Just Finished Reading: Wings – The RAF at War 1912-2012 by Patrick Bishop (FP: 2012)

It seems to be written into our DNA that whenever a new technology is developed we either use it to race against others, use it as a weapon or to get someone into bed. The invention of the aircraft turned out to be useful in all three areas of human endeavour. But here the author concentrates on its adoption, adaptation and perfection by the RAF over the last century.

Shortly after its invention it became clear both to the Army and Navy that aircraft could extend the reach of commander’s eyes ‘over the horizon’ and help to dissipate the ever present fog of war. Not only did the first flight across the English Channel (especially as the plane came from France TO the British mainland) concentrate minds wonderfully, at least after the initial panic, but early tests of aircraft dedicated to the requirements of reconnaissance previously the role of the ground based cavalry proved them to be far superior to horses in the mud. With these ideas in mind and little doctrine to work on initially the newly formed Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and its naval equivalent the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) stepped up for action in WW1. Quickly proving their worth by spotting enemy units and averting potential disaster they moved from an interesting and novel toy to a vital element in war planning. Their ability to fly over enemy positions and accurately map their trenches, correct fall of shot and, if possible, attack targets of opportunity became an early defining role for this new weapon. Of course the enemy had them too which led to the inevitable development of the fighter and the rise of the iconic air ‘aces’ still famous to this day. Less glamourous but with even heavier portents for the future was the development of large bombers and the beginnings of the belief that ‘the bomber would always get through’ with resulting devastation and panic on a previously unimaginable scale.

A mere 20 years after the RFC and RNAS amalgamated in 1918 to create the Royal Air Force (RAF) everything so patiently and expensively learnt in WW1 was put to good use. Often criticised for being short sighted and adverse to innovation the RAF (through the Air Ministry) already had in place two of the most iconic fighter aircraft in the world – The Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire (apparently no one knows exactly where the name Spitfire originated. Its designer apparently called it a ‘bloody stupid name’). So when Hitler decided to knock us out of the war he very soon discovered that he had a real fight on his hands. In the defining Battle of Britain that followed the Germans, for the first time in WW2 failed in their objective and arguably sealed their fate from that point on. With the new Lancaster bombers eventually coming on line replacing older and obsolete models and with American aid pouring across the Atlantic it was only a matter of time before the Axis where eventually defeated. With the development of jets in the closing months of the war and the independent development of the atomic bomb soon after Britain developed the V Force to project our nuclear deterrent wherever it was needed. Later still the revamped Fleet Air Arm (freed from the RAF just before the start of WW2) showed its metal and teeth in the short and sharp Falklands Conflict in the 1980’s.

It’s quite a story and is told here with some passion and with plenty of little details that were unfamiliar even to someone who has read a great deal on the subject. Being told very much from a war perspective the author concentrates on combat so seems to leap across the decades missing out huge chunks of RAF history. Such a book would be much larger than this 369 page volume. No doubt there are books available in numbers for those who want to delve into the years of non-combat flying. A useful and sometimes fascinating look at the development of a modern weapon and the men who fought with it. Recommended to all 20th century military history buffs.

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