It is arguable that New Zealander Coningham’s work in command of the Desert Air Force was critical to the Commonwealth success in Crusader. That is certainly how the historian of the German air effort in the Mediterranean, Gundelach, sees it, and I have quite a bit of sympathy for this view. It is therefore particularly nice that Coningham’s biography is available for free on Google Books here. It can also be accessed through the publications section of the USAF historical site, but I have trouble loading that: http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/

Coningham’s biographical data is available on RAFweb.org here. A short bio sketch is here.

Coningham was one of the great commanders in the desert, and it is difficult to comprehend why he was not rewarded more highly. It is also a shame he had to die quite early, in an air accident in 1948.

I have not read all of Orange’s biography, but what I have read is very good, and there is a lot of food for thought in it.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia: