The next factor of the Dowding System that I looked at was what was known as “Big Wing controversy.” This controversy was at the heart of the tension between Hugh Dowding and some other RAF commanders who did not agree with his methods during the battle. Big Wing strategy was the idea of meeting a large Luftwaffe force with a mass formation of fighter squadrons. John LaSaine describes this controversy in his book, mentioning Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander of Fighter Group 12, as one of the main proponents of the Big Wing and a rival of Dowding as well as Keith Park. Park was the commander of Fighter Group 11 and an ally of Dowding when it came to his defensive strategy. Park preferred to break up Luftwaffe forces with quick counterattacks and accused Leigh-Mallory of taking too much time to concentrate a large force when trying to employ his Big Wing tactics. Niall Mackay and Christopher Price in their article “Safety in Numbers: Ideas of Concentration in Royal Air Force Fighter Defence from Lanchester to the Battle of Britain” dive into the Big Wing controversy and explain different reasons for why the tactics Dowding preferred were more successful than the Big Wing tactics employed by Leigh-Mallory and includes statistics from the battle demonstrating this.