Close Air Support and the Battlefield: Case Studies on the Integration of Air Power on the Battlefield

Drawing together original case studies this book explores air support for ground forces from the introduction of the aircraft to the battlefield, through to Close Air Support in contemporary conflicts. Exploring the opportunities, challenges and realties, this book establishes how Close Air Support became an essential role of air power and a critical feature of modern warfare. Using historical and contemporary perspectives to understand the evolution of Close Air Support doctrine, concepts and capabilities each author's contribution provides an enriched understanding of an Air Power capability whose application has often been contentious and fractious. The authors provide a range of perspectives on Close Air Support, from Air Power scholars and practitioners to Literature and Defence Studies analyses. In doing so, the book provides an in depth understanding of Close Air Support on the battlefield. AUTHORS: Harry Raffal is the Head of Collections and Research at the Royal Air Force Museum. He holds a doctorate from the University of Hull for his thesis on the operations of the RAF and Luftwaffe during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He is a Committee member of the RAF Historical Society and the British Commission for Military History, and is the Vice-Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Aeronautical Heritage Group. He has previously published research on the RAF in the Battle of France, the Third Afghan War and the online development of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces. John Alexander specialised in co-ordinating air/land operations as a Royal Air Force officer, in the Falklands, various Middle Eastern campaigns, and Afghanistan. A Chief of the Air Staff Fellow at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, he has conceptualised warfare for the RAF, UK MOD and NATO, and published award-winning research in the RUSI Journal, Air and Space Power Review, and Asian Affairs. 34 b/w photos, 3 b/w illustrations, 1 b/w map

About the Author :
Harry Raffal is the Head of Collections and Research at the Royal Air Force Museum. He holds a doctorate from the University of Hull for his thesis on the operations of the RAF and Luftwaffe during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He is a Committee member of the RAF Historical Society and the British Commission for Military History, and is the Vice-Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Aeronautical Heritage Group. He has previously published research on the RAF in the Battle of France, the Third Afghan War and the online development of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces. John Alexander specialised in co-ordinating air/land operations as a Royal Air Force officer, in the Falklands, various Middle Eastern campaigns, and Afghanistan. A Chief of the Air Staff Fellow at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, he has conceptualised warfare for the RAF, UK MOD and NATO, and published award-winning research in the RUSI Journal, Air and Space Power Review, and Asian Affairs.

Review :

Close Air Support, by Harry Rafal and John Alexander, specialists in air warfare, introduce 12 thematic chapters spanning from 1917 to 2022. The book is therefore eclectic, covering everything from attempts to provide air support to the Tank Corps in 1918 to the efforts of the Japanese Army Air Force during the Malayan Campaign in 1941 and those of the RAF in the Falklands/Malvinas in 1982. Special mention should be made of Professor Samuel Oyewole and his presentation of the Nigerian Air Force's successes—sometimes uneven—in this area, from the Biafran War in the late 1960s to the current fight against Boko Haram. It is worth noting the lack of consideration for the role of drones and, as one might have guessed from the list of topics, the Anglo-Saxon perspective, which does not detract from the quality of the work.