Billy Mitchell: Founder of Our Air Force and Prophet Without Honor

by Emile Gauvreau, Lester Cohen

As early as 1920, US Army General Billy Mitchell began sounding alarm bells about an inevitable Japanese invasion from sea-based aircraft. Through the press and in person he lobbied naval brass about America's woefully unprepared defensive air power but his talk of dogfights over the Pacific with superior planes was laughed at and dismissed by all. Mitchell's vision of a US Air Arm would have meant massive, costly upgrades to the nation's dated flying machines owned by private firms holding patents on aircraft machinery. Old guard soldiers, like John J. Pershing, dismissed as delusional ravings Mitchell's belief that a battleship could be destroyed by a bomber. Mitchell's outspoken press conferences about an airplane trust supported by corrupt government officials led to his court-martial for insubordination in 1925. He died in 1936, a man ahead of his times.

*Includes annotations and images.

Genres: Biography

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1942

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been much better. The story of General Mitchell is remarkable but the writer created considerable confusion. For Example:

President FDR is treated with great respect and shown as struggling to rectify the situation in the Armed Forces, yet it is not mentioned that FDR as Asst Secretary of the navy was the creator of the patent pooling arangement during WWI, which was the principal problem for three decades in the US acquiring non-obsolete aircraft at fair prices.

The author claims our aircraft production was terrible and inferior to the quality of other foreign nations including Japan and complains that we were selling aircraft to Japan rather than our own military? The models the Japanese were buying is never disclosed.

The principals and companies that participated in the corruption of the Manufactures Aircraft Association are never disclosed in spite of the terrible conduct described.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few biographies pulse with the urgency and drama of Emile Gauvreau and Lester Cohen’s 1942 work, “Billy Mitchell: Founder of Our Air Force and Prophet Without Honor.” Reading it is like being swept into the slipstream of a man utterly convinced the world is asleep at the controls while he—Billy Mitchell—blazes a solo path through bureaucratic haze and military stonewalling. The book invites us not just to witness, but to practically take a seat beside Mitchell as he duels with the War and Navy Departments, lambasts the incompetence of government leaders, and risks his career on the incendiary belief that air power would decide the fate of future wars. Gauvreau and Cohen’s portrait is intimate and energetic, informed by their proximity and clear reverence for the man. We see Mitchell spar with such titans as Glenn Martin and Hap Arnold, and read how his tireless advocacy for airplanes transformed him into both a messiah and a martyr—outspoken to the brink of insubordination, culminating in his famous 1925 court-martial. This is no dry recounting. Instead, the prose moves with the breathlessness of a true-life political thriller. Mitchell comes across as fiercely charismatic, a general whose “conviction rattles incumbent power” and who, remarkably, predicts both the necessity and the coming devastation of air warfare—long before Pearl Harbor proved him all too right. Yet, with unintentional irony, the very fervor that made Mitchell a prophet also turns this biography into something of a hagiography. Some readers will find Gauvreau and Cohen’s awe wears thin, their hero-worship clouding a full, three-dimensional portrait. Important details—such as the notorious “Aviation Trust” opposing Mitchell—are left frustratingly vague, and their belief in the reader’s familiarity with early 20th-century aviation politics can leave newcomers slightly adrift. Nevertheless, the book’s faults make it more authentic, capturing not just the facts, but the fever of its era—a time when aviation was the future, and visionaries like Mitchell paid dearly to warn us of what was coming. In today’s world, obsessed with disruptive thinkers and underdog struggle, “Billy Mitchell: Founder of Our Air Force and Prophet Without Honor” remains electrifying—a compelling mixture of biography, warning, and celebration of a man who saw the future, was scorned for it, and was ultimately vindicated by history.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, one of our nation’s most heroic leaders

The story of Brigadier General William Mitchell is one tracing a clear thinking leader trying to help his country be the leader and winner of the next war that was sure to come. All the way he fought Congress and all its feather-nesters and greedy corporations blocking his way and every turn and ripping off the American taxpayers while they sold America’s greatest secrets to the Japanese and the Germans. This book is fascinating. I would recommend it to anyone interested in flying, history, political stupidity, and how far one man can go to fight for what is right.

[Russell G Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a true story, if you believe there are no winners in war, this

account concerning General Billy Mitchell and the start of military industrial complex proves beyond doubt that some value the dollar over all else.

[Robert Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revelation of how blind leaders can be?

I thought I knew slot about the General and found out how little I knew! It sure reveals how blind leaders can be because of money and power . This is still true. I really found it hard to put down.

[M.T. Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one wing, Billy Mitchell: Founder of Our Air Force, Prophet Without Honor is an interesting up-close look at General Mitchell from a man who knew him personally, offering insights into Mitchell's relationships with other aviation pioneers like Glenn Martin and Hap Arnold and detailing his battles on behalf of air power against the Army and Navy brass before Congress, in the press and in the court room. On the other, Emile Gauvreau obvious reverence and near idol-worship for the father of the U.S. Air Force became somewhat tiresome. His contemporary perspective also led to assumptions about the reader's knowledge which left open some pretty big gaps, the worst of which was an inadequate explanation of the early Twentieth Century "Aviation Trust" working against Mitchell. 

[William J Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Government disgraces aPatriot

Billy Mitchell saw the future of aerial warfare 15-20 years in advance. He predicted 15+ years before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor that they would attack us by planes. Due to stupidity on the part of out military and graft and corruption in the airplane business, many foreign countries got the jump on us before WWII. Mitchell was way ahead of his time. Good read.

[cynthia telage · Rating 5 out of 5]

The detail was excellent. There was far more industrial criminality surrounding airplane development with a government shockingly unaware of the consequences to the nation. I recommended the book to an air force officer friend.

The story was so much bigger than the meager knowledge I already knew about general Mitchell. He was an American patriot
And his unrelenting efforts will continue to serve our air arm into the distant future.

[Nicholas Kokolakis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, inherently political and propaganda style take on Mitchell’s contribution to the Air Arm and the need to take down the Air Trust that monopoliZed aircraft modernization in the post world war 1 timeframe.