National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

340 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s
carefully selected targets. It was an attractive doctrine that avoided the slaughter of
enemy civilians and soldiers. If one deprived the enemy of his material to wage a
war— then the enemy would be forced to sue for peace.
By the early 1930s such concepts were developed into a specific doctrine. At
the Air Corps Tactical School in 1933 the faculty and students began research on
identifying railroad chokepoints; vital railyards, and bridges whose loss would
impose a massive dislocation of the national transportation net. 17 A generation of
airmen was trained at the Air Corps Tactical School in the elements of airpower
thinking that would dominate the U.S. Air Corps and, later, the Air Force. The ACTS
doctrine of strategic bombardment known as the “industrial web theory” of airpower
concentrated on identifying key nodes of economic activity whose loss would cripple
whole sectors of the economy. 18
The strategic bombing doctrine ensured decisive effect with an economy of
effort—but for such a doctrine to work America had to have an air weapon that had
the range, speed, and accuracy to penetrate deep into enemy territory, avoid enemy
air defenses, carry a heavy bomb load, and strike a pinpoint target. The rapidly
developing American aviation technology turned the concept of strategic bombing
from a fantasy into a real possibility in a few years. The mid-1920s to the mid-1930s
saw an enormous advance in aircraft technology. In the 1930s aircraft engines went
from 500 horsepower to 1,200 horsepower. NACA cowlings cut drag and increased
speed. High octane fuel made engines more efficient while increasing range. The
all metal and multi-engine transport planes built for the rapidly growing American
airlines pioneered advanced production technologies and made the dramatic new
engine and airframe designs the norm throughout the industry.
In 1931 the Air Corps fielded its first all metal monoplane bomber. The two engine
B-9 bomber had a retractable landing gear, a speed of 186 mph, carried 2260 pounds
of bombs and was the most advanced bomber of its day. 19 The B-9 was followed in
1932 by the B-10; another twin engine monoplane bomber equipped with machine
gun turrets for defense and flew at 207 mph. 20 Even as the B-10 was being introduced
into the Air Corps units, the Air Corps and Army leadership proposed an exponential
leap in bomber technology. In 1934 the Air Corps negotiated with American’s
aviation industry to develop a four-engine bomber that could carry 5,000 pounds
of bombs for 1,300 miles, or 2,500 pounds of bombs for 2,300 miles. The next year
the prototype of the B-17 first flew and on a test flight achieved an average speed of
232 mph while flying a distance of 2,100 miles. 21 This exceeded all expectations and
17
A discussion of the role of Acts in development of American bombing concepts is found in Stephen
McFarland, America’s Pursuit of Precision Bombing 1910-1945 (Washington: Smithsonian, 1995).
18
Ibid. pp. 176-177.
19
Budiansky, p. 181.
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid. pp. 181-183.