9781560989493

From 1938 to 1946, as the first Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces the largest air armada ever assembled---Hap Arnold fought World War II in Congress, on the Army General Staff, in factories, and in universities. His vision of airpower as more than sophisticated aircraft not only established U.S. air supremacy during the war but also laid the foundations of today's air force.

This biography is the first to draw on all of Hap Arnold's personal papers as well as recently declassified military documents. It relates Arnold's efforts to step-up aircraft production, crew training, and airbase construction while pushing simultaneously for the Army Air Corps' adoption of the doctrine of long-range airstrikes instead of close-air support.