The Rise of Billy Mitchell

Billy Mitchell (1879-1936)

By James J. Cooke, University of Mississippi

Forever associated with the rise of American airpower, Billy Mitchell captured the imagination of the American public with his dramatic courts martial in 1925. Known as a prophet, a man who predicted the power of air warfare and fought for an independent Air Service, Mitchell was born in Milwaukee in December 1879. His father was Senator John Landum Mitchell, who was often cold and aloof toward his son William. Billy Mitchell was a good student at the many boarding schools he attended, and when the war with Spain broke out in 1898 he defied his senator-father, who had opposed the conflict, and joined the military.

After the war Mitchell served in Cuba and then in the Philippines, making a very  good impression on his superiors. His service as a Signal officer in the Alaskan wilderness, where he had led the laying of the first telegraph line across the Alaska wilderness, and in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake  and fire, where he was in charge of all relief work for a large section of the stricken city, marked him as an officer on the rise. After these assignments, he became the first Signal Corps student at the Army's School of the Line (now the Command and General Staff College).  Next, ordered to Washington to serve on the General Staff, he slowly became interested in the new section of the Signal Corps - the aviation section - and he took private flying lessons in 1916. 

As an officer serving on the General Staff, Billy Mitchell could see the conflict in Europe from a special vantage point, and he felt that eventually the United States would be drawn into the war despite President Wilson's promise that the country would not be involved. He was correct in his assumptions, and a month before the U.S. declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 Mitchell was dispatched to Paris as an observer with special emphasis on the development of the air arms of the British and the French.

Mitchell (L) in 1898

There was no better choice than Billy Mitchell because he was a flyer, fluent in French, as well as a bon vivant who enjoyed Paris life. But all was not dinners at Maxim's or strolls along the Champs Elysees. Mitchell threw himself into his work and went to the front, actually flying with the French over the front. 

On 20 April 1917 Mitchell left Paris for French headquarters at Chalons and began his work. Billy Mitchell had always been a very literate officer, and he began to keep a detailed diary of his learning experiences. It is from this diary that one can see the evolution of Mitchell's thoughts, which would eventually have a great impact on the development of the U.S. Air Service in France and American Airpower in the 20th Century. 

When Pershing began his 1916-1917 punitive expedition in Mexico he had one Aero Squadron and was impressed with the observation potential of the air arm, if it could be called that. When the U.S. went to war there was not one serviceable Aero Squadron which could be deployed to France. Mitchell realized that everything would have to be built from the ground up. It was a daunting task, and in the first days Mitchell spent a great deal of time dealing with air observation by aircraft and by balloons. He understood that his role there was not just to learn about tactics, and he studied the logistics and the maintenance of the Air Service. On 23 April he observed that the pilot, the aircraft, and the ground crew functioned as one team. Each French pilot kept his own mechanics, and they in turn made the aircraft their personal machine, boasting that their pilot, their aircraft, and their crew was the best. This was morale and unit cohesion at its best, and it was never loston Mitchell. The pilots and the crews had a certain élan, a romantic view of themselves, and this certainly appealed to Billy Mitchell 

In Alaska c.1903

Another area that came as a revelation to Billy Mitchell was the use of battlefield air photography. Mitchell's evaluation was very orthodox, seeing the value of immediate intelligence for the ground combat commanders. After visiting a French bombardment squadron, he commented in his diary that the squadron officers believed that they could hit deep targets, and that, "… there would be nothing left of Germany in a short time." Not yet ready to accept the concept of strategic bombing, Mitchell remained skeptical and restricted his view of bombardment as a part of the immediate battlefield. Of course, his views would change dramatically after the Great War. He grasped very quickly the value of the balloon in observation of the enemy and in directing indirect artillery fire. With real time communications, artillery could rapidly shift fires from one target to the next. His service as a signal officer, and his hands-on experiences in the Alaskan wilderness laying telegraph cable and during the post-1906 San Francisco earthquake recovery served him well.

Mitchell also isited General Hugh Trenchard, at Royal Flying Corps headquarters and had a lengthy discussion with the general. Two areas which Mitchel later commented on were bombardment, a subject which he had fully explored with the  French, and the principle of mass. Long recognized as one of the principles of war, mass was applied to ground combat operations - to bring as much force as possible at a single point. Mitchell came away from the meeting convinced that airpower was best used in mass to firstdominate the air and then deliver a massive blow against the enemy both in close combat and against enemy supply lines, ammunition and supply dumps, and rail links. This would stay with Billy Mitchell, and in September 1918 he massed 1485 aircraft in support of the St. Mihiel campaign. 

Within two months Mitchell was well aware of all aspects of the air war and was ready to be General Pershing's right hand air advisor. The British and French experience on the Western Front showed that the air arm was vital to ground success. Mitchell observed this and adopted what his European hosts showed him, passing it on to General Pershing when he arrived with his small staff in June 1917. 

In 1915

Mitchell met with General Pershing and briefed him on what he had learned from his meetings with the French and the British, and what he had to say was staggering indeed. The U.S. had an infant Air Service, but now was faced with a massive, really unexpected, expansion - the creation of command and control structure for bombardment, pursuit, observation, and balloon units. These newly created squadrons and companies called for trained pilots, ground crews, a logistical system to support every aspect of air operations. Of paramount importance for Mitchell was Pershing's support for this expansion, and Mitchell got it when Black Jack Pershing agreed that there should be an Air Service that was separate from the Signal Corps. This was a high point for Mitchell, who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and served as Pershing's Air Service chief.

Coming out of this was an aviation board with Mitchell as the major experienced officer, and its recommendations were accepted by Pershing. General Pershing began to contract for aircraft, coordinate training needs, and establish the main AEF Air Service training area at Issoudun, France. 

On 3 September 1917 Pershing appointed William L. Kenly, an old line army officer as chief of the AEF's Air Service, which proved to be an unwise move. To sooth Mitchell's feelings he promoted him to the rank of full colonel before the age of 40.  But there could be no question as to who was the real aviation expert and who was not. Mitchell was given command of the air in the Zone of Advance as Pershing's real warfighter. He never stopped preaching a gospel of mass and aggressive action in the air. To Mitchell the air arm should never be passive but should be in the air to attack and destroy enemy observation aircraft and then command the air over the front by defeating the German pursuit aircraft. Mitchell breathed aggressiveness and offensive operations into the Air Service.