The Battle of the Atlantic, the “Air Gap,” and the Delay in Allocating Liberators to the Royal Canadian Air Force
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.25071/2561-5467.1254Mots-clés :
Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, US Army Air Forces, trade defence, Sir Winston Churchill, Second World War, US NavyRésumé
La crise la plus grave de la bataille de l’Atlantique est survenue à la fin de 1942 et au début de 1943, lorsque les forces sousmarines allemandes se sont stationnées dans la région centrale de l’océan, hors de la portée des forces aéronavales terrestres des Alliés. Bien que des avions plus performants aient été disponibles, on ne leur a attribué un rôle maritime qu’au printemps de 1943. Le présent article propose une nouvelle méthodologie visant à comprendre les raisons de ce retard en étudiant les interactions complexes entre les marines, les forces aériennes et les politiciens des trois puissances alliées principalement responsables de la défense commerciale dans l’océan Atlantique – soit la Grande-Bretagne, les États-Unis et le Canada – et en examinant les difficultés particulières auxquelles faisait face l’Aviation royale canadienne.
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