Fledgling Eagle - The Politics of Air Power

From the days of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, military and political opinion was divided as to the role of aeroplanes in warfare. Politics, vested interests and personal antipathies, all played a part in defining the development and structure of the newly formed RAF. Had Trenchard's strategy for the conduct of air warfare expounded in the 1920's prevailed, it is likely that, due to attrition, Bomber Command would have ceased to exist by 1940. Furthermore, deprived of aircraft and pilots generated at the eleventh hour by the interventions or Sir Thomas Inkskip, in the fight against the Luftwaffe Fight Command's resources would have been exhausted by 1940. Indeed, there may have been no Battle of Britain and no finest hour. The history of the Western world would have been very different.