A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
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World War 11-Global Conflict<br />
Despite <strong>the</strong> heroics <strong>of</strong> such airmen as Lieutenant George Welch, who<br />
was credited with having downed 4 enemy aircraft, <strong>the</strong> surprise strike on<br />
Pearl Harbor showed <strong>the</strong> limitations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>US</strong>AAF’s preparations for<br />
war. The Hawaiian <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> lost 66 percent <strong>of</strong> its strength on December<br />
7, 1941, while <strong>the</strong> Japanese lost only 29 pilots. Across <strong>the</strong> International<br />
Dateline, Lieutenant Joseph Moore claimed 2 Japanese aircraft <strong>the</strong> next<br />
day in <strong>the</strong> skies over Clark Field in <strong>the</strong> Philippines, but General Douglas<br />
MacArthur’s air force <strong>of</strong> 277 aircraft, including 2 squadrons <strong>of</strong> B-17s (35<br />
aircraft in all), was destroyed. These greatest concentrations <strong>of</strong> American<br />
air power at <strong>the</strong> time had failed to deter or hinder <strong>the</strong> Japanese.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> start <strong>of</strong> World War I a solid industrial infrastructure on<br />
which to construct <strong>the</strong> world’s greatest air force had not existed in <strong>the</strong><br />
United States. At <strong>the</strong> start <strong>of</strong> World War I1 this was not <strong>the</strong> case. The air-<br />
craft manufacturing sector was large and growing daily. Before <strong>the</strong> war,<br />
General Arnold had established nine civilian primary flight training<br />
schools, two <strong>Air</strong> Corps basic flight training schools, and two <strong>Air</strong> Corps<br />
advanced flight training schools. The number <strong>of</strong> trained pilots had jum-<br />
ped from 300 in 1938 to 30,000 in 1941 (plus 110,OOO mechanics). On<br />
December 7,1941, <strong>the</strong> <strong>US</strong>AAF had a running start and was in <strong>the</strong> war for<br />
<strong>the</strong> duration.<br />
Arnold planned first for vastly expanded production, training,<br />
and resedch, with <strong>the</strong> long-term military interests <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nation in mind.<br />
While German factories maintained a one-shift peacetime work week<br />
until 1943, American plants ran around <strong>the</strong> clock. Swelled by hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />
thousands <strong>of</strong> women, more than two million American workers built<br />
nearly 160,000 aircraft <strong>of</strong> all kinds for <strong>the</strong> Army and 140,000 for <strong>the</strong><br />
Navy and Allied nations during <strong>the</strong> war. America’s aircraft production<br />
overwhelmed that <strong>of</strong> every o<strong>the</strong>r nation in <strong>the</strong> world. Altoge<strong>the</strong>r, its fac-<br />
tories turned out 324,750 aircraft for <strong>the</strong> war effort; Germany’s factories<br />
turned out 11 1,077 and Japan’s 79,123. Where o<strong>the</strong>r nations stopped pro-<br />
duction lines to make modifications, or manufactured models long obso-<br />
lescent, <strong>the</strong> United States, according to Arnold’s orders, left its factories<br />
alone to insure high production levels and established separate depots to<br />
modify and modernize older models. Until <strong>the</strong> German Me 262 jet, Ame-<br />
rican aircraft set <strong>the</strong> standard for performance and combat success with<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir ruggedness (<strong>the</strong> B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, and P-47<br />
Thunderbolt); <strong>the</strong>ir range and bomb load (<strong>the</strong> B-29 Superfortress); <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
range, speed, and agility (<strong>the</strong> P-51 Mustang); and <strong>the</strong>ir utility (<strong>the</strong> C-47<br />
Skytrain). Eventually, <strong>the</strong>y were to equip 243 groups, consuming about<br />
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