Evening star., 1944-06-04
u. S. Air Power
Is Effective
By Ouen L. Scott.

By Owen L. Scott.
Air power, as conceived by the re-
sponsible officers of the United States
Army Air Forces, now definitely ia
proved as decisive war factor. The
airplane, used as this countrys Army
aviators planned that It should be used.
paved the way for defeat OF German
forces In Italy and accounts for the
great confidence now shown over the
outcome Of battles to come In Western
Europe.
Air officers never have claimed that
the airplane could win victory in Eu-
rope unaided. That has been the claim
OF air power zealots, not of the men who
had the actual planning to do. These
men have insisted merely that proper
use OF air power could so weaken an
enemy that the problem Of his defeat on
land or on the sea would be greatly sim
| plified and the cost in lives could be re-
duced.
| 1t appeared for time in Italy that
even this more limited conception might
| be too ambitious. The Germans, with
only limited air strength, seemed to have
stalemated that situation. When the
real push came, however, it was discov-
cred that air power actually had so
greatly reduced the ability of German
forces to supply themselves that there
developed a blitzkrieg in the mountains,
a type of blitz that scarcely had been
| imagined.
| ~
The way the war is working out In
Western Europe is even more striking
in its support of the air power concep-
ton of United States Army air officers.
Air forces have gone out in daylight
and have fought their way to the heart
| of enemy territory. In so doing they
| have struck not only at German indus
| try but have defeated the German
Air Force. Many British and American
officers insisted that an operation of
this type could not succeed, but 1t def
| nitely has succeeded.
Another basic United States idea was
that the airplane could be used to strike
| at specific targets in enemy territory.
hitting precisely those factories and
centers of power that would weaken the
enemy fatally. American Air Forces
have knocked out large proportion Of
German aircraft industry. They have
! interfered with submarine building and
have had large part in destruction
of so much of the vital German war In
dustries that the Germans no longer
| are able to supply their armies In the
lavish way they we're supplied year or
| two ago.
1t is in this field of strategic use of
the airplane that the American Army
has far outdistanced other air forces.
The Germans failed to design an air
force for essentially strategic uses. The
Russians, like the Germans, built their
air force for strictly tactical uses in con-
junction with ground troops The Brit
ish had the idea Of strategic air force
but built it for night use and for area
rather than precision bombing. The
United States Army Air Forces had the
idea of creating warships of the air
| that could, strike at the heart Of the
| enemy. That idea now Is proved to be
justified many times over as the Ger
| man nation finds that the life OF its
industry is being pounded out by almost
daily assault from thousands of Amer
lean bombers. @aijsll12Efss
This country Is contributing, too, to
the use of air power for tactical pur-
| poses. 1t has developed the combina-
ton fighter bomber with long range and
| great power for use in attacking indi-
| vidual objectives such as railroad loco
motives. bridges and gun emplacemerts.
The cir war in Europe now is shifted
strongly to tactical operations related
to ground fighting. These tactical air
operations will be designed to prevent
Germany from making the rapid shift
of forces that must be made If she is
to prevent full success Of American
British moves in the West.
Air power, as matter of fact. has
brought Germany within sight of de-
feat even before the full land power of
this country and Great Britain has been
brought to bear in the West. Due to
the results that the airplane is getting,
military oficials now are highly con-
| f1dent of the outcome of this summers
fighting. They are revising downward
| their expectation of casualties. They
are moving ahead the time at which
they expect Germany will be defeated.
The changed calculations rest almost
entirely upon the results that air power
Is achieving, now that something ap-
preaching its full force is being brought
to bear on Hitlers Europe.
If it were not for the achievements
of air power, the United States and
Great Britain now would be facing an
almost impossible task in Europe. AS
a result of air power as conceived and
applied by the United States Army Air
Forces this task will *be far easier.
There even is the possibility that it
may develop into blitzkrieg.
1t is important to be aware of air
force accomplishments because a strug-
gle already is shaping up inside the
Government over the postwar control
of air power. The Navy, which did
not 60 in for strategic use of the air.
plane, now would like to edge in on
control over the land based aircraft, the
big bomber in particular
The Army Air Forces are all set now
with land-based superbomber that
will be introduced to Japan and will be
expected to accomplish in that war what
the Flying Fortress and the Liberator
have ACCOMPLISHED in El,rone Air