Academics, military enthusiasts and interested members of the public are being invited to attend two forthcoming lectures next month, concluding the 2016 series of lectures from the Royal Air Force Museum’s Research Programme.

‘The Development of RAF Air Power Doctrine, 1999-2013’

Date: 10 November 2016

Time: 6.30pm

Cost: FREE

Location: University of Wolverhampton, MC001, Millennium City Building, Wolverhampton Campus.

The first of two lectures is being held on Thursday 10 November at the University of Wolverhampton and is a continuation of the joint partnership between the University’s Department of War Studies and the Royal Air Force Museum. This evening lecture commencing at 6.30pm will examine how the Royal Air Force has adapted to the post-Cold War strategic environment and the influencing factors that have contributed to the change in military doctrine. The lecture entitled ‘The Development of RAF Air Power Doctrine, 1999-2013’ will be presented by Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak, an independent researcher who recently completed her PhD on the subject.

Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak will discuss the variations in the RAF’s policies over the last two decades and the role it has played in the development of the Service’s doctrine and the evolution of air power. It will consider the four major factors in doctrine preparation; operational experience, internal politics, the role of academics and the doctrine writer. Furthermore, Dr Fedorchak will discuss how new campaigns provided operational lessons and how the shift from a single-service to a joint authorship resulted in the change of purpose and functionality.

Dr Peter Preston-Hough, from the University’s Department of History, Politics and War Studies, said:

“We’re delighted to be co-hosting this prestigious series of lectures, which continues to provide an interesting insight into this fascinating area of history. This lecture is a topical analysis of the RAF’s history during an important and very recent period of political and military change.”

‘Coming to Terms with the Air-Atomic Age’

Date: 18 November 2016

Time: 12.30pm

Cost: FREE

Location: RAF Museum Cosford, National Cold War Exhibition Lecture Theatre

On Friday 18 November, Colonel Edward A. Kaplan, Director of Aerospace Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College will be presenting the final Cold War lunchtime lecture, being held in the Museum’s lecture theatre at 12.30pm. Entitled ‘Coming to Terms with the Air-Atomic Age’ Colonel Kaplan looks at the notion that air power makes unique and potentially decisive contributions to national security and how this can have different meanings over time. He will illustrate these shifts using the history of the first twenty years of post-Second World War strategic air power, the “air-atomic age”.

He will explore the shift from an early air-atomic period where American strategic air power sought to destroy enemy industry, through a later period that prioritised blunting a Soviet nuclear offensive, to the rise of Mutually Assured Destruction. The latter idea abandoned conventional notions of victory and substituted signalling an enemy through violence with a final fallback of punishment. Civilians seized control of these air operations to support these efforts to signal or punish an enemy, undermining the professional standing of Airmen. As a result, airpower began a search for a new identity that ultimately led to the substitution of precision for blunt force and the restoration of operational control to professional Airmen.

Dr Ross Mahoney, RAF Museum Aviation Historian said:

“The final two lectures of the RAF Museum’s Research Programme for 2016 examine two fascinating areas related to the development and importance of air power on both sides of the Atlantic. They should be of interest to those interested in the development of air power since the Second World War to the present. Also, we are pleased to be running our Trenchard Lectures with our partners at the University of Wolverhampton who continue to support the series.” 

As spaces are limited to both lectures, organisers advise visitors to book their FREE tickets in advance via the museum’s website to avoid disappointment www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.  Additional information about both lectures and the Museum’s Research Programme is also available online.

Visitors arriving early for the ‘Coming to Terms with the Air-Atomic Age’ lecture being held at the museum’s Cosford site can also take up the opportunity to see inside the Museum’s Conservation Centre during the annual open week which runs from 14-19 November. Doors to the Conservation Centre open at 10.15am until 1.00pm and entry is just £5 per person. 

Tags: 2016, News, November, RAF Museum Cosford