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Air Force: Difference between revisions
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== History == | == History == | ||
{{main|History of the United States Air Force}} | {{main|History of the United States Air Force}} | ||
The origins of the United States Air Force can be traced back to the [[Union Army Balloon Corps]] of the | The origins of the United States Air Force can be traced back to the [[Union Army Balloon Corps]] of the American Civil War. The Union Balloon Corps, established by aeronaut [[Thaddeus S. C. Lowe]], provided aerial reconnaissance for the [[Union Army]]. This early use of balloons for military purposes marked the beginning of modern aerial warfare and set the stage for the development of the United States Air Force.<ref>Smithsonian American History Encyclopedia. (2003). Nation divided: The first modern war (p. 47).</ref> | ||
The [[United States Department of War|U.S. War Department]] created the first antecedent of the U.S. Air Force, as a part of the U.S. Army, on 1 August 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual independence 40 years later. In [[World War II]], almost 68,000 U.S. airmen died helping to win the war, with only the infantry suffering more casualties.<ref>Robert Pitta, Gordon Rottman, Jeff Fannell (1993). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRaKBTQ0AgC&pg=PA3 US Army Air Force (1)] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160428174544/https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRaKBTQ0AgC&pg=PA3&dq=&hl=en |date=28 April 2016}}''. Osprey Publishing. p. 3. {{ISBN|1-85532-295-1}}</ref> In practice, the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] ([[USAAF]]) was virtually independent of the [[United States Army|Army]] during World War II, and in virtually every way functioned as an independent service branch, but airmen still pressed for formal independence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II Volume VI: Men and Planes: Chapter 2 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VI/AAF-VI-2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028090810/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VI/AAF-VI-2.html |archive-date=28 October 2017 |access-date=8 November 2017 |website= ibiblio.org}}</ref> The [[National Security Act of 1947]] was signed on 26 July 1947, which established the [[Department of the Air Force]], but it was not until 18 September 1947, when the first secretary of the Air Force, [[W. Stuart Symington]], was sworn into office that the Air Force was officially formed as an independent service branch.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx "The Air Force Fact Sheet"] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208042018/http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx |date=8 December 2014}}. U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 30 December 2014.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512165955/http://www.intelligence.gov/0-natsecact_1947.shtml ''National Security Act of 1947'']. U.S. Intelligence Community, October 2004. Retrieved 14 April 2006.</ref> | The [[United States Department of War|U.S. War Department]] created the first antecedent of the U.S. Air Force, as a part of the U.S. Army, on 1 August 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual independence 40 years later. In [[World War II]], almost 68,000 U.S. airmen died helping to win the war, with only the infantry suffering more casualties.<ref>Robert Pitta, Gordon Rottman, Jeff Fannell (1993). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRaKBTQ0AgC&pg=PA3 US Army Air Force (1)] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160428174544/https://books.google.com/books?id=ydRaKBTQ0AgC&pg=PA3&dq=&hl=en |date=28 April 2016}}''. Osprey Publishing. p. 3. {{ISBN|1-85532-295-1}}</ref> In practice, the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] ([[USAAF]]) was virtually independent of the [[United States Army|Army]] during World War II, and in virtually every way functioned as an independent service branch, but airmen still pressed for formal independence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II Volume VI: Men and Planes: Chapter 2 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VI/AAF-VI-2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028090810/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/VI/AAF-VI-2.html |archive-date=28 October 2017 |access-date=8 November 2017 |website= ibiblio.org}}</ref> The [[National Security Act of 1947]] was signed on 26 July 1947, which established the [[Department of the Air Force]], but it was not until 18 September 1947, when the first secretary of the Air Force, [[W. Stuart Symington]], was sworn into office that the Air Force was officially formed as an independent service branch.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx "The Air Force Fact Sheet"] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208042018/http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx |date=8 December 2014}}. U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 30 December 2014.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512165955/http://www.intelligence.gov/0-natsecact_1947.shtml ''National Security Act of 1947'']. U.S. Intelligence Community, October 2004. Retrieved 14 April 2006.</ref> | ||