R.A.F. Narrative (First Draft): The R.A.F. in the Bombing Offensive Against Germany. Volume V: The Full Offensive, February 1943 to February 1944.

WORLD WAR II.

Published by London: Air Historical Branch, Air Ministry, 1949

About this Item

Copy number 8, from a small, restricted circulation, classified "secret." Drawing on high-level government papers and reports, this report follows extensive background with discussion of individual operations and assessments of efficacy, tactics, and strategy. The only copies traced are in the complete sets held by the Imperial War Museum and the National Archives. The Air Historical Branch was revived in 1941 under the leadership of John Combes Nerney (1890-1973) and immediately began gathering material for a six-volume narrative, The R.A.F. in the Bombing Offensive Against Germany. Volume I, on the development of Bomber Command up to 1939, was completed by the end of hostilities, and the remainder were finalized in the immediate postwar years. In this volume, chapters are devoted to major offensives including Operation Pointblank, Operation Chastise, and the Battle of Berlin, as well as the devastation of the industrial city of Hamburg. The text cites large quantities of sensitive information and data. Although there is no stated limitation, we have located no volume with a copy number above 17. The narrative formed the basis of The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany, 1939-1945, written by Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland and published for the public in 1961. Frankland's 1951 monograph, The Planning of the Bomber Offensive and its Contribution to German Collapse, was published by the Air Historical Branch as a companion to the original six volumes. Large quarto (340 x 210 mm). With 3 maps (2 folding, 1 colour), 7 folding tables, chart; tables in text. Leaves printed with duplicated typescript. Original brown quarter cloth boards, fixed with metal posts, front cover with white label printed in black. "Supplied for the public service" ink stamp on inner boards. Covers worn as expected, couple of text pages only partly bound in, Appendix 13 repaired along fold: very good.

Seller Inventory # 136920

Bibliographic Details

• Title: R.A.F. Narrative (First Draft): The R.A.F. in the Bombing Offensive Against Germany. Volume V: The Full Offensive, February 1943 to February 1944.
• Publisher: London: Air Historical Branch, Air Ministry, 1949
• Edition: 1st Edition