Neither Decadent, Nor Traitorous, Nor Stupid: The French Air Force and Air Doctrine in the 1930s

摘要

The airmen and politicians who led the Armee de l' Air as it served the Third Republic worked diligently to create a military institution that they believed met French defense needs. Their efforts revealed the difficulties that arose when air power theory clashed with established notions of how to employ air forces. Airmen changed their ideas and methods about the proper role for the Air Force to accommodate competing Army and Navy opinions. Reactive doctrine crept into every aspect of the air service because the airmen failed to argue effectively for a distinct vision of warfare predicated on the dominance of the air weapon.