Winged Defense: The Development and Possibilities of Modern Air Power--Economic and Military

Fire Ant Books

by William Mitchell

An outstanding U.S. air commander in World War I, General William Mitchell was the first serious proponent of an independent U.S. air force and a unified defense department. His staunch and relentless advocacy of air power, however, was accompanied by outspoken public attacks against the War and Navy departments, for which he was court-martialed in 1925. Mitchell's theories of American air power, nevertheless, were sound; and eventually many of his proposals and prophecies—including strategic bombardment, mass airborne operations, and the eclipse of the battleship by the airplane—were demonstrated in World War II.
In this book, first published in 1925, Mitchell speaks of America's present and future role in the air. Compiled from Congressional records, articles in public journals, and personal experience, Winged Defense outlines the importance of air power in military and commercial terms, discusses U.S. aeronautical leadership, the dominance of aircraft over naval vessels and the organization of an air force, the importance of establishing an air defense system, the effect of air power on modifying and limiting international armaments, defensive measures against aircraft, and many other topics. Supplemented with rare vintage photographs, the book is a clearly written testament by one of the twentieth century's most farsighted and influential military leaders.

Genres: Military History, War, History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

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Reviews

[Mark Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winged Defense was Billy Mitchell's wakeup call to a government he believed was asleep at the wheel. By failing to develop airpower as a national resource, America was falling farther and farther behind other great powers. "Where there is no vision the people perish," Mitchell quotes, then goes on to lay out his own vision for airpower employment. Although Mitchell's vision is often compared to Douhet's, I found Mitchell to be less dogmatic and more grounded in the complexities of the real world. This book is an artifact of its time, but I found Mitchell's foresight fascinating. The book's greatest weakness is its repetitiveness.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The foreword within this book is a warning for the era to which it was written. Persons that criticize this book in modern times lack the understanding to the times to which this book was written and the urgency that General Mitchell had placed to the need of an effective Air Service away from the choices of the Signal Corps and directional use from Naval Commanders. The book was originally compiled in 1923 and published in 1925 at the height of anger General Mitchell had caused within Department of War and the U.S. Congress. There is nearly a century now between the date of this book and the current era to which we live. I admit this can be easy to invite comparisons of policy to Douhet or any other effective developing Air Arm of the time, and this does no justice for the intended audience of the compilation that General Mitchell pieced together. This book was designed to incite action from the U.S. Government through urgency of need – it wasn’t intended to be an effective directive (directives and service departments would come later and General Mitchell was all too aware of this fact.) In theory, the strategy employed within these pages were visionary for the time, but very specific to the U.S.A. General Mitchell would in retirement take a more effective stance, write other articles, and take a more refined approach, though no less combative in nature. One also should consider that this is the book he wrote and had published before his Court Martial began in October of 1925 – context to time and history must be an important consideration. A sense of urgency prevails within – a political argument and breaking the mold of the Army and Navy wasn’t easy and didn’t work. He was also ill at the time and I can only speculate that this heightened his sense of urgency. He predicted Pearl Harbor and wouldn’t live to see it occur. FDR realized the value of his friend and after Mitchell’s death – as a result he would be posthumously promoted to Major General and receive a Special Congressional Medal of Honor in 1946.

I would recommend that persons interested in the development of the Air Service read first/also “A Few Good Captains” by Dewitt S. Copp. The book is out of print now but used copies can be found easily on-line.

[Mwenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely needs to be read with an understanding of the context in which it was written. I enjoyed thinking about what ideas have panned out (e.g. a standalone Air Force) and which didn’t (e.g. dirigibles) and why.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Mitchell was certainly a visionary, some of his ideas for the implementation of Air Power were far too rooted in fantasy and the notion that war was ever chivalrous.

[Nate Huston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, I know there's controversy regarding whether or not ol' Billy got his ideas from Douhet, but come on. Really? He definitely did, right? Mitchell's book is a valuable insight into the man's thoughts at the time. His work is clearly intended for the general public and it results in an easier read than Douhet. Of course, that also means it's much lighter on actual justification. While Douhet was mistaken (at least today) regarding his underlying "invincibility of air power" premise, his argument is at least logical. Mitchell's work is more a work of persuasion and call for independent air force than it is a theoretical proof of concept.

That said, his writing is smooth (if repetitive) and easy to follow. His account of the battleship tests was particularly entertaining. Overall, this is a valuable look at the thinking of the time through the eyes of perhaps the largest American air power advocate of the time.

[Barry Hunte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The founder of Air Force Air Power.