The Birth of British Airpower describes how Hugh Trenchard, a man with few leadership skills, became a much-loved and inspirational commander who laid the foundation for British airpower on the Western Front in World War I and created the preconditions for the establishment of the world’s first independent air service, the Royal Air Force. Author Peter Dye explores how friendship can overcome significant personal and character deficiencies and how, by assembling the right senior l...

This is the first biography of Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, a key figure in the early development of airpower, whose significant and varied achievements have been overlooked because of his subsequent involvement in the fall of Singapore. It highlights Brooke-Popham’s role in developing the first modern military logistic system, the creation of the Royal Air Force Staff College and the organizational arrangements that underpinned Fighter Command’s success in the Battle of Britain. Peter Dye ch...

In the latest addition to the History of Military Aviation series, Peter Dye describes how the development of the air weapon on the Western Front during World War I required a radical and unprecedented change in the way that national resources were employed to exploit a technological opportunity. World War I has long been recognized as an industrial war that consumed vast amounts of materiel and where logistical superiority gave the Allies an overwhelming advantage. The Bridge to Air P...

A short, brilliant account of the birth of the RAF for the centenary of its foundingThe dizzying pace of technological change in the early 20th century meant that it took only a little over ten years from the first flight by the Wright Brothers to the clash of fighter planes in the Great War. A period of terrible, rapid experiment followed to gain a brief technological edge. By the end of the war the British had lost an extraordinary 36,000 aircraft and 16,600 airm...

A long-overdue biography of the dedicated commander from New Zealand who helped ward off the Luftwaffe and save Britain from a Nazi invasion.The Battle of Britain from July to September 1940 is one of the finest moments in Britain's history. While credit rightly goes to "The Few," victory could never have happened without the inspirational command and leadership of New Zealander Keith Park.He and Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding ensured that Fighter Command...

"Everyone knows about the Home Guard but what about the other Secret Intelligence Services (SIS and M16)? You can read about them in [this book]." — This EnglandWhen Winston Churchill made his "we shall never surrender" speech in 1940, he was speaking in the knowledge that Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was planning a civilian British resistance movement to mobilize after the country had been occupied. Britain's planning for clandestine warfare deve...

"A fascinating examination of one of the best-known British forces of the Second World War . . . An efficient and increasingly professional military unit." — History of WarWhat was the Home Guard? Who were the men and women who served in it? And what can be said of their real role and significance once the popular myths have been stripped away?Despite the fame of the Home Guard—of Dad's Army—the true story of this wartime organization tends...

An extensive biography of the life and distinguished military career of the Scottish air chief marshal.Making full use of archival sources, studies by other scholars, and information provided by family members, Vincent Orange has completed the first biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding to cover his entire life.Soldier, pilot, wireless pioneer, squadron commander, spiritualist, champion skier, "Stuffy" Dowding is perhaps best known as the creator of...

'Superbly written and gripping' Daily ExpressThe thrilling true account of Hitler's first defeat.In the summer of 1940, the Nazi war machine was at its zenith. France, Denmark, Norway and the Low Countries were all under occupation after a series of lightning military campaigns. Only Britain stood in the way of the complete triumph of Nazi tyranny. But for the first time in the war, Hitler did not prevail.The traditional na...

“[With Wings Like Eagles is] bold and refreshing… Korda writes with great elegance and flair.”—Wall Street JournalFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Ike and Horse People, Michael Korda, comes With Wings Like Eagles, the harrowing story of The Battle of Britain, one of the most important battles of World War II. In the words of the Washington Post Book World, “With Wings Like Eagles is a skillful, absorbing, often moving contribution to the popular understanding of one of...

This "immaculately researched and compellingly written" WWII history sheds new light on Britain's critical victory against Nazi invasion ( The New Criterion).In the summer of 1940, the Nazi war machine was at its zenith. France, Denmark, Norway, and the Low Countries were all under occupation. Only Britain stood in the way of the complete triumph, and Hitler planned a two-pronged offensive?a blistering aerial bombardment followed by a land invasion?to subdu...

This fascinating historical revelation goes to the very heart of British and Allied Intelligence during World War II, specifically in the context of planning, control and implementation of the combined bomber offensive against Germany. There are sound arguments based on official archives that the handling of much air intelligence was faulty and reasons to believe that some departments within Whitehall were influenced by parochial and personal attitudes that interfered with the selection of...