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- Close Call: RAF Close Air Support in the Mediterranean
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.
Pages: 208
Size: 8.3 X 11.7 (inches)
Format: Hardback
Illustrations: 200 photos
Publisher: Hikoki Publications
ISBN: 9781902109640
Product Code: HK964
Vic Flintham
Vic Flintham has researched British military aviation for over 50 years. He has written numerous articles, a number of standard aviation references on post-war conflicts, a highly praised account of the RAF in the Middle East between the wars and co-authored Combat Codes describing wartime unit codes.
He is a chartered personnel practitioner but now retired: after a career in NHS management he formed a consultancy practice then managed the family property business. He had a PPL(A) flying license, having learned to fly in 2001 and is a full member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, the RAF Historical Society and a Freeman of the Honorable Company of Air Pilots. He combines exotic travel with photography, has two adult children and lives in North Hertfordshire with his wife Christine and fox terrier Poppy.
