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flight was pioneered in the United States in 1903 but meetings between
the US military and the Wright Brothers did not take place until 1907.
It was another four years before the United States
Army provided the funds to purchase aircraft. In 1913 the US Army
Air Service opened a training school at San Diego. The same year saw
the US Navy establish its own flying school
at Pensacola.
A squadron of US Army Air Service took part in the 1917 expedition
into Mexico, but all crashed or were lost in action. This reinforced
the belief that more money was needed for better equipment and training.
By 1917 the US Army Air Service possessed 1,185 serving personnel
and 260 planes. However, none of these aircraft were fit for combat
duties. Congress voted $640 million to build 22,000 planes based on
the latest French designs. Over 5,000 planes based on the British-designed
Airco DH-4 were also produced. The most
successful USA designed aircraft was the Curtiss
H-16. However, it was not until 1918 that US produced aircraft
began arriving on the Western Front.
Major William Mitchell was given responsibility
for the training and organisation of the pilots in France. The first
US fighter patrols over German lines began in March 1918 and played
an important role during action at St Mihiel
and Meuse-Argonne. The leading USA
Flying Aces included Edward Rickenbacker
(26), Frederick Gillet (20) and Wilfred
Beaver (19).
In September 1939 the United States Army Airforce (USAAF) had 24,000
officers and men and about 1,500 aircraft. Henry
Stimson, Secretary of War, and George
Marshall, Chief of Staff, agreed to rapidly increase the size
of the force. By the time the United States entered the war it had
4,000 aircraft. At its peak this reached 75,000 with over 2,411,294
men. Over 52,000 members of the USAAF were killed during the Second
World War.
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