The United States Army Air Arm April 1861 To April 1917

This monograph ... recounts the development of aviation in the United States Army from April 1861, when the Army first became interested in balloons as a means of observation, to April 1917, when America entered World War I. The origins and organization of the Army's air arm are told in detail, with particular emphasis on early air force personnel, plans and experiments. In the process the monograph traces early development of what today is The United States Air Force..."--Foreword.

THIS MONOGRAPH, written by Mrs. Juliette A. Hennessy of the USAF Historical Division, recounts the development of aviation in the United States Army from April 1861, when the Army first became interested in balloons as a means of observation, to April 1917, when America entered World War I. The origins and organizations of the Army's air arm are told in detail, with particular emphasis on early air force personnel, planes, and experiments. In the process the monograph traces the early development of what today is The United States Air Force. Of necessity, the monograph tends strongly toward the chronological variety. This is owing to several factors, the thinness of aviation activities for most of the long period covered and an equal thinness in records being the principal factors. Only a few books which deal with this early period of Army aviation have been written, and all of them together do not cover the period. This, then, is the first attempt to put the story into a single volume. Because the story of the air arm from April 1917 to the beginning of World War II also has not been fully covered it is expected that the present monograph will be the first of three, which, when completed, will become the basis for a published history of the Army Air Arm, 1861-1939. Like other Historical Division studies, this history is subject to revision, and additional information or suggested corrections will be welcomed.

This monograph recounts the development of aviation in the United States Army from April 1861, when the Army first became interested in balloons as a means of observation, to April 1917, when America entered World War I. The origins and organization of the Army's air arm are told in detail, with an emphasis on early air force personnel, planes, and experiments. In the process, the monograph traces the early development of what today is The United States Air Force. Because the story of the air arm from April 1917 to the beginning of World War II also has not been fully covered, it is expected that the present monograph will be the first of three monographs that will become the basis for a published history of the Army Air Arm, 1861-1939. Chapter 1, Balloons and Airships in the U.S. Army, 1861-1913, describes balloon use during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and from 1902 to 1914, Chapter 2, Early American Planes and Their Inventors, examines the Langley plane, the Wright brothers' plane, and others. Chapter 3 focuses on The Signal Corp's First Air Installations and First Military Aviation Rating. Chapter 4 examines College Park and Other Air Schools, including those in Augusta, Texas City, the Philippines, and Hawaii, 1912-1913. Chapter 5 describes the Signal Corps Aviation School at San Diego. Chapter 6 examines Aviation Legislation and the Aviation Section through 1914. Chapter 7 focuses on Aviation in 1915 and 1916, including the Aero Club of America and the National Guard, pyrotechnics and airplanes tested, the San Diego School, and the San Antonio Air center. Chapter 8 examines the Aviation Section in 1916, including the Aviation Center at Fort Sam Houston, reserve corps expansion, and balloons and Zeppelins. Chapter 9 describes the 1st Squadron with Pershing's punitive expedition of 1916. Chapter 10 examines the Army Flying Training Schools, the National Guard, and the Air Reserve. The final chapter focuses on the Aviation Section to 6 April 1917.

Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.