The failures of armies, navies, and even entire nations have been well documented by historians. Air forces, however, have received little attention. Why Air Forces Fail examines several air forces that have suffered defeat and explains the complex, often deep-seated foundations for these catastrophes.
The contributors to Why Air Forces Fail consider cases of Russian, Polish, French, British, Italian, German, Argentine, and U.S. air force defeats, looking beyond purely military factors to explore the cultural, political, and technical causes of failure. The book includes both overviews and analytical narratives that examine more than the aerial battlefield, and each case concludes with reading lists and suggestions for further research. Why Air Forces Fail is a much-needed and long-overdue addition to military and aeronautical history.
Author(s): Robin Higham, Stephen J. Harris
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Year: 2006
Language: English
Commentary: 56760
Pages: 391
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgments......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
1. Poland’s Military Aviation, September 1939......Page 22
2. L’Armée de l’Air, 1933–1940......Page 50
3. The Arab Air Forces......Page 80
4. Defeat of the German and AustroHungarian Air Forces in the Great War, 1909–1918......Page 108
5. Downfall of the Regia Aeronautica, 1933–1943......Page 144
6. The Imperial Japanese Air Forces......Page 186
7. Defeat of the Luftwaffe, 1935–1945......Page 212
8. The Argentine Air Force versus Britain in the Falkland Islands, 1982......Page 236
9. From Disaster to Recovery......Page 270
10. The United States in the Pacific......Page 296
11. Defeats of the Royal Air Force......Page 324
Conclusion......Page 350
Contributors......Page 366
Index......Page 370
