More at http://scitech.quickfound.net/aviation_news_and_search.html
"Records events before World War II; Hitler's role in air power; B-17's' good will tour of South America; Air Corps in mock attack; Hap Arnold, Chief of Air Corps; Hitler's victory at Munich; and intensive training of U.S. Army pilots."
Official history of the United States Air Force, volume 1 chapter 6, from 1937 to 1939.
v1c5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci9f9Ove48c
v1c7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HbhuNEuJ2M
playlist (in progress): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87B91BF8DAF07103
USAF film SFP 263-6
Public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with clipping reduction, volume normalization, noise removal and equalization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_Air_Corps
In January 1936, the AAC contracted with Boeing for thirteen Y1B-17 Flying Fortress prototypes, enough to equip one squadron for operational testing and a thirteenth aircraft for stress testing, with deliveries made from January to August 1937... by 1938 there were still only thirteen on hand. On 18 March 1938 Secretary Woodring approved a plan that included the purchase of 144 additional heavy bombers, but approval was reversed in July following the moratorium against the long-range bomber program issued by the Joint Board.
The moratorium also resulted from the enmity of the Navy incurred by the Air Corps on 12 May 1938 when it widely publicized the interception of the Italian ocean liner Rex by three B-17s while it was 620 miles off-shore of New York City.[52][n 20] Possibly under pressure from the Navy, General Craig placed a 100-mile limit on all future off-shore flights by the Army, and the services together issued a joint statement reasserting that the mission of the Air Corps in coastal defense was only for supporting the Navy if called upon to do so. Westover, who stridently opposed cancellation of the Woodring program, was killed in an air crash on 21 September 1938 and was succeeded by Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold...
...Notable fighters developed during the late 1930s and early 1940s were the P-39 Airacobra (first flown April 1938), P-40 Tomahawk (October 1938), P-38 Lightning (January 1939), P-51 Mustang (October 1940), and P-47 Thunderbolt (May 1941). Bombers developed during this period were the A-20 Havoc (first flown October 1938), B-25 Mitchell (January 1939), B-24 Liberator (December 1939), and B-26 Marauder (November 1940). Except for the B-24, P-47, and P-51, all of these had production deliveries that began before June 1941. Three other long-range bombers began development during this period, though only mock-ups were produced before World War II: B-29 Superfortress (study begun in 1938), B-32 Dominator (June 1940), and B-36 Peacemaker (April 1941).
Expansion of the Air Corps
In a special message to Congress on 12 January 1939, President Roosevelt advised that the threat of a new war made the recommendations of the Baker Board inadequate for American defense and requested approval of a "minimum 3,000-plane increase" for the Air Corps. On 3 April 1939, Congress allocated the $300 million requested by Roosevelt for expansion of the Air Corps, half of which was dedicated to purchasing planes to raise the inventory from 2,500 to 5,500 airplanes, and the other half for new personnel, training facilities, and bases. In June the Kilner Board recommended several types of bombers needed to fulfill the Air Corps mission that included aircraft having tactical radii of both 3,000 miles (modified in 1940 to 4,000) and 2,000 miles. Chief of Staff Gen. Craig, long an impediment to Air Corps ambitions but nearing retirement, came around to the Air Corps viewpoint after Roosevelt's views became public. Likewise, the War Department General Staff reversed itself and concurred in the requirements, ending the brief moratorium on bomber development and paving the way for work on the B-29.
Over the winter of 1938--1939, General Arnold transferred a group of experienced officers to his headquarters as an unofficial air staff to lay out a plan that would increase the Air Corps to 50,000 men by June 1941. The expansion program of the Air Corps was characterized by repeated upward revision of goals for increasing the numbers of combat units, aircraft production, training new personnel, and constructing new bases. New combat groups were created by detaching cadres from existing groups to provide the core of the new units, with the older groups providing the basis for an average of three new groups.
The initial 25-Group Program for air defense of the hemisphere, developed in April 1939, called for 50,000 men.
Loading...
14:40
AIR FORCE STORY v1c5: "Air Power Advances 1935-1937" USAF (1953)by webdev17178 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)