Billy Mitchell

Remember Billy Mitchell? He was the General in charge of American air combat units toward the end of World War I. He warned the military leadership that if they did not invest in air power, eventually enemy air raids would sink our battleships. At the time, when American air power was in its infancy, it was unthinkable that bombers could destroy battleships. But Billy Mitchell persisted in telling all who would listen, including the public and the media, the time would come when air power would soon become a dominant force of war.  He ran a series of successful bombing “test” runs to prove his point.