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:
“We have dancing ... from soon after sundown until a few minutes after nine o’clock.... Occasionally the boys who play the female partners in the dances exercise their ingenuity in dressing to look as girlish as possible. In the absence of lady duds they use leaves, and the leaf-clad beauties often look very pretty and always odd enough.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)