Description
In light of technological advances and multiplying irregular conflicts, conventional wisdom suggests airpower as the ideal, low-cost means of conducting modern warfare-and the air control method adopted by the British between the two world wars seems to back this up. Swift and precise targeting from above was considered more humane, after all, sparing civilians as well as British soldiers during punitive expeditions in unruly colonial regions. But what conventional wisdom misses, and this book makes clear, is how the Royal Air Force's (RAF) innovative approach actually worked-relying on British airmen on the ground at least as much as on airborne technology to control restive tribes and villages. The RAF and Tribal Control tells the story of these forgotten airmen, the RAF special service officers who, embedded among local populations and indigenous tribes, collected vital intelligence, developed targets, directed air strikes when necessary, and, perhaps most important, provided personal assessments of airpower's qualitative effects against primarily guerrilla forces.
Airpower is a highly technological endeavor. But in wars where the human dimension takes primacy, Richard Newton reminds us that measuring the effectiveness of air actions requires a qualitative approach that is nearly impossible via overhead sensors. And this is where the RAF special service officers came in-airmen who understood the local cultures and peoples, they served as conduits for information and communication between the colonial administration and the tribes and villages. It was their ground-level contributions that made the integration of airpower into the civilian administration of colonies and mandates possible. This first in-depth account of the RAF special service officers' role brings to light previously unpublished insights. The RAF and Tribal Control fills a significant gap in the history of air warfare. In doing so, the book dispels the notion that airpower alone is effective in small wars and irregular conflicts-and reveals the importance of the "boots-on-the-ground" human component in waging unconventional air warfare, both in the days of the RAF's vaunted air control and in our own time.
About the Author
Richard D. Newton is a researcher and faculty member at the Joint Special Operations University, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He is a retired US Air Force special operations and combat rescue helicopter pilot. His work has appeared in the RAF's Air Power Review, Air and Space Power Journal, Special Operations Journal, and the Air Commando Journal. He is also the author of Special Operations Aviation in NATO: A Vector to the Future.
Reviews
This is a unique and insightful study that cleverly illuminates the historical role of Royal Air Force special service officers: courageous, highly trained men posted to remote and out-of-the-way locations who acted as the conduits for communication and insight between the colonial administration and the tribesmen and who delivered appropriate and timely actionable intelligence. Newton uncovers the little-known nonlethal aspects of air control and its growing sophistication in understanding the nature of the environment. This is an excellent, well-timed, and authoritative book with clear contemporary utility." - Major General Doctor Andrew M. Roe, chief executive, Defence Academy, and commandant, Joint Services Command and Staff College, United Kingdom
"Rick Newton's The RAF and Tribal Control is a meticulously researched, fresh analysis of RAF 'air control' operations in the Middle East during the interwar years. He ably shows that air control meant far more than bombing or strafing; indeed, the intent of the operations was to prevent conflict and assure law and order. The key to success was a thorough understanding of the needs and emotions of the local populace--a crucial factor that many of those calling for an 'airpower solution' to today's conflicts against irregular forces often neglect. Newton's book is a must for anyone who wants to know how air power can best be used to persuade or coerce." - Mark Clodfelter, National War College professor of strategy and author of The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam
"The RAF and Tribal Control treads new ground in several important ways. Richard Newton links together the Subjects of airpower, irregular warfare, and coercion through his focused exploration of the British use of air instruments in Mesopotamia, the Transjordan, and Aden. More importantly he sheds light on the often overlooked dimension of airpower and the personnel advising airpower's use. Newton assesses with a critical and objective eye, through official reports and personal papers, the successes and failures of British Special Service officers for reasons their modern successors, combat aviation advisors, and special tactics officers are only too familiar." - James D. Kiras, professor, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base
Book Information
ISBN 9780700628711
Author Richard D. Newton
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint University Press of Kansas
Publisher University Press of Kansas
Weight(grams) 563g
Airpower is a highly technological endeavor. But in wars where the human dimension takes primacy, Richard Newton reminds us that measuring the effectiveness of air actions requires a qualitative approach that is nearly impossible via overhead sensors. And this is where the RAF special service officers came in-airmen who understood the local cultures and peoples, they served as conduits for information and communication between the colonial administration and the tribes and villages. It was their ground-level contributions that made the integration of airpower into the civilian administration of colonies and mandates possible. This first in-depth account of the RAF special service officers' role brings to light previously unpublished insights. The RAF and Tribal Control fills a significant gap in the history of air warfare. In doing so, the book dispels the notion that airpower alone is effective in small wars and irregular conflicts-and reveals the importance of the "boots-on-the-ground" human component in waging unconventional air warfare, both in the days of the RAF's vaunted air control and in our own time.
About the Author
Richard D. Newton is a researcher and faculty member at the Joint Special Operations University, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. He is a retired US Air Force special operations and combat rescue helicopter pilot. His work has appeared in the RAF's Air Power Review, Air and Space Power Journal, Special Operations Journal, and the Air Commando Journal. He is also the author of Special Operations Aviation in NATO: A Vector to the Future.
Reviews
This is a unique and insightful study that cleverly illuminates the historical role of Royal Air Force special service officers: courageous, highly trained men posted to remote and out-of-the-way locations who acted as the conduits for communication and insight between the colonial administration and the tribesmen and who delivered appropriate and timely actionable intelligence. Newton uncovers the little-known nonlethal aspects of air control and its growing sophistication in understanding the nature of the environment. This is an excellent, well-timed, and authoritative book with clear contemporary utility." - Major General Doctor Andrew M. Roe, chief executive, Defence Academy, and commandant, Joint Services Command and Staff College, United Kingdom
"Rick Newton's The RAF and Tribal Control is a meticulously researched, fresh analysis of RAF 'air control' operations in the Middle East during the interwar years. He ably shows that air control meant far more than bombing or strafing; indeed, the intent of the operations was to prevent conflict and assure law and order. The key to success was a thorough understanding of the needs and emotions of the local populace--a crucial factor that many of those calling for an 'airpower solution' to today's conflicts against irregular forces often neglect. Newton's book is a must for anyone who wants to know how air power can best be used to persuade or coerce." - Mark Clodfelter, National War College professor of strategy and author of The Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam
"The RAF and Tribal Control treads new ground in several important ways. Richard Newton links together the Subjects of airpower, irregular warfare, and coercion through his focused exploration of the British use of air instruments in Mesopotamia, the Transjordan, and Aden. More importantly he sheds light on the often overlooked dimension of airpower and the personnel advising airpower's use. Newton assesses with a critical and objective eye, through official reports and personal papers, the successes and failures of British Special Service officers for reasons their modern successors, combat aviation advisors, and special tactics officers are only too familiar." - James D. Kiras, professor, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Maxwell Air Force Base
Book Information
ISBN 9780700628711
Author Richard D. Newton
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint University Press of Kansas
Publisher University Press of Kansas
Weight(grams) 563g
