Battle For Air Supremacy Over The Somme: 1 June-30 November 1916

Lt-Col Thomas G. Bradbeer

• Publisher: Verdun Press
• Year: 2014
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781782896036
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Much has been written about the Battle of the Somme. From July through late November 1916, British, French, and German armies fought one of the costliest battles of the twentieth century. Well over a million casualties and only a few miles of ground gained by the Allies were the result when the battle ended. Little, however, has been written about the second battle which occurred simultaneously, this one in the skies above the Somme, where for the first time in the history of warfare a deliberate attempt was made to control the sky. The British Royal Flying Corps, under the resolute command of General Sir Hugh Trenchard, fought to gain air supremacy from the German Air Service. Trenchard believed that the best way to support the ground force was to dominate and control the sky above the battlefield. This air campaign was critical because of its impact on the doctrine and theory of air warfare which followed it.
This study examines the efforts of the Royal Flying Corps to gain air supremacy against the German Air Service before and during the Battle of the Somme.

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• ABSTRACT
• DEDICATION
• ACRONYMS
• CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 2 - THE BRITISH GAIN AIR SUPREMACY OVER THE SOMME: APRIL-JUNE 1916
• CHAPTER 3 - THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME: JULY-AUGUST 1916 (PHASE I & II)
• CHAPTER 4 - THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME PHASE III (15 SEPTEMBER-18 NOVEMBER 1916) THE GERMANS REORGANIZE: BIRTH OF THE LUFTSTREITKRAFTE
• CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSION: ASSESSMENT OF THE ROYAL FLYING CORP’S SOMME AIR CAMPAIGN
• APPENDIX A - RFC FORMATION TACTICS, 1916
• APPENDIX B - ROYAL FLYING CORPS ORDER OF BATTLE: 1 JULY 1916 BATTLE OF THE SOMME
• APPENDIX C - FUTURE POLICY IN THE AIR: SEPTEMBER 1916
• APPENDIX D - BOELCKE’S DICTA ON AIR FIGHTING
• APPENDIX E - HAIG’S LETTER TO THE WAR OFFICE 30 SEPTEMBER 1916
• APPENDIX F - ROYAL FLYING CORPS STATISTICS FOR THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 1 JULY-17 NOVEMBER 1916
• APPENDIX G - KEY BRITISH AND GERMAN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT USED DURING THE AIR BATTLE OVER THE SOMME
• GLOSSARY
• BIBLIOGRAPHY