TO COMMAND THE SKY (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight) [Hardcover]

MCFARLAND STEPHEN L (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 1991 | Series: Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight

To Command the Sky is a scholarly record of the fight for domination of the skies over western Europe during World War II. It also explains the technical details of the tactics used to defeat the Luftwaffe. This book is important for serious students of World War II or military aviation.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The concept of strategic bombing (eliminating the enemy's war-making ability by destroying his industrial base) dominated American air operations until 1944, when it was replaced by the quest for air superiority, or control of the skies. In this untold WW II story McFarland, who teaches history at Auburn University, and Newton ( The Perilous Sky ) suggest that the turning point occurred with Gen. James Doolitte's command decision that U.S. fighters, instead of protecting American bombers directly, would henceforth seek out and destroy German fighters. With the German training establishment unable to replace losses in its fighter arm, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower could tell his D-Day invasion troops, ``If you see fighting aircraft over you, they will be ours.'' This latest entry in the Smithsonian History of Aviation series argues persuasively that the campaign for control of European skies ranks in importance with such epic confrontations as those of Midway and Stalingrad.

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- The authors confirm that the winning of air superiority and not the success of strategic bombing paved the way for the Allied invasion of France and ultimately their victory in Europe. They use both American and German accounts to furnish specific explanations of the disputes surrounding the air campaign of the war. This book provides a careful study of the people, technology, military decisions, and events in the struggle for control of the skies.

Mike Printz, Topeka West H.S., Topeka, KS

Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian (October 17, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560980699
• ISBN-13: 978-1560980698
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #739,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Account of the Achievement of Air Superiority Over Germany, January 5, 2000

By 

David W. Bobb (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TO COMMAND THE SKY (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight) (Hardcover)

If one wishes to learn about the contributions of the US ArmyAir Forces in Europe during World War II, the literature is repletewith books and articles about strategic precision daylight bombing. However, in To Command the Sky, the authors have broken from the strategic bombing mold to inform us of how air superiority was achieved, and how important that victory was to allow the Allied forces to not only carry out their strategic bombing mission, but also to prepare the battlefield for D-Day. Indeed, without air superiority over the landing areas, the D-Day invasion of the continent would have certainly been more costly, if not impossible to achieve. This excellent book recounts how the Luftwaffe was defeated through a combination of strategic bombing and, more importantly, attrition of the Luftwaffe planes and pilots. Although the book begins with a brief history of military aviation and doctrine, the highlight for this reviewer was the chapter dedicated to training, especially since the authors look at both the American and German programs. Flaws in the German training programs directly contributed to their aerial defeat in 1942 - 1944. Due to the prohibition to maintain a German air force by the Treaty of Versailles after WW I, the Luftwaffe started training its pilots in Russia and Italy during the 1920s and 1930s. By the time Hitler announced to the world the existence of the Luftwaffe in 1935, he had established a formidable force. For myriad reasons though, problems consistently nagged the Luftwaffe and ultimately led to its defeat. These included a lack of training planes, a lack of qualified instructor pilots, little instrument flying time, and shortages of aviation fuel. The authors develop these shortfalls throughout the book and keep coming back to the conclusion that inadequate training was a major factor in the Luftwaffe's demise. Two other aspects of the battle for air superiority that the authors examine are the realizations that fighter escort would be needed to defend the bombers on their strategic strikes, and attrition warfare would be needed to defeat the Luftwaffe. Despite the fact losses from attrition warfare were high, the Allied commanders were willing to accept them knowing that replacement aircraft and qualified pilots were readily available. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading To Command the Sky as I felt it gave a truly balanced account of how fighters and bombers were both needed to achieve air superiority and bring about the defeat of the Luftwaffe. Lastly, the authors' insight into some of the key commanders (Eaker, Doolittle, Spaatz, Arnold) thinking was especially enlightening and appreciated. It put the struggles they faced in commanding such a large force in perspective, especially with regard to the D-Day timeline under which they operated. I believe To Command the Sky is a must read for anyone wishing to study the air campaign against Germany during World War II.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How we won air superiority, April 19, 2003

By 

Anthony Cooper (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TO COMMAND THE SKY PB (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight) (Paperback)

The authors do an excellent job of showing how the Allies were able to use their material superiority to best advantage and defeat the Luftwaffe. Counterintuitively, the main advantage gained by the strategic bombing program was the defeat of the Luftwaffe. It was only when the bombers started hitting important targets in Germany accompanied by escort fighters that the German fighters had to fight at unequal terms.

Great description of how the air war was won.