Bowman, Gerald: War in the air. 1. Auflage

Gerald Bowman has written a complete and detailed survey of the part played by air power in the two World Wars. In addition, he traces the development of aviation in the years between 1917 and 1939 and analyses the future significance öf present-day design and research." The book is divided into four parts. Airpower—Birth to Maturity. Deals with the first beginnings of military air power, Royal Flying Corps, Zeppelins, etc. ; outlines the structural alterations in aircraft design after 1918 and details the long and perilous struggle for air suprem-acy of which the Battle of Britain was the beginning. This section closes with chapters on the BUtz and the Battle of the Atlantic. Part Two : The Dominance of Mass Air Power. In this section, the author shows the immense Strategie value of air supremaey. Chapters deal with the Battle of Malta, the raids on the Occupied Coastal Defences, the round-the-clock bombing of German industrial targets, desert warfare and the invasion of Italy. The final chapter describes the part played by Allied airforces on D-Day and during the sueeeeding weeks. Part Three : New Weapons in the Air. Covers the closing phases of World War II and describes the impact of various new methods of air warfare, including, of course, the atom bomb. The final section focuses on the future, with the part that airpower plays under the North Atlantic Treaty and the part that it is likely to play in world affairs in view of the advent of the nuclear bomb, the long-range rocket projectile, rising air-speeds and robot control.