REVIEW - Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies

old NATO hands will recognise the
reputation that the British enjoy for
a sometimes unwarranted degree of
arrogance. Mr Peszke also dispels
some of the myths of 1940, notably
that Poles acted on their own
individual initiative to volunteer
for the RAF. As he makes clear,
the division of the remnants of the
Polish Air Force between France and
Britain was a conscious decision,
taken and implemented after careful
consideration by the Polish leadership
of the day.
Our final paper takes the form of
what we hope will become a regular
feature, Group Captain Carl Scott’s
‘Letter from America’. This is a tour
d’horizon of the latest thinking from
the country that remains our most
important ally and the dominant
global air power. His provocative and
insightful piece provides comment
on American attitudes to themes as
diverse but relevant as airpower in
counter-insurgencies, cyber operations
and ‘zombie wars’.
To conclude this edition, Air
Commodore Julian Stinton offers
a challenging viewpoint on joint
operations. Delivered in inimitable
style, his thinking, in particular on
task-organised air-land teams as an
antidote to a doctrinaire approach
based on centralised Air Command
and Control, strikes a chord with
several recent articles published in
this journal.
In the historic book review section,
Air Commodore Neville Parton
takes a detailed look at Alexander
Seversky’s Victory Through Air Power.
As he notes, this is the only book on
air power to achieve best-seller status
and to be turned into a Disney film!
However, there are other reasons to
consider it in depth, and Seversky’s
principles of air power provide a
useful yardstick against which to
judge current doctrine.
Over the past few issues I have been
keen to encourage dialogue and
debate through the medium of
the letters section. It is gratifying,
therefore, to be able to publish
4 letters in this edition. I would
encourage all readers to consider
joining the growing band of those who
have shared their views and opinions
already.
D Def S (RAF)