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Supreme Air Command: the Development of Royal Air Force Practice in the Second World

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SUPREME AIR COMMAND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROYAL AIR FORCE COMMAND PRACTICE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR By DAVID WALKER 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and Law The University of Birmingham January 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties.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 development of RAF high command of the Metropolitan Air Force (MAF) during the Second World War. It sheds new light on the re-organisations of the Air Ministry in 1934, the RAF Command structure in 1936, and the tri-service debate in 1937 concerning the RAF proposal to establish a Supreme Air Commander (SAC). It reveals that while frontline expansion created an impetus for re-organisation, it was operational readiness that was the dominant factor in the re-structuring of the RAF. It examines the transition in RAF frontline organization from the mono-functional command system of 1936 to the multi- functional organisation that emerged after 1943 by looking at command structure and practice, personalities, and operational thinking. This study builds on the established historiography but challenges the accepted explanation of RAF reforms in the 1930s. It addresses a significant gap in the literature concerning the way the frontline was directed by the War Cabinet and the Air Ministry. In doing so it seeks to establish a new starting point for the analysis of RAF high command by providing an assessment of the effectiveness of the reforms of the 1930s to the higher command of MAF operations during the Second World War. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DEDICATION I must begin with my great thanks to Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy for his creation of the Chief of the Air Staff’s Portal Fellowship which I was so fortunate to secure and which has guided my study and this thesis. I would also like to thank Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach and Sebastian Cox who, more than any others, have through their interest, enthusiasm, encouragement, intellect and knowledge stimulated and sustained my lifelong interest in the history of the Royal Air Force. I have been enormously fortunate to have been mentored by Dr Peter Gray who has expertly guided me through the foggier times that inevitably afflict the part- time PhD student. Dr Gray’s supervision allowed me the freedom to explore this subject as the evidence demanded and his leadership prevented the descent into the many rabbit holes of ‘great interest’ that enticed me along the way. I would also like to thank the staff of The National Archives at Kew, Mr Mike Hatch and the Staff of the RAF Historical Branch, the RAF Museum, and Mr Chris Hobson of the Joint Services Command and Staff College for all their help and friendly support. My final thanks, appreciation, and acknowledgement must go to Catherine, my wife, for all her encouragement, love, and support during the many hours I have spent in researching and writing this work; a work which is rightly dedicated solely to her. ii ABBREVIATIONS The listed abbreviations and codewords will be used throughout this document without further explanation after their first use. This will be either in full in the text or for abbreviations that feature little in the subsequent discussion in an associated footnote. On a small number of occasions, such as a title, they may be used in full to preserve the style of the paper. They have been placed into functional or institutional groupings to make reference easier than there being contained in a long unstructured but alphabetical list. MILITARY RANKS Royal Air Force MRAF Marshal of the RAF (5*) ACM Air Chief Marshal (4*) AM Air Marshal (3*) AVM Air Vice-Marshal (2*) Air Cdre Air Commodore (1*) Gp Capt Group Captain Wg Cdr Wing Commander Sqn Ldr Squadron Leader Flt Lt Flight Lieutenant Fg Off Flying Officer Plt Off Pilot Officer Royal Navy Adm Admiral (4*) in both RN and USN VAdm Vice Admiral (3*) in both RN and USN RAdm Rear Admiral (2*) in both RN and USN Cdre Commodore (1*) in RN Capt Captain in RN iii British Army Gen General (4*) in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces Lt Gen Lieutenant General (3*) in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces Maj Gen Major General (2*) in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces Brig Brigadier in British Army, Brigadier General in US Army Col Colonel in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces Lt Col Lieutenant Colonel in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces Maj Major in British and US Army Ground and Air Forces MILITARY SERVICES RAF Royal Air Force RFC Royal Flying Corps RN Royal Navy RNAS Royal Naval Air Service FAA Fleet Air Arm GAF German Air Force USA United States Army USN United States Navy USAAF United States Army Air Forces USSTAF United States Strategic Air Forces iv GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS and APPOINTMENTS British Government and War Cabinet PM Prime Minister CID Committee of Imperial Defence MAP Ministry for Aircraft Production MEW Ministry for Economic Warfare JIC Joint Intelligence Committee JPC Joint Planning Committee JPS Joint Planning Staff COS Chiefs of Staff (UK) DCOS Deputy Chiefs of Staff (UK) CCS Combined Chiefs of Staff (UK/US) JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff (US) 1SL/CNS First Sea Lord/Chief of the Naval Staff VCNS Vice Chief of the Naval Staff DCNS Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff DCIGS Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff Air Ministry SofS Secretary of State CAS Chief of the Air Staff (4/5*) VCAS Vice Chief of the Air Staff (4/3*) DCAS Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (3/2*) ACAS Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (2*) ACAS(I) Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) ACAS(O) Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) v ACAS(P) Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans) ACAS(T) Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Training) AMDP Air Member for Development and Production AMP Air Member for Personnel AMRD Air Member for Research and Development AMSO Air Member for Supply and Organisation AMSR Air Member for Supply and Research DGSR Director General for Supply and Research DOI Director of Operations and Intelligence DofI Director of Intelligence DofOps Director of Operations DofO Director of Organisation DofP Director of Plans DofT Director of Training DofWB Director of Works and Buildings D Ops (H) Director of Operations (Home) D Ops (MC) Director of Operations (Military Co-operation) D Ops (NC) Director of Operations (Naval Co-operation) D Ops (O) Director of Operations (Overseas) DSD Director of Staff Duties DDOI Deputy Director of Operations and Intelligence IG Inspector General SD Staff Duties PS Private Secretary PSO Personal Staff Officer vi Commands and Structures AASF Advanced Air Striking Force ADGB Air Defence of Great Britain AOC Air Officer Commanding AOA Air Officer Administration BAFF British Air Forces in France BEF British Expeditionary Force C-in-C Commander-in-Chief Cs-in-C Commanders-in-Chief MAF Metropolitan Air Force SASO Senior Air Staff Officer Operations CBO Combined Bomber Offensive COA Committee of Operations Analysts COPC Combined Operational Planning Committee RDF Radio Direction Finding (aka by the US term RADAR) SAC Supreme Air Commander WAP Western Air Plans vii CODEWORDS Allied Conferences (in chronological order) ARCADIA UK/US Conference in Washington, December 1941 SYMBOL UK/US Conference in Casablanca, January 1943 TRIDENT UK/US Conference in Washington May 1943 QUADRANT UK/US Conference in Quebec, August 1943 SEXTANT UK/US Conference in Cairo, November-December 1943 EUREKA UK/US/Soviet Conference in Tehran, November-December 1943 OCTAGON UK/US Conference in Quebec, September 1944 Codewords ADLER TAG GAF Plan for the Air Attack against Britain in 1940 ARGUMENT USAAF Plan for to defeat the GAF Fighter Force in Feb 44 BOLERO US Ground Forces build-up in the UK COLD WATER RAF pre-emptive plans to disrupt GAF Bomber Force in 1940 POINTBLANK Directive for the Combined Bomber Offensive, Jun 43 OVERLORD Allied invasion of North West Europe SEALION Planned German invasion of Britain in 1940 SICKLE US bomber force build-up in the UK SPARTAN RAF Exercise to develop 2TAF in 1943 viii NAMED PERSONALITIES Arnold Gen Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold Ashmore Maj Gen Edward Ashmore Bader Gp Capt Douglas Bader Baker ACM Sir John Baker Baldwin Mr Stanley Baldwin Barratt ACM Sir Arthur Barratt Blount AVM Charles Blount Bottomley ACM Sir Norman Bottomley Bowhill ACM Sir Frederick Bowhill Brooke-Popham ACM Sir Robert Brooke-Popham Bufton AVM Sidney Bufton Burnett ACM Sir Charles Burnett Courtney ACM Sir Christopher Courtney Coryton ACM Sir Alec Coryton Dickson MRAF Sir William Dickson Douglas MRAF The Lord Douglas of Kirtleside Douhet Gulio Douhet Dowding ACM The Lord Dowding of Bentley Priory Durston AM Sir Albert Durston Eaker Lt Gen Ira Eaker USAAF Eisenhower Gen Dwight D Eisenhower USA Ellington MRAF Sir Edward Ellington Elliott ACM Sir William Elliott Evill ACM Sir Douglas Evill Freeman ACM Sir Wilfrid Freeman ix Game AVM Sir Philip Game Garrod ACM Sir Guy Garrod Gibson Wg Cdr
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