Dye Peter J. Air Power’s Midwife - logistics support for Royal Flying Corps operations on the Western Front 1914-1918

A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Department of Modern History College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham. — Birmingham, 2013. — 382 p.The development of the British air weapon on the Western Front during the First World War represented a radical and unprecedented change in the way that national resources were employed in exploiting a technological opportunity to achieve tactical and operational advantage. Logistic competence was the precondition for air superiority and the ‘modern style of warfare’ – indirect, predicted artillery fire. The Royal Flying Corps’ logistic staffs, led by Brigadier-General Robert Brooke-Popham, demonstrated considerable agility in meeting the demands of three-dimensional warfare. Sustaining adequate numbers of frontline aircraft required substantial numbers of skilled and semi-skilled personnel, located largely beyond the battle zone, operating at a continuously high tempo while coping with rapid technological change and high wastage. These elements formed a complex, dynamic and integrated network that was also partly self-sustaining, in the form of salvage and repair, with the ability to compensate for shortfalls in aircraft and aero-engine production as well as unpredictable demand. The logistic principles developed on the Western Front provided the foundation for Royal Air Force success in the Second World War and anticipated the management practices that underpin today’s global supply chain – as well as demonstrating the enduring interdependence of logistics and air power.Royal Flying Corps Operations on the Western Front
The Supply of Aircraft and Aero-engines 1914-1918
The Royal Flying Corps’ Logistic System 1914-1918
1916 – The Somme
1917 – Arras and Third Ypres
1918 – Logistics on the Move
German 1918 Offensive
One Hundred Days Campaign
Conclusions and Enduring Lessons
Appendices