Winged Defense The Development and Possibilities of Modern Air Power—Economic and Military.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1925. Octavo, original green cloth, gilt lettering on spine and front cover, xxiv, 262 pp., frontispiece, illustrated endpapers, 15 black-and-white plates of photographs and one diagram. Closed tear affects the front free endpaper, cloth a little flecked, overall a very good copy. William Mitchell was an innovative and highly outspoken pioneer US military aviator. His father was a US Senator and his grandfather was a distinguished officer in the US Civil War. As a young military officer Mitchell served and fought wars in the Philippines and insurrections along the Mexican border, and introduced radio and automobile equipment into the US Army as early as 1914. In June 1916, he took private flying lessons at the Curtiss Flying School because he was proscribed by law from military aviator training due to his age and rank. As the youngest member of the US War Department General Staff, Mitchell became an advocate of an independent air force.
During World War One, Mitchell became Chief of the Air Service. After the war, his theories regarding the coming age of air power proved disturbing to many people, but were proved in 1921 with the sinking of the ex-German battleship Ostfriesland off the Virginia Capes through the use of aircraft. He was court-martialled in 1925 for speaking against the army for investing in battleships instead of aircraft carriers and resigned in 1926. Following these famous events, Mitchell continued writing and speaking out on aviation matters until his death in 1936. All of his writings are important as a predictor of the successful use of airpower in World War II. Item #5106
Price (AUD): $600.00