1936 Nov: RAF Bomber Command formed to prosecute strategic attack. (AI Study Guide)
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When answering provide 10 to 20 key points, using official military histories and web sources as found in the following list: https://www.ai-tutor-military-history.com/bibliography-jbgpt-ai Provide references to support each key point. British spelling, plain English.
1936 Nov: RAF Bomber Command formed to prosecute strategic attack.
Overview
RAF Bomber Command was established in November 1936 to concentrate Britain’s offensive air capability into a single organisation dedicated to long-range strategic attack. Its creation reflected inter-war debates over deterrence, industrial targeting, and air offensives as instruments of national policy. By unifying bomber forces under a specialised command, the Air Ministry sought to develop coherent doctrine, expand capability, and prepare for the possibility of a major European war. This administrative step laid the organisational groundwork for the strategic bombing campaign that later dominated Britain’s air war.
Glossary of terms
• Strategic attack denotes air operations aimed at degrading an enemy’s war-making capacity at its source.
• Bomber Command was the RAF formation responsible for Britain’s strategic air offensive from 1936.
• Industrial web refers to interconnected sectors of production targeted in strategic bombing theory.
• Long-range bomber is an aircraft designed to carry significant payloads over extended distances.
• Deterrence in air power implies discouraging aggression through the threat of strategic retaliation.
• Air Ministry was the central authority responsible for RAF administration and direction.
• Dispersal refers to the spread of aircraft and facilities to reduce vulnerability to attack.
• Operational research involves analytical methods used to refine bombing effectiveness.
• Aircrew training pipeline describes the structured system that produces qualified bomber personnel.
• Navigation aids are electronic or procedural tools enabling accurate long-range operations.
Key points
• Organisational consolidation: The formation of Bomber Command created a unified structure for strategic air attack, matching the operational emphasis discussed in Overy, History of Air Warfare, which highlights Britain’s inter-war decision to prioritise offensive bombing as its principal deterrent capability.
• Inter-war strategic thought: As Biddle, British and American Approaches to Strategic Bombing shows, inter-war British doctrine framed bomber forces as a decisive weapon capable of striking enemy industry and morale; Bomber Command’s creation institutionalised this doctrine within a permanent organisation.
• Doctrinal evolution: Overy, The Bombers and the Bombed notes that early RAF thinking placed great faith in precision and moral effect, yet practical limitations remained severe. Bomber Command’s establishment enabled systematic doctrinal development ahead of large-scale war.
• Industrial targeting concepts: Ideas circulating in the period, including those explored through strategic-effects thinking in Gray, Airpower for Strategic Effect, emphasised striking the enemy’s vital industrial nodes. Bomber Command became the mechanism for applying such theory operationally.
• Force expansion and readiness: Strategic attack required dedicated bomber fleets and trained crews. As Olsen, A History of Air Warfare outlines, the mid-1930s rearmament programme accelerated aircraft procurement and training pipelines, activities now coordinated through Bomber Command.
• Technology and navigation: The limitations of night operations later discussed in Overy, The Bombers and the Bombed were already recognised during the Command’s early existence. Its formation enabled a focused effort on improving navigation, bomb-sighting, and aircraft reliability.
• Strategic context of deterrence: Gray, Airpower for Strategic Effect stresses the interdependence of strategy, policy, and force design. Bomber Command embodied Britain’s belief that offensive air power could deter a major European aggressor by threatening devastating reprisals.
• Comparative development: Van Creveld, Age of Airpower provides wider context for how major powers pursued bombing capabilities pre-1939. Bomber Command represented Britain’s attempt to match continental developments by centralising and strengthening its offensive air arm.
• Civil-military debates: Inter-war discussions over the moral and strategic implications of bombing, highlighted in Overy’s works, influenced the Command’s early philosophy. Its formation was part of a broader national dialogue about how strategic air power should be used in future war.
• Foundation for wartime strategy: The strategic bombing campaign described in Overy, History of Air Warfare depended on years of organisational, doctrinal, and material preparation initiated in 1936. Bomber Command’s establishment ensured Britain entered the Second World War with a functioning offensive air structure.
Official Sources and Records
• UK National Archives, Air Ministry records (AIR series): http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
• RAF Air Historical Branch publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/air-historical-branch-ahb
• Imperial War Museums, Bomber Command collections: https://www.iwm.org.uk
• Australian Department of Defence, Air Power Manual (comparative official doctrine): https://www.defence.gov.au
• US Air Force Historical Studies (contextual comparison): https://www.afhistory.af.mil
Further reading
• Biddle, T.D. 1995. British and American Approaches to Strategic Bombing. Journal of Strategic Studies.
• Gray, C.S. 2012. Airpower for Strategic Effect. Air University Press.
• Overy, R. 2014. The Bombers and the Bombed. Viking.
• Overy, R. 2010. ‘The Air War in Europe, 1939–1945’ in Olsen (ed.), A History of Air Warfare. Potomac Books.
• Olsen, J.A. (ed.) 2010. A History of Air Warfare. Potomac Books.
• van Creveld, M. 2011. The Age of Airpower. PublicAffairs.