hard of the Royal Flying Corps, and was convinced that air power could be used to a greater advantage (Burlingame 34).When Billy Mitchell was Chief of the Air Service, he openly proclaimed his opinion on the need for a more direct approach to the advancement of air power. Billy Mitchell wanted the air force to become more than just a defensive weapon; he wanted them to be an offensive department. Mitchell wanted the air force to become a separate force like the Navy. At this point, the air force was primarily used as another conventional weapon. Mitchell saw that if other countries had utilized the air force, then the U.S. would become an outdated military power compared to other countries. In 1918, Mitchell commanded 1,476 aircraft, 20 balloons (which were mainly used as observers and sometimes combat), and had control of a mixture of British and French squadrons. The battle of Saint-Mihiel would be the greatest projection of the power the air force could yield ("American" 2).Mitchells main argument for wanting to have an air force; was that the air fighters could defend the United States coasts. Nevertheless, military leaders were skeptical on the idea that an airplane could destroy a battleship. No one believed that a small airplane could destroy a battleship. Mitchell relied on the peoples favorable opinion to convince Congress and other military leaders to show them the true power of an air fighter. During all of this, Mitchell was agitating and annoying many powerful military leaders. They already had thoughts on his future court-martial, but this would only happen if Mitchell did something very radical. In 1921, Mitchell destroyed three German bombers and the U.S.S Alabama to show the awesome power of an air fighter. Many of Mitchells superiors were enraged because he had not gotten permission to show this kind of activity to the public. However, the Army General Staff remained unconvinced that air power could win a war. Mitchell...
