Coombs, L. F. E. The Lion Has Wings: The Race to Prepare the RAF for World War II: 1935-1940. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1997.

ISBN 1-85310-805-7
166 pages

Acknowledgements; Preface; photos; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

In this tidy little book L. F. E. Coombs has done a very nice job of reviewing the evolution of the aircraft, weapons, navigation and communications, organization, training, and doctrine of the Royal Air Force from 1935 through 1940. As the study opens, the RAF is a small, under-funded force flying biplanes. By the end of the book -- just prior to the Battle of Britain -- the RAF remains deficient but has made tremendous strides toward parity with the Luftwaffe. How was this achieved?

Coombs divides his explanation into annual chapters, one for each year save 1938 and 1939 which are both divided into two. Within each chapter he covers a range of topics in blocks of text. Examining Chapter Two, 1936, finds the following topics.

A Leisurely pace. The expansion program first gets underway.

Eight new aircraft. Prototypes for the Battle, Hampden, Hurricane, Lysander, Spitfire, Vixen, Wellesley, and Whitley.

Avro Anson. Re-equipping reconnaissance squadrons.

Testing new designs. In 1936 it was generally accepted that it would take at least six years of lead time to get a new bomber into service.

Hughes H-1. British attempts to keep track of foreign aircraft developments.

Large Bombers. Specifications and competing designs for new twin-engine "long-range" bombers.

Dive-bombers. Avoiding the diversion of scarce resources.

Battle. Description of the prototype of the new Fairey Battle.

Bent aircraft. Problems with annual loss and damage to machines during peacetime.

Signal Square. Measures for controlling aircraft on airfields.

North West Frontier. Action on the border between India and Afghanistan.

Guns. Development of aircraft armament and the policy of eight-gun fighters.

Power for guns. Development of powered mountings and turrets.

New commands. In 1936 "Air Defence of Great Britain" was split into Fighter Command and Bomber Command.

Bombs and bomb-aiming. Difficulty finding and hitting targets.

Other topics in the chapter on 1936 include Plan F (with a target of 2000 aircraft and 160 squadrons for home defense within three years), new stations and airfields, pilot training, research, and priorities for air-launched rocket R&D.

Each topic in a chapter can stand on its own and provides a brief but enlightening look at a specific issue. The reader can study all the topics or only those of particular interest. The main topics recur from chapter to chapter and year to year. This format effectively permits each chapter to present a snapshot of the RAF's situation in any given year while at the same time providing a coherent study of ongoing evolution.

Interestingly, the book does not conclude at the outbreak of war. While he devotes little space to accounts of actual operations, this extended coverage allows Coombs to attend to the continuing rapid expansion and re-equipment of the RAF throughout the months of the Phoney War and to point out some of the lessons learned -- and overlooked -- during the Fall of France. In fact, as he makes clear, the final few months of respite after September 1939 provided the critical margin without which the RAF might not have been able to successfully defend the skies over the United Kingdom.

Nicely done.

Available from online booksellers and local bookshops or directly from Patrick Stephens or its US distributor, Specialty Press.

Thanks to Specialty Press for providing this review copy.