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

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

3. 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

4. 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 1845 1850 1860 1870 1880 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 Civil War First powered airplane flight How can this be?

5. 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

6. Air Power in the U.S. military Air Power in the U.S. military  1907-1918: 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

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

8. 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

11. 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 (1918-1926)  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

12. 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

13. U.S. Military NAVYARMY InfantryCavalryArtillery Air Service AIRFORCE

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Aircraft Development B-17 P-35 P-36

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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