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Kept in the Dark: The Denial to Bomber Command of Vital Enigma and Other Intelligence Information During World War II by [John Stubbington]

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John Stubbington

Kept in the Dark: The Denial to Bomber Command of Vital Enigma and Other Intelligence Information During World War II Kindle Edition

by John Stubbington (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

8 ratings

This fascinating historical revelation goes to the very heart of British and Allied Intelligence during World War II, specifically in the context of planning, control and implementation of the combined bomber offensive against Germany. There are sound arguments based on official archives that the handling of much air intelligence was faulty and reasons to believe that some departments within Whitehall were influenced by parochial and personal attitudes that interfered with the selection of strategic targets and the planning of the bombing offensives. In some departments within Whitehall and even the Air Ministry, there was a culpable failure to understand and appreciate the operational capabilities and limitations of the RAF and USAAF bomber forces. After the evacuation of the BEF the only means of destroying the Axis production of arms and munitions fell to the RAF and this was their prime objective for the rest of the war. The destruction of arms factories, power stations, air and ship production was the underlining objective, although when special targets, such as the break-outs of the German navy's major warships and U-Boats were deemed vital, the RAF were expected to react immediately. Much of Britain's intelligence was gathered from the German ENIGMA signals and became known as ULTRA with a security classification of MOST SECRET. Apart from the brilliant work at Bletchley Park there were other inputs from partisans throughout occupied Europe, Allied agents and various forms of reconnaissance. It was a new type of warfare that developed and improved as the war progressed but all too often the bomber squadrons were put into unnecessary peril through imprecise and unthinking demands from the highest levels of government.

Print length

653 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pen & Sword Aviation
Publication date

June 19, 2010
File size

31696 KB
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About the Author

John Stubbington specializes in Aviation History. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN : B007ZD13CY
Publisher : Pen & Sword Aviation (June 19, 2010)
Publication date : June 19, 2010
Language : English
File size : 31696 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 653 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #2,849,757 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,050 in Intelligence & Espionage (Kindle Store)
- #3,252 in Military Aviation History (Kindle Store)
- #5,618 in Political Intelligence

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8 ratings

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The Jannie

Lions betrayed by donkeys . . . again.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2017

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This is a serious piece of research and all the more fascinating because of that; it's another of those books which make you ask "how did we manage to win?" When Bomber Command was deliberately denied useful information - which was freely given to the USAAF - by the Air Ministry and other Whitehall cliques someone should have been tried for working for the enemy. Instead, of course, those responsible were able to hide their traitorous actions behind committees, the Official Cockups Act and a fifty year embargo; I imagine most retired onto big fat pensions which would never be seen by the aircrew they betrayed. Read it and weep . . . .

J. E. G. Stubbington

Bomber Command: Kept in the Dark

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2010

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John Stubbington has produced a scholarly study of aspects of the Combined Bombing Offensive of World War II which sheds considerable light on the relationships existing between Whitehall and Bomber Command, in particular viewed through the prism of Signals Intelligence and the manner of its use. Almost in the margins, he considers the processes of target selection and of delivering often unsuitable weapons on to those chosen His description of the evolving capabilities and tactics of both Bomber Command and the US 8th Army Air Force is comprehensive, as are his observations concerning the apparently different relationships enjoyed by the Americans with the Air Ministry and , crucially, Bletchley Park's Air Section.
Three major strands of argument emerge from the very densely written work. First, Stubbington's principal argument is that Bomber Command was denied direct access to high grade, ULTRA, Sigint information, except as filtered through Air Intelligence in the Air Ministry. He paints a picture of `Nanny knows best', in the dogmatic denial by Air Intelligence of direct liaison between High Wycombe and the Air section of the Government Codes and Ciphers School at Bletchley park. That was only achieved later in the war. By contrast, HQ 8th AAF enjoyed such access, as part of the RAF's provision of Sigint and other intelligence material. Interestingly similar constraints were imposed on other home commands, Fighter and Coastal, although the latter was able to work around this by virtue of its close working with the RN.
The second major subject covered at some length in this book is the question of bombing accuracy and the widely held view that, whereas Bomber Command was largely capable only of area bombing, the USAAF was a precision bombing force. John Stubbington's analysis of this aspect is exhaustive and his conclusion sheds a new light on the use of the word `precision' which he characterises as a product more of public relations effort than of observed damage on the ground.
The third subject concerns the working of the entire Whitehall machine in the targets selection process and the author focuses on the two divergent schools of thought, those who favoured oil as a priority target set and those who fought the transportation corner. Stubbington comes out clearly and with some repetition in favour of the latter, arguing that transportation was a pervasive economic and military necessity: oil in the wrong place is as little use as no oil at all. His argument goes further into the availability of other raw materials, notable coal, of which German industry was starved as a result of the transportation campaign.
This incredibly detailed 446-page hardbook, with its eighteen appendices, glossary, bibliography and index, touches on may other areas of interest, not least the internal politics and bureaucracy of the Air Ministry and Whitehall, never forgetting the unequal struggle forced upon Harris by the behaviour of Air Commodore Bufton, Director of Bomber Operations later in the war. It is not an easy read, but a highly rewarding one and is plainly the result of much dedicated research and of the author's deep knowledge of the subject.
Air Vice Marshal Sandy Hunter

17 people found this helpful

spec234

A very thorough study.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2016

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Clearly this book has been thoroughly researched and will be of great interest to those who follow Second World War history seriously. However I found it to be very hard going ,( Which probably reflects more on me than the author) . For me, at least,it is not a book I could enjoy sat by the fire and accordingly I did not finish it. It would probably be more suited to serious study in the office,pen in hand for notes and cross references etc.which in the future I will probably undertake..It does not in my opinion lend itself well to the kindle book format, due to difficulties in back tracking,margin notes etc.If you want a casual read,this is probably not for you.If you like to submerge yourself in a serious study,buy the book!

Keeping me in the dark!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2017

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This subject has great potential but the writing style is so, so dull. The first few pages merely summarise what he is going to say later and then when the core chapters start the sentences tie themselves up in knots. As someone who reads at least 100 factual books a year, this is only the second one that I have given up on due to sheer boredom.

One person found this helpful

Robert Wodehouse

Best insight into Bomer Command in World WAR 2

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

One of the most comprehensively written books about bomber command.

The back ground detail both German and UK is excellent
The reason why I got it from AMERZON was that one of my visitors
in France found it so interestring they took it with them so I had
to get another
It is now park of my collection
Regards Robert

One person found this helpful

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Kept in the Dark: The Denial to Bomber Command of Vital Enigma and Other Intelligence Information During World War II Kindle Edition

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