Published: June 13, 2020 1:20:46 pm
A painting of a pair of RAF aircraft flying during Pink's War.
Written by Mandeep Singh Bajwa
The air operations in Waziristan on the North-West Frontier in the first half of 1925 were an important step in the development of aerial warfare; in particular the principles of air control. The campaign came to be known as Pink's War after operational commander Wing Commander RCM Pink. This was the only campaign ever to be named after a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer.
In the period between the two world wars, the theory of air warfare was propelled by such thinkers as Mitchell and Douhet. The RAF did not lack its own progressive theorists. They propounded the ideas of air control, blockage and stand-off bombardment. The force was looking for relevance in peacetime, planning for future wars and securing its own prospects against a backdrop of a post-World War One struggle between the three Services for means. This was a period of austerity.
The use of air power for colonial policing presented a unique opportunity of testing the utility of air control. This seemed an attractive and intelligent option to the use of ground troops in expensive, lengthy and costly (in terms of casualties) campaigns. After the successful use of aerial…
