Airpower Impact On The United States Air Force

“Never before had so much brain-power been focused on a single problem.”(Laurence qtd. in “Eyewitness”). Many inventions can be said to have changed the world, and the way it worked. Only a core few of these many inventions can be said to change air warfare, and few of those are as game-changing as the B-29 Superfortress by Boeing. The B-29 was the plane that dropped the atomic bombs in World War Two (“bomber”). The plane by Boeing was used most in World War Two as a strategic long-range bomber. This invention revolutionized the concept of war, and war is a factor in all life on planet earth. The B-29 bomber changed warfare by sparking the innovation of aircraft technology, saving lives, and allowing more power to be carried by the means

The United States Air Force is a dedicated and effective establishment, and has been a great advantage in protecting the United States during numerous wars. It all started on August 1, 1907, General James Allen, Cheif Signal Officer or the U.S Army created and established the Aeronautical Division. He entrusted this organization with "All matters pertaining to military ballooning air machines and related subjects." (Creation) Allen then put in command, Captain Charles D. Chander who was assisted by two enlisted men. The Aeronautical Division is the very beginning of todays U.S Airforce.

“The day has passed when armies on the ground or navies on the sea can be the arbiter of a nation's destiny in war. The main power of defense and the power of initiative against an enemy has passed to the air.” -Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. November, 1918.

In the end however, neither the British nor the American supporters of bombing could provide convincing evidence that the war in Europe could be ended from air. In the pacific the bombers had a better case since Japan’s economy was weaker and it’s air resistance was much worse. Using aircraft to bomb Japan seemed a wise strategy because the bombings would avoid the needless loss of life that an invasion of the Japanese mainland would produce. Yet the American defeat of Japan was a combined operation in every sense, naval power cleverly combined with air power helped to back up and protect the long haul of the American armies into the Japan’s land. Only when bases sufficiently close to Japan had been taken could the bombings come on its own, and only the use of the atomic bomb, which air commanders could not have counted on when making their original plans, brought the war to an end, with the effectiveness of bombing debate unresolved.

The use of air warfare against enemy troops and other aircraft may cause harm to our soldier and the United States itself. The use of the United State Air Force are coming out with new technology to have a better chance with finding the enemy and putting them out of business.Why should the US keep the Air Force and not just leave it to the Navy or the Army to use.Since they are there own branch they have be making some much new technology that we are one of the best Air Force in the world.

General Mitchell was a Visionary Leader who recognized the US military must include air power as a dominant role in its Operational Doctrine in order to successfully prosecute and decisively win future wars. According to Jeffers (2005), US Operational Doctrine dictated the US Navy Fleet was the key to winning wars prior to World War I. While in command of all 1,481 American and Allied airplanes in France during World War I, General Mitchell successfully created and employed his air

World War II (WWII) lasted longer and killed more people than the Great War. There was not a fast victory conquered by bombers hitting the heart of the enemy. Air power’s contribution to the allied victory did not represent the ultimate fulfillment of the predictions of interwar theorists. Even though air power had an important role, and many lessons and doctrines emerged after this period, the visions of Douhet, Mitchell and others did not materialized as they expected. In this paper, I will discuss three of the main prophecies: the effectiveness of the strategic bombing, the ability of air power to win the war by itself, and the futility of the use of air power for defense of territory.

During The Gulf War the public and operational witnessed the debut of unfathomably complicated battle equipment, sleek new aircraft employing stealth. Arthur C. Clarke also described the Operation Desert Storm as the world’s first space war, as none of the accomplishments of America’s new look military would have been possible without support from space. Twelve years later Operation Iraqi Freedom proved that the central role of space power could no longer be denied. America’s military had made the transition from a space-supported to a fully space-enabled force, with astonishing results. Indeed, the military successfully exercised most of its current space power functions, including space lift, command and control, rapid battle damage assessment,

The Kosovo War serves as an excellent example to highlight the disparity between US and European thinking on the employment of force. The enormous success of Airpower in the Gulf War had engrained within the minds of US generals the notion that rapid and massive force from the onset was the best course of action. These generals

The U.S. would be victorious as previous mark regions in the Eastern Europe assimilated with the Western world (Martin, 2015). Also, the evolutionary tasks of politics, strategy, and doctrine, as well as Technology, aided the United States Air Force to become better able to exploit the development of air power ( The Transformation of the U.S. Air Power, 2001). Besides, technology had evolved at a rapid rate during the globalization period (CSU,

Air power is instrumental for changing the course of wars. Experience in Libya shows how important it is developing influence on the field and devoting sustained efforts for postwar stabilization.

Air power advocates believed focusing on strategic bombing would end wars sooner. Corbett noted that continental powers would struggle to avoid total war because of their inability to control their citizens’ passion. Strategic bombing sought to enflame passions by bringing war directly to the population which, in theory, would then force their government to surrender. Unfortunately, strategic bombing remained an untested theory during the interwar years, unlike the air interdiction concepts Slessor proposed. His experience during the war showed the importance of air power in isolating a battlefield from reinforcement or resupply (168) and in using the mobility and flexibility of the airplane to disrupt an adversary’s ability to support

National security requirements exercised the most significant influence on the development of airpower in Europe and the United States before the Second World War (WWII). Nations on both sides of the ocean had experienced the multifaceted disastrous results of World War I (WWI) and airpower seemed to be the answer for future wars. Understanding the context and consequences of WWI is vital to comprehend airpower theorists like Douhet, Mitchell and Trenchard and their revolutionary thoughts on airpower. The development of aircraft at the beginning of the twentieth century challenged not only military leadership but also, more important, the national security of modern states. The basic question was: How will strategic bombing of enemy territory fit in to national security and military strategy? This paper will narrow the view on Europe by selecting Great Britain as one of the most relevant nations in WWII concerning strategic bombing.

Airpower has many advantages. One advantage is constancy of attack, which is the ability to apply continual pressure on the enemy. Airpower also offers a much more rapid response than deploying ground troops. However, airpower theory overpromises its effects and under-delivers when executed.

In August of 1945, the United States military was beaten, battered, and ready to end World War II. The Germans had surrendered, silencing the European theatre, but the Japanese threat remained in the Pacific. The American forces knew that an invasion of Japan would cost nearly half a million lives, an amount which President Truman felt could not be sacrificed. In an effort to end the war quickly, with minimum American lives lost, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Now, seventy two years later, it is easy to look at the ramifications of the atomic bomb and call America’s actions unwise and catastrophic. However, the leaders of the American military saw the bomb as the only option to end World War II. The dropping of the atomic bomb effectively ended World War II, but its consequences not only drastically affected the people of Japan, but also determined the future of military weapons technology.