Description
** THIS ITEM IS BEING SOLD AS A 2-VOLUME SET **
Close Call: RAF Close Air Support in the Mediterranean, Volume 1 – Defeat in France to el Hamma 1939-1943
Close support for the Army by the Royal Air Force evolved during World War II from a state of near non-existence to becoming a fully integrated part of the battle plan. Nowhere was cooperation more refined and better developed than in the Mediterranean theater.
In this first of two volumes, the author traces the evolution and development of close air support, beginning during the final year of the Great War, via the doldrums of the inter-war years, to the point where the RAF was criticized heavily because of its apparent absence at Dunkirk. The rise and demise of Army Cooperation Command is examined in detail, followed by the first systematic close air support in East Africa and the various campaigns in the Western Desert.
Reference has been made to logbooks, diaries and autobiographies of many of those who were there. Complemented with maps, diagrams and hundreds of photographs, it provides a comprehensive account of this neglected aspect of operations in World War II.
Vic Flintham. Hardcover. 8.3″ x 11.7″. 208 pages. English text. 200 photos.
Close Call II: RAF Close Air Support in the Mediterranean, Volume 2 – Sicily to Victory in Italy 1943-1945
Close support for the Army by the Royal Air Force evolved during WWII from being virtually non-existent to a fully developed part of the battle plan. Nowhere was co-operation more refined and developed than in the Mediterranean theatre.
The first part of this work traced the evolution of close air support through the inter-war years to disaster in France and the first attempts at immediate on-call cover in East Africa provided by the South African Air Force. This led to a much improved system from el Alamein onwards.
Volume II takes the story on from the assault on Sicily through a succession of battles in Italy and southern France where the Allied armies could depend on an immediate air cover, made possible by Allied air forces having total air supremacy. The war in Italy saw much innovation in terms of weapons and also in the role of the air observation post squadrons, both of which are fully discussed.
These volumes include references to official sources and documents, including squadron operational record books, as well as to logbooks, diaries, and autobiographies of many who participated.
Vic Flintham. Hardcover. 8.3″ x 11.7″. 288 pages. English text. 200 photos, diagrams and maps.
