NASA History Listserv Readers:
See information below on the
Seminar on Contemporary Science, Technology, and Culture.
Best,
Brian
March 17-19, 2021
From: "Shindell, Matt" <ShindellM@si.edu>
Date: Friday, March 12, 2021 at 4:36 PM
To: "Shindell, Matt" <ShindellM@si.edu>, "Burke, Larry" <BurkeL@si.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Thursday March 18 - "British Imperial Air Power" with Alex Spencer
Seminar on Contemporary Science, Technology, and Culture
Thursday, March 18, 4:30 pm ET
The 2020-2021 Contemporary History Seminar continues on
Thursday, March 18 on Zoom. Register
in advance.
Alex M. Spencer
Aeronautics Curator, National Air and Space Museum
Washington, DC
British Imperial Air Power: The Royal Air Forces and the Defense of Australia and New Zealand Between the World Wars
British Imperial Air Power examines the air defense of Australia and New Zealand during the interwar period.
It also demonstrates the difficulty of applying new military aviation technology to the defense of the global Empire and provides insight into the nature of the political relationship between the Pacific Dominions and Britain. Following World War I, both Dominions
sought greater independence in defense and foreign policy. Public aversion to military matters and the economic dislocation resulting from the war and later the Depression left little money that could be provided for their respective air forces. As a result,
the Empire’s air services spent the entire interwar period attempting to create a strategy in the face of these handicaps. In order to survive, the British Empire’s military air forces offered themselves as a practical and economical third option in the defense
of Britain’s global Empire, intending to replace the Royal Navy and British Army as the traditional pillars of imperial defense.
For further information, please contact: Matt Shindell at 202-633-5897; ShindellM@si.edu
Please register
in advance for this talk.
Before the talk, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The link you receive should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.
Matthew Shindell, Ph.D.
(he/him) | Space History Curator
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 311 | Washington, D.C. 20014-7012 | 202-633-5897