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The Aerial War: 1939–45: The Role of Aviation in World War II
The war is a war of machines; it will be won on the assembly line. - Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production
Just as vital as the battle on land or the struggle at sea, the air war ultimately tipped the balance of power in World War II in favour of the Allies. During the six years of the war, military air power expanded significantly on both sides to unprecedented levels of ferocity and scale, from simple bombing excursions in 1940 to massive thousand-bomber raids on German cities and day-and-night raids by Allied forces on Axis targets. The strategic offensive reached its climax in the unrestrained bombing of Japan, where in one night almost 200,000 people were killed in a firestorm raid on Tokyo, preceding the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Just as vital as the battle on land or the struggle at sea, the air war ultimately tipped the balance of power in World War II in favour of the Allies. During the six years of the war, military air power expanded significantly on both sides to unprecedented levels of ferocity and scale, from simple bombing excursions in 1940 to massive thousand-bomber raids on German cities and day-and-night raids by Allied forces on Axis targets. The strategic offensive reached its climax in the unrestrained bombing of Japan, where in one night almost 200,000 people were killed in a firestorm raid on Tokyo, preceding the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- GenresNonfiction
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2020
26 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 25, 2022
Britain wins the war! What do you mean there were other countries involved? No there weren't! Us superior Brits did it all by ourselves with our magnificent aircraft.
Abandoned at Page 102.
This was a wiffly-waffly biased account of WW2 with a mild slant towards aviation. No real detail of the aircraft involved and almost a total disregard of the fact that WW2 involved places other than Britain. Like - you know - THE PACIFIC. I sometimes think the Poms hate to admit that if it wasn't for the USA and a bunch of other countries, they'd all be speaking German about now.
No wonder this book was just $5 at a reject book store.
Abandoned at Page 102.
This was a wiffly-waffly biased account of WW2 with a mild slant towards aviation. No real detail of the aircraft involved and almost a total disregard of the fact that WW2 involved places other than Britain. Like - you know - THE PACIFIC. I sometimes think the Poms hate to admit that if it wasn't for the USA and a bunch of other countries, they'd all be speaking German about now.
No wonder this book was just $5 at a reject book store.
November 2, 2020
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Although it was of interest to me, unfortunately it felt like I was being bombarded with numbers rather than information about the aircraft flying during the World war II.
A real disappointment.
Although it was of interest to me, unfortunately it felt like I was being bombarded with numbers rather than information about the aircraft flying during the World war II.
A real disappointment.
March 19, 2021
It was ok, Author is in love with the Americans. Absolutely nothing written about Canadians nor BCATP. Disappointed and will add a note to my Cdn library reviews of.
November 14, 2025
A well documented account of the aerial war in WWII
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews