The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. 1 (archived PDF)

T H E A I R C O R P S P R E P A R E S F O R W A R , 1 9 3 9 - 4 1
United Stares evolved a dynamic, rather than a static, concept of de-
fense. The new concept was influenced by the military techniques of
the Nazis as well as by their unbroken string of victories. T h e pattern
of political infiltration, violent air attack, and machine-like blitzkrieg
encouraged the conviction that defense of the Western Hemisphere
was closely linked with the survival of the Allies, especially of Eng-
land: an Allied victory would forestall an Axis invasion of the Ameri-
cas and even by merely prolonging Allied resistance the United States
would gain time needed for building its defenses. So in 1940 aid to the
Allies had become the avowed policy of the American government.
This involved first the relaxation of neutrality restrictions, and it re-
quired a vast expansion of facilities for the production of munitions
in order that the United States might become “the arsenal of democ-
racy.” That expansion was rapid, but until the nation was forced into
a complete war economy production was never equal to the demands
of our own forces and of the Allies. Hence allocation of the limited
military supplies to the best interests of the nation became a problem
of singular difficulty and importance.
In extending lend-lease aid to Great Britain in March 1941 the
President declared the defense of that nation “vital to the defense of
the United States.” In this statement he merely followed a legislative
formula, but the phrase had a wider implication. If indeed our safety
was linked so closely with that of England, it was obvious that our
collaboration with that power might not stop short of war. In antici-
pation of that possibility, American and British military staffs were
active in 1941in shaping strategic plans to govern combined Anglo-
American operations should the United States be drawn into the war,
and the Army and Navy prepared more detailed joint plans for meet-
ing their respective responsibilities.
Preparations initiated by the United States government in the period
1939-41 involved, then, four interrelated activities: expansion of the
military establishment; development of a new doctrine of hemisphere
defense; aid to the Allies; and the formulation of strategic war plans.
T o an important degree the nature of those defense measures was
determined by the nature of the conflict in Europe. Thus in light of
the vital role played by the air arm in German offense and in British
defense, it was natural that the United States should place great empha-
sis on the development of air power. And hence during the period
1939-41the Air Corps figured prominently in each of the four aspects
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