REVIEW - Air Power Studies

Foreword
This edition of Air Power Review
covers a wide and eclectic range of
topics, but all – even the apparently
historical essays - are linked by their
relevance to the current development
of air power. For example, while
Franco-British co-operation in the
air is almost as old as aviation itself,
recent initiatives to renew these
links, particularly in the sharing of
doctrinal and conceptual thinking,
are very pertinent, given France’s
aspiration to return to NATO as a full
military partner. In this context,
Peter Dye’s opening essay is
particularly relevant in reminding us
how critical the French contribution
was to the development of British
military aviation, an influence now
largely forgotten. He examines the
political, social and military aspects
of the relationship between Britain
and France to demonstrate how
Trenchard’s vision for an independent
air force and the enduring doctrine
and ethos of the RAF were shaped
by this interaction. As always with
effective examples of co-operation,
personalities were all-importantand
the relationship between Trenchard
and his French counterpart,
Commandant Paul du Peuty, was key.
Similarly, the recent focus on airland
integration has tended to force
the relationship between the air
and maritime components into the
background. John Abbateilo’s essay
on the work of the Royal Naval Air
Service and Royal Air Force in antisubmarine
warfare in the First World
War is, therefore, a timely reminder
that the joint campaign may be airmaritime
as well as air-land. He
examines three categories of antisubmarine
mission to argue that
although bombing and patrolling
contributed to the failure of the
unrestricted U-boat campaign,
convoys served as the ultimate
antidote and their effectiveness
was hugely enhanced by aviation.
Abbateilo challenges some aspects
of the accepted historical record
and concludes that command and
organizational constraints were the
root cause of the inconsistencies
that were so apparent in the
employment of aircraft in the
maritime environment.
Brian Armstrong also challenges
received wisdom in a fascinating
study of the impact of the Spanish
Civil War on British air power
thinking. Although the RAF is
generally perceived to have ignored
the lessons of the Spanish Civil War,
he uses detailed primary research to
demonstrate that rigorous analysis
was, in fact, conducted through the
work of two special joint air war
intelligence committees, and charts
the influence of their findings on the
RAF’s leadership as critical decisions
were made in the late thirties about