Bomber Boys
The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war. The derogatory term 'Bomber Mafia' was used before and after World War II by those in the military who did not share their belief, and who were frustrated by the insistence of the men that the heavy bomber should take a primary position in planning and funding.
After World War II, the 20 years of foundational work by the bomber mafia resulted in the separation of the United States Air Force from the Army to become an independent military arm. The bomber mafia's strategic doctrine, changed by war and experience, helped shape the mission of the new Air Force and its Strategic Air Command.
Many years later a related term "Fighter Mafia" described those within the Air Force that favoured light weight fighters good at dog-fighting instead of heavy missile-firing fighters.
Read more about Bomber Boys: Origins, Opposition, Legacy
Famous quotes containing the word boys:
“Here in the country it is only a few idle boys or loafers that go a-fishing on a rainy day; but there it appeared as if every able-bodied man and helpful boy in the Bay had gone out on a pleasure excursion in their yachts, and all would at last land and have a chowder on the Cape.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)