What Events Led To The Separation Of Air Force

The United States Air Force began as a subdivision of the U.S. Army and was declared an official combatant arm in 1920. It wasn't until 1947, a whole 27 years later, following World War II, that the Air Force was finally recognized as its own military branch. What events led to this separation from the Army? There were actually seven major events that had the biggest impact on the separation including America’s first military aircraft, an American coalition operation against Germany, the Army Reorganization Act of 1920, advancing technology, longer flight time, an attack on Tokyo, and the end of World War II, over a 38 year span that led to the birth of the U.S. Air Force.
In 1909, America’s first military aircraft, Signal Corps No. 1, was delivered to the Army. Designed and built by the Wright brothers, they
Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell, an observer of the air war prior to the United States’ entry, studied the concepts of Sir Hugh Trenchard (Father of the Royal Air Force) to formulate his own ideas for the application of air power. Mitchell took Trenchard’s ideas of forward action and relentless offensive to heart. Applying these principles, in 1918, Mitchell successfully devised and executed a plan that put 1,500 planes over the battlefield in support of American ground attacks at St. Mihiel. Despite heavy losses, Mitchell’s command achieved air superiority over the battlefield and effectively attacked enemy ground forces, airfields, and communications centers. Billy Mitchell’s coalition operations against Germany demonstrated airpower strategies still in use today. Despite these accomplishments, many observers concluded that airpower had not proven itself in warfare. Still, air leaders viewed World War I as a positive experience and upon his return from Europe, General Mitchell intended to make a case for airpower as the first line of national