Mason Patrick and the Fight for Air Service Independence - Hardcover

White, Robert P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560989432 ISBN 13: 9781560989431

Publisher: Smithsonian Books, 2001

Synopsis

In 1918, at a critical juncture in World War I, Mason Patrick was selected to command the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force. In this assessment of his career, White credits Patrick, rather than his more vocal second-in-command Billy Mitchell, with ensuring the survival of the Air Service at a time when it faced critical internal and external pressures. He explores how, while Mitchell played the role of the attention-grabbing publicist, Patrick skilfully functioned as the true leader of the Air Service, expertly manoeuvring behind the scenes and in selected public forums to ultimately ensure the creation of the Air Corps. Patrick took a gradualist approach to the question of the Air Service's status, seeing autonomy within the US Army as an attainable goal that would serve as a stepping-stone to full independence later. Robert White describes how, as one of the first aviation officers to recognize the full potential of airpower during war and peacetime, Patrick was remarkably successful in gaining support for the three legs of his aviation triangle: military aviation, commercial aviation and the aviation-manufacturing base. He explains how Patrick's tenure as chief of the Air Service and, later, the Air Corps, made possible the emergence of an independent Air Force.

Edition details

• Publisher: Smithsonian Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1560989432
• ISBN 13: 9781560989431
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192