Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy. The Interwar Rivalry Over Air Power

During the years following World War I, Army general William “Billy” Mitchell was the leading proponent of the importance of air power. An effective public speaker, he argued that the next war- was going to be fought in the air and called for the creation of an independent air force. However, U.S. political leaders were far more interested in disarmament and isolationist policies than in funding national defense. For the military services this meant lean budgets and skeleton operating forces. Billy Mitchell’s War with the Navy recounts the intense political struggle between the Army and Navy air arms for the limited resources needed to define and establish the role of aviation within their respective services during the interwar period.

Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 The Making of a Soldier
2 A Fledgling Eagle Soars to Great Heights
3 Laying Down the Gauntlet
4 A Shot across the Bow
5 Dreadnoughts under Fire
6 Bombing Experiments off the Virginia Capes
7 The Airplane versus the Battleship
8 Racing and Record Setting
9 Patrick Takes Charge
10 The Tipping Point
11 A Question of Loyalty
12 A Milestone in American Military Aviation
13 The Air Corps and Coast Defense
14 The Verdict of History
Epilogue: Billy Mitchell in Perspective
Appendix 1. Leadership of the United States Army and
Navy 1916-1939 appendix 11. Alfred Johnson’s Comments on Mitchell’s
Articles in the Saturday Evening Post Notes
Other Biographies of Billy Mitchell
Bibliography
Index