ABSTRACT
This chapter illuminates five broad themes that have lasting significance in relation to control of the air. They are political, public and press narratives, air power theory, technology, policy and practice, significance of command, bigger picture and continuing relevance. The chapter describes reinterpret and nuance the understanding of the manner in which both the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) conceptualised control of the air, and how such concepts were shaped via policy and practice before and during the First World War. This was achieved by placing control of the air in broad intellectual, administrative and operational contexts, none more important than the 'serious' and 'costly' war pursued by the British army on the Western Front. For the British, the prioritisation of offensive air power over the Western Front, while the most sensible course of action from a military standpoint, did not satisfy the public, the politicians or the press.
