The book describes how Hugh Trenchard, a man with limited leadership skills, became a popular and inspiring commander who laid the foundations for the British Air Force on the Western Front during the First World War and created the conditions for the establishment of the world's first independent air force, the Royal Air Force. Author Peter Dye examines how friendship can overcome significant personal and character flaws and how Trenchard achieved great things by putting together the right leadership team. The book also examines how the development of air force doctrine in the First World War was as much a matter of chance as it was of careful planning, and how air superiority could only be achieved through sustained effort supported by an effective and responsive logistics system. Finally, it explains how the ethos of the post-war air force was built on these experiences and the joint efforts of all those involved in the air war.
Group
Books (first-hand)
Author
Dye, Peter
Title
The Birth of British Air Power
Details
English text, 22 bw-illustrations. 300 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Hugh Trenchard, the First World War, and the RAF
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Church Street 47 S70 2AS South Yorkshire Vereinigtes Königreich