physics

Lack of Moral Fibre

Lack of Moral Fibre is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lack of Moral Fibre rather than just read about it. In short: Lack of Moral Fibre or LMF was a punitive designation used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War to stigmatize aircrew who refused to fly operations. By early 1940, RAF commanders were concerned about mounting psychological casualties in Bomber Command and Coastal Command.

Key takeaways

Lack of Moral Fibre belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lack of Moral Fibre to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lack of Moral Fibre from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lack of Moral Fibre or LMF was a punitive designation used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War to stigmatize aircrew who refused to fly operations. By early 1940, RAF commanders were concerned about mounting psychological casualties in Bomber Command and Coastal Command. A letter circulated to commands on 22 April 1940 recommended that squadron commanders identify men who had forfeited their confidence, distinguishing medical cases from those "lacking moral fibre". By the summer of 1940, senior commanders became concerned that medical officers were removing too many men from flying duty. More detailed guidance was given in the Memorandum on the Disposal of Members of Air Crews Who Forfeit the Confidence of Their Commanding Officers S.61141/S.7.C(1) issued on 28 September 1940, signed by Charles Evans, Principal Assistant Secretary for Personnel in the Air Ministry. This "LMF memorandum" was revised on 19 September 1941, 3 February 1943 and 1 March 1945. Under this procedure, aircrew refusing to fly operations were to be classified as (i) medically fit, (ii) medically unfit on nervous grounds (introduced in the 1941 revision) or (iii) medically unfit for other reasons. Aircrew would not be placed in the first two categories if they had been subject to "exceptional flying stress", and to be assigned to category (i), they "had to be proved to be lacking in moral fibre". From February 1943, aircrew on their second tour (30 operations in Bomber Command) could not be classified LMF, though commanders were urged not to publicize this provision. According to Wing Commander James Lawson, the Air Ministry officer who handled all cases under the Memorandum, 746 officers and 3,313 non-commissioned officers were referred. Of these, 2,726 cases (including 2,337 NCOs) were classified as LMF. A man classified in categories (i) or (ii) would lose his flying badge, "to prevent his getting a lucrative job as a pilot in civil life". The service records of those classified LMF were stamped with large red "W" (for "waverer"). Officers would lose their commissions and be refused ground jobs in the RAF, while NCOs would be reduced to aircraftman second class and assigned menial tasks, such as latrine duty, for at least three months. From 1944, men released as LMF could be called for the coal mines or drafted into the army. Contemporary opinion of the system was divided. Though severe, it was less harsh than a court martial. Senior commanders such as Air Vice-Marshals Keith Park (11 Group) and Arthur Harris (5 Group and later Bomber Command) considered it essential. Squadron commanders such as Leonard Cheshire viewed it as justified in a desperate situation. RAF psychiatrists, while acknowledging the deterrent effect, considered it harsh and deficient in failing to take account of individual situations. Many Commonwealth countries resented the application of this procedure to their personnel scattered throughout the RAF. Canadian Air-Vice Marshal Harold Edwards was particularly critical. As the end of the war approached, the LMF procedure became politically sensitive, and was officially dropped in 1945. However, the term remained in popular use in the RAF until the 1960s. Veterans continue to discuss lack of moral fibre as part of a victim narrative.

References

Works cited

Ellin, Dan (2020), "A 'Lack of Moral Fibre' in Royal Air Force Bomber Command and Popular Culture", British Journal for Military History, 6 (3): 42–65. English, Allan Douglas (1996), Cream of the Crop: Canadian Aircrew, 1939–1945, McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN 978-0-7735-1398-3. ——— (2008), "Leadership and Lack of Moral Fibre in Bomber Command, 1939–1945: Lessons for today and tomorrow", in Coombs, Howard (ed.), The Insubordinate and the Noncompliant: Case Studies of Canadian Mutiny and Disobedience, 1920 to Present, Dundurn, pp. 101–204, ISBN 978-1-77070-296-7. Jones, Edgar (2006), "'LMF': The use of psychiatric stigma in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War" (PDF), The Journal of Military History, 70 (2): 439–458, doi:10.1353/jmh.2006.0103, JSTOR 4137960, S2CID 159946853. McCarthy, John (1984), "Aircrew and 'Lack of Moral Fibre' in the Second World War", War & Society, 2 (2): 87–101, doi:10.1179/war.1984.2.2.87, PMID 11618270. Terraine, John (1985), The Right of the Line: The Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939–45, Hodder & Stroughton, ISBN 978-0-340-26644-1. Wells, Mark K. (2014), Courage and Air Warfare: The Allied Aircrew Experience in the Second World War, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-135-20489-1.

External links Items relating to lack of moral fibre, International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive, University of Lincoln

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lack of Moral Fibre

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lack of Moral Fibre claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lack of Moral Fibre before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lack of Moral Fibre ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lack of Moral Fibre

In research: Lack of Moral Fibre appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lack of Moral Fibre in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lack of Moral Fibre is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics History of the Royal Air Force during World War II, Military psychiatry, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lack of Moral Fibre outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Lack of Moral Fibre” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Lack of Moral Fibre in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lack of Moral Fibre means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lack of Moral Fibre out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lack of Moral Fibre in simple terms?

Why does Lack of Moral Fibre matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lack of Moral Fibre?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lack of Moral Fibre.