Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk: The RAF and Luftwaffe during Operation Dynamo, 26 May – 4 June 1940, Harry Raffal

The evacuation of Dunkirk has been immortalised in books, prints and films, narrated as a story of an outnumbered, inexperienced RAF defeating the battle-hardened Luftwaffe and protecting the evacuation. This book revives the historiography by analysing the air operations during the evacuation. Raffal draws from German and English sources, many for the first time in the context of Operation DYNAMO, to argue that both sides suffered a defeat over Dunkirk.

This work will consider the resources and tactics of both sides during DYNAMO and challenge the traditional view that the Luftwaffe held the advantage. The success that the Luftwaffe achieved during DYNAMO, including halting daylight evacuations on 1 June, will be evaluated and the supporting role of RAF Bomber and Coastal Command will be explored in detail for the first time. Concluding that the RAF was not responsible for the Luftwaffes failure to prevent the evacuation, Raffal demonstrates that the reasons lay elsewhere.