History of the Air Corps Tactical School 1920 -1940 - Covering World War I at Langley and Maxwell Field, the Air Corps Doctrinal Center, the Role of Precision Bombardment, and War Department Conflict

Book excerpt: This Air Force publication examines the 1930s Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, was the nurturing ground for American air doctrine. Those who studied and taught there were the same individuals who prepared America for war, and then led its airmen into combat. Chapter 1 - Early Military Education * Development of Military Educational System * The Impact of World War I * Establishment of Schools for Air Officers * Air Service Field Officers' School at Langley Field * Chapter 2 - The Air Corps Tactical School at Langley Field * Establishment of the Air Service Tactical School * Air Corps Board at Langley * Staff and Faculty, 1920-1931 * Students, 1920-1931 * Curriculum Changes * Demonstrations and Exercises * Plans for the Move of the School to Maxwell Field * Chapter 3 - The Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field * Expansion of the School * The Air Corps Board at Maxwell * 23d Composite Group * Demonstrations and Exercises * The Academic Department * Staff and Faculty, 1931-1940 * Students, 1931-1940 * Chapter 4 - Development of Doctrine at the Air Corps Tactical School * The School as the Air Corps Doctrinal Center * Observation Aviation * Doctrine of Air Force Employment, 1920-1926 * Evolution of the Theory of Daylight, High-Altitude Precision Bombardment of Pinpoint Targets * Conflict with the War Department General Staff * Clarifying and Refining the Bomber Concept * Air-Ground Cooperation * Impact of Bomber Concept on Theory of Air Superiority * Changing Concept of Pursuit Employment * Chapter 5 - Discontinuance of Air Corps Tactical School * Planning for Short Courses * Suspension of the School * Establishment of AAF School of Applied Tactics * Establishment of the Air University * Notes * Appendices * 1. Academic Department, Air Corps Tactical School * 2. Staff and Faculty, Air Corps Tactical School, 1920-1942 * 3. Air Corps Tactical School Graduates, by Class, 1920-1940 In the 1930s the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, was the birthplace and nurturing ground for American air doctrine. The work undertaken at the school became manifest in the skies over Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific in the Second World War. Those who studied and taught there were the same individuals who prepared America for war, and then led its airmen into combat. This band of men spawned and shaped the independent United States Air Force in the postwar era. Their influence is still felt today, for they developed the airpower doctrines and institutions that enabled the United States to prevail in the Cold War. Their strategic vision, evolved from the thoughts of Douhet, Mitchell, and Trenchard, is now embodied in the Air Force's notion of Global Reach-Global Power. The legacy of the Air Corps Tactical School continues on with the comprehensive programs of the Air University, the world's premier airpower training institution. From flight within the atmosphere to flight within space, American airmen fly their missions based on principles enunciated in the lecture halls of Maxwell Air Force Base.