Page 336 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

336 airpower in 20 Century doCtrines and employment - national experienCes
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airplanes, 5,000 aircraft engines and 50,000 aircraft mechanics to arrive on the
Western Front by the Spring of 1918. It was a goal totally beyond the very limited
capability of American industry. But, as unrealistic as it was, the French request had
the positive effect of providing an immediate impetus to create a large American
aircraft industry. 1
In May 1917 the U.S. Congress voted an appropriation of $640,000,000 to enable
the U.S. Army to quickly build an air arm equal to that of the other major powers.
It was an enormous sum and, up to that time, the largest single appropriation ever
2
made by the U.S. Congress. The massive influx of funds made it possible for the
Americans to quickly build up the infrastructure of aviation—engine companies,
aircraft manufacturers, airfields, and schools to train the mechanics and pilots.
America’s allies contributed by providing training, aircraft and equipment. Most
of the American air units that made it into combat before the end of the war were
equipped with excellent British and French planes, and most of the American pilots
had been trained under French supervision. In addition to the material support to
create an air force, the British, French, and Italian allies also shared their ideas of
airpower—ideas that the Americans would modify in their own way to develop a
distinctly American doctrine of aerial war.
Among the handful of American airmen in 1917 was Major William (“Billy”)
Mitchell, who was in Europe as an observer of Allied airpower. Mitchell laid the
groundwork to establish an American aviation structure in France to help support
the American forces that would soon arrive. As a first step, Mitchell met with the
commander of Britain’s Royal Flying Corps in France, General Hugh Trenchard, to
discuss the development of an American air force. Trenchard, soon to become the first
chief of staff of the Royal Air Force, was creating a strategic bomber force that was
intended to strike vital operational targets behind the front lines, and would also strike
vital war industries deep within Germany. Mitchell was impressed by Trenchard and
his views and proposed to the American Expeditionary Force Commander, General
Pershing, that the Americans copy the British concept of an independent strategic
bomber force. 3
As Mitchell worked to prepare the way for American air power in Europe, other
key officers of the American Air Service in a mission headed by Major Bolling
visited Allied air forces to determine what types of aircraft America should build
and how American aviation might be organized for the war. The Bolling Mission
provided realistic guidance to the American army staff and recommended certain
types of aircraft for the fledgling Air Service. The American mission met with the
4

1
Stephen Budiansky, Air Power (New York: Viking Press, 2003) p. 112.
2
Ibid.
3
On Mitchell, his career and wartime service see James Cooke, Billy Mitchell (Boulder, Lynne Riener,
2002) On the genesis of his wartime airpower ideas see pp. 51-55.
4
Cooke, pp. 56-57.