Julian Hale

The Blitz 1940-41 (eBook, ePUB)

The Luftwaffe's biggest strategic bombing campaign
Illustrator: Bangsø, Mads

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded.

The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war.

Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of 'life under the bombs' or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare.

Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK's air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims.

Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world's first true strategic air offensive failed.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 96
• Erscheinungstermin: 17. August 2023
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472857873
• Artikelnr.: 67853413

Autorenporträt

Julian Hale read History at Lancaster University and completed an MA on the RFC and RAF in the Middle East during World War I. In 2012, he joined the RAF Museum and catalogued the Jack Bruce Collection, an archive of World War I and inter-war aircraft and personnel images. He was the Assistant Curator for the Museum's Centenary Programme until June 2018 and is the author of The RAF: 1918-2018 and Women in Aviation.

Inhaltsangabe

INTRODUCTION
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES
Luftwaffe order of battle, 7 September, 1941
Doctrine
The aircraft
Equipment and tactics
DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES
RAF order of battle, 7 September, 1941
Civil defence
The aircraft
Commanders
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
THE CAMPAIGN
The Blitz begins, 7 September-13 October
The night assault
The conflict over future strategy
The London Blitz renewed
Fighter defence
The campaign on the Midlands and Southern ports
Regenschirm: The Birmingham Blitz
'Crucible': Sheffield
The Manchester Blitz
The Southampton Blitz
London campaign renewed
The Anti-Aircraft Contribution
Bromide, Domino and Starfish
The Battle of the ports
The Swansea and Cardiff Blitzes
The Clydebank Blitz- Problems over Bristol
Hull, Plymouth-Devonport
London
The Anti-shipping campaign
AFTERMATH AND ANALYSIS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX