Overview
The Battle for Britain is a provocative reinterpretation of both British air and naval power from 1909 to 1940. Anthony Cumming challenges the view that the Battle of Britain was a decisive victory won solely by the Royal Air Force through independent airpower operations. By re-evaluating the early stage of the Mediterranean conflict and giving special emphasis to naval battles such as Calabria and Taranto, Cumming argues that the Royal Navy played an equally important role in defeating Hitler's early advances, buying critical time until the Americans could make a decisive contribution. His argument holds that the RAF's role as an independent arm has been exaggerated and that contemporary strategists can learn from investing too much confidence in independent airpower.
Full Product Details
Author: Anthony J. Cumming
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Imprint: Naval Institute Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.90cm
, Height: 2.80cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.560kg
ISBN: 9781612518343
ISBN 10: 1612518346
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 02 July 2015
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
Anthony J. Cumming's book examines the rise of airpower in the inter-war period and the competition for resources between the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. This vital passage of history has been subject to much myth making, especially by the champions of airpower. Cumming dispels the myths, and challenges the accepted views, in a provocative and challenging analysis. This is a good book, and an important one. --G. H. BENNETT, professor of history, Plymouth University
Cumming has laid down a powerful challenge to the orthodox narrative of British air power in the early years of World War Two. By tracing the politics, the inter-service maneuvering and propaganda which accompanied the transition of the Royal Air Force from its origins in a crisis during 1917 to being lauded as the savior of the nation in 1940, Cumming exposes both the hysteria of public perceptions and the distortions it created in defense policy--the ramifications of which are still being felt today. --RICHARD HARDING, editor of The Royal Navy, 1939-2000: Innovation and Defence
Author Information
Following a career in the British civil service, Anthony J. Cumming earned his PhD in history at the University of Plymouth and won the University of London's Julian Corbett Prize for Research in Modern Naval History. He is the author of The Royal Navy and the Battle of Britain and lives in Devon, United Kingdom with his wife and pet greyhound.
