Dowding of Fighter Command : victor of the Battle of Britain / Vincent Orange.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 296-309) and index.

From Moffat to Upavon, 1882-1914 -- Life and death of the Western Front, 1914-1915 -- At odds with Trenchard, 1916-1920 -- From pageants to Palestine, 1920-1930 -- Framing an air defence, 1914-1930 -- Life in the 1930s : an aircraft revolution -- Life in the 1930s : research and development -- At Fighter Command, 1936 : saving a destitute child -- Improving a system, 1937-1938 -- Strengthening Fighter Command, 1938-1939 -- Preparing for war, 1939 -- The other side of the hill, 1933-1940 -- The practice of war, 1939-1940 -- From Norway to Dunkirk, April to June 1940 -- The day battle, June to August 1940 -- The day battle, August to October 1940 -- The night battle, September to November 1940 -- What happened next : after November 1940 -- American interlude, November 1940 to May 1941 -- End of a career, May 1941 to July 1942 -- Out of office, after July 1942 -- A new career, from July 1942.

Making full use of archival sources, studies by other scholars, and information provided by family members, the author has completed the first biography of Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding to cover his entire life. Soldier, pilot, wireless pioneer, squadron commander, spiritualist, champion skier, 'Stuffy' Dowding is perhaps best known as the creator of the first radar-based air defense system and his no less remarkable management of such throughout the Battle of Britain. Dowding served in Iraq, helped to pacify unrest in the Holy Land, was involved in the R.101 airship disaster and oversaw the creation of Britain's first eight-gun monoplanes, the Hurricane and Spitfire. Controversially dismissed from Fighter Command and refused the R.A.F.'s highest rank, he nevertheless became the first airman elevated to the peerage since Trenchard.