Air Force Museum
Demobilization and Reorganization
At the time of the Japanese surrender ending World War II, the AAF was the most powerful air force in the world with a strength of some 64,000 planes, of which two-thirds were combat aircraft. Secure in the monopoly of the atomic bomb, the U.S. demobilized quickly, withdrawing troops from around the world except for relatively small forces stationed in Germany and Japan and in a few strategic locations such as Okinawa.
In depth
History & service
At the time of the Japanese surrender ending World War II, the AAF was the most powerful air force in the world with a strength of some 64,000 planes, of which two-thirds were combat aircraft. Secure in the monopoly of the atomic bomb, the U.S. demobilized quickly, withdrawing troops from around the world except for relatively small forces stationed in Germany and Japan and in a few strategic locations such as Okinawa. Many orders for new aircraft were cancelled, and thousands of AAF aircraft were placed in storage or were cut up for scrap. By June 1947, the personnel strength of the AAF had declined from 2.25 million men and women on VJ Day to approximately 300,000. Combat strength of the AAF fell from 213 groups to 52 groups in existence "on paper" in December 1946, but only two of these groups were at near full strength. However, the AAF did complete several spectacular long-distance flights during the immediate post-WWII years to demonstrate the significance of military aviation.
After WWII, the AAF's might lay with three combat commands organized on March 21, 1946, and equipped primarily with combat and support aircraft of WWII design. The Air Defense Command (ADC) was assigned the mission of defending the North American continent, although few people felt much cause for concern over possible enemy attack due to the monopoly of the atomic bomb. The Tactical Air Command (TAC) was charged with providing tactical air support to the ground forces, and the Strategic Air Command (SAC) had been created to provide a striking force with atomic capability prepared to conduct long-range operations anywhere in the world, but the adequacy of the U.S. aerial force was soon questioned in view of renewed world tensions.
The second front was the factory and the flight line
Air power required far more than aircraft leaving a factory. Engines, radios, weapons, fuel, spare parts, tools, trained personnel, and suitable airfields had to arrive together. A machine grounded by a missing component could contribute little, however impressive its specifications. Maintenance and supply determined how much of a force was actually available on a given day.
The Second World War made this relationship visible on an extraordinary scale. Production expanded while aircraft designs continued to change. Training organizations had to turn large numbers of recruits into competent aircrew and specialists. Units then operated in climates and conditions very different from those in which the machines had been designed. Improvisation on the flight line worked alongside formal technical orders and a vast replacement system.
The smaller artifacts deserve attention within that story. A tractor moved aircraft and loads around an airfield. A jacket or oxygen mask helped a crew member function in an exposed environment. A trainer allowed procedures to be practiced without consuming a combat aircraft's life. These objects connect the spectacular mission to repeated daily work. Their history broadens the meaning of service: victory depended on people who built, supplied, repaired, taught, recorded, and cared for others, as well as those whose actions became famous in combat.
