The Rise of the US Airforce - WW2 Documentary Special 

Some years ago, my church was recognizing people who served in the military and this little old lady, who was in her nineties, stands up when the Air Force was called. She had served as a test pilot to, in her words, "make sure the planes were safe for all you boys to fly". She got the longest, loudest applause and a lot of hugs. Especially from the other WW2 vets.

The insane part of this is that the US was fighting a whole 2nd air war in the Pacific against Japan at the same time.

The flip from no spending to outspending the Manhattan Project just on the B-29 alone is striking.

Great episode! As an Aussie, it’s just insane how America industry spooled up to a war footing eventually supplying (I believe) 2/3 of all allies war materials. The more I read/watch about war - it’s always the logistics and the resources that matters greatly.

My grandfather on my mother's side flew F6F Hellcat fighters. His unit arrived in the Phillipines the day Japan surrendered. My grandfather on my father's side was an aircraft mechanic on Hickam Airbase at Pearl Harbor and witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor, so i can rightly say my grandparents witnessed the beginning and the end of the war first hand.

My great grandfather (RIP) worked in the Ford Plant, on those bombers. He was so good at making planes (and because he had a flat foot) he was given leave from serving in the Armed Forces, and spent the war helping create the Flying Fortresses!

To Command the Sky by Stephen L. McFarland is a good book about the sheer production power of American industry in decimating the Luftwaffe over Europe. Just an unstoppable tsunami of American built planes.

Its truly mind boggling to read about us military production and evolution in just a couple of years. The numbers are ridiculous. They went from essentially a territorial defence force to the mightiest military in human history. It makes me feel proud of a country I'm not from.

The production numbers are awe-inspiring. As an American, I feel a great sense of pride when I see these figures. The war’s conclusion is written in those tallies.

The stated goal of Big Week was to ensure allied air supremacy for the Normandy landings, by April this had been achieved, with Big Week and subsequent raids as a contributing factor. Big Week was a success.

The US navy has an equally impressive expansion

Andrews Airforce Base outside of Washington DC is named after Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews who died in a plane crash in 1943 in Iceland. He was one of the founding members of the USAAF and in January 43 he was made commander of all United States forces in the European Theater of Operations replacing Ike.

Those numbers are even more astonishing when one considers that they (apparently) don't include United States Naval/Marine planes & pilots.

Great video on the USAAF. It really shows the industrial capacity of the United States to massively increase its air force in such a short period of time. It is even the more impressive considering the number of American carriers and the amount of aircraft that were carried in them.

My father, who will be 100 in July flew P-47s, and then P-38s with the USAAF 5th Air Force, 49th Fighter Group, 9th Fighter Squadron in New Guinea, The Philippines, Okinawa, and on to Japan. He was one of the fighter escorts for the Japanese surrender envoys on their flight between Japan and Ishima.

As I have said in previous episodes I'm very proud and honored that my grandfather flew a B-17 in late 44-45 and survived. I saw his pilot logs and while not many fighters there was still a lot of flak.

it would be great to have a special on smaller, often exiled, allied air forces. Tchecoslovak, Polish, French, Canadian and Indian air forces for instance

During WWII, San Antonio became a center of the USAF with the establishment of Randolph, Brooks, Lackland, and Kelly bases being founded and expanded. Lackland is still where all airmen are trained and Randolph is the head of AF education and training.

Equally impressive were the logistic efforts. Getting raw materials to factories, turning those raw materials into tanks, ships, planes etc in minimum time was awe inspiring. Then men like the Red Ball Express kept troops supplied regardless of weather or any other obstacles.

My Dad was a basic instrument flight instructor on the Link Trainer-the world's first successful flight simulator, used by all the Western Allied air forces in the war-at a small Army Air Forces base in Cortland, Alabama. He taught basic instrument flying-dead reckoning, radio beacon navigation, landing with your instruments alone to guide you. His stories gave me a window into how the Army Air Forces trained so many competent pilots in such a brief period of time. It's not the aces that win the war of attrition, it's the quality of the average Joe. My Dad helped many a Joe to learn how to hit for that high average. (Of course, asked once upon a time how many lives he thought he had saved by teaching those cadets how to fly by their instruments, he just shrugged his shoulders and asked if we had any more beer. It was that kind of war.)

next series: the roman republic and empire, week by week..?^^

3:45. Indy's statement that the B-17 was the only US combat aircraft to "make it" until 1945 was not correct.. The P-40 Warhawk and F4F Wildcat were still in service through the end of the war, though production stopped in 1944 and May 1945 respectively. The B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, and P-38 Lightning were in service for the entirety of USA's portion of WW2, having started service in Dec 1939, Feb 1941, and July 1941 respectively. As B-17 production ended in April 1945, "make it" could not be interpreted as "in service and in production from Sep 1939 to Sep 1945".

My dad joined the Army Air Corps in 1939 because there weren't many jobs around where he lived. He was at Hickham Field in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. He was a mechanic but flew new B17 and B-25 bombers from the mainland to Hawaii and trained pilots until they could get enough guys over there, then went back to ground maintenance.

I would like to see the sequel to this covering the American Naval Airforce with its comparison to the Japanese one.

Last semester I showed my class the Jimmy Stewart Army Air Forces recruitment video. Then had them analyze it for ethos, pathos, and logos persuasion techniques. I hadn’t intended for the entire class to wish they could go back in time and join up on the spot

Great episode. The mobilization of American industrial might was astounding. It would have been a far different world had the US persisted in its neutrality.

My grandfather was a radio operator on B-17 during the war. He flew on mission in Italy and Southern Germany.

"Big Week" was actually intended to draw the Luftwaffe fighter force into combat in the air. This was successful.

My uncle was a B-17 pilot in the 324th Bomber Squadron of the 91st Bomber Group (H) when the plane he was piloting was shot down over the English Channel just off the coast of France while returning from an unescorted daylight bombing run targeting the Sotteville marshalling yards in Rouen, France on March 28, 1943. He and his crew were all lost. The 324th is best known for the Memphis Belle.

My grandfather served just over 32 years in the USAF from the early 50s to the 80s. He retired a Chief Master Sgt; deciding not to go for Chief Master Sgt of the Air force, which would have required him to stay in for another couple years. He was the greatest man I ever knew and had the best stories of his time in the USAF; including once when the plans for the defence of Alaska were lost and he was nearly blamed by the major responsible. Luckily he got wind before hand and got the news to the general in charge of the command he worked in.

A couple years ago, I was is Wichita, home of the US trainer production. In addition to the masses of combat aircraft, the US produces a fleet of trainers, with which to train the air crew. Navigation trainers, bombardier trainers, gunner trainers, pilot primary and advanced trainers. Combine this with the good weather of the US southwest like at Yuma and the vast quantities of high octane aviation gasoline, and that equals the ability to churn out highly trained air crew by the thousands. Yeah, want to go head to head? Bring it on you kraut sob's.

It was a shame the Allison engine got overshadowed by the Merlin, the only reason it wasn't as good at altitude was the lack of two speed supercharger. The P-38s had (enormous) turbochargers on their Allisons and worked great as high altitude interceptors

North American built the Mustang for the RAF. The British procurement people had asked if North American could build more Curtis P40s. North American told the procurement team that they had a new design and it was built in absolutely record time- an almost unbelievable achievement after the British buyers expressed a positive interest. Mustang I believe was also a name endowed on it by the RAF. The RAF cannot fly an aeroplane unless it has a name- and if they don't like the name- they change it! Think Boston.

Building a B-24 every hour is incredible.

Good episode. Another facet of the U.S. huge growth in military aircraft and people was huge expansion of airfields for all of those new units to form up and train before heading overseas. The Army Corps of Engineers' Lucius Clay working with the Civil Aeronautics Administration launched a construction program for ~ 450 military and dual use airfields starting in 1940-41. Many regional airports today started life as one of Clay's projects.

To me, the importance of the air wing for the allies in WW2 cannot be underestimated. I just read "Wings of War" by David and Margaret White which details the rise of the P-51 Mustang. Perhaps the single most important airplane of the conflict, it allowed the bombers to finally do their job in making D Day and the destruction of the Luftwaffe possible. Unfortunately it is also a tale of feet dragging and political pork - unsurprisingly perhaps. But ultimately a great success story. Enjoyed the video as always.

The expansion of the USAAF caused some concern for those in charge of the ground forces - basically there were concerns that anyone with ability was being attracted to it, or to the Navy. Among the ground forces, the tank corps, artillery and engineers also tend to cream off potential recruits with ability, while the infantry - the ones who actually had to fight to take territory - were last in line. This was not a uniquely US problem - there were complaints in Britain that the RAF and the Royal Navy creamed off the best recruits. In Germany there was however a reverse process, with surplus Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel being increasingly turned into scratch infantry formations. As for the Soviets, sailors were often given rifles and used as infantry, frequently being regarded as something of an elite.

Great content, the German manufacturing dispersal created massive logistical headaches, not only were there not enough engines but getting them to the airframes was increasingly difficult because of train losses in the east. Many airframes captured at wars end had no engine, the few that did had no fuel.

The Axis powers greatly underestimated the possibilities of the US to step up production in the war. Even as Pearl Harbor was a major blow to the Navy, the US made up for it within a short time. Same goes for airplanes, tanks, guns and last but not least transportation with the famous Jeep. It is truly remarkable how the US switched their economy to war production within a very short time - and they had definitely more resources than the axis powers had.

My mother use to see whole formations of B-24s flying out of Willow Run when she was a child. I have watched three heavies and two little friends flying overhead from the Yankee Air Force on Memorial Day and the 4th of July, which was impressive enough. I can't even imagine what whole formations must have been like!

American war production was in a class all its own. However, one must never forget a large part of that success was due to the fact our factories were not under constant enemy bombardment. Conversely, if I recall correctly, German war production peaked in Dec. 1944. Just imagine if German factories weren't being bombed around the clock. Sobering.

My father attended US Army Air Corps flight school in 1934/5, later stationed in the Philippines. He joined the USAAF, eventually commanding a bomber group in 1945. Flying specially equipped B-17's, they made it to Okinawa on the day Japan surrendered. He flew POW's from Japan to bases in the area. He went on to an illustrious career in the Air Force.

I love all your weekly episodes and the specials, but this one is very close to my heart. My father joined the AAC in October 1939 and was an aircraft mechanic and a glider pilot ( temporarily). Eventually heading to the PTO on November 1944 with a night fighter squadron. He stayed in for 20 years and is and always will be my hero.

Hi, there is a mistake when showing the aircraft production figures at 9:28. It says 1941, but should probably be 1944.

People sometimes forget that, while German production was good in spite of the bombing, they don't take into account the reduction in productivity that dispersing their factories entailed.

It's cool to hear about the USAAF since they were always overshadowed by the fact that they were a branch of the army. I'm surprised we didn't talk about the Japanese though. Both in numbers (I expect they fought against the RAF in Singapore and India, USAAF in China along with the USN and USAAF in the Pacific), and the fact that I'm sure the USN faced the same issues but required different solutions. Hope to see a special part 2 about them sometime.

Not even to mention that parallel to this build-up, the 5th, 7th and 13th Air Forces, the US Navy Carrier Air Wings and the USMC Air Wings are also increasing and begin to overpower the Japanese Naval and Army Air Forces. Plus the planes that go to the other Allied powers as part of the lend-lease program.

Not only the the Allies produce a massive numbers of planes, but also provide aviation gasoline to fuel these planes, the bombs and gun ammo.

great vid, thanks for all the specials and content over the years.

My great uncle was a navigator in one of those B-24 Liberators. Him and his crew pulled off two tours over Germany without a loss. However, his participation in the fire bombing of Dresden would haunt him to the end of his life.

Brilliant engineering, daring, a massive manufacturing base and a massive source or potentially talented airmen. We had it all in possible resources and found a way to make then work. My father, the first in his Irish immigrant family to attend college, left Syracuse University to become a Navigator and top tarreta gunner in a B-17 in the 8th Air Force based in England

I would love to see something like this on the massive build up of the US navy.

So what I'm hearing is... TimeGhost Rome Documentary coming 'soon?' 😮 Love the dedication and quality material this team puts out. Been a fan since "1915" over at the Great War.

A thing to note about the massive size of the US Army Air Force in World War 2 was that it was used to support all United Nations coalition members. Joseph Stalin was the leader of the only member of the United Nations coalition in World War II that refused to accept the support of the USAAF. 1st US Army Air Force protected the Atlantic Coastline of the US and provided protection for Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. 2nd (Pacific Northwest) and 11th (Alaska) US Army Air Forces protected British Columbia in Canada freeing the Royal Canadian Air Force for use in the Atlantic, Italy, and Europe. 3rd US Army Air Force protected the Gulf Coastline of Mexico while providing training for the expansion of the Mexican Air Force. 4th US Army Air Force protected the Pacific coastline of Mexico while providing training for the expansion of the Mexican Air Force. 5th US Army Air Force was created for the defense of Australia. As the Japanese were pushed back, the Air Force moved to New Guinea but still kept fighter wings in Australia for the defense of Darwin. 6th US Army Air Force was created for the defense of Latin America from German U-Boat attacks in the Caribbean Sea and the South Atlantic. The Air Force also provided training of the expansion of the Air Forces in Latin America. 7th US Army Air Force flew in support of the Central Pacific offensive. 9th US Army Air Force was created to support the British 8th Army in Egypt. They flew combat missions supporting 8th Army in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia before being transferred to Great Britain. The 9th Army Air Force would then support all Allied armies on the Western Front for the remainder of the war. 10th US Army Air Force was created to airlift supplies to Nationalist China and provided aerial support to the Chinese X and Y forces and the British 14th Army in Burma. 12th US Army Air Force was created to support American, British, and French forces in North Africa and then the US 5th Army and British 8th Army in Italy. The air force also flew in support of the Marquis in southern France and the partisans in Yugoslavia. 13th US Army Air Force was created to protect the British, French, and American colonies in the South Pacific and act as a shield for New Zealand. This Air Force is active throughout the Solomons Islands campaigns. 14th US Army Air Force was created to support Nationalist China by protecting Chinese cities and providing support for the Nationalist Chinese armies. 8th US Army Air Force (Bombardment) (Great Britain) and 15th US Army Air Force (Bombardment) (Italy) are involved in the air campaign against Germany. 20th US Army Air Force (Bombardment) started their first operations from India and Bangladesh using Chinese airfields to refuel to strike at Japan before being transferred to the Central Pacific.

My distant relative served with the USAAF in the Persian Gulf during WW2 as a weatherman for the lend lease program there. Mostly with the P-39 airacobras. I have his dress uniform jacket and original patches and unit pins. They really were a global force!

One thing that is notable amongst the major warring parties is the steep technological curve that seems to transpire in the late 30s then shoots up again in the early war years as innovations and standardisation But then the rise of the jet engine by the end of the war and Rocketry pushes Mankind into the Space Race all in such a small space of time! Cheers Indy always interesting

Good episode. Although the US was slower to bring production online, every fighter produced for main use in WW2 was in the pipeline before WW2 began. Many of the design request had been sent out in 38. By 1941 they were in production or being tested by the USAA or the Navy/Marines. The French and Finns were using US manufactured aircraft. These were slower aircraft than used in the latter part of the war, but absorb a lot punishment and make it back.

My father was a “weather observer “ and followed the advance from Australia northward through the pacific until the end of the war. He survived several air raids and ship bombardments . He went from airfield to airfield and wrote that Henderson Field was “very bad for your health and a hard place to get some sleep!”

Glad to see videos like this giving some credit to the American war effort. I noticed on a lot of social media sites like Reddit or Twitter people trying to downplay the American contributions to the war. This channel has really dispelled that revisionist history. America was clearly very important to the Allies winning this war.

Dissapointed it wasn't the finnish episode yet but always enjoy watching your videos anyway so not complaining.

I had an Uncle in 8th AF. He flew 27 B-17 missions over Western Europe, including D-Day and Operation Cobra. I have a copy of a log created by a SGT listing every mission they flew. Fascinating reading.

A friend of mine worked in one of those underground aircraft factories. He told me that one of the prime sources of aluminium came from all the Allied bombers shot down. Oh, yeah, and since these factories were underground, the bombers were blowing to bits were mostly women and children as well as pubs, churches, museums, hospitals and residential areas in general. 'Cuz they couldn't hit shit from 25,000 feet using a bomb sight that had far more hype than accuracy. Sad but true. The biggest "military" advantage from these raids was, as pointed out, the attrition factor. The Germans were fast running out of pilots to pilot the planes my friend was making.

Would love to see a special like this and the Luftwaffe one about the Japanese aviators in the Pacific and how they went from dominating the region in their zeroes to desperate kamikazes.

Great to see those copies of 'Action Stations'. Books offering detailed information about Britsh wartime airbases, as they were then, and in the 70s and 80s. True nerd stuff. Love you guys.

As a pilot of 30 years and someone who holds THE GREATEST GENERATION in the highest regards I found this presentation both informative and insightful. Thank you and to your team for this seemingly non-ending endeavor....I realize this is not the end....and certainly not the beginning...but perhaps, this is....THE BEGINNING OF THE END....God Bless!

My family has a history of working at North Americans factory in Fort Worth building P-51B's. My great grandfather was rewarded a $200 reward for slightly improving some part of the Merlin engine. I forget what he did specifically

This channel is by far, my go to channel on RU-vid for 2023. I discovered the week by week in June, and it took me until October to get fully caught up. I still have many special episodes to watch, but RU-vid's algorithm now puts your channel in the top of my recommended videos- likely because I thumbs up every one I remain fully awake for (so I don't lose my spot). Great job, great channel, as in depth a weekly summary as one could hope for for within an 18-30 minute presentation. I thought I was done with WWII history. Ha.

Excellent episode. Thank you Curiousity Stream.

My Grandfather worked at Willow Run during the war. He was 4F so he couldn't enlist. Also, we have a family legend that he passed down saying that in Aug '44, Willow Run produced more Bombers than both Germany AND Japan combined THE entire war. Can you confirm this? Cause if true....Woh! Great job as always Timeghost.

There was a similar situation in the US tank forces. Armed with 500 light and obsolete tanks. In 1945 produced 100.000 tanks of all models and the best, the M26 Pershing tank and Super Pershing, which were inferior only to the Soviet IS-2 and IS-3.

Yes, thank you Curiosity Stream and thank you Indy and Co. You are always interesting.

As always most important content presented in captivating way. Imo the statements of the last two minutes are the most valuable and important ones.

Awesome episode. As always, thanks for putting in the time to make something great.

Another outstanding video ! Thanks

So many videos and I haven't spotted a single verbal mistake bravo!!! Well thanks to the production

My late father served in WWII as an Air Force engineer operating a bulldozer helping to make runways in the South Pacific.

Personal comment. A few month back I mentioned they should do more about how it effected individual soldiers and ppls lives. Welp the awesome team commented and told me about a video series that I was basically asking bout and didnt see. Took a bit to go threw n catch up parents get it. But it was amazing thank you ❤.

Absolutely awesome episode. Your videos like this are why your site is my default explorer launch page. Any chance we'll see similar ones on Navy & Naval aviation? Or do you have recommendations on some of your peers that have made them already you could recommend? I know the Chieftan's two parter on the Development of US Armored Doctrine is a great watch.

Hi Indy These specials are nice watch. The numbers are huge and so many aircraft and mind boggling. What books you kept in your table? During this episode filming. Thanks for another special.

Indy your excellent staff have made another great video!

The smooth sequeway into the ad surprised me lol. Great job Indy and team.

Thank you for marking the sponsorship time clearly.

You need to do this same thing on the US Navy - which was the greatest military force of WW2 of all Arms.

Your specials are always good.

My dad quit high school and joined the USAAF in 1939. He was stationed in Georgia when Pearl Harbor was bombed, having luckily chosen that assignment over Hickam field. He was in the 8th Air Force and landed in Casablanca in Dec. '42 or Jan. '43 having made sergeant by that time. He spent the rest of the war in Africa and Europe, eventually getting home sometime in '46. I still have his uniform and a German/Italian Africa Campaign medal he picked up someplace as a souvenir.

Thanks! You earned it

Love a well researched video on why 8th Airforce didn't go after petroluem from DAY 1.... easiest way to win.

I find it mindblowing how willing armies were to sacrifice soldiers (or in this case aircrews) in WW2. The number of casualties they accepted are absolutely crazy by today's standards.

Ah, brilliant stuff, as usual!

I love your content Indy, Sparty and crew. Indy you really missed your calling as a rapper because you have the perfect hand gestures for it.

The P 40 Warhawk (Curtiss) was in production in 1938, and stayed in production throughout the war. The B 17 (Boeing) was NOT the only U.S. aircraft to start and finish the war. Furthermore, the P 40 served with all allied forces in all theaters at one time or another. Another overlooked contribution was the aviation fuel. We produced the highest octane fuel, allowing higher performance from the engines, and supplied it to both our forces and Britain's.

My grandfather was a mechanic at Wright field from 38 to 42. Before being shipped to Australia. His stories were fairly interesting. Like the time when then col Lemay nearly blew up a hanger full of aviation fuel because he was smoking when he entered the hanger.

Picture of Conrad von hotzendorf is fine touch to excellent episode :)

The US may have been trailing in military aviation in 1939 but they were leading in civil aviation by a wide margin. It's a lot easier to bootstrap an air force when you already have dozens of manufacturers, hundreds of flight schools and thousands of flight instructors, pilots and mechanics.

Good to see you guys getting ads and sponsorship for your work :)

My friends Grandmother was trained as a manual machinist. Rosie to the core, We are a blessed people.

Excellent special episode.

It's crazy to me that Ypsi was considered rural back then. Nowadays, it's basically the bridge between Detroit and Ann Arbor with pretty contiguous development all along that corridor. But I also think that the placement of willow run represents a synergy between government, academia, and industry that we don't see as much of anymore. It's placed between two of the premier industrial and academic centers in the world, which is exactly what you want for your military aircraft industry.

The breakfasts of you guys sound so cool!! Jajaja I'd relish to see what you guys would talk about over a few beers lol

This seemed to deal almost entirely with the USAAF. The US Navy also had aircraft and the Marine Corps and possibly also the Coast Guard had an air element.