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The Birth of the RAF, 1918
The dizzying pace of technological change in the early 20th century meant that it took only a little over ten years from the first flight by the Wright Brothers to the clash of fighter planes in the Great War. A period of terrible, rapid experiment followed to gain a brief technological edge. By the end of the war the British had lost an extraordinary 36,000 aircraft and 16,600 airmen.
The RAF was created in 1918 as a revolutionary response to this new form of warfare - a highly contentious decision (resisted fiercely by both the army and navy, who had until then controlled all aircraft) but one which had the most profound impact, for good and ill, on the future of warfare.
Richard Overy's superb new book shows how this happened, against the backdrop of the first bombing raids against London and the constant emergency of the Western Front. The RAF's origins were as much political as military and throughout the 1920s still provoked bitter criticism.
Published to mark the centenary of its founding this is an invaluable book, filled with new and surprising material on this unique organization.
The RAF was created in 1918 as a revolutionary response to this new form of warfare - a highly contentious decision (resisted fiercely by both the army and navy, who had until then controlled all aircraft) but one which had the most profound impact, for good and ill, on the future of warfare.
Richard Overy's superb new book shows how this happened, against the backdrop of the first bombing raids against London and the constant emergency of the Western Front. The RAF's origins were as much political as military and throughout the 1920s still provoked bitter criticism.
Published to mark the centenary of its founding this is an invaluable book, filled with new and surprising material on this unique organization.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2018
About the author
Richard Overy
156 books366 followersRichard James Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich.
Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.
His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[
Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.
His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 13, 2021
Read in a weekend.
Very interesting and with plenty to looking further.
Very interesting and with plenty to looking further.
October 9, 2019
This is a short book, only 114 pages of text plus notes and index. It attracted me as an ex RAF regular but left me wondering what could have been. Written by an eminent history professor it nevertheless came over as more a primer than a definitive work on the founding of the service. It did convey the age old problems of infighting and taking for ever to finally make a decision and then remaining unsure and how it might all change again. A bit like Brexit really.
Interesting enough but nothing much that is not already known.
Interesting enough but nothing much that is not already known.
May 31, 2026
I have finished reading "The Birth of the RAF, 1918" by Richard Overy.
"Through Adversity To The Stars"
Royal Air Force motto
Few books I have read are as concise as this one. Sometimes events in history are not linear or follow any neat progression. Heroes and deciders in history all too.oftem are shown as consistent and.confident.
The Royal Air Force, the first independent national air service in the world, was created in a fit of political panic by politicians afraid of the public's fear and outrage over the first blitz to hit the UK. From it's birth onwards, the RAF has had to fight to survive and build it's own identity.
The Royal Air Force was born with a vague mission to defend the skies of the UK, latterly the empire too, and build up a strategic bomber capability strong enough to knock another nation out of a war. But the RAF, right from the start waa faced with two of it's most formidable enemies; the Royal Navy and British Army.
Both services were determined to terminate the RAF at birth. The Royal Navy wanted it's share of air power for Naval Aviation purposes. The British Army wanted tactical air support, recon and artillery observers. Both services were unwilling to countenance negotiation with the "upstart" RAF. They saw the vagueness in it's mission and charged at it like sharks sensing blood in water.
Unusually, but refreshingly it was the politicians who took it upon themselves, in this story to act like grown ups. Many individual interventions and commissions tried at first to negotiate with the feuding military services. When that failed they bluntly overruled the elder services to give the RAF the space it needed to grow and develop. Winston Churchill, once a doubter, became one of.the RAF's most consistent defenders.
Why did the Navy and Army act this way? Because they were stuck believing the own myths and traditions of their respective services. But the author points out the leaders of the RAF were just as guilty.as this and could not see through the contradictions of their own military ideas.
The RAF leadership between the wars held on to the conviction that a strong enough strategic bomber force could either deter an opponent or knock one out of a conflict with one blow. However, this world view was not interested in developing a strong fighter defence. Why? Because they complacently believed it wasnt necessary because investing more in their own bombers would maximise the knock out blow, making a defence less relevant. It seem
The politicians saw things differently, and only in the 1930s was RAF defensive infrastructure increased and the famous Dowding System was given real teeth. It could be said therefore that the Battle of Britain was therefore as much of a political victory as a military one.
The author over emphasised how much the RAF got wrong about betting on strategic bombing. During World War 2 it was heavily costly in the lives of air crew (and of course civilians in the countries being bombed). But recent reading I have done points out that while it didnt win the war, strategic bombing definitely made a valuable contribution to it.
This is an intriguing episode of history that I was interested to read. It is definitely a cautionary tale in interservice rivalry, which has all too often denied many victories and led to disgraceful and wasteful losses of life. The political men (and it is men in this era) come off as more reasonable than military men, but mainly because the latter are so stubborn and uncooperative.
Sometimes the political and military bureacratic infighting can seem petty and not necessarily that gripping to read. But this story is important because of what it says about the evolution of war, interservice rivalry and the ongoing saga of how the politcal and military worlds interact and negotiate to create outcomes.
This book reminds us that not everyone or everything is created with a purpose. But sometimes we are able find purposes that are special.
"Through Adversity To The Stars"
Royal Air Force motto
Few books I have read are as concise as this one. Sometimes events in history are not linear or follow any neat progression. Heroes and deciders in history all too.oftem are shown as consistent and.confident.
The Royal Air Force, the first independent national air service in the world, was created in a fit of political panic by politicians afraid of the public's fear and outrage over the first blitz to hit the UK. From it's birth onwards, the RAF has had to fight to survive and build it's own identity.
The Royal Air Force was born with a vague mission to defend the skies of the UK, latterly the empire too, and build up a strategic bomber capability strong enough to knock another nation out of a war. But the RAF, right from the start waa faced with two of it's most formidable enemies; the Royal Navy and British Army.
Both services were determined to terminate the RAF at birth. The Royal Navy wanted it's share of air power for Naval Aviation purposes. The British Army wanted tactical air support, recon and artillery observers. Both services were unwilling to countenance negotiation with the "upstart" RAF. They saw the vagueness in it's mission and charged at it like sharks sensing blood in water.
Unusually, but refreshingly it was the politicians who took it upon themselves, in this story to act like grown ups. Many individual interventions and commissions tried at first to negotiate with the feuding military services. When that failed they bluntly overruled the elder services to give the RAF the space it needed to grow and develop. Winston Churchill, once a doubter, became one of.the RAF's most consistent defenders.
Why did the Navy and Army act this way? Because they were stuck believing the own myths and traditions of their respective services. But the author points out the leaders of the RAF were just as guilty.as this and could not see through the contradictions of their own military ideas.
The RAF leadership between the wars held on to the conviction that a strong enough strategic bomber force could either deter an opponent or knock one out of a conflict with one blow. However, this world view was not interested in developing a strong fighter defence. Why? Because they complacently believed it wasnt necessary because investing more in their own bombers would maximise the knock out blow, making a defence less relevant. It seem
The politicians saw things differently, and only in the 1930s was RAF defensive infrastructure increased and the famous Dowding System was given real teeth. It could be said therefore that the Battle of Britain was therefore as much of a political victory as a military one.
The author over emphasised how much the RAF got wrong about betting on strategic bombing. During World War 2 it was heavily costly in the lives of air crew (and of course civilians in the countries being bombed). But recent reading I have done points out that while it didnt win the war, strategic bombing definitely made a valuable contribution to it.
This is an intriguing episode of history that I was interested to read. It is definitely a cautionary tale in interservice rivalry, which has all too often denied many victories and led to disgraceful and wasteful losses of life. The political men (and it is men in this era) come off as more reasonable than military men, but mainly because the latter are so stubborn and uncooperative.
Sometimes the political and military bureacratic infighting can seem petty and not necessarily that gripping to read. But this story is important because of what it says about the evolution of war, interservice rivalry and the ongoing saga of how the politcal and military worlds interact and negotiate to create outcomes.
This book reminds us that not everyone or everything is created with a purpose. But sometimes we are able find purposes that are special.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2022
Published to mark the centenary of the founding of the RAF, this is a short book that is packed with interesting information about the early days of the organisation from what it should be called to the design of the flag and how long it took to decide upon the ranks (should they be based on Army/Navy or be entirely new? Air Marshall? Air Warden? Ardian?).
I hadn’t previously realised how much the formation of the RAF was resisted so much by both the army and navy, that the women’s section was incorporated right from the start or that people only signed on for 4 years initially as nobody really knew if the organisation would be disbanded after the war. The book also explores the way that conflict was changing, from the first bombing raids to homeland defence and intelligence gathering.
Overall this is a well-researched book that gives an excellent introduction to the origins of the RAF, but it barely scratches the surface of the last 100 years!
I hadn’t previously realised how much the formation of the RAF was resisted so much by both the army and navy, that the women’s section was incorporated right from the start or that people only signed on for 4 years initially as nobody really knew if the organisation would be disbanded after the war. The book also explores the way that conflict was changing, from the first bombing raids to homeland defence and intelligence gathering.
Overall this is a well-researched book that gives an excellent introduction to the origins of the RAF, but it barely scratches the surface of the last 100 years!
July 16, 2018
A concise, detailed account of how the RAF emerged towards the end of WW1, against entrenched opposition from the army and navy. It outlines how the RFC had become by 1918 a formidable force, unlike the ineffective RNAS, emphasising how the RAF's doctrines of bombing and homeland defence were formed at its inception - indeed, were its raison d'être - and not invented for WW2.
Would have been improved by more extensive illustration.
Would have been improved by more extensive illustration.
January 27, 2025
A short but sweet introduction to the origins of the Royal Air Force. Published in 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of its formation, Overy offers a bite-sized critique of the initial years. From the early Zeppelin attacks on London which energised its creation to the later inter-service rivalry that almost killed its independence. At just over 100 pages it makes for an interesting prologue to the more in-depth historiography.
September 25, 2019
A brief account of the founding of the Royal Air Force, the first independent air force from the RFC and the NAS in 1918. Concise and informative, but lacking a bibliography. Contains extensive notes with sources.
June 24, 2022
Quite dry and not as dramatic as advertised. Also repetitive and prolixed. Regardless, a somewhat quick account of the RAF's genesis, its precarious birth, and how it overcame its challenges in the early inter-war period between the world wars.
February 24, 2023
Audiobook, it was ok, only a short book but was very monotone in its delivery. I would’ve liked more detail about the formation and the problems and successes and the way strategies and tactics were worked out.
Not a total waste as it’s a basic knowledge but it felt rushed and lacking.
Not a total waste as it’s a basic knowledge but it felt rushed and lacking.
Read
April 13, 2023Pretty much about the forming of the bureaucratic structure with a bit about the forming of strategy and justification for a separate Air Force. I would have preferred some content on the development of technology and experience of pilots etc during the period.
April 19, 2018
A nicely judged synopsis of the establishment of the RAF as a separate service. I did not realise that Churchill was a prime mover in ensuring the independence of the RAF from its early beginnings.
July 16, 2018
I love nonfiction, but this put me to sleep.
August 13, 2018
Full of interesting facts but little character this book was just short enough to keep my attention.
April 5, 2020
Concise and readable, though dense with facts.
November 4, 2025
An interesting Historical record of the RAF. Any History buff will appreciate it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews