Page:Legislative History of the AAF and USAF.djvu/10

 �This Page Declassified lAW EO12958 I=lrodctlo, can aircraft factories really got into full production. Neither the military nor the civilian or. ganization of American air power was ade- quate for fighting a large scale war. The Army air arm was merely a section of the Signal Corps, and the Arcraft Board actu- ally had little power to coordinate and foster the development of air power. The result was that the air power program got off to a late start and accomplished httleJ  Before the war was over Congressional ohssatisfaction with the meager results at- tending so great an expenditure of money led to two investigatmns into awation af- fairs, one by the Senate and the other by Mr. Justice Hughes acting in conjunction with the Department of Justice. While the findings produced no evidence of fraud, there was much to criticize in the handling of aircraft production. = As a consequen.ce Congress passed the Overman Act of May 20, 1918. This act gave the President the authority to establish an executive agency to exercise jurisdiction and control over the productran of air- planes, engines, and airplane eqmpment, as well as broad powers to coordinate and conzohdate the various executive agencies concerned with the conduct of the war. Acting under this authority, President Wil- son, by Executive Order 2862, dated 20 May 1918, removed Army aviation from the juris- diction of the Signal Corps and made a sweeping reorganization. The Division of Military Aeronautics, headed by a military director appointed by the Commander-in- Chief of the Army, took over the training and operations of the air arm. The Bureau of Aircraft Production, headed by a civilian director, was created and given complete jurisdiction over the production of aircraft and aircraft engines and equipment. This bureau was connected with the Aircraft Beard through interlocking membership. In order to unify and coordinate these aviation agencies, Mr. John D. Ryan, the civilian head of the Bureau of Aircraft Production, was appointed Director of the Air Service and Second Assistant Secretary of War [for Air]. Although this appeared to be a move in the direction of separate cabinet representation for the air arm, it turned out to be only a wartnne innova- tion. ic The establishment of the Al Service by executive order was recognized by Congress in the Appropriation Act of July 11, 1919, which listed the Ar Service as one of the several Army crgamzatons exstmg en 11 November 1918 which were to be kept in an active statu until 30 June 1920j  The Air Setwee was first mcorporated under statutory law by Section 13a of the Army Reorganization Act of June 4, 1920, which gave formal recognition to the Ar erwce as a combatant arm and raised the au- thorized personnel strength of the air arm to its highest peacetne level (1,516 officers and 16,000 enhsted men including not over 2,500 flying cadets). There was to be a Chief of the Air Service wth the rank of major general and an assistant with the rank of brigadier general. Ninety per cent of the officers in each grade below that oœ briga- dier general were required to qualify as arcraft pilots or observers within one year after their assignment to the Ar Service. s The Appropriation Act of June 5, 1920 defined the respective spheres of operation for the Army and Nvy air arms by provid- ing that: ß.. The Army Air Service ahall control all aerial operations from land bases and raval aviation hall have central of all aerial operations attached to a fleet, eluding shore stations whose maintenance is necessary for olderations connected the fleet for construction and experimen- tation and for training of personnel. ' This did not, of course, permanently settle this jurisdictional question; it was destined to bring about differences of opinion be- tween the military and naval air arms. A strong sentiment for an independent air force had grown up among Air Service ocers during World War I. There were also advocates of a separate air force Congress and eventually a large public fol- lowing was bmlt up. ø A total of eight measures praposing an ndependent or an autonomous air force was introduced in Congress in the 15 months immediately fol- lowing the armistice. Nothing came of these THIS PAGE Declassified lAW EO12958