Eighth Air Force

Air Power has become the dominant form of military power in our modern world. Through the years, airpower has made significant developments that have impacted our society in positive ways. Eddie Rickenbacker once said, “Aviation is proof that given the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible." Changes in military aviation have occurred in an intense rapidity. Even so, civilian aviation has many breathtaking transformations over the last few decades. By recognizing how the history of airpower has led to the current dominance of aerospace in our world, we can become more prepared for future while developing ways to create better and more advanced world. Col. Phillip S. Mellinger created the Ten Propositions Regarding Airpower, which discusses the strength and importance of airpower in our modern world. Mellinger states his purpose being to “better inform those who employ military power to achieve the objectives established by the country 's leaders.” In many ways, these propositions by Mellinger have become less opinion based and more factual. As airpower continues to be developed, the propositions become more…

Operation Husky was an invaluable experience for Allied forces in World War II. It opened the Allied forces eyes to the numerous challenges they must face internally before they could hope to be victorious in the war against Germany, Japan and Italy. This essay will show how a failure in operational leadership caused Operation Husky to fail to become the decisive victory it had the potential of being. Essential to command and control is a thorough understanding of the commander’s intent at…

their prophecies that air power alone could win a war; “the bomber will always get through” even without support of fighter escort; and that the bomber would be able to attack adversaries’ vital centers with high altitude precision bombing turned out to be false. Despite of excessive aerial bombing of vital centers, cities and industrial facilities,…

“It may be said that Douhet was the theorist of the air power, Mitchell the publicist and catalytic agent, and Trenchard the organizational genius.” -Harry H. Ransom. Air power generates a new revolution in thought, making way for air power theorist like Giulio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and Billy Mitchell, and they established the basics of strategic, operational, and tactical employment that will generate influences until our time. The airpower theorists over emphasized the long range…

A key example comes from General Giulio Douhet who intensively believed that the development of the aircraft would change the nature of war forever, “it [made it] possible to go far behind the fortified lines of defense without first breaking through them”. He made it very clear in his book The Command of the air that he strongly believed that having a powerful air force would ultimately win you the war, as airstrikes were indefensible. Herman Göring, the leader of the German Luftwaffe…

The Importance of Friendship Friendship is, by definition, a relationship between two friends. Some believe that friendships are a necessity for human life. Joseph Conrad was a man who grew up not having many friends. As a young child he had missed school quite a bit from illnesses (Kathleen Wilson 200). This made it hard to have close relationships with other children. He did however gain a love for literature and the sea from his father at a young age (www.notablebiographies.com). This is…

to mobilize and maneuver much faster than regular units. Salmon cites J. A. Houlding’s research throughout his dissertation, making an interesting not in regards to the rigidity of regular British units. This means, the officers in a regular unit had to follow strict guidelines and orders, something that could hinder the leader’s ability to maneuver freely on the battlefield or practice direct leadership on their unit. The Rangers did not have this problem, it will be shown that Simcoe gave…

munitions, building ships, airplanes, in the auxiliary services as air-raid wardens, fire officers and evacuation officers, as drivers of fire engines, trains and trams, as conductors and as nurses. This was a bug step up for the women as oppose to the jobs they had in WW1. “The war gave a lot of people jobs. It led them to expect more than they had before. People 's expectations, financially, spiritually, were raised. There was such a beautiful dream. We were gonna reach the end of the…

dramatically creating an airpower. When we look at the airpower today, we can define it as a use of all available relevant technology for commanders to use in air, space, and cyberspace. That definition is precisely emphasizing technology as main cause that gave birth of a unique military capability only airpower can provide; among others, to attack directly enemy targets from the air regardless of their location, and to observe from the air.1 Thus, if there…

support with equipment, such as tanks, small vehicles, air craft, weaponry and, munitions, not to mention men. The critical importance of air power is also dually noted and described in two separate phases, the initial and the evolution of air…