The Organization Reforms Of U.S. Air Force(1907-1947)

The United States Air Force,which has continued to this day,was established in the "National Security Act of 1947".Before 1947,the United States had no air force,and it was only the Army aviation and naval aviation.The aviation officer called it "the period of affiliated aviation." The National Security Act of 1947 unifies the national military departments and establishes an equal number of land,sea,and air forces.The Military Secretaries are placed under the supervision of a civil Defense Secretary.Under the Defense Department,the Joint Chiefs of Staff gathered three chiefs of staff of different military services.Therefore,the Act is of great significance to the Air Force.It has given the Air Force an independent organization system green light,allowing it to have its own independent organizational system,which includes finance,personnel,command,scientific research,training,and logistics.The Independence of the United States Air Force was not established within a short period.Before 1947,the armed forces that used aircraft,had many established names.Among them,the Army's aviation forces changed several times,the Navy's aviation forces were relatively stable,and the aviation finance,Personnel,command,in affiliated period,were involuntary and inconsistent.Among them,Army Air Services is the main promoter of Air Force organizational reform.There are three major factors that affect the fate of the Air Force: the upgrading of the aviation industry,the implementing of air force's academic thought,political conflict between military branches.People who believe in the power of Air Force are called to be Air Force advocators.They range from politics,military,business and education.They are surrounded by this new generation forces and have formed an intertwined interest community that promotes air force construction across fields and forms a professional roulette.Senators hope to solve local employment,soldiers hope to raise the level ofdefense,businessmen hope that their factory become bigger and stronger,scholars hope to establish their prestige.The common goal of the Air Force advocators,is to increase the scale of the Air Force,obtain more funds,develop higher technology,and experiment with appropriate military theories.The result of their joint efforts is to push the Air Force to independence.This is also the object of this study.Horizontally speaking,the U.S military aviation force,was born later than Britain,France,Germany,Italy,and even Tsarist Russia.Although in 1907 the Congress had signed the “United States Army Signal Corps Aviation Division” direction,but just until 1912,funds were allocated for the organization establishment.The reason for its late were: The Wright Brother's excessively high price asking and copyright disputes;The traditional combat thinking of Army viewed the Aircraft of Airship as a surveillance plane or flying artillery.These factors obstructed modern Air Force development,which made United States although be the first Country who created Aircraft,but also lost the initiate in the period of aviation,especially military aviation.The development of U.S.Air Force during the period between WWI and WWII were rather difficult.“The War is a stimulant for testing military industry”,not a exception for United States.Only a few number of The Aviation crews involved into the WWI,civil aviation developed quit slowly,the practicability has been questioned by the public.Thus,The Army Air Service lack of public attention,then lack of funds from congress,then results the U.S.manufacturer lack of motive in technology reform.That's why U.S.entrepreneurs and inventors inferior in the business competition with the Europeans'.The U.S.Air Corps Tactical School became to the only one who lead the aviation technology,personnel,equipment,and tactical thinking promoted,reformed,and developed.After the Great Depression,the International situation changed drastically.Within more than a decade of Roosevelt's government,based on the actual needs,like international politics,arms race,and war outbreak,the United States had gradually paying more attention on Air Force constructing affairs.Until Roosevelt's death,Air Force had risen to a huge forces,which become to a irreplaceable nature and indisputable fact.The Ground-based Rocket technology emerged after the WWII,which had shown the embarrassing contradictions of its Organization belonging status: Army or Naval.After a series of historical decisions,the United States Air Force was formally established in 1947,which is still known as the "independent air force."There is a taboo on military Command in joint operations: Unity of Command confusion.The opponents in the congress of the independent air force may have considered of this rule,rose a fiercely debate between the two sides in the Air Force's independent motion in 1947.But under the direction of several statesmen who were proficient in joint operations — MacArthur,Nimitz,Eisenhower,and others,with their intervention,Secretary of State Marshall led the Air Force's independent motion successfully implemented.The greatest advantage of the United States Air Force's independence,was to maintain its technological advancement during the Cold War period,its overwhelming technical superiority,and ensure the smooth implementation of the U.S.national strategy.In the final analysis,the focus of the struggle for air power and ground power or Naval power is not only the financial issue but also the dispute of ideas,and it is also the struggle for the interests of the military-industrial enterprises.Thus,in 1947,the U.S.Air Force independence seemed to be the right and historic choice.Studying the formation independent process of the United States Air Forces,could provide us an insight of the essence of Air Forces,learn from the experience of joint operations,and reform the Air Force's operational theory.studying this topics could also analyse the military industries' influence on the army services.Finally conclude the effect and position of Air Forces in modern warfare from a historical altitude,which could provide our PLA a military construction experience in the new era not without benefits.