[naturalman1975]

In 1938, Britain did not have the capability to successfully wage war against Germany. In that situation, it's hardly surprising that Chamberlain tried everything he could to avoid war.

Over the next year, a lot of things changed.

Standard British Bomber of 1938.

Standard British Bomber of 1939.

Standard British Fighter of 1938.

Standard British Fighter of 1939.

That one year made a lot of difference. Two more battleships were commissioned in 1939 (HMS King George V, and HMS Prince of Wales) with three more nearing completion. Britain's first 'modern' Aircraft Carrier by the standards of the day, was only commissioned near the end of 1938, and the next four were still building through 1939. That one year that Chamberlain gained made a huge difference.

Yes, he hoped to avoid war. But he also helped put in place a vastly improved mechanism to fight it.

[RitchieAprile]

Shutleworth’s have the only flyable Gladiator (I think).

Nice video with period music track at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0f5Qxp_3tI&feature=related

[El Sordo]

I have read speculation that Chamberlain was trying to, at the least, stall as much as he could.

I've never read concrete development of that thesis though.

Know of any good info on it?

[catbertz]

Very interesting comments. I always thought poorly of his actions, but appreciate your logic that he played the cards he was dealt while his nation prepared.

[taildragger]

As kind of a self taught arm chair aero guy I have seen a lot of craft, but this one is hidious, oh my so many sins....

[fortheDeclaration]

Had the French and British stood up to Hitler at the start, war could have been avoided.

By the time Poland occured, Hitler didn't believe that the allies would declare war.

Chamberlain didn't buy time, he put Britain in a weaker position by allowing Germany to grow confident and divide up a powerful Czech nation.

[SampleMan]

You are forgetting that in 1938 the German war machine was almost nonexistent.

In 1938 Britain and France had very antiquated forces, but they had forces. The Germans were about 90% bluff, even through the phony war they had very little.

During the assault on Poland the Germans were 100% committed, with no reserves. Had the French simply attacked at that point, they would have been unopposed.

1938-1940 saw Germany gain material advantage over the allies, not vice versa, so its hard to support the claim that the allies “had no choice” but to roll over during that period.

By 1940, Frances air force was 90% obsolete, but in 1938, it would have crushed the German Luftwaffe.

Yes, material state was weak in 1938, but it was as good as it was ever going to get for France, and Britain would never see another day (until the USA and USSR took over) that they would have as good of chances against the Germans.

What the allies lacked in 1938 was the capability to bluff the Germans into backing down and the will to carry through with a fight.

[HenpeckedCon]

Horse$hit! If Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938 and Britain and France had declared war and attacked Germany, the war would have been over in very short order. The Germans would have been bled dry trying to overcome the Czech fortifications in the Sudetenland which were very formidable. Hitler admitted as much. Chamberlain was a cowardly scoundrel.

[Bellflower]

Yes, he hoped to avoid war. But he also helped put in place a vastly improved mechanism to fight it.

Did Hitler also make big improvements during that year? And how did they compare?

[Monterrosa-24]

That year led to more German advancement than Brit. Germany invaded France with very few MkIV tanks and the majority of Rommel’s division was made up of Chek T-38s which they had curtesy of Chamberlin.

The Hawker Hurricane was still a mainstay of the Battle of Britain and it began RAF service in 1937.