Bomber Mafia
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
. The derogatory term 'Bomber Mafia' was used before and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by those in the military who did not share their belief, and who were frustrated by the insistence of the men that the heavy bomber should take a primary position in planning and funding.
After World War II, the 20 years of foundational work by the bomber mafia resulted in the separation of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to become an independent military arm. The bomber mafia's strategic doctrine, changed by war and experience, helped shape the mission of the new Air Force and its Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
.
Origins
Developed over the years 1926–1929 at Air Corps Tactical SchoolAir Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...
(ACTS) at Langley Field in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, a forward-looking doctrine of daylight precision bombing was promulgated by four instructors who argued that an enemy's army and navy could be defeated intact due to the destruction of industrial and military targets deep within enemy-held territory. This theory was first espoused by Italian General Giulio Douhet
Giulio Douhet
General Giulio Douhet was an Italian general and air power theorist. He was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare...
, though his ideas included the terror bombing of population centers that the American theorists eschewed. In contrast, American theorists devised a strategy of pin-point bombing that targeted the enemy economy and the production of weapons. Though unproven, the major attraction of this sort of strategic bombing
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
doctrine was that a war was expected to be won relatively quickly, with minimal casualties, and that grinding, static trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
as seen in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
could be avoided.
To effect this doctrine, the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
would be required to expend the majority of its resources in amassing a fleet of self-defending heavy bombers, and in the training and maintenance of a great number of airmen to fill aircrew and ground crew positions. The ACTS officers who believed in the heavy bomber doctrine realized that any other Air Corps expenditures such as for tactical bomber
Tactical bomber
A tactical bomber is a bomber aircraft with an intended primary role of tactical bombing—attacking tactical targets, such as enemy's troops and military equipment. This implies that either aircraft's range or ordnance is insufficient to use it effectively as a strategic bomber.All light bombers,...
s and fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
would take away from the proposed large fleet of heavy bombers. Moreover, the men realized that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government would have to reduce funding to naval and ground forces in order to establish a great air fleet. To implement these changes, the ACTS instructors began to instill a sense in their students that a separate and independent air arm of the type described earlier by Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, to be called the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, was the way forward. As a compromise first step, the General Headquarters (GHQ) Air Force was established within the Army Air Corps in 1935, commanded by General Frank M. Andrews, a strategic bombing advocate. Andrews staffed the command with like-minded officers such as Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
.
Although flawed and tested only under optimal conditions, the doctrine (originally known as the "industrial web theory") became the primary airpower strategy of the United States in the planning for World War II. Four former instructors of the school, the core of the "Bomber Mafia", produced the two airpower war plans (AWPD-1 and AWPD-42) that guided the wartime expansion and deployment of the Army Air Forces.
Opposition
The term 'bomber mafia' came from the sometimes bitter debates between United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
staff and Air Corps men who observed, and argued with, the insistence by instructors and students of the ACTS that heavy bombers were the new primary weapon of war, and that a separate air arm was required to command them. For the first few years, the strongest voice at ACTS against the bomber doctrine was Captain (later General) George C. Kenney
George Kenney
George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...
who called for the use of air power to attack enemy fighting units on the ground. He advocated the close coordination of air and ground forces, with an emphasis on medium bomber
Medium bomber
A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; the name serves to distinguish them from the larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers...
s and fighter bombers. Kenney left ACTS in 1929, and heavy bomber doctrinarians filled the vacancy. The doctrine also ran counter to the theories of Billy Mitchell himself, who espoused that pursuit support was essential for daylight bombing operations.
Lewis H. Brereton
Lewis H. Brereton
Lewis Hyde Brereton was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force...
served as instructor at ACTS for one year 1924–1925, then took command of Second Bombardment Group
2d Bomb Wing
The 2d Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale...
. During his short tenure at ACTS, he spoke in favor of an eclectic air force composed of many different tactical and strategic units. Brereton continued in this stance as instructor at Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
during 1935–1939.
As an expert in the use of air units to aid artillery and infantry, Gordon P. Saville
Gordon P. Saville
Gordon Philip Saville was a United States Air Force major general who was an outspoken proponent of tactical aviation amidst a brotherhood of airmen who promoted strategic bombing. With Benjamin S. Kelsey, Saville co-wrote the technical specifications which led to the P-38 Lightning and the P-39...
held to the concept of tactical air power through his time as ACTS instructor from 1934 to 1936. Later, Saville successfully implemented his ideas in the Mediterranean Theater.
Captain Claire Lee Chennault
Claire Lee Chennault
Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault , was an American military aviator. A contentious officer, he was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fight-interceptor aircraft during the 1930s when the U.S. Army Air Corps was focused primarily on high-altitude bombardment...
, senior instructor in fighter tactics at ACTS, was a vocal Air Corps officer who challenged the bomber mafia for more than a decade; he was forced into early retirement in 1937, leaving the precision bombing advocates unopposed. The teaching of fighter ("pursuit") tactics declined, though Earle E. Partridge
Earle E. Partridge
Earle Everard "Pat" Partridge was an United States Air Force general.Partridge enlisted in the United States Army in July 1918 at Fort Slocum, New York, and was assigned to the 5th Engineer Training Regiment...
and Hoyt S. Vandenberg continued to discuss the role of the fighter.
Other opposition was more subtle. USAAC Fighter Projects officer Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey
Benjamin S. Kelsey
Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey was an American aeronautical engineer and test pilot who brought success in World War II to the United States Army Air Forces by initiating the manufacture of innovative fighter aircraft designs, and by working to quickly increase American fighter production to meet...
appreciated that a large bomber fleet would be able to perform many military tasks, not just strategic bombing, and felt that the force's doctrine should remain flexible to meet any demand. Because of his lower rank, he was in no position to challenge the bomber mafia, and instead strove to work around their restrictions on pursuit aircraft. Kelsey formulated a new "interceptor" class of aircraft in order to sustain his idea that a well-armed fighter aircraft could successfully attack enemy bombers, and that, given drop tank
Drop tank
In aeronautics, a drop tank is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often jettisonable...
s for long range, it could defend friendly bombers all the way to the target and back.
The bomber mafia, through a "failure of imagination" in not expanding the doctrine to include establishing air superiority as a prerequisite for success, would not accept either of these concepts—they believed the heavy bomber fleet could protect itself, and thus they contributed to the delay in the development of a long-range escort fighter until two years into the war. However, the doctrine nonetheless became the foundation for the separation of the Air Force from the Army, and the basis for modern airpower theory. ACTS graduate, instructor, and "Bomber Mafia" member Haywood S. Hansell
Haywood S. Hansell
Haywood Shepherd Hansell Jr., was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and later the United States Air Force...
concurred that both the theorists and the authors of the AWPD-1 war plan (he was both) made a serious mistake in neglecting long-range fighter escort in their ideas. Hansell wrote:
It was recognized that fighter escort was inherently desirable, but no one could quite conceive how a small fighter could have the range of the bomber yet retain its combat maneuverability. Failure to see this issue through proved one of the Air Corps Tactical School's major shortcomings.
Advocates
Instructors
- Harold L. GeorgeHarold L. GeorgeHarold Lee George was an American aviation pioneer who helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing...
, leading theorist - John F. CurryJohn F. CurryMajor General John Francis Curry was the first national commander of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary. He was also a Major General in the United States Army Air Corps.-Biography:...
, ACTS commander 1931–1935 - George KenneyGeorge KenneyGeorge Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area from August 1942 until 1945.-Early life:...
- Thomas DeWitt Milling, first school Officer-In-Charge
- Odas MoonOdas MoonOdas Moon was an American aviation pioneer who was among a team of United States Army Air Corps aviators to break endurance records by performing aerial refueling. Moon was a founding member of the Order of Daedalians...
- Robert OldsRobert OldsRobert Olds was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. Gen...
- Kenneth N. Walker
- Robert M. WebsterRobert M. WebsterRobert Morris Webster was a United States Air Force major general who was an early advocate of daylight precision bombing as a war-winning strategy...
- Donald WilsonDonald Wilson (general)Donald Wilson was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II.Wilson enlisted in the Maryland National Guard as a private in 1916 and served with it on the Mexican border and the Western Front during World War I before transferring to the United States Army Air Service. After the...
Graduates
- Frank M. Andrews
- Henry H. "Hap" ArnoldHenry H. ArnoldHenry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
- Jimmy DoolittleJimmy DoolittleGeneral James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
- Ira C. Eaker
- Oliver P. EcholsOliver P. EcholsOliver Patton Echols was an American military officer who brought success in World War II to the United States Army Air Forces by expanding the inventory of America's air arm to meet the needs of the coming war. More than any other man under Chief of the Army Air Forces, General Henry H...
- Muir S. FairchildMuir S. FairchildGeneral Muir Stephen Fairchild was former vice chief of staff of the United States Air Force. He was born September 2, 1894 at Bellingham, Washington, and died March 17, 1950 at Fort Myer, Virginia.-Early service:Muir S...
(also an ACTS instructor) - Barney M. GilesBarney M. GilesBarney McKinney Giles was an American military officer who helped develop strategic bombing theory and practice. Giles stepped outside of established bomber doctrine during World War II to develop long-range capabilities for fighter aircraft in use by the United States Army Air Forces...
- Haywood S. Hansell, Jr.Haywood S. HansellHaywood Shepherd Hansell Jr., was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and later the United States Air Force...
(Also an ACTS instructor) - Laurence S. KuterLaurence S. KuterGeneral Laurence Sherman Kuter was a Cold War-era U.S. Air Force general and former commander of NORAD...
(Also an ACTS instructor) - Curtis LeMayCurtis LeMayCurtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
- Emmett "Rosie" O'Donnell, Jr.Emmett O'Donnell, Jr.General Emmett "Rosie" O'Donnell, Jr. was a United States Air Force four star general who served as Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces from 1959 to 1963. He also led the first B-29 Superfortress attack against Tokyo during World War II.-Early career:O'Donnell was born in Brooklyn, New York,...
- Carl A. Spaatz
- Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Conclusion
In World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the bomber mafia's theory of the primacy of unescorted daylight strategic bombing was proved wrong. Fleets of heavy bombers were not able to achieve victory without the cooperation of the Army and Navy, and required the protection of long-range fighters. Overall casualties in the war were not minimal, and victory did not come significantly quicker. Precision in bombing was not achieved until long-range fighter escorts became available and air superiority was achieved, as opponents had warned. The strategic bombing concept, however, became the first core doctrine of the independent United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Its proponents continued to promote the doctrine into the nuclear age, forming the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
to carry out a vision modified to fit the needs of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the threat of nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. The bomber mafia was gradually replaced in the 1950s and 1960s by advocates of intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
warfare.
See also
- Big WingBig WingThe Big Wing, also known as a Balbo, was an air fighting tactic proposed during the Battle of Britain by 12 Group commander Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. In essence, the tactic involved meeting incoming Luftwaffe bombing raids in strength with a...
, British fighter doctrine - RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
- DehousingDehousingOn 30 March 1942 Professor Frederick Lindemann, Baron Cherwell, the British government's chief scientific adviser, sent to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a memorandum which after it had become accepted by the Cabinet became known as the dehousing paper.Also known as the "dehousing...
, British area bombardment doctrine - Fighter mafiaFighter mafiaThe Fighter Mafia was a group of U.S. Air Force officers and civilian defense analysts who, in the 1970s, advocated the use of John Boyd's Energy-Maneuverability theory to develop fighter aircraft...
, Vietnam-era U.S. fighter doctrine - Sir Arthur Harris, 1st BaronetSir Arthur Harris, 1st BaronetMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC , commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as "Butcher" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command during the latter half of World War...
, British believer in bomber fleet doctrine - Strategic bombing during World War IIStrategic bombing during World War IIStrategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...