Part 1 - A case study in modernization: General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, the B-29 Superfortress, and visions of an independent Air Force
Even before the United States committed armed forces to the Second World War, Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold understood that American military participation in the conflict, should it occur, might provide the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the Army Air Forces) an opportunity to demonstrate the military value of an independent air force. If the U.S. entered war, Arnold intended to leverage the fighting by pursuing his vision of a co-equal military air branch.
Even before the United States committed armed forces to the Second World War, Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold understood that American military participation in the conflict, should it occur, might provide the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the Army Air Forces) an opportunity to demonstrate the military value of an independent air force. If the U.S. entered war, Arnold intended to leverage the fighting by pursuing his vision of a co-equal military air branch.
