Big Wing controversy
E180836
The Big Wing controversy was a heated World War II Royal Air Force tactical debate over the effectiveness of deploying large fighter formations versus smaller, more flexible units during the Battle of Britain.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Big Wing controversy canonical | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Royal Air Force history event
ⓘ
World War II tactical debate ⓘ military controversy ⓘ |
| appliesToCountry | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| appliesToEvent | Battle of Britain ⓘ |
| appliesToOrganization | Royal Air Force ⓘ |
| argumentAgainst |
delayed interception of enemy raids
ⓘ
large formations took too long to assemble ⓘ risk of leaving targets undefended ⓘ |
| argumentFor |
large formations could provide mutual support among fighters
ⓘ
mass fighter formations could inflict heavier losses on enemy bombers ⓘ |
| conflictType |
organizational dispute
ⓘ
tactical doctrine dispute ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| describedTactic |
Big Wing
ⓘ
large fighter formation ⓘ |
| era |
Battle of Britain
ⓘ
World War II ⓘ |
| hasAspect |
inter-service politics
ⓘ
operational effectiveness ⓘ use of intelligence and radar ⓘ |
| historicalAssessment | effectiveness of Big Wing remains debated by historians ⓘ |
| historicalImpact |
contributed to removal of Hugh Dowding from Fighter Command
ⓘ
influenced post-Battle of Britain RAF leadership changes ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| location | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| mainSubject |
air defence strategy
ⓘ
fighter tactics ⓘ |
| notableCommanderInvolved |
Douglas Bader
ⓘ
Hugh Dowding ⓘ Keith Park ⓘ Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory ⓘ
surface form:
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
|
| opponent |
Hugh Dowding
ⓘ
Keith Park ⓘ |
| opposedTactic |
flexible squadron-level response
ⓘ
piecemeal fighter interception ⓘ small fighter formation ⓘ |
| partOf |
history of the Battle of Britain
ⓘ
history of the Royal Air Force ⓘ military history of World War II ⓘ |
| proponent |
Douglas Bader
ⓘ
Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory ⓘ
surface form:
Trafford Leigh-Mallory
|
| relatedConcept |
air superiority
ⓘ
concentration of force ⓘ fighter command and control ⓘ integrated air defence system ⓘ scramble time ⓘ |
| relatedUnit |
No. 11 Group RAF
ⓘ
No. 12 Group RAF ⓘ |
| startTime | 1940 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.