Military History Circle - The Development of Early RAF Doctrine

12:45, 22 Feb 2008
RUSI, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET

Link to map: multimap

About the event:

In this presentation Group Captain Parton will briefly consider what doctrine is, before examining the RAF’s early doctrine, and addressing both why it was needed and what it actually contained.  The contents may come as something of a surprise, as they do not reveal a polemic approach to strategic bombing, which is perhaps the popular expectation.  An examination of the roots of the doctrine in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) experiences of the First World War leads into conclusions about the efficacy, or otherwise, of the RAF’s first formal doctrine document.

Group Captain Neville Parton RAF is the Director of Defence Studies for the Royal Air Force, a post within the Department of the Chief of the Air Staff, currently based at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.  A graduate aeronautical engineer by background, most of his career has been spent working with Tornado aircraft at all levels from first-line to industry.  His most recent operational tour was as the Officer Commanding Engineering Wing at RAF Brize Norton, where he was involved in the introduction of the C17 into service, and the deployment of most of the RAF’s tanker fleet for in support of operations in Afghanistan in 2001.  He has Master’s degrees in Defence Administration and Defence Studies, and undertook a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations at Cambridge University in 2002, with a dissertation based upon an examination of strategic air power theory.  His most recent publication is “Israel’s 2006 Campaign in the Lebanon”, published in Air Power Review in July 2007.  He is currently working on a part-time doctorate at Cambridge, examining the role of doctrine in the early Royal Air Force.

This event is open to RUSI members who are members of the Institute’s Military History Circle only. To become a member please click here.

An optional £6 sandwich lunch shall be available from 1215.

 

Event manager: Jennifer Walker, +44 (0)20 7747 2643