Hitler launched the Blitzkrieg upon France and the Low Countries in 1940, and the much-vaunted French Army and the British Expeditionary Force were swept away in just six weeks, this new form of warfare shook the Air Ministry. But the expected invasion never came, and the Battle of Britain was fought in the air. Bombing Germany into defeat seemed Britain's only option. In North Africa however, Commonwealth armies and air forces were demonstrating that they too could use Blitzkrieg tactics to crush opponents. Britain was no longer alone - Greece and then the Soviet Union joined the fight. The book describes how British air power developed and how attitudes were beginning to change - the fighter rather than the bomber was re-emerging as the principal means of gaining air superiority. Chapters include Discord in the Ranks, The War Office Strikes Back, Butt Bombshell and Air Strategy at the Crossroads. Appendices cover UK Production and Imports 1940 and 1941 and Aircraft Arriving in the Middle East by All Routes 1941 and Air Craft Performance. Photos, maps and diagrams, 304pp.