On September 18, 1947, the U.S. Air Force was born, signed into being by President Harry S. Truman as part of the National Security Act.
It wasn’t the beginning of military aviation in the U.S., of course. That started in the U.S. Army about 40 years before. In those days, aircraft, including such things as hot air balloons, were part of the Army’s Signal Corp.
Early aviation focused on reconnaissance. Aircraft were mostly used to spy on troops—to watch positions and movements. And even though the Army had some early success dropping bombs from planes in World War 1, the overall view back then was that military aviation should take a back seat to ground troops. Aircraft were for troop support only.
In the 1930s, that started to change. Air corps leaders were given more control over the direction of the Army’s air power. And a more effective and highly specialized fighting force began to take shape—and just in the nick of time!
By the late 1930s, Hitler and his Nazi regime began making aggressive moves to assert their power in Europe. Americans—like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt—became increasingly worried about the massive military Hitler was building. And that included Germany’s modern air force.
America’s concerns were confirmed with the Nazi bombing campaigns across Europe in 1939 and 1940. And then, again, with the Japanese attack on our own home turf at Pearl Harbor in 1942.
A few months after Pearl Harbor, the Army’s Air Force was reorganized and put on equal footing with U.S. ground forces. Aerial warfare was a major component of World War 2. And a strong Army Air Force helped lead the U.S. (and its allies) to victory over both Japan and Germany.
A couple of years after the war, much of the U.S. military was restructured (the National Security Act). Organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency were created. And, in an effort to make a good thing even better, the Army’s Air Force became its own branch. And so it’s been for 70 years.
From all of us here at Veteran Energy, happy birthday, Air Force!
