Naval aviation became an institutional fight over the purpose of air power. French aviation politics had parallels with the Royal Navy's difficulties under Britain's Air Ministry. In this interpretation, the Admiralty could send politically active officers to sea, while Air Ministry officers remained in Britain near the politicians they hoped to influence. Concern for the Air Ministry's independence reinforced its strategic-bombing orthodoxy and even fed proposals to eliminate fighter capability. Navies and operational air forces required a broader set of tools. Carrier development therefore depended on control of requirements and doctrine as much as aircraft factories and shipyards.
Chapter · 19:20-21:45
Air Ministry politics and naval air power
A ministry-politics answer compares French aviation control problems with Britain's Air Ministry and the Royal Navy's struggle for useful naval aircraft.