Victory Through Air Power Page #6

tungsten, tin, rubber.

Gorging on

this new lifeblood...

his war industries...

the heart and vitals

of the beast...

out of reach and unmolested,

swell in size and power...

forge more

bullets, guns, tanks...

bombs, planes,

to strengthen his defenses...

more weapons of

death and destruction...

to expand

his sphere of domination.

Whether on the continent...

island by island,

or on the high seas...

this long

and exhausting struggle...

is nothing but a fight

for air bases...

so we can bring

our short-range aviation...

close enough

to strike at Japan.

What is the solution?

Long-range air power.

When we increase

the range of our bombers...

we automatically decrease

the surface struggle-

double the range,

half the struggle-

so the longer the range,

the shorter the war.

By increasing the striking

radius of our bombers...

to 3,000 miles,

we will be able...

to reach Japan from

the bases we have today.

But with this range...

air power will no longer

have to depend...

on these distant bases.

It will be able

to strike directly...

from continentaI America

and free itself...

of all dependency

on overseas supply lines.

From the great industriaI

heart of America...

our overland supply line...

the highway to victory,

runs to Alaska...

and Alaska points straight

at the heart of Japan.

Bombers that can take off

from our own shores...

fly across the ocean...

strike at the enemy,

and return non-stop...

are not only possible

but practicaI.

It is not longer a question

of whether it can be done...

but of making up our minds

to do it.

The science of aviation

is ready to give us...

powerfuI,

long-range combat planes...

far exceeding anything

in the air today.

They'll be heavily armed...

and bristling

with large-caliber cannon.

Their size and stability will

provide a steady platform...

for scientific

range-finding and gun-sights...

to assure accuracy of fire.

Small, single-seater fighters

will find themselves helpIess

for their guns

are not maneuverable.

They're fixed

and can only fire forward.

So while the small fighters...

are jockeying

to get into position...

they're under the constant

and deadly fire...

of the combat plane...

which is always

in firing position.

With scientific accuracy...

the big plane will blast

the enemy out of the air...

before he has a chance

to use his guns.

These powerfuI combat planes...

will destroy

enemy air power completely...

not only in the sky...

but on the ground

at its source.

Once complete mastery

of the air is achieved...

enemy war industries

will lie helpIessly exposed...

to systematic destruction.

The science of demolition

is keeping pace...

with the development

of aviation...

the bombs forever growing

in size and destructive power.

The industriaI districts

of all nations...

depend on huge dams

for their main source of power.

Our Boulder Dam,

Japan's Nagayo...

and those in

the German Rhineland.

These solid structures suffer

relatively minor damage...

when hit by

one and two-ton bombs...

but when a ten-ton

delayed-action bomb is dropped,

not on

the concrete structure...

but deep in the water

behind the dam...

its explosion will multiply

the pressure of the water...

far beyond the structuraI

strength of the dam...

and crush it like an eggshell.

With this important

source of power knocked out...

the war industries

of the entire region...

will come to a standstill.

Scientific bombing is destined

to conquer Hitler's submarines,

not by attacking them

one by one...

as they roam the Seven Seas...

but by striking

right at their source-

the breeding grounds

in Germany proper.

Today, the U-boats are

protected from ordinary bombing

by thick roofs

of reinforced concrete.

However, science is developing

an armor-piercing bomb...

employing

the rocket principle.

As it nears its target,

a rocket in the taiI ignites...

driving it down

with such terrific speed...

it can knife its way

through steeI and concrete.

IndustriaI districts within

reach of this air power...

will be on the receiving end

of other gigantic bombs...

that contain an auxiliary

charge in their tails...

backed by a counterweight.

As the bomb

nears its target...

a secondary explosion

takes place...

driving it away

from the counterweight...

which explodes into

a shower of incendiaries.

Driven down like a shot

from a cannon...

this bomb by its very size

and penetration...

will explode deep underground

and cause a locaI earthquake...

completely demolishing

everything over a wide area.

This is the coming reality...

and we must face the fact...

that it is

a two-way proposition.

No nation has a monopoly

on this kind of air power...

and when it comes...

there can be no real defense

against such an attack.

Bombers

will always go through...

and the only sure defense

will be a vigorous offense.

It's a question

of who destroys who first.

Right now,

America holds the answer...

not only because of

our superior science...

and industrial power...

but because at

this stage of the war...

our strategic position

is such...

that we can shift

our industrial effort...

into long-range air power...

But the enemy cannot,

and this is why.

He has overrun

vast territories...

and subjugated millions

of people against their will.

In order to suppress rebellion

and harness slave labor...

to develop his

newly-acquired resources...

he must maintain a huge army,

and a huge army requires...

a huge number

of supporting aircraft.

So his entire industry

must keep on grinding out...

this same kind of aviation.

He cannot afford

to disturb his production...

and start building

long-range air power...

until he has consolidated

his gains and digested his loot.

That takes time,

and that time is ours.

Today, the enemy

is sprawled on the ground...

and while

his greedy tentacles...

are clutching the loot,

his body lies unprotected.

Why spend our precious time

trying to loosen his grip?

In the struggle,

it can only lead...

to the complete devastation of

the lands we're trying to free.

Why not use this time

to forge the dagger...

that can strike

at the heart of the beast?

Once we give up the idea

of trying to regain...

the lost territory

inch by inch...

we can hold the enemy...

with surface forces

much smaller than his.

If we use our short-range

aviation to provide...

undisputed control of the skies

over our forces...

our present positions

cannot be invaded.

Any further expansion

on the part of the enemy...

will lead to

his exhaustion, not ours.

So by conserving our efforts

on land and on sea...

we can throw the vast

resources of America...

into long-range air power...

and strike the decisive blow

through the air.

This cannot be accomplished...

simply by building

a lot of huge airplanes.

We could have

swarms and clouds of them...

and still

not have real air power.

What we must do is unify...

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