An F-15 and F-16 fly over the California desert. (Photo: Master Sgt. David J. Loeffler, U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. Air Force was established by the National Security Act of 1947 and celebrates its birthday every Sept. 18.
THE FOUNDING OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE
Until the recent establishment of the U.S. Space Force in 2019, the Air Force was the U.S. Military’s youngest branch. For the first three decades of its existence, what is now the Air Force was actually part of the U.S. Army.
However, the growing importance of aerial power in 20th-century warfare eventually necessitated the birth of a new, separate branch.
1909–1947: FROM THE AERONAUTICAL SECTION TO THE U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES
The U.S. Military adopted its first aircraft under the direction of the U.S. Army — and through two World Wars, the Army commanded the majority of America’s ground-based air forces.
These first few aircraft flew under the banner of the Aeronautical Section, a part of the Army’s Signal Corps. Initially, U.S. aircraft were mostly used for reconnaissance, but World War I proved that they could be effectively weaponized, signaling a change in role and title within the Army: the U.S. Army Air Service.
Fighter planes and light bombers were increasingly deployed against enemy aircraft and ground forces for effect. Through the next two decades, the burgeoning air force continued to grow — and by the advent of World War II, had become a critical tool in America’s strategy against the Axis Powers.
By the end of the war, the Army Air Forces had played a major role in numerous strikes against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, to include the razing of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki — all of which demonstrated the magnitude of power that U.S. aircraft could now deliver.
U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform aerial maneuvers over Travis Air Force Base in California. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr., U.S. Air Force)
1947: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE
With the rising threat of the Cold War and the memory of World War II still fresh, America’s top brass and political leadership determined that a new, equal branch of the U.S. Military was needed to manage its now-massive fleet of fighters, bombers, transports, and in the not-so-distant-future, its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
As such, the National Security Act of 1947 established the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Department of the Air Force, including the military wing of the civilian department, the U.S. Air Force.
LEGACY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE
Today, the mission of the U.S. Air Force is to protect America’s interests from foreign aerial, cyber, and spaceborne threats.
To learn about more U.S. veterans holidays and important events, click here.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
