Creating Air Intelligence

The fundamental purpose of this thesis is to examine the development of US air intelligence and determine its influence on US strategic bombardment strategies executed in Western Europe during World War II. To better understand the relationship between intelligence and users, this thesis views intelligence as an organization, process, and product and highlights the important role played by users in developing intelligence requirements. This study examines the creation and development of air intelligence during the interwar years and its influence on the new and unique Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) airpower theory: unescorted, high-altitude, precision daylight bombing against industrial web targets. The thesis also highlights how the ACTS faculty viewed and integrated intelligence, as well as how ACTS instructors influenced the development of air intelligence. Finally, this thesis explores the expansion, evolution, and influence of US air intelligence during World War II. From its humble beginnings during the interwar years, US air intelligence, with the aid of coalition support, grew immensely. US air intelligence eventually reached a level of maturity that allowed it to play a prominent and influential role in the development of air strategies during the latter years of World War II. The struggles, achievements, and accomplishments of the early US air intelligence pioneers have implications for the USAF as it focuses on its challenges and responsibilities in the 21st century.

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