Importance of Aviation
To modern Americans, aviation seems to be one of the best forms of 
transportation. Almost everyone in the country today has flown in a plane at some point in his or her life. It is as common as peanut butter and jelly. There was a time, however, when planes were thought to be a joke. Aviation was nothing more than a trend that would pass in time. World War II was the turning point for this type of thinking. Throughout WWII, people started to notice that aviation had many benefits in war. Aviation was no longer a tactic used every once in a while. Aviation became a serious endeavor.
The air branch of the army started as part of the cavalry in World War I. “The old timers of the army thought that airplanes were silly passing fads,” said Jim McNutt, Sr., Cadet in the Army Air Corps during WWII. At that time, the army only used planes to scout out enemy troops. “When it got to be large enough, they called it the Army Air Corps.” (McNutt) Time went on, and WWII arose. America “stayed out of it as long as we could…until Pearl Harbor awakened us all.” (McNutt) Because the Japanese used aircraft to successfully take Pearl Harbor, it sparked further interest into aviation for Americans. The United States started to build masses of planes to be able to join the war and take revenge for those so innocently lost in Hawaii. By the time America took part in World War II, the technology of aviation was advanced enough that air vehicles could be used for actual combat.
“After Pearl Harbor started, it was obvious we were in big trouble. We were going to have to mobilize all the young men of the country into the army and the navy,” Jim McNutt said. While some young men waited to be drafted, others joined of their own freewill. Pilot Richard McCalley was able to convince his father to let him join by arguing that he would be drafted anyway and that he did not want to be a foot soldier. Whatever option captured American youth, one thing was evident: the Air Corps was becoming larger and larger. Young men signed up for training programs for different aviation jobs. In fact, so many men were signing up for these programs that the Army Air Corps had to defer many recruits until there was space for them in training. Such deferment included Pilot Richard McCalley, who was sent to a college detachment in St. Louis after his basic training along with a large group of men that became his squadron.
Once enrollment opportunity arose for these men, they each had the choice of what training they wanted to partake in. This training was for those entering such jobs as gunners who manned the machine guns, pilots and copilots who flew the planes, and navigators who directed the plane’s flight, among others. Obviously, almost everyone who joined wanted to be a pilot. McCalley and McNutt both wanted piloting. McCalley got his wish, but McNutt was deferred to navigation. While all parts of the Air Corps were important, McNutt felt that navigation was one of the most significant jobs of the war. “If the navigator was wrong, we were all dead,” McNutt said.
Even though serious aviation was a new idea, it still used old traveling principles. Since the war was not on American soil, American troops had to be sent across the seas to Europe. The navigator had to map out a way to get there, but at that time there was no such thing as radar or any other such device. “It was so crude that they had to use the same method of navigation as Christopher Columbus did.”(McNutt) Each navigator had to memorize all of the star constellations in the sky. Maps were existent, obviously, but when traveling so one could not see any land, one had to look up to the stars. “If you have a map, it shows this mountain, and that river, or that town down there, or Aquarius and Pegasus and all of the stars up here. So, there you go. You’ve got two things to work with.” (McNutt) Thanks to the ancient Greek astronomy and history, aviation was able to make its own history.
WWII was fought primarily in the air. Bombing became a tactic that was crucial, and planes were the safest way to execute the plans. As a pilot, Richard McCalley performed some dive-bombing missions, while other units flew supplies to the war front, 
taking much shorter amounts of time than via sea. “Being over there in the theater, we were flying over water a lot of the time. It was very nerve-wracking. What if the engine quit or something else went wrong? Fortunately that never happened to me. Some guys had to bail out. We were sitting on a parachute and an inflatable boat. I never had to use it” (McCalley). McCalley and McNutt both took part in such long, tedious missions. Most missions could last up to two weeks. Aircraft saved time in deliveries as well as the use in actual combat.
The growth of aviation made some people believe that it deserved its own military section away from everything else. After many toils and troubles, President Truman made the declaration of the United States Air Force. The Army still had its own planes, but the larger part of defense flying was left up to the Air Force. Finally, aviation was taken seriously as a very useful and resourceful plan.
Although aviation first started in the Civil War with hot air balloons, it slowly grew into one of the country’s biggest forms of defense. From scouting, to transportation of troops and machinery, to bombing, planes and those who loved them proved themselves worthy of time, money, and effort. “WWII was the first time aviation was taken seriously,” said McNutt. In a many ways the war was a horrible experience, but in this respect it was good. On top of the military accomplishments planes helped achieve, each soldier was able to make his own personal accomplishment. “We made such good friendships…good, real friendships,” McNutt said with a sparkle in his eye. Without planes, our country would not be as accomplished as it is today. Without this war, it could have become nothing but a passing fad. Thankfully, it did not. Those who fought bravely in World War Two showed the country and those who ran it the possibilities of aviation.
Works Cited
McCalley, Richard. Personal Interview. 23 April 2006.
McNutt, Jim, Sr. Personal Interview. 26 April 2006.
Bryant, John. “A Bomber Pilot Remembers.” World War II. May 2004. 19 April 2006. web-page
Goss, William A. “Air Defense of the Western Hemisphere.” Army Air Forces in World
War II. 20 April 2006. <http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/I/AAF-I-8.html>.
“Army Air Corps – Army Air Forces.” 20 April 2006. <http://www.armyaircorps.us/>.
Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. The American Nation: A History of the United States. 11th ed. United States: Pearson Longman, 2003.
“Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.” 16 March 2005. 25 April 2006. http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/american.htm
Elebash, C. C. “Was It the Air Corps or Army Air Forces in WW II?” Jan. 2002.Army Air Forces Historical Association. 25 April 2006 http://www.aafha.org/aaf_or_aircorps.html
“The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.”2006. Parham Airfield Museum. 25 April 2006.
http://www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk/390info.html