Turning Planes Into Fighters: Military Innovation in Aviation’s Golden Age, Essay Example

The period from 1919 to 1940 is considered by historians to be “The Golden Age” of aviation. What was perhaps most impressive about this “golden age” was the ability of American pioneers to transform aviation into a military weapon.

In 1919, Curtiss launched three “flying boats” across the ocean. Although two planes were lost, the third, the NC-4 was successful. The flying boats were particularly useful for military maneuvers, because they could land on water or land and thus could refuel in more places than ever before (Tate). They also made military transport easier and farther reaching. A week later, two military men, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown successfully completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, traveling at an average speed of 118 mph (Mattimoe). In 1921, Captain William Mitchell and his aircrew began bombing tests on an old German battleship called the Ostfriedland. The tests displayed the ability of aircraft as tools for long-distance bombing (The United States Army).

By 1923, US planes were able to complete air-to-air refueling ventures and high speed airplane innovation took off with National Air Races, sponsored by Ralph Pulitzer (Mattimoe). In 1926, the Army created its Air Corps, which supported troops on the ground. The Air Corps tactical school trained pilots in “high-altitude precision bombing.” (The United States Army) Improvements in these areas continued into the 1930s, Boeing had developed its first metal fighter plane, the P-26 and by 1935, Bell created the XFM-1 “Airacuda,” which was, according to Tate meant to be an all purpose plane, used as a fighter, bomber, attack and observation plane. It was also to be able to withstand attacks. The plane was, according to Tate, an expensive failure (Tate 162).

Yet the single-seat fighter planes developed soon after became standbys for the Air Corps. These were the XP-40 Warhawk, the XP-38 Lightning, and the XP-39. These were, according to Tate, the best bombers in the world (Tate).  The innovations of the Golden Age would help the United States win victories in World War II which followed soon after.

Works Cited

Mattimoe, George E. “The Golden Age of Aviation (1919-1939) and The Aircraft Carrier.” 1 September 1999. USS Bennington Naval Aviation. 26 October 2010 <http://www.uss-bennington.org/history-turningpoints.html>.

Tate, James P. The Army and its Air Corps: Army Policy Toward Aviation 1919-1941. Maxwell Airforce Base: Air University Press, 1998.

The United States Army. “Centennial of Army Navigation.” The United States Army Homepage. 27 October 2010 <http://www.army.mil/aviation/timeline/index.html>.