William 'Billy' Mitchell -- 'The father of the United States Air Force'

Summary

This article by Minnie L Jones in the U.S. Army makes the following points about Billy Mitchell:

• He was a staunch advocate and visionary of air power.
• Regarded as the "Father of the United States Air Force."
• WW1 Brig. Gen. commanded all American aerial combat units in France.
• He organised a successful mass assault of 1,481 American and Allied aircraft against German ground installations.
• He thought bombers could destroy navy capital ships such as battleships.
• A test proved that aircraft could sink a battleship, leading to the U.S. Navy developing aircraft carriers.
• The B-25 Mitchell bomber (used in the morale-boosting WW2 Doolittle Raid) was named after him.
• Predicted that war between Japan and the U.S. was inevitable.
• The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor proved that Billy Mitchell's theories were correct.

References

Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:

• Carl Spaatz: An Air Power Strategist | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)

References from the Web:

• FEB 1962 Billy Mitchell’s Prophecy-American Heritage
• 2004 Billy Mitchell ‘Stormy Petrel of the Air’-Office of Air force History
• JUL 2011 General William “Billy” Mitchell and the Sinking of the Ostfriesland: A Consideration- National Air and Space Museum
• Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell-National Museum of the United States Airforce
• Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell-Mitchell Gallery of Flight

Source Information: US Army

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