Roots and Creation of the U.S. Air Force Roots and Creation of the U.S. Air Force

Lesson Overview  Air power before there was an ‘Air Force’  The predecessors to the US Air Force  The Air Force’s path toward independence

Air power before ‘Air Force’  Air Force birthday:  Sep 18, 1947  Before then, there was no U.S. Air Force; only U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard

Pre-Air Force  But air power had a long role in the U.S. military for decades prior to 1947  What was the first war that featured air power?  Civil War Civil War First powered airplane flight How can this be?

BalloonsBalloons What were they used for? E N S I N O E R C N A S A CR E C O N N A I S S A N C E

Air Power in the U.S. military Air Power in the U.S. military  : The U.S. military’s air power belonged to the Aviation Section of U.S. Army’s Signal Corps  Started with balloons and added airplanes later  Why the Signal Corps?  Communications  Air power was at first viewed strictly as an information- gathering utility

How was information passed down to the ground?  Cameras  Dropped messages  Colored flares  Aircraft maneuvers  Radios  And… pigeons

Air power in World War I  But soon, missions went beyond reconnaissance  Shooting down enemy balloons and aircraft  ‘Dogfighting’ enemy airplanes  Dropping munitions on enemy

Creation of the Army Air Service  Despite air power’s combat roles, it remains buried in the Signal Corps  That changes when President Woodrow Wilson uses his executive powers to create the Army Air Service in May 1918  A combat arm of the Army ( )  Equal to Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery  This change gave the Air Service more control, but it still answered to the Army Insignia of the Air Service

Air Service Wants More  But funds were in short supply after WW 1  Congress no longer emphasized national defense  After all, WW1 was known at the time as the …  ‘War to End All Wars’  As a result, the Army was tightfisted in how much money it gave to the Air Service  This only increased the Air Service’s desire for independence… equal to the Army and Navy

U.S. Military NAVYARMY InfantryCavalryArtillery Air Service AIRFORCE

Brig Gen Billy Mitchell  Brig Gen Billy Mitchell  WW1 Army Air Service general; most prominent advocate of air power  Believed air power would be crucial to winning future wars  Would be easier to direct air power if the Air Service were equal in stature to the Army and Navy  An independent service would also get a larger share of government money

U.S. Department of War  The US Department of War disagreed with Mitchell  It believed in a three- pronged national defense, based on…  the Navy’s battle fleet  the Navy’s coastal defenses  the Army’s coastal defenses

Another name change and status elevation  In 1926, an act of Congress elevated the Air Service to the Army Air Corps  This was a compromise between advocates of a separate military service and traditionalists who believed air power existed only to support ground operations  Why is a ‘Corps’ better than a ‘Service’?  It boosts the idea that the air arm is no longer only in ‘service’ to ground troops… merely providing ‘service’ to the ground troops

The Army Air Corps  The Air Corps could conduct independent missions corps  By definition, a corps is a branch or department of the armed forces having a specialized function  The Army Air Corps’ ‘specialized function’ was force projection from the air  Can anyone name another ‘corps’ of the U.S. military?  U.S. Marine Corps  Does anyone know the Marine Corps’ ‘specialized function’?  Force projection from the sea

Aircraft Development B-17 P-35 P-36

Another name change  The Army Air Corps officially became the Army Air Forces on 20 June 1941  The new Air Force remained under the command of the Army  But it could now oversee its own functions in combat, training, and maintenance

The war after the ‘War to End All Wars’  What was it?  World War 2  Air power’s role was prominent in WW2  Bombing, dog-fighting, recon, transport, troop-dropping, close-ground support  The argument for an independent Air Force could no longer be ignored

The National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947  In July 1947, President ______________ signed into law the National Security Act of 1947  Created the U.S. Air Force (finally independent of the Army)  Also created the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Agency

ReviewReview  In what war did air power first appear?  The Civil War  What was the main role of air power in that war?  Reconnaissance  The air arm of the U.S. military originally belonged to what branch of the Army?  Signal Corps

ReviewReview  In addition to reconnaissance, what was air power used for in WW1?  Shooting down other side’s aircraft, dropping explosives  Why was money for military aircraft in short supply?  The ‘War to End All Wars’ was over  Woodrow Wilson uses executive power to create what?  Army Air Service

ReviewReview  Who believed U.S. airpower would be crucial to winning future wars and strongly advocated a separate Air Force?  Billy Mitchell  What name replaced Army Air Service?  Army Air Corps  What name change followed Air Corps?  Army Air Forces

ReviewReview  In what war was air power so decisive that it led to creation of an independent Air Force?  World War 2  What legislative act created the Air Force?  The National Security Act of 1947