ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND AND TACTICAL AIR POWER DEVELOPMENT IN BRITAIN, 1940-1943: THE ROLE OF ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND IN ARMY AIR SUPPORT By MATTHEW LEE POWELL A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the impact of the developments made during the First World War and the inter-war period in tactical air support. Further to this, it will analyse how these developments led to the creation of Army Co-operation Command and affected the role it played developing army air support in Britain. Army Co-operation Command has been neglected in the literature on the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and this thesis addresses this neglect by adding to the extant knowledge on the development of tactical air support and fills a larger gap that exists in the literature on Royal Air Force Commands. Army Co-operation Command was created at the behest of the army in the wake of the Battle of France. A key area of development was the communications system to enable troops to request air support in the field. The Command was also involved in developing the Air Observation Post Squadron. Air Observation Post aircraft were used to direct the fire of artillery batteries from the air. In 1943, an operational tactical air force replaced Army Co- operation Command. This study highlights inter-service difficulties over the provision of air support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis began as a series of discussions on the general field of tactical air power development during the Second World War in Britain with Air Commodore (ret’d) Dr Peter Gray, and it is through his advice and suggestions that this work has taken the form that it has both in the embryonic planning and further in the details. His support and advice has allowed me to concentrate on ensuring that glaring errors have been corrected and evidence thoroughly examined. The support of the staff at the National Archives, Kew; the Imperial War Museum and the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London, whose tireless work ensures that historians are able to access the required information with speed and ease, is graciously and readily acknowledged. The library staff of the University of Birmingham, who have spent time searching for lost books, and providing great help and direction to a new research student unfamiliar with the layout of yet another new library. The staff of the library at Cardiff University who allowed me, through the SCONUL system, to access works held by them. My family and friends have been a constant source of inspiration and support. Theresa and Darren Saban, who have graciously given me their home for research trips to London, and to Callum Saban who has provided the necessary distraction after long days buried in archival papers. My parents, without their help and support this project would have been inconceivable from the outset. To my partner Jenna Manship whose love, support and patience have allowed this project to be completed despite being absent both physically and mentally for great periods of time. My Grandparents, particularly my late Grandmother whose tales of living near the English Channel during the Second World War first sparked my interest in history, especially in air power studies first inspired me to undertake this work. Finally, a special thank you must go to those within the School of History and Cultures who undertook a research degree at the same time as myself, their help, advice and questioning has further improved this thesis in both form and interpretation. CONTENTS Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION P.1 The Literature P.9 Tactical Air Power Development P.10 Terminology P.21 Thesis Content P.26 Chapter 2: ARMY CO-OPERATION AT HOME AND ABROAD, 1918-1939 P.32 Army Co-operation up to 1918 P.34 Army Co-operation in Britain, 1918-1939 P.39 Doctrine P.45 Relations with the Army P.47 The RAF and Industry P.51 The Geneva Disarmament Conference P.53 The Spanish Civil War P.55 Army Co-operation across the Empire, 1918-1939 P.58 Somaliland P.59 Mesopotamia P.60 India and the North-West Frontier P.62 The State of Army Co-operation in 1939 P.66 Chapter 3: ARMY CO-OPERATION AND THE BATTLE OF FRANCE, 1940 P.71 The Royal Air Force in France, 1940 P.74 The Advanced Air Striking Force P.74 The Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force P.79 British Air Forces in France P.81 The Allied Central Air Bureau P.86 The Air Observation Post P.88 Fighting in France P.90 Sedan and the German Break-out P.93 The RAF and the Response to Sedan P.98 After Sedan P.102 The Search for Responsibility: The Commanders in France P.103 Chapter 4: THE AFTERMATH OF FRANCE AND THE CREATION OF ARMY CO- OPERATION COMMAND P.107 The Search for Responsibility: The Army P.110 The Search for Responsibility: The RAF P.119 The First Moves in Close Support Development P.121 The Creation of Army Co-operation Command P.130 Chapter 5: THE WORK OF ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND 1941 P.141 Re-organisation of Army Co-operation Command P.143 Events in the Middle East, 1941 P.152 Air Observation Post Development 1941 P.154 Army-Air Support Training Exercises P.158 Anti-invasion Measures P.167 Army-Air Requirements P.169 Chapter 6: THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND, 1942 P.175 Events in, and Barratt’s Visit to the Middle East, 1942 P.178 The Rise of Fighters in Air Support P.184 The Thorold and Slessor Reports P.188 Army Air Support Groups P.193 Air Observation Post Development, 1942 P.205 Chapter 7: THE END OF ARMY CO-OPERATION COMMAND AND THE FORMATION OF 2 ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE, 1943 P.209 The Development of the Army Air Support Control P.211 Exercise Spartan P.214 Developments from Spartan P.226 The Disbandment of Army Co-operation Command P.232 The Creation of 2 nd Tactical Air Force P.237 The Development of the Air OP Squadron and its place within 2nd Tactical Air Force P.239 Chapter 8: CONCLUSION P.242 Appendix I – Directive to AOC-in-C Army Co-operation Command P.248 Appendix II - Aircraft P.251 Bibliography P.260 ABBREVIATIONS AASC Army Air Support Control A Air SC Army Air Support Control AASF Advanced Air Striking Force AC Army Co-operation ACAB Allied Central Air Bureau ACAS Assistant Chief of the Air Staff AFV Armoured Fighting Vehicle AHB Air Historical Branch Air OP Air Observation Post ALO Air Liaison Officer AOC Air Officer Commanding AOC-in-C Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief AOT Air Officer Training ASSU Air Support Signals Unit BAFF British Air Forces in France BEF British Expeditionary Force C2 Command and Control C3 Command, Control and Communication CAS Chief of the Air Staff CID Committee of Imperial Defence C-in-C Commander-in-Chief CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff COS Chiefs of Staff CSBC Close Support Bomber Control DCAS Deputy Chief of the Air Staff DCIGS Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff DMC Directorate of Military Co-operation GOC General Officer Commanding GOC-in-C General Officer Commanding-in-Chief GHQ General Headquarters HQ Headquarters IF Independent Force IWM Imperial War Museum (London) JRUSI Journal of the Royal United Services Institute LHCMA Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (King’s College London) MORU Mobile Operations Room Units OTU Operational Training Unit PRG Photographic Reconnaissance Group RAF Royal Air Force RAF Hendon Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon RFC Royal Flying Corps RHA Royal Horse Artillery RNAS Royal Naval Air Service R/T Radio Telegraphy SASO Senior Air Staff Officer TAF Tactical Air Force TNA The National Archives (PRO, UK) US United States VCAS Vice Chief of the Air Staff WDAF Western Desert Air Force WO War Office W/T Wireless Telegraphy ZOAN Zone d’Opérations Aériennes Nord Chapter One INTRODUCTION With the creation of an independent air force towards the end of the First World War, the dispute over the role that air power would play in future conflagrations was almost inevitable. Between 1914 and 1918, air power had been used in all the roles it fulfilled in later years. It was partly the possibility that the stalemate and mass casualties of the First World War may be prevented through the use of air power that led the Royal Air Force (RAF) to take the decisions to develop air power the way it did. Aircraft were no longer for the sole use of the army, their use stretched to targeting areas deep behind enemy lines and establish independent operations of their own. The rise of independent thinking about the application of air power caused great tension between the British army and the RAF. Even after its creation, the RAF was mainly involved in army co-operation work on the Western Front, so it is easy to see how the independence of the new service made the War Office (WO) feel uncomfortable at the potential loss of its aircraft.