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01TITLEFORE.qxd 5/14/2008 4:52 PM Page i Preface REFLECTIONS ON AIR FORCE INDEPENDENCE HERMAN S. WOLK 2007 i 01TITLEFORE.qxd 5/14/2008 4:52 PM Page ii The Cover The cover design incorporates artwork entitled Air Force Memorial, by Keith Ferris. The original painting is part of the Air Force Art Collection. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wolk, Herman S., 1931- Reflections on Air Force independence / Herman S. Wolk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. United States. Air Force--Organization. 2. United States. Army Air Forces--History. 3. World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American. I. Air Force History and Museums Program (U.S.) II. Title. UG773.W643 2007 358.4'13--dc22 2007047713 ii 01TITLEFORE.qxd 5/14/2008 4:52 PM Page iii FOREWORD Almost twenty-five years after publishing Planning and Organizing the Postwar Air Force, 1943–1947, and a decade after publishing his definitive work, The Struggle for Air Force Independence, 1943–1947, Herman S. Wolk, retired Air Force senior historian, returns to the subject that capped his nearly fifty-year career with the Air Force history program. As Wolk explains, this brief work is a reflective analysis. The United States Army’s air arm waged a frustrating and uncertain battle during the interwar years to gain greater autonomy from the War Department. For the air arm, the key transition was the establishment in 1935 of the General Headquarters (GHQ) Air Force under Brig. Gen. Frank M. Andrews. The GHQ Air Force was the first American air force that consolidated all striking forces. For several years before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which trig- gered U.S. entry into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt foresaw the major role that air power would play in the conflict, and he called for a massive buildup. The president wanted the major share of aircraft produced to go to the Allies. Consequently, he was sometimes at cross purposes with his Air Corps chief, Maj. Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, who was hard at work trying to increase the Army’s air capability. The formation in June 1944 of the Twentieth Air Force was a landmark event in the Army air arm’s drive for independence. With B–29s to send against the Japanese home islands, the Twentieth gave the Army Air Forces (AAF) what Arnold termed “a Global Air Force.” Its formation set the precedent for that of the postwar Strategic Air Command, which provided the United States with its nuclear deterrence force in the Cold War. The lessons of World War II were many. Many also were the significant contributions of the AAF—tactical, strategic, support, humanitarian—that con- vinced President Harry S. Truman, Congress, and the American people that the creation of the United States Air Force (USAF) was necessary in the postwar era. Wolk makes the pivotal connections between politics and the searing expe- rience of war to explain how and why the USAF was established. His analysis addresses not only technology, bureaucracy, and politics, but also people. The service’s founding airmen were more than flyers and technologists; they were, above all, men of faith who believed in what they were doing. For many years they fought against long odds. The nation owes them a great debt. C. R. ANDEREGG Director, Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs iii 01TITLEFORE.qxd 5/14/2008 4:52 PM Page iv iv 02ACKNOWAUTHCONT.qxd 5/14/2008 4:53 PM Page v Preface ACKNOWLEDGMENTS After decades of writing and lecturing about the struggle for air indepen- dence, I owe many debts. My colleagues among Air Force historians have been of great help over the years. The late Thomas Sturm, long a distinguished histo- rian in the Office of Air Force History, first kindled my interest in the postwar Air Force. A special thank you is due Jack Neufeld, former director of the Air Force Historical Studies Office, for his long-time support and guidance and for giving me the time to launch this book in an environment free of background noise. Thanks also go to C. R. “Dick” Anderegg, Director, Air Force History and Museums Policies and Programs, for his enthusiastic interest in this project, and upon my retirement from the government, his timely admonition to “finish the book!” My heartfelt appreciation goes to the historians of the Office of Air Force History: the late Col. John F. Shiner, Diane Putney, George Watson, Roger Miller, Dan Mortensen, George Cully, and Phil Myers, all of whom cheerfully did the hard work of putting together the superlative Air Power History course. Richard H. Kohn, former chief of the Office of Air Force History, and Colonel Shiner deserve special praise as the course’s founders. Colonel Shiner, colleague and gentleman, will always be remembered as an exemplary scholar and leader. The Air Power History course, which convenes annually from March to May at the Pentagon for junior officers, and intensively for two weeks in the early autumn at Bolling Air Force Base for Air Force field historians, is the only one of its kind in the country. I will be forever grateful to the late Robert Frank Futrell, for many years the dean of Air Force historians. His contributions span the entire Air Force his- tory program, from Craven and Cate’s The Army Air Forces in World War II, to his The United States Air Force in Korea, and ultimately, to his definitive Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: A History of Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force, 1907–1964. All air historians have benefited from his work. Moreover, Frank set the highest standards for those who would chronicle Air Force history, a subject he was always eager to discuss. He has been sorely missed by all of us. Warren A. Trest, formerly senior historian in the Office of Air Force His- tory and in the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, was a constant source of encouragement and an expert on the history of Air Force roles and missions. I was extremely fortunate in the 1970s to interview Gens. Ira Eaker, Curtis LeMay, and Haywood “Possum” Hansell. In lengthy correspondence, Generals v 02ACKNOWAUTHCONT.qxd 5/14/2008 4:53 PM Page vi REFLECTIONS ON AIR FORCE INDEPENDENCE Eaker and Hansell generously provided me with priceless recollections of their wartime and postwar experiences. Both were great gentlemen, whose insights and good humor made a lasting impression. Their service goes back well before World War II, and for their devotion in peace and in war, the nation owes them much gratitude. This also holds true for an entire generation of air leaders, born before the turn of the twentieth century, many of them now forgotten, who are the true founders of the United States Air Force. W. Stuart Symington, assistant secretary of war for air in 1945, 1946, and 1947, and then the first secretary of the Air Force, took time from his senatorial duties, and subsequently from his law practice, to discuss his large role in the postwar struggle for air independence. I am extremely thankful to the late Gen. Jacob E. Smart, wartime hero and air planner, who, in his nineties, still had one of the keenest minds in the Air Force. A devotee of history, General Smart participated in many of our seminars over the years, and was always gracious and perceptive. Maj. Gen. John W. Huston, a former chief of the Office of Air Force His- tory, has been a frequent telephone correspondent, and as a biographer of General Arnold, and editor of Arnold’s diaries, he has been most helpful in sorting out Arnold’s prewar and wartime issues and controversies. Richard P. Hallion, also a former chief of the Air Force History Office, helped to bring out important historical connections during our many chats over the years. Many thanks go to Richard Wolf, historian and production chief in the Office of Air Force History. His expertise in all areas of editing and production made such a significant contribution to this book. I have for a long time admired Mary Lee Jefferson’s fine work as a writer and editor in the Office of Air Force History. I owe her a great debt for her won- derful, timely efforts in making my manuscript into a book. My deepest gratitude goes to my wife, Sandy, who served as my produc- tion guru. She not only cast a sharp eye on the manuscript, she also contributed all manner of things over the long haul. During the entire research and writing process she provided the loving devotion and support that made this book possi- ble. Our children, Jill Lori Kephart and Traci Ann Sheffer, provided constant love and understanding, as did our grandchildren, Julie Adam, Michael Adam, Kelsea Kephart, and Dalton Kephart, who seemed to know that Grandpa was up to something in his third floor office. I owe much love and thanks for the quiet time; and, finally, I owe special thanks to Coach Kreg Kephart, our son-in-law, for so much help given in so many ways over a long period of time. vi 02ACKNOWAUTHCONT.qxd 5/14/2008 4:53 PM Page vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THE AUTHOR Herman S. Wolk was, until his recent retirement, a senior historian with the United States Air Force. After earning B.A. and M.A. degrees from the American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, he studied at the Far Eastern and Russian Institute at the University of Washington from 1957 to 1959. He served as a historian at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command, from 1959 to 1966 and in the Office of Air Force History, from 1966 to 2005.
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