The World War I

The World War I, without any doubt, changed the landscape of Europe. Also, this massive confrontation gave the opportunity to the United States to intervene in the European global context. Its repercussion was political, economical and cultural, the World War I, also signified, the preamble of the Airpower development, the warring nations understood the importance of the aircraft this new modern and at that time fragile ingredient in the warfare.

Nevertheless, this big conflagration, brought the use of the plane, the development of air doctrine and its effectiveness was tested completely until World War II. But there was another factor which fosters the Airpower, National Security requirements was the most significant influence on the development of Airpower in Europe and the United States. Before the WW II because the military leaders foresaw that Air Force through Air Power and technology, would become the most preponderant and devastating weapon in the inevitable wars and therefore the primary resource in deciding the outcome of the war.

Although, is hard to find a formal definition of National Security, is important to define its meaning as “the confidence held by a vast majority of the nation’s people that the nation has the military capability and efficient policy to prevent its adversaries from actually using force in preventing the country’s pursuit of its national interests”,2 in order to establish its symbiosis between Airpower and Technology.

Air Power since its beginning as we know at present had suffered many critics either, how to apply the theory in the warfare or the importance and preponderance, alongside Sea Power and Land Power; in other words how the Air Power can decide the outcome of the war?. However, is necessary to determine the role of Air Power as the primary weapon of the Warfare. According to Billy W. Mitchell’s definition Air Power “is the ability to do something in or through the air, and, as the air covers the whole world, aircraft can go anywhere on the planet”3. Of course to achieve the ability in or through the air; human resources, infrastructure, the aeronautical industry is needed, even Moreover the support from the military and politics leaders.

Air Power was the new concept in the warfare after the World War I, and this new idea needed new doctrine indeed, three important theorists appeared on the scene the Italian Giulio Douhet, the British Hugh Trenchard, and the North American Billy W. Mitchell. Despite their background came from Army, they all argued that Air Power could be decisive in war, they also advocated in “moral effect” in war.

Douhet conceptualized the Airpower by using the battle plane. He believed that was necessary to take advantage of this new technology outfitting the aircraft with heavy armor, speed, and long range to achieve, air superiority or command in the air, through destroying on the ground all the infrastructure of enemy’s airpower such as airfields, and factories. Finally to punish the civilian population by bombing attacks4; this served to destabilize the enemy’s center of gravity, its people; moreover, recent action would force the enemy to surrender avoiding unnecessary losses of human lives by ending the war quickly. Douhet promoted to create an independent force in charge of the offensive Airpower.

Trenchard, meanwhile, did not think in Airpower as an independent force at the beginning, he appointed to strategic bombing, his assumptions were that the civilian morale is fragile, he advocated the offensive actions as an air war. For Trenchard, as with Douhet, air superiority was a prerequisite to developed the strategic bombing by attacking enemy’s vital industrial and communications, consequently these actions will collapse the civilian’s people morale. After World WarI, and eve of World War II, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had struggled in technology all of its bomber airplanes were low performance with two engines; until 1942,