Why we need an Air Force

Abstract

In the summer of 1917 Britain was under siege. German submarines had been causing havoc on the seas for three years, but a direct terror struck as Gotha bombers attacked London. The government immediately appointed a committee to study this threat. On August 17, 1917 the committee unequivocally recommended creating an independent air force. In proposing what became the Royal Air Force (RAF), the committee relied on reason, not precedent. Because the origins of the first armies and navies are not similarly documented, the RAF provides a case study of the establishment of a new branch of the military. Any explanation of why the United States needs an air force can be illuminated by surveying the history of warfare since 1914, starting with the way in which a group of army and naval officers brought an independent air force into being.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA528860

Entities

People

  • Charles M. Westenhoff

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Amphibious Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Naval Warfare
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies