Programme of events, 2016

19th March

Air Power Goes to War: Military Aviation up to 1914

Ross Mahoney

By the end of 1914, military aviators were conducting operations that encompassed the key elements that modern air forces would recognise in the 21st Century. Indeed, in 1914, the Royal Flying Corps was in effect the world’s first expeditionary air force as it deployed from its home bases in Great Britain to the Continent with few major problems. This talk will explore the evolution of military aviation in the decade prior to the outbreak of the First World War, the debates around its use as well as the scope and affect that air power played during the opening months of the war.

Ross Mahoney is the resident Aviation Historian at Royal Air Force Museum. He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Birmingham as well as a PGCE and BA from the University of Wolverhampton. He is currently writing a social and cultural history of the RAF’s officer class from 1918 to 1939 as well as researching the Service’s military culture. His research interests includes air power history, theory and doctrine, leadership, command and morale, military innovation, military culture and the history of professional military education. He is the convener of The Second World War Military Operations Research Group.

Photo with thanks to @GERArmyResearch