Office of Air Force History

Fulcrum of Power: Essays on the United States Air Force and National Security Office of Air Force History

Publisher Marketing: In the twentieth century, the impact of flight reached into every corner of American society. However, nowhere has its impact been more dramatic than in the realm of military affairs. Over the past one hundred years, the evolution of military aviation technology has altered the way Americans have looked at national security. The development of military aviation has had an enormous impact upon the battlefield which, in turn, has transformed international politics and the crafting of national security policy. The question of how best to protect the United States against external military threats has come to involve the projection of military power abroad. With the passage of time and accelerated advancement of military aviation technology, the organization and development of air forces have assumed greater urgency and significance. In 1934, James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle noted that "the future security of our nation is dependent upon an adequate air force...this will become increasingly important as the science of aviation advances." Today, the United States Air Force (USAF) is the world's premier air arm. Among major nations, it is also the youngest, having been established in September 1947 in the wake of World War II. During the first half of the twentieth century, as part of the United States Army, the air arm was constantly striving for autonomy. Consequently, the question of how to organize military aviation increasingtly occupied the nation's legislators.