Air Defense Theory

Author: Mitchell
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: William Mitchell was a renowned American airpower theorist. Together with the Italian military theorist Giulio Douhet and the founder of the British Royal Air Force, Hugh Trenchard, he was regarded as one of the three pioneers of air warfare theory, and his theories had a significant impact on the development and operational doctrines of air forces in many countries. Mitchell's book The Defense of Air Power is considered one of the major works of Western airpower theory. However, this respected pioneer of airpower theory did not achieve the recognition he deserved in his lifetime. He was demoted from brigadier general to colonel and sentenced by a military court to a suspension from duty. His theoretical contributions were only recognized a decade after his death.
Persistence Leads to Suspension
In 1919, Mitchell served as the deputy commander of the Army Air Service. The following year, he was promoted to brigadier general. From this point onward, he dedicated himself to advocating for the establishment of an independent air force and the implementation of joint control over military air power, declaring that aircraft had rendered battleships obsolete. His proposals were strongly opposed by the U.S. Navy and Army authorities at the time. To convince officials in the Navy and the Army to recognize his views, Mitchell resolved to conduct an air raid test using a captured German battleship and two destroyers as targets. On July 21, 1921, many military and political dignitaries gathered to witness this historic bombing operation. In the early morning, eight bombers took off from Langley Field in Virginia, each carrying eight 123-kilogram bombs, flying in formation toward the target. Upon reaching the target, the aircraft first launched an attack on the German battleship Ostfriesland. After the initial assault, the massive hull began to tilt gradually. Subsequently, the remaining four bombers joined in to deliver additional strikes. Thirty-one minutes later, the entire battleship vanished from the sea. An hour later, the other two targets—the destroyers New George and Bajania—were also sunk.
In September 1923, Mitchell further demonstrated the validity of his foresight when he sank two retired battleships, the Virginia and the New Jersey, near Cape Henry using ten bombers. He continued to press his superiors to develop the air force and improve its equipment, often condemning his opponents as foolish, reactionary, and baseless, accusing them of being blinded by self-interest. This led to a deterioration in his relationship with his superiors. Soon after, Mitchell was demoted to the rank of colonel.
Yet, Mitchell did not stop advocating for the importance of air power. In September 1925, after the Navy airship Shenandoah crashed in a storm, he publicly accused the War Department and the Navy Department of incompetence and negligence. In December, he was tried by a military court and convicted of insubordination, resulting in a five-year suspension from duty.
Writing for Posthumous Recognition
After his suspension, Mitchell retired to Middleburg, Virginia, where he continued to give speeches and write articles to defend his views and advocate for the establishment of an independent air force. As Mitchell gained a broader understanding of the potential of aircraft, he recognized that the air force held a great future and was a key component of national power. He also realized that the United States lacked a systematic theoretical framework to guide the development of its air force, so he devoted himself to filling this theoretical gap.
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The book The Defense of Air Power was published shortly after. It was a compilation of several articles Mitchell wrote after World War I and his testimonies before Congress, comprising 11 chapters and approximately 144,000 words. In the book, Mitchell explained how the emergence of aviation had changed traditional methods of warfare. He believed that in future conflicts, air power would play a decisive role and advocated for the air force to be granted equal status with the army and navy. Mitchell was a persistent and conscious advocate for the U.S. air force, but he did not win the battle to gain recognition for the air arm. He foresaw the glorious future of the U.S. air force, but he did not live to see its might during World War II. In 1946, Americans finally recognized the value of Mitchell's theories. In honor of his contributions to the development of the U.S. air force, the U.S. Congress posthumously awarded him the Special Medal of Honor.