American Airpower Comes of Age

CAIRO, TEHRAN, PALESTINE, CAIRO, ITALY
cess in the air war, I feel we must have a high air commander some
place in Europe. Today you can be that commander. 186
The recognition of USSTAF at Cairo and the reassignment of
Eaker were part of Arnold’s continuing struggle for the success
as well as the recognition of the US strategic air offensive.
An important result of the second meeting in Cairo that was
to have considerable impact on the AAF was the agreement by
the CCS at their 6 December meeting that a “strategic bombing
force will be established in Guam, Tinian, and Saipan for
strategic bombing of Japan proper.” Optimistically, it was
anticipated that Allied control over the Marianas would be
achieved by October 1944 with B-29s operating from them by
December. The agreement on operations in the Central Pacific
has been assessed by one historian as an agreement between
Admiral King and Arnold, each seeking “the same physical
objective, although for entirely different reasons. The King-
Arnold alliance provided the impetus needed to break the
impasse on strategic planning in the Pacific,” resulting in the
6 December agreement. Security considerations dictated that
Hap not commit this information to the diary. 187
On a personal note, Hap learned while on this trip that negotiations
for the ranch he wanted to buy had been completed. He
now owned a ranch just outside Sonoma, California. From this
point on, Arnold would involve himself with the property. He
traveled there shortly after returning from this trip and visited it
en route to the Pacific in June 1945. He anticipated retirement
there and a life of leisure once the war was over. 188
His health was apparently not a major factor during this 35-
day journey since he made no mention of it in his diary. He
had the benefit of medical attention during the sea voyage and
while at the three diplomatic conferences. Also, his stops en
route home were in locations near American medical facilities.
His omitting any mention of his health in the diary was good
news in view of the two heart attacks he had experienced during
the first five months of the year.
Other problems that had concerned him as recently as a
year ago now seemed resolved, foremost among them aircraft
production and distribution (other than the B-29). Three days
before they departed on this trip, Arnold furnished the chief of
109