"This book skilfully combines information from existing studies with considerable primary source research to fill a longstanding gap in our understanding of the institutional, political, and technological history of American military aviation." --Alan D. Meyer, Associate Professor, Department of History, Auburn University This book provides an overview of American aviation from 1903 to 1945, covering major developments in American military aviation technology from the creation of the airplane through to the US entry into the Second World War. The author focuses on the role of the armed forces and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), two of the most significant drivers of technological progress in American aviation prior to the Second World War. Under the fiscal constraints imposed by the post-war military drawdown and the Great Depression, the US military sacrificed quantity aircraft procurement for gains in quality. Until foreign powers began huge rearmament programs, US military aircraft were some of the most advanced in the world. They held numerous international performance records before the US fell behind other major powers that had gone on a war footing. Split into five chapters, this book offers new insights into the contributions of immigrant workers and foreign technological innovation to American aviation, while also examining the close relationship between the US government and the aviation industry.

Ultimately, the author seeks to show what factors set the stage for the nation's remarkably rapid mobilization of resources and industrial production needed to fight and win the Second World War. Charles J. Gross is a retired US Air Force civilian historian. From 2016 to 2020, he was a contract historian in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has published widely on the history of American aviation, including his book A History of American Military Aviation: The Indispensable Arm. He received a doctorate in American Military History from The Ohio State University. Gross also served as an Air Force reserve officer from 1964 to 1994 with assignments in West Germany, South Vietnam, Saudi Arriba and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.