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Richard Overy
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RAF: The Birth of the World's First Air Force Kindle Edition

by Richard Overy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 52 ratings
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“Packed with drama, both military and political.… It will surely prove definitive.” —Lewis Jones, Daily Telegraph


This compact, masterful work by an outstanding historian marks a pivotal moment in military history: the birth of Britain’s Royal Air Force. Writing with great clarity, Richard Overy shows how the RAF emerged from the deadly stalemate of trench warfare during World War I. With German bombers attacking British cities by 1917, Prime Minister David Lloyd George and his minister of munitions, Winston Churchill, navigated the organizational breakthrough that made the RAF an independent force in spring 1918. The RAF would prove highly influential in the development of air power around the world.

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  1. Print length
    147 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    May 15, 2018
  6. File size
    18538 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Concise but fascinating.… Overy is excellent on many of the details of the early RAF."
― Leo McKinstry, Literary Review

"Air power [became] the key factor in 20th-century warfare. Overy’s book gives a brilliantly lucid account of how that process began."
― Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

"Important."
― Paul Kennedy, Wall Street Journal

"A vivid narrative."
― Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education

About the Author

Richard Overy is one of Britain's most distinguished historians. His major works include The Bombing War, Interrogations and The Dictators.

Richard Overy is one of Britain's most distinguished historians. His major works include The Bombing War, Interrogations and The Dictators.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B076MFCSYN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (May 15, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 15, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 18538 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 147 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0393652297
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

About the author

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Richard Overy

Richard Overy

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
52 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Robert P. Neuman is a retired college professor and management consultant
5.0 out of 5 stars They "would probably squeal before we did."
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
In the late 1930s Britain's Royal Air Force had, as it chief raison d'etre, the bombing of enemy civilians. The long-time leader of the RAF in the 1920s, Hugh Trenchard, championed the offensive bomber force over defensive forces. Shocked by the casualties of the First World War, Trenchard and civilian leaders like Winston Churchill hoped to shorten future conflicts by bombing population centers until the enemy civilians demanded an end to war; in short, a surrender. This bombing strategy was based on the scanty bombing experience in the First War, bombing in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan in the early 1920s, and Trenchard's need to develop a unique air force strategy against the attempts of the Royal Army and Navy to absorb the infant RAF. And what if the enemy pursued a similar strategy against the British population? Trenchard wrote in 1923 that the enemy civilians "would probably squeal before we did." Given Churchill's early support for the RAF, it is surprising that he wrote in 1917 that "nothing we have learned of the capacity of the German population to endure suffering justifies us in assuming that they could be cowed into submission by [bombing raids] or indeed that they would not be rendered more desperately resolved by them." Nevertheless, RAF Bomber Command was to receive the larger portion of meager defense spending right down to 1939, one of the reasons why there were "so few" fighter planes to defend Britain in 1940. Not until 1944 could the RAF and American air forces apply the kind of destruction that Trenchard predicted in the early years of the RAF. Overy's excellent book adds to his luster as the premier historian of air warfare in Britain today.
One person found this helpful
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Fred M Selensky
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2018
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Very detailed about actions by all involved in starting the RAF.
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Ch
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring--not really on the subject
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
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This book was more about British politics than the birth of the RAF. It was boring!
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Top reviews from other countries

Richard Catlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and deeply credible
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2020
Verified Purchase
Lost in the aftermath of the great War the establishment of the RAF was mystifying. Here you have the story complete with the role of the politicians, the sometimes bone headed and stubborn objections from the War Office and the Admiralty and the sheer happenchance of history. One of the key players (Trenchard) acts more like a prima donna and changes his mind repeatedly only to emerge down the line as the Founder of the RAF. In the weave and weft of this history there is the fundamental issue of "what is the RAF for" - and it is better explained in this book than I have seen elsewhere. Richard Overy takes us through this historical fog from 100 years ago masterfully.
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Wiltshirebob
4.0 out of 5 stars Very well researched as you would expect from this fine author. Sets out the complex political and operational ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2018
Verified Purchase
Very well researched as you would expect from this fine author. Sets out the complex political and operational backgrounds to the formation of the RAF both during and after the first world war in some detail. Fascinating and astounding in many ways to learn about the manoeuvres of the other services to the setting up of the independent RAF. Loses one star because of the poor proof reading and thus at times the need to re-read to understand the full context and meaning
2 people found this helpful
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graemebg
5.0 out of 5 stars The Birth of the RAF
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have always been an aviation aficionado, my Godfather Martin Hearn owned his own company repairing DH Mosquito's during WW2 and before that he was a Wing Walker in Sir Alan Cobhams air circus. My father worked for him, procuring materials to keep the repairs going and I joint the ATC as a 12 year old, but he was against my idea because of the high risk of aircraft safety and so many of his friends who died pioneering flight. It didn't stop me gliding at 15 and joining 10AEF Southport as a staff cadet, I got a recommendation from the then chief instructor of 111 Sqn to apply for flying, father would not have it. I waited for national service call up and months later it was abolished. A bit more gliding and as I matured, Micro-lighting, but my partner soon put paid to that. It is great to look back and dream what might have been. The Book has revived all that.
2 people found this helpful
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Geoff S
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating account of the transition from the Royal Flying ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
A fascinating account of the transition from the Royal Flying Corps to the RAF and of the political infighting involved in producing a new service independent of the army and navy
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MR M.
4.0 out of 5 stars Politics - not much about the aircraft.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
Undoubtedly a valuable record of the politics between the services and the government. The wrangles go on and on. It is amazing the RAF was ever formed such was the opposition to it being a separate service. I was hoping for more on the planes and actions. What there is, is good, I found it surprising the level of aerial bombing that went on in the first World War and the sheer quantities of planes in action. A short book but very concise.
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