General Headquarters Air Force
| United States Army Air Corps | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 2 July 1926 – 9 March 1942 |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Aviation support to ground operations |
| Size | 14,650 men, 1,646 aircraft (1932) 16,863 men, 855 aircraft (1936) 152,125 men, 6,777 aircraft (1941) |
| Garrison/HQ | Munitions Building, Washington, D.C. |
| March | Army Air Corps |
| Disbanded | 18 September 1947 |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Maj.Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois Maj.Gen. Henry H. Arnold |
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army's middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative eschelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.
The Air Corps was renamed by the United States Congress largely as a compromise between the advocates of a separate air arm and those of the traditionalist Army high command who viewed the aviation arm as an auxiliary branch to support the ground forces. Although its members worked to promote the concept of air power and an autonomous air force between the years between the world wars, its primary purpose by Army policy remained support of ground forces rather than independent operations.
On 1 March 1935, still struggling with the issue of a separate air arm, the Army activated the General Headquarters Air Force for centralized control of aviation combat units within the continental United States, separate from but coordinate with the Air Corps. The separation of the Air Corps from control of its combat units caused problems of unity of command that became more acute as the Air Corps enlarged in preparation for World War II. This was resolved by the creation of the Army Air Forces (AAF), making both organizations subordinate to the new higher echelon.
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