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Stony Brook University SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... The Army-Navy Contest for Control of Land-Based Antisubmarine Aviation and the Military Unification Debate, 1942-1948 A Dissertation Presented by George Harold Monahan to The Graduate School In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University May 2011 Stony Brook University The Graduate School George Harold Monahan n We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Michael Barnhart – Dissertation Advisor Distinguished Teaching Professor, History Department Ian Roxborough - Chairperson of Defense Professor, History Department Nancy Tomes Professor, History Department John B. Hattendorf Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History, Chairman, Maritime History Department Naval War College Newport, RI This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation The Army-Navy Contest for Control of Land-Based Antisubmarine Aviation and the Military Unification Debate, 1942-1948 by George Harold Monahan Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2011 This work explores the history of the dispute between the U.S. Army and Navy during World War II over which service would control land-based antisubmarine aviation in the Battle of the Atlantic. Additionally, this work seeks to explore the relationship of this wartime dispute to the post-war military unification movement which culminated in the passage of the National Security Act of 1947. Many lessons learned through the management of the extemporized wartime defense bureaucracy convinced political and military leaders of the need to develop an integrated post-war military-intelligence- diplomatic apparatus for the purpose of defending against foreign threats to national security. In most studies of the issues underlying the 1947 National Security Act, the focus tends to be on those which gave rise to lingering questions touching upon politics and military policy into the Cold War era. These include: the scope and limitations of authority of the Central Intelligence Agency; the control and use of nuclear weapons; the iii roles and missions of the Army, Navy and independent Air Force; the institutionalization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the extent of power exercised by the newly created Secretary of Defense over the unified armed forces. This study in no way seeks to detract from these issues as the overriding concerns which shaped the debate leading to the National Security Act’s passage. While acknowledging the primacy of these issues, however, it is the contention of this present study that the question concerning which military service should rightly control land- based antisubmarine aviation during World War II has largely been overlooked as a significant issue in shaping the military unification debate. This work intends to take what most other studies relegate to a footnote and explore, in significantly greater depth, how this inter-service rivalry affected the wartime management of the Battle of the Atlantic and how, in turn, the wartime interservice rivalry helped shape the post-war military unification debate culminating in the passage of the National Security Act of 1947. iv Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………...……...1 I. Overview of this Study…………………………………………………...……..2 II. Historiography of the Battle of the Atlantic, Civil-Military Relations, Military Unification and Aircraft Appropriations………………………………………………..…….17 III. Archival Research ……………………………………………………...…….24 Chapter 1 Army and Navy Aviation between the Wars: Inter-service Rivalry over Jurisdiction in Coastal Defense…………………………..….26 I. The Divergent Development of Army and Navy Aviation ………………...….26 II. Aviation and the Interservice Dispute Concerning Roles and Missions in Coastal Defense…………………………………………………..…29 III. Aircraft Development and the Interservice Jurisdictional Dispute…………..42 IV. Deficiencies in Coastal Defense at the Outset of War…………………….....45 Chapter 2 Conflict between the Army Air Forces and the Navy in the Management of the Air War Against the U-boats…………………………………….....48 I. Jurisdictional Disputes and the Concept of an American Coastal Command…………………………………………………….50 II. Divergent Army and Navy Doctrines in the Antisubmarine War…………….66 Figure 1 The Mid-Atlantic Air Gap ……………..………………………81 Figure 2 British Biscay Air Patrols ……………………………………...85 III. The Army Air Forces Anti Submarine Command and the American Bay of Biscay Antisubmarine Offensive………………………….…..92 IV. Conclusion..………………………………………………………………...112 v Chapter 3 The Navy’s Pyrrhic Victory in the Antisubmarine War………………………………..114 I. Unity of Command and the Tenth Fleet: The War Department Outmaneuvered……………………………………...…..116 II. Checkmate and Dénouement: The Arnold-McNarney-McCain Agreement……………………………..….....126 III. Conclusion……………………………………………………………..…...139 Chapter 4 Henry L. Stimson and the Argument for Unifying the Armed Forces……………..…..142 I. The Creation of Separate General Staffs in the Army and the Navy…….......145 II. On Active Service as an Argument for the Next Wave of Military Reform: The Liability of Divided Leadership Made Manifest in the Antisubmarine War……………………………………….…...154 Chapter 5 The Question of Land-Based Naval Aviation in the Armed Forces Unification Debate…………………………………………………………………......160 I. The House Select Committee on Post-War Military Policy…………….…..165 II. The Richardson Committee Report and the Eberstadt Report………….......181 III. 1945 Senate Military Affairs Committee Hearings………………………..184 IV. Army-Navy Partisanship and Presidential Intervention…………………...198 V. Henry Stimson and the Post-War Unification Debate…………………..….202 VI. 1946 Senate Naval Affairs Committee Hearings………………………..…204 VII. President Truman Intercedes…………………………………………..….213 VIII. Senate Naval Affairs Committee Hearings Resume………………….…..219 XI. Conclusion..………………………………………………………………...226 Chapter 6 The Unification Issue Settled: The National Security Act of 1947………………….....229 I. Interservice Agreement on Roles and Missions of the Armed Services……..229 vi II. Army Air Forces Opposition to Navy Land-Based ASW Aircraft Development…………………………………………………………240 III. The Senate Armed Services Committee Hearings………………………...243 IV. Senate Floor Debate on S. 758……………………………………………262 V. House Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments Hearings…………………………………………………………265 VI. Final Passage of the National Security Act of 1947………………………285 VII. Conclusion………………………………………………………………..287 Chapter 7 The Redaction of Chapter 20 of On Active Service In Peace and War …..……………288 I. The Redaction of Chapter 20………………………………………………..290 II. Fact-Checking and Final Editing…………………………………………...295 III. Publication of “Time Of Peril” and On Active Service In Peace and War : A Mixed Reception….…………………………….………306 IV. Conclusion..………………………………………………………………..309 Summary……………………………………………………………………………….312 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………...321 vii Introduction This work explores the history of the dispute between the U.S. Army and Navy during World War II over which service would control land-based antisubmarine aviation in the Battle of the Atlantic. Additionally, this work seeks to explore the relationship of this wartime dispute to the post-war military unification movement which culminated in the passage of the National Security Act of 1947. Many lessons learned through the management of the extemporized wartime defense bureaucracy convinced political and military leaders of the need to develop an integrated post-war military-intelligence- diplomatic apparatus for the purpose of defending against foreign threats to national security. In most studies of the issues underlying the 1947 National Security Act, the focus tends to be on those which gave rise to lingering questions touching upon politics and military policy into the Cold War era. These include: the scope and limitations of authority of the Central Intelligence Agency; the control and use of nuclear weapons; the roles and missions of the Army, Navy and independent Air Force; the institutionalization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the extent of power exercised by the newly created Secretary of Defense over the unified armed forces. This study in no way seeks to detract from these issues as the overriding concerns which shaped the debate leading to the National Security Act’s passage. While acknowledging the primacy of these issues, however, it is the contention of this present study that the question concerning which military service should rightly control land- based antisubmarine aviation during World War II has largely been overlooked as a 1 significant issue in shaping the military unification debate. This work intends to take what most other studies relegate to a footnote and explore, in significantly greater depth, how this inter-service rivalry affected the wartime management of the Battle of the Atlantic and how, in turn, the wartime interservice rivalry helped shape the post-war military unification debate culminating in the passage of the National Security Act of 1947. I. Overview of this Study Between the world wars, leaders
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