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REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 2000 na/ 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the life of a general n/a 5b. GRANT NUMBER n/a 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER n/a 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Meilinger, Phillip S n/a 5e. TASK NUMBER n/a 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER n/a 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER Air Force History Support Office 3 Brookley Avenue Box 94 n/a Boiling AFB DC 20032-5000 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S) n/a n/a 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S) n/a 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES n/a 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE ABSTRACT OF Richard I. Wolf PAGES SU 1 9b. TELEPHONE NUMBER [include area codel UUUU279 202-404-2186 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 D1STB1BUTION STATEMENT A Release Approved for public Distribution Unlimited 9,.G PHILLIP S. MEILINGER Indiana Originally published by INDIANAPOLIS University BLOOMINGTON & Press New imprint by AIR FRCE PROGRAM 0 1989 by Phillip S. Meilinger All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without pennission in writing fromn the publisher. The Association of American University Presses' Resolution on Pernmissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. MANUFACTURED IN TIlE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Meilinger, Phillip S., 1948- Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the life of a general. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Vandenberg, Hoyt Sanford, 1899-1954. 2. Generals -United States--Biography. 3. United States. Air Force-Biography. 4. United States-History, Military -2oth century. i. Title. E84 o. 5.V 3 6M 4 5 1989 355'.0092'4 [B] 88-45097 ISBN 0-253-32862-4 1 2 34 5 93 92 91 90 89 New imprint by the Air Force History and Museums Program, 2000 Preface ix Acknowledgments xi I The Learning Years I BEGINNINGS 1, SCHOOL FOR SOLDIERS 4, KICK THE TIRES AND LIGHT THE FIRES 10, IN QUEST OF A THEORY i6 II I The War for Europe 23 THE AIR STAFF 23, NORTH AFRICA 28, MISSION TO MOSCOW 35, LIBERATING FRANCE 40, THE NINTH AIR FORCE 50 III I Preparations for Command 62 THE ATOMIC STRIKE FORCE 62, SPY MASTER 66, UNIFICATION 78 IV I First Challenges 85 THE MAN 85, THE CHIEF 91, BERLIN 95, RESHAPING THE BOLT 102 V I War Plans and War Planes 121 STRATEGIC PLANNING 121, ROLES AND MISSIONS 125, MUTINY BETWEEN DECKS 128 VI I Economics and Atoms 139 THE BUDGET BATTLES 139, JOE I AND THE SUPER 150, ON THE EVE 157 VII I The War for Asia 160 THE ONSLAUGHT 160, THE CLOSE AIR SUPPORT CONTROVERSY 166, THE NEW WAR 172, THE OLD SOLDIER FADES AWAY 179, STALEMATE AND TERMINATION 183 VII I Twilight 190 FIRST WARNINGS 190, NSC-68 AND REARMAMENT 192, THE LAST BATTLE 195, DARKNESS 200, CONCLUSION 201 Illustrationsfollow page io8 Notes 207 Bibliography 259 Index 275 FOREWORD to the new imprint In this insightful consideration of Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Col. Phillip Meilinger has described the career of one of the major leaders of the United States Air Force. Born in 1899, General Vandenberg's career spanned the interwar years, World War II, the tumultuous postwar years, and the Korean War. Vandenberg served in a variety of important operational as well as staff posts, providing him with an ideal background for positions of great responsibility. In World War H, as chief of staff of the Twelfth Air Force, and then the Northwest African Strategic Air Force, Vandenberg directed crucial air campaigns. In early 1944, Major General Vandenberg went to Europe as deputy air commander-in-chief of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and commanding general of the American air component. Subsequently, as commanding general of the Ninth Air Force, he was involved in plan- ning the Normandy invasion. Late in the war, he returned to Army Air Forces head- quarters as assistant chief of the Air Staff. In this capacity, he played a leading role in organizing the postwar Air Force. After an interlude in 1946 as the first director of central intelligence for the Secretary of War, Vandenberg returned to Army Air Forces headquarters. In October 1947, he was appointed vice chief of staff of the newly independent United States Air Force and in April 1948, he succeeded Gen. Carl A. Spaatz as USAF chief of staff. As chief of staff, Vandenberg headed the fledgling Air Force during a critical, tumultuous period. Shortly after becoming chief, he played a leading role in the Air Force presentation during the hearings on "the Revolt of the Admirals." Vandenberg's own testimony became a key ingredient in the persuasive case made by the Air Force for supporting the strategy of nuclear deterrence. Moreover, Vandenberg made the decision in late 1948 that the Air Force would emphasize a buildup of its nuclear deter- rent forces. Concomitantly, Vandenberg was instrumental in bringing Gen. Curtis E. LeMay back from Europe to head the Strategic Air Command, thus initiating decades of SAC as the nation's premier nuclear deterrent force. In addition to fighting roles and missions battles and inaugurating the Air Force's era of nuclear deterrence, Vandenberg led the Air Force during the Korean War, a period when the Air Force's budget increased greatly. General Vandenberg had to balance needs dictated by the Korean conflict against the requirement to sustain the Air Force's strategic deterrent in order to counter the Soviet threat. As Colonel Meilinger emphasizes in this excellent study, General Hoyt S. Vandenberg was the Air Force's first Cold War leader and his leadership and vision set the standard for those who followed. RICHARD P. HALLION The Air Force Historian vii PREFACE General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, United States Air Force chief of staff from 1948 to 1953, played an important role in shaping military policy after 1945 and was a main participant in significant events of his time: unification of the armed forces and formation of an independent Air Force; the Berlin Airlift; the B- 361 Supercarrier controversy; the formation of the Strategic Air Command, the devel- opment of the hydrogen bomb, and the Korean War. After graduating from West Point in 1923, Vandenberg served as a fighter pilot for the next decade, becoming an outstanding flier and junior officer who was recognized as such throughout the Air Corps. In 1934, he began five years of educational assignments, which broadened his horizons and introduced him to the necessity of planning and sound staff work. During World War II, Vandenberg served on the Air Staff in Washington, D.C., as an air planner for the North African and Normandy invasions, as a diplo- mat in Moscow, as chief of staff for a major command, as deputy of another, and as commander of the Ninth Air Force-the largest tactical air unit in history. In the harsh difficulties of war, Vandenberg consistently showed his ability to adapt and persevere. While others were competent in staff, planning, or command posi- tions, he excelled at all three. At the conclusion of the European war, Vandenberg returned to the Air Staff, where he was instrumental in the foundation of the Strategic Air Command. Army Chief of Staff General Dwight D. Eisenhower then selected him as War Depart- ment intelligence chief. Vandenberg totally reorganized that function in a scant three months. His efforts were so remarkable that President Harry S. Truman appointed him as director of the Central Intelligence Group-forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. After one year, Vandenberg returned to the Army Air Forces as deputy commander and was promoted to the rank of general-until then the second youngest American to achieve that rank. When the Air Force be- came independent in 1947, Vandenberg was its first vice chief, and upon the re- tirement of General Carl M. Spaatz the following year, Vandenberg became Air Force chief of staff. Emphasis in this book is on Vandenberg's tenure as chief of staff. His life to 1948 reveals basic character traits, his impressive personal qualities, and the rea- sons for his rapid advancement. After rising to chief, his career merges with the great events of the Truman presidency. In 1948, the United States was confronted by the Berlin Blockade.