Dr Tim Benbow
Reader in Strategic Studies
Research interests
- Conflict
- History
- Policy
- Security
Biography
Dr Tim Benbow studied at Oxford as an undergraduate (at Brasenose College) and as a graduate (at St Antony's College). He also spent a year at Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar and a year at King's College London.
After being awarded his doctorate he remained at Oxford, conducting a post-doctoral research project and teaching International Relations and Strategic Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including one year as a Tutor in Politics at University College.
Tim spent two years teaching at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, before joining the Defence Studies Department in 2004. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2008, and to Reader in Strategic Studies in 2016.
He created the Defence Studies Department PhD programme in 2011. In 2015 the Institute of Historical Research awarded him the Sir Julian S Corbett Prize in Modern History.
Research Interests:
- Naval Strategy and History (especially naval aviation and amphibious warfare) - Second World War and after
- UK strategy and defence policy
- Warfare since 1945
- Changing character of war and future warfare
His current research projects cover the role in naval and national strategy of battleships during and immediately after the Second World War; and the Royal Navy and the aircraft carrier question, 1945-1963.
Publications
Articles
- Battleships, D-Day and Naval Strategy, Benbow, T.J., 2021, In: War in History, published online
- The contribution of Royal Navy aircraft carriers and the Fleet Air Arm to Operation ‘Overlord’, 1944, Benbow, T., 1 Apr 2019, In : War in History. 26, 2, p. 265-286
- The Royal Navy and Sea Power in British Strategy, 1945-55, Benbow, T., May 2018, In : HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 91, 252, p. 375-398
Books
- Operation Dynamo: The Evacuation from Dunkirk, May-June 1940, Benbow, T. J. (ed.), 2016, Solihull: Helion and Company. (Naval Staff Histories of the Second World War)
- Operation Neptune: The D-Day Landings, 6 June 1944: Naval Staff Histories of the Second World War, Benbow, T. J. (ed.), 2015, Solihull: Helion and Company.
Chapters
- UK Military Strategy: The Maritime Pivot, Benbow, T.J., 2020, Military Strategy in the 21st Century: The Challenge for NATO. Matlary J.H. & Johnson, R. (eds). Hurst / Oxford University Press, pp.349-67
- The future of naval conflict and lessons from history, Benbow, T. J., 2016, Routledge Handbook of Naval Strategy and Security. Krause, J. & Bruns, S. (eds.). Abingdon: Routledge, p. 27-43
MA Special Subject:
- Making Strategy: From Policy to the Use of Military Power
PhD Supervision:
Dr Tim Benbow is happy to offer PhD supervision in the following subject areas:
- Naval history and strategy; Second World War and post-1945
- UK Strategy and defence policy; Second World War, post,-1945 and contemporary
Research
Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies
The Corbett Centre develops and promotes the understanding and analysis of maritime policy and strategy
The First World War Research Group
The First World War Research Group brings together a wealth of expertise on military, diplomatic, social, and cultural aspects of the conflict.
The Second World War Research Group
Second World War Research Group
Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War
The centre promotes the scholarly history of war in all it's dimensions, trains research students and hosts research projects and conferences
King's Contemporary British History
The study of Contemporary British History goes back to the 1960s, and was consolidated with the establishment of the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1985 by (Sir) Anthony Seldon and (Lord) Peter Hennessy. The Institute moved to King’s College London in 2010, and the new King’s Contemporary British History builds on this by creating a larger and more diverse enterprise, building on that distinguished tradition.
News
Fact vs Fiction – Academics challenge the historical accuracy of recent Hollywood blockbusters
Fact vs Fiction – Defence Studies Academics Dr Tim Benbow and Professor Ashley Jackson challenge the historical accuracy of recent Hollywood blockbusters...
Events
‘Largely a matter of sentiment’: the demise of the battleship in the post-1945 Royal Navy
A Defence Studies seminar from Dr Tim Benbow
Please note: this event has passed.
Spotlight
Using history to inform UK naval strategy and doctrine
King’s research on naval history and naval strategy during and since the Second World War has influenced the UK’s naval doctrine and helped inform a new...
Research
Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies
The Corbett Centre develops and promotes the understanding and analysis of maritime policy and strategy
The First World War Research Group
The First World War Research Group brings together a wealth of expertise on military, diplomatic, social, and cultural aspects of the conflict.
The Second World War Research Group
Second World War Research Group
Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War
The centre promotes the scholarly history of war in all it's dimensions, trains research students and hosts research projects and conferences
King's Contemporary British History
The study of Contemporary British History goes back to the 1960s, and was consolidated with the establishment of the Institute of Contemporary British History in 1985 by (Sir) Anthony Seldon and (Lord) Peter Hennessy. The Institute moved to King’s College London in 2010, and the new King’s Contemporary British History builds on this by creating a larger and more diverse enterprise, building on that distinguished tradition.
News
Fact vs Fiction – Academics challenge the historical accuracy of recent Hollywood blockbusters
Fact vs Fiction – Defence Studies Academics Dr Tim Benbow and Professor Ashley Jackson challenge the historical accuracy of recent Hollywood blockbusters...
Events
‘Largely a matter of sentiment’: the demise of the battleship in the post-1945 Royal Navy
A Defence Studies seminar from Dr Tim Benbow
Please note: this event has passed.
Spotlight
Using history to inform UK naval strategy and doctrine
King’s research on naval history and naval strategy during and since the Second World War has influenced the UK’s naval doctrine and helped inform a new...