The RAF in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain looks at the opportunities missed in the French campaign. It takes a fresh look at the Battle of Britain and asks if the RAF was ready to help repel an invasion. It follows the disputes between the Army and RAF and debates whether air power used independently can ever achieve decisive results.
In May 1940, the German Army and the Allied forces they faced were fairly evenly matched. Two months later Britain was on her own, hopelessly outnumbered and facing imminent defeat. Should the RAF have done more to support the Allied armies in France? Could the RAF have protected the British Army better at Dunkirk? How narrow was the margin of victory in the Battle of Britain? Was the RAF ready to deal with an invasion? Why were hundreds of American combat planes and experienced Polish and Czech pilots never used? All these questions and more are answered in Greg Baughen's third book in the series. Baughen describes the furious battles between the RAF and the Luftwaffe and the equally bitter struggle between the Air Ministry and the War Office- and explains how close Britain really came to defeat in the summer of 1940.