Unfortunately, for mankind visionaries who predict profound events are often ignored and a sad chain of events that results in the loss of life often occurs! Those who are brilliant and dedicated to their cause often receive indifference and rejection than the acknowledgement they should receive. The 20^th Century was filled with rapid technological change in society, the world, and sadly in military development. We shall explore the noteworthy contributions of men, whom had they been given the proper attention could well have saved thousands or more lives, but it would not be the case.

The scorned aviator

Brigadier General Billy Mitchell was an Avant guard pilot who pioneered the aerial bombardment of shipping that would revolutionize warfare at sea, but his superiors took a dim view of minimizing the value of battleships! The old admirals of past naval history refused to accept that aircraft would play the more crucial role in sea battles as the world would soon see. In 1924 Billy expressed his opinion that someday Japan would target Pearl Harbor and that they would use air power to attain their mission. Mitchell demonstrated how he could sink an old decommissioned battleship using bombs he dropped from his bi-plane bomber. For that he was court martialed! This led to a huge nationwide controversy that divided the public. Had they listened to Billy Mitchell, the disaster at Pearl and loss of life might have been avoided.

The rocketry genius

Strangely, around this same time frame, two other influential figures were making waves with their ability to foresee the future but were also being paid little heed. The first was Robert Goddard, the inventor of the modern liquid fueled rocket. His experiments excited scientists all over the world, and the data he produced served as the template for the Nazi V-1 and V-2 rockets that would terrorize the British in the coming war. Werner Von Braun was happy to utilize designs that Goddard had spear headed in his under-funded and largely ignored rocket experiments. For some reason the US War Department and Army Air Corps showed little interest or it would have been the US who would have led the world in rocket development and ultimately saved lives as the shadow of WWII began to cast itself upon the European continent! Robert died in 1945 just in time to see the end of the war, but it would not be until years later when he would receive several scientific awards for his achievements!

The master air combat king

Claire Chennault was an excellent fighter pilot and knew well hot to teach fighter tactics to young upcoming pilots, but he did not tolerate politics and unnecessary stubborn headedness of his superiors well. He was an expert at dogfighting tactics especially in his P-26 Boeing Pea Shooter as it was called. This aircraft was the first US sheet metal monoplane that was a world beater when first tolled out onto the runway. It was a revolutionary improvement over Bi-planes and Captain Chennault was quick to utilize it to its full potential, but German and Japanese designs along with the US P-36 would soon outclass the P-26. Chennault was a defiant and hardnosed aviator who didn’t like being told what to do by men who were not flyers! He found himself kicked out of the Army Air Corps, but soon fund work as a military observer and consultant to Chiang Kai Chek in China, as the Nationalist Chinese were in a desperate war with Japan!

In dire straights

Observing the superior maneuvering and tactics of the Japanese, he watched as the obsolete Chinese air force was chopped to bits by the more modern Japanese and their Mitsubishi Zero fighter aircraft. Based on his observations he devised a way to counter what the Japanese were doing and would utilize his tactics against them when he formed the “Flying Tigers”. Noting that the P-40 Warhawk was faster, could dive better, was armored to protect the pilot, and had bullet proof fuel tanks, he also noted that the US planes could not afford to get into a slow speed turning contest with the more nimble Japanese Zero.  

Achieving so much with so little

The eventual General Claire Chennault would personally spear head the tactics for his Flying Tigers that would produce more kills than any other US aerial combat unit in US history, As a matter of fact, with only 100 aircraft, and no more than 25 operational at any given time, the Flying Tigers were so effective that the Japanese who were losing record numbers of bombers and escorting fighters, and thought that the Flying Tigers must have 400 aircraft at their disposal! In the early weeks of the war as Japan bombed and slaughtered Chinese cities and their civilian population, the Flying Tigers were the only inspiration that our allies had, and the only thing standing in the way of certain Japanese victory until the US manufacturing capability began to stem the tide!

Essential information ignored?

The gut wrenching irony of the Pacific War and the ability of the allies to turn back the tremendous string of victories by the Japanese was the P-40 Warhawk and the superior tactics that allowed it to hold the line, but Chennault’s intelligence was not being used by the rest of the Pacific Fleet who in their F-4 Wildcats were only achieving a 2-1 kill ratio and losing many pilots in the process. Why was the intelligence that Chennault had brought to the Flying Tigers giving them the edge using their “Boom and Zoom” tactics not revealed to CINCPAC and the aviators at Guadalcanal where the US Marine pilots had to fight the Japanese in their underpowered F-4 Wildcats? There would be many more desperate aerial battles before the Vought F-6 Hellcat came online and would become the decisive fighter designed to take on and defeat the Japanese Zero, until that time many US pilots would suffer needlessly due to withheld information that had made Chennault’s Flying Tigers so successful!

Conclusion

These three military geniuses in one way or another held the key to not only saving lives and shortening the war, but advancing the military tactics of World War II for America! Such are the fortunes of fate and war, but hopefully we would not overlook the insight of such men again in years to come. America was fortunate to have such men at a time when events could turned out very differently for the world. There is a lesson to be learned here when enlightened voices speak!