The Army and Its Air Corps: Army Policy toward Aviation 1919-1941 - Billy Mitchell, Boeing B-17, Douglas B-7, Charles A. Lindbergh, Henry Hap Arnold, Fokker F-2, Frear Committee

From the Armistice in 1918 to the late 1930s, there was continuous controversy over the place of aviation in the military establishment. This book details how airpower visionaries, with varying degrees of tact, often risked charges of insubordination in preaching the gospel of airpower. As aviation technology advanced and as Army leaders were "educated" in the capabilities of aircraft, they showed genuine interest in the potential of airpower. The author contends that their decisions often favored the Air Corps and that the Air arm received a lion's share of the Army budget during a period of extreme austerity. Dr. Tate states that the Air Corps, far from being a stepchild, had become a princess by the late 1930s.

Topics covered include: the Billy Mitchell court-martial; Barling Bomber; Fokker C-2; P-12; Boeing B-17; Douglas B-7; Boeing B-9; 94th Pursuit Squadron; Major General Benjamin Foulois; Charles A. Lindbergh; Major General Henry "Hap" Arnold; Boeing P-26 Peashooter; Curtiss B-2; Martin B-10; Frear Committee.

Contents * Foreword. * Chapter 1 * THE RETURN TO PEACE: VISIONARIES AND REALISTS * The Uncertainty of Its Future * A Very Unfortunate and Critical Situation * Notes * Chapter 2 * CREATION OF THE ARMY AIR CORPS * Business Methods in the War Department * "Almost Treasonable Administration of the National Defense" * A "Bolshevik Bug in the Air" * Notes * Chapter 3 * AT WAR WITH THE NAVY * Warning from the Air Corps: The Navy Is Coming Ashore! * Not a Matter of Law * The MacArthur-Pratt Agreement * Notes * Chapter 4 * THE GREAT DEPRESSION * Hoover Orders an Economic Survey of the War Department * "Just Hog-tied a Mississippi Cracker" * That Same Old Chestnut * Notes * Photo Section * Chapter 5 * THE AIRMAIL CRISIS AND THE CREATION OF THE GHQ AIR FORCE * "The Army Has Lost the Art of Flying" * An "Air Plan for the Defense of the United States" * The GHQ Air Force Becomes a Reality * Notes * Chapter 6 * PREPARATION FOR WAR * The Heavy Bomber * The Army Air Force * Notes * Chapter 7 * CONCLUSION * Notes * BIBLIOGRAPHY