Even before the dawn of powered flight, citizen-soldiers took great interest in the use of aerial observation for military purposes. After the advent of military aviation in the United States, the National Guard sought opportunities to establish its own military aviation program. When the War Department refused to provide aircraft or training to the states for fear of draining resources from its own embryonic flight program, citizen-soldiers forged ahead on their own to organize units, acquire aircraft and undergo training. From the very beginning, National Guard aviators flew in support of domestic state missions, and when the nation went to war, they became an integral part of the war effort. The history of U.S. military aviation from the Balloon Corps of the Civil War to the outbreak of World War II is the common heritage of Army aviation and the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The establishment of organic Army aviation in June 1942, and its service during World War II, set the stage for a separate Army aviation program in the National Guard in the postwar period.


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    Title :

    Winged Warriors: The History of Army National Guard Aviation, 1948 - 2008


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2009


    Size :

    122 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English