RAF High Command in the Second World War – A New Perspective

Abstract

This was intended to be the first in a series of three articles examining the development of the RAF High Command during the Second World War; unfortunately, due to illness only the first article was completed. Reproduced here the article covers the period from 1932 until the outbreak of war in 1939, shedding new light on the re-organisations of the Air Ministry in 1934, the RAF Command structure in 1936, and the tri-service debate in 1937 concerning the RAF proposal to establish a Supreme Air Commander. It challenges the established historiography casting a different perspective on RAF reforms, and as such offers a fresh starting point for analysing the RAF’s High Command structure and organisation as the Second World War approached. The subsequent two articles were intended to assess the development of RAF High Command practice as the war unfolded and operational challenges were met. Nonetheless, as is characteristic of the author it presents a challenging contribution to the history of the RAF as wartime approached.