History works in strange ways. William Mitchell, a United States Army general, was court-martialled not for any grave wrongdoing but because of “conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the military service.” In truth he had antagonised several high-ranking figures in the US defence establishment with his arguments and criticism, accusing them of an “almost treasonable administration of the national defence” for investing in battleships instead of aircraft carriers.

Although he was effectively sidelined for the rest of his life, his ideas eventually prevailed, and the US at last began building a competent aerial capability. By the time it entered World War II, the country was the world’s most potent air power. And today, Mitchell is regarded as the father of the US Air Force, a service he was never part of because it was only established 12 years after his death!

William “Billy” Mitchell was born in Nice, France, on December 29, 1879, and grew up in Milwaukee. In 1906, flight was in its infancy, yet he accurately predicted that future conflicts would predominantly occur in the air, not on the ground. In 1915, he joined the aviation section of the US Army’s Signal Corps. Although he was too old to qualify for military flight training, his keen interest in aviation led him to sign up for civilian flight lessons at his own expense. After the US entered World War I, Mitchell served in France. In September 1918, he planned and led the first massive coordinated air-land offensive in history. The air phase of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel involved 98 British, French and Italian squadrons massed under his tactical command. Almost 1,500 aircraft operating in unending waves along the 130-km front were able to stamp tactical superiority over the Germans.

But Mitchell’s real battle began once the War ended. Appointed Deputy Director of the Air Service, he began advocating increased investment in air power. Hardly any country in the world had an independent air force, yet he argued that air power would very soon become the dominant feature of warfighting and that the US must create an independent air arm on par with its Army and Navy. He criticised America’s excessive dependence on the US Navy as its first line of defence against an overseas enemy, insisting that the Navy could offer no cover against strategic bombardment. Indeed, a fleet of anti-shipping aircraft could defend a coastline far better than a combination of coastal guns and naval vessels. He declared that it was better to build a thousand swift bombers than to expend resources fruitlessly on one lumbering battleship.

Most controversially, Billy Mitchell claimed that bombers could sink battleships even under war conditions. Newton D. Baker, US Secretary of War, responded, “That idea is so damned nonsensical and impossible that I’m willing to stand on the bridge of a battleship while that nitwit tries to hit if from the air.” In May 1921, Mitchell organised a series of bombing missions against stationary ships that had been captured from the Germans, in an effort to conclusively demonstrate his theory. Alexander Seversky, a veteran pilot, suggested that near-miss bombs would inflict more damage than direct hits because the expanding water pressure of underwater blasts could push in and separate the vessel’s hull plates. After successfully sinking some small ships, the demonstrations came to a head on July 21, when the US Navy deployed the battleship Ostfriedland, the pride of the erstwhile German fleet considered to be unsinkable. Martin MB-2 bombers dropped six 2,000-pound bombs in quick succession and in just 21 minutes the Ostfriedland sank to the bottom of the sea. That settled the debate in spectacular fashion. Thankfully, Secretary Baker was not on the bridge.

Mitchell was an expert at milking the media by doing or making others do whatever would keep aviation in the news. However, in October 1925 he went too far. He issued a stinging press statement in response to two major naval aviation disasters that resulted in the loss of three seaplanes and the airship USS Shenandoah. “These incidents are the direct result of the incompetency, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of the national defence by the Navy and War Departments,” Mitchell stated. “The bodies of my former companions in the air moulder under the soil in America and Asia, Europe and Africa, many, yes a great many, sent there directly by official stupidity.” President Calvin Coolidge ordered that he be court-martialled for insubordination. He was found guilty and his subsequent resignation on February 1, 1926, marked the end of a brilliant military career.

Billy Mitchell died on February 19, 1936. During his years spent in the forefront of aviation he made a number of visionary predictions. In 1917 he said, “The British Isles will someday be vulnerable to mass aerial attack.” In 1940 the German Luftwaffe proved him right. In 1925 he warned “Japan may unleash a war in the Pacific. She could attack America by striking first at Hawaii, some fine Sunday morning.” The Japanese forces did attack Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, a Sunday.