Striking the Hornets' Nest provides the first extensive analysis of the Northern Bombing Group (NBG), the Navy's most innovative aviation initiative of World War I and one of the world's first dedicated strategic bombing programs. Very little has been written about the Navy's aviation activities in World War I and even less on the NBG. Standard studies of strategic bombing tend to focus on developments in the Royal Air Force or the U.S. Army Air Service.
This work concentrates on the origins of strategic bombing in World War I, and the influence this phenomenon had on the Navy's future use of the airplane. The NBG program faced enormous logistical and personnel challenges. Demands for aircraft, facilities, and personnel were daunting, and shipping shortages added to the seemingly endless delays in implementing the program.
Despite the impediments, the Navy (and Marine Corps) triumphed over organizational hurdles and established a series of bases and depots in northern France and southern England in the late summer and early fall of 1918. Ironically, by the time the Navy was ready to commence bombing missions, the German retreat had caused abandonment of the submarine bases the NBG had been created to attack. The men involved in this program were pioneers, overcoming major obstacles only to find they were no longer needed.
Though the Navy rapidly abandoned its use of strategic bombing after World War I, their brief experimentation directed the future use of aircraft in other branches of the armed forces. It is no coincidence that Robert Lovett, the young Navy reserve officer who developed much of the NBG program in 1918, spent the entire period of World War II as Assistant Secretary of War for Air where he played a crucial role organizing and equipping the strategic bombing campaign unleashed against Germany and Japan. Rossano and Wildenberg have provided a definitive study of the NBG, a subject that has been overlooked for too long.
Recenzijos
This book is much more than just a history of the Navys struggle during World War I to develop methods to destroy the German U-boat bases in Belgium. Underlying the story is the struggle among competing interests, both within and among the Allies and within the American Expeditionary Forces, for scarce resources. The authors have written a book that will become the definite study of the Northern Bombing Group. This units history needs to be read, for the men of the group laid the foundation for how U. S. strategic airpower was used, not only in World War II, but during the Cold War. This well-written and researched book is a welcomed addition to those books that help explain the how and why of the development of American military thought. I am glad to add this book to my library.
JAMP: The Journal of Americas Military Past
There is a lot of information, with many details revealed for the first time, along with some interesting photos. All in all, a fine effort.
Naval Aviation News "Overall, this is a timely book and certainly adds to the historiography of British and American aviation. It is well written, has an excellent selection of supporting photographs and is immaculately researched. Some readers may discern a slight preference for a naval interpretation of events but that is not necessarily a bad thing! Definitely recommended reading."
-AEROSPACE
| Acknowledgments |
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xi | |
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xiii | |
| Introduction |
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1 | (6) |
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Chapter 1 Blazing the Path: The Royal Naval Air Service and the Beginnings of Strategic Bombing |
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7 | (13) |
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Chapter 2 Crushing the Hornets' Nest |
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20 | (9) |
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Chapter 3 Naval Aviation Enters the Arena: April--December 1917 |
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29 | (13) |
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Chapter 4 The Dunkirk Dilemma |
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42 | (9) |
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Chapter 5 Bombardment Aviation: America to the Rescue |
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51 | (12) |
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Chapter 6 The General Board Speaks: January--March 1918 |
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63 | (12) |
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Chapter 7 Paris Charts a Different Course: January--April 1918 |
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75 | (15) |
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Chapter 8 The Great Debate: March--May 1918 |
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90 | (10) |
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Chapter 9 Night Bombers Needed |
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100 | (13) |
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Chapter 10 Putting the Plan into Motion: May--July 1918 |
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113 | (10) |
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Chapter 11 Training of Personnel |
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123 | (7) |
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Chapter 12 Capronis Coveted: Army versus Navy in Italy |
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130 | (9) |
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Chapter 13 Airbases and Support Facilities |
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139 | (6) |
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Chapter 14 Send in the Marines |
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145 | (20) |
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Chapter 15 Learning from the British: July--November 1918 |
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165 | (7) |
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Chapter 16 Operating against the Enemy: The Campaign Begins |
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172 | (9) |
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Chapter 17 Operating against the Enemy: Day Bombing |
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181 | (12) |
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Chapter 18 Bombing, Bombing, and More Bombing |
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193 | (16) |
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Chapter 19 Lessons and Legacies |
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209 | (4) |
| Notes |
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213 | (40) |
| Selected Bibliography |
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253 | (10) |
| Index |
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263 | |
Geoffrey L. Rossano is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of North Carolina, USA and an instructor of history at the Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut. He is the author and editor of many articles and books, including Stalking the U-Boat: U.S. Naval Aviation in Europe during World War I, which won the 2010 Roosevelt Prize in Naval History.
Thomas Wildenberg is an independent historian and scholar with special interests in aviators, naval aviation, and technological innovation in the military. He has written extensively about the U.S. Navy during the interwar period, and his writings have appeared in a variety of scholarly journals including the Naval War College Review, Proceedings, and Air Power History. His books on naval history include, Destined for Glory, All the Factors of Victory, Grey Steel and Black Oil, Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy, and Ship Killer.
