Air Force, U. S.
The Air Force is one of the three armed forces that have the duty of defending the United States against any enemy that might attack. The other two armed forces are the Army and the Navy. The Air Force is the youngest of the three. Through World War II it was a branch of the Army and was called the Army Air Corps. On September 18, 1947, the Air Force became independent
The Air Force is one of the three armed forces that have the duty of defending the United States against any enemy that might attack. The other two armed forces are the Army and the Navy. The Air Force is the youngest of the three. Through World War II it was a branch of the Army and was called the Army Air Corps. On September 18,
1947, the Air Force became independent. Because air power is absolutely necessary in modern warfare, many people consider the Air Force the most important branch of the defenses of the United States.
There are four ways in which the Air Force must be prepared to defend the United States and fight for the country in time of war. 1. If the enemy sends bombing planes to attack the United States or any of its possessions or bases, the job of the Air Force is to fight them in the air and destroy them or chase them off. For this it uses "fighter planes," especially of the type called interceptors. In time of war the Air Force must bomb enemy territory, to destroy the factories in which they make war materials, and the bases from which they might attack the United States, and sometimes for the purpose called retaliation— that is, to punish the enemy for its attacks on the United States. For these purposes the Air Force uses bombing planes of various types.
When United States soldiers are fighting in the field, or when an amphibious attack is made, the Air Force has the job of supporting the ground forces. It does this by attacking the enemy troops and installations against which the United States ground forces are fighting. The Air Force must also try to win "control of the skies" where the fighting is going on. That is, it must fight the enemy planes that try to attack the United States ground forces. For these purposes the Air Force uses light bombing planes and fighters.
The Air Force transports both men and supplies for the Army and other services. For this it has huge fleets of transport planes. The Air Force also has planes for observation of enemy positions, for scouting, for aerial photography, for training, and for several other purposes that are different from actual bombing or fighting. For the carrying out of these duties, Congress authorized the U. S. Air Force to have, as of July 1, 1954, nearly a million men—955,000, including Aviation Cadets who are undergoing training. The Air Force had 30,000 aircraft of all types, and 21,000 of these were in active service.
