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Book Title: Why Air Forces Fail: The Anatomy of Defeat
Author: Edited by Robin Higham & Stephen J. Harris
ISBN: 0-8131-2374-7
Category: History
Format: Hardback
Summary: A compendium of a series of submissions by well-known (and not so well-known) airpower theorists and academics. The chapters 'examine the complex, often deep-seated reasons for the catastrophic failures of the air forces of various nations, reviewed in three categories of defeat: forces that never had a chance to win, such as Poland and France; forces that started out victorious but were ultimately defeated, such as Germany and Japan; and finally, those that were defeated in their early efforts yet rose to victory, such as Britain and the USA.'
Eleven chapters cover Poland, France (WWII), the Arab Air Forces (Modern), Germany & Austria-Hungary (WWI), Italy (WWII), Japan (WWII), Germany (WWII), Argentina (1982), Russia (WWI/WWII), USA in the Pacific (WWII) and Britain (WWII). Because of the length of each subject (30-ish pages) it is easy to dip into to focus on particular periods or countries rather than wading through airpower chronologically. There are some interesting insights and recurring themes, along with some revisionism, such as the amount actually achieved by the Poles rather than the received wisdom that their air forces were wiped out on the ground on day one. Not something I'd use every day, but a handy resource for academic insight where you don't want a whole tome on a particular subject.
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