From The Archives: Hitler's Luftwaffe 1940

Germany's blitzkrieg through France in June 1940 left the UK all alone against Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe. It was also a wake up call for the U.S.- still on the sidelines of World War II - that its air defenses were woefully inadequate.

Our August 1940 edition focused on that challenge and plans to build 25,000 military aircraft over the next two years would require a tripling of plant capacity and a fivefold increase of workers. 

"I feel confident that with government cooperation and close coordination of all phases of the National Defense Program, the aviation industry will be capable of fulfilling its portion of that program wrote J.E. Schaefer, vice president of Boeing's Bearman Aircraft division, in a series of testimonials from industry leaders. 

A two-page graphic (pages 34 and 35 of the August 1940 issue) tallied the number of airplanes in service with the Army Air Corps and the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (the Air Force would not be created for another seven years).

"The principal lesson of the war up to the present time is that partial defense is inadequate defense," President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed. 

"We cannot defend ourselves a little here and a little there." The U.S. entered World War II 16 months later, after the Japanese attacked the naval fleet at Pearl Harbor and Hitler joined Japan in declaring war.

If you're a subscriber, you'll find on page 30 of the August 1940 issue of Aviation, the feature by managing editor, Leslie E. Neville, Billion For Air Defense, and other features on the topic.

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