America's Air Power came of age during the war. Long heralded during the 1920s and '30s by its advocates as the primary military weapon of the future, aviation's destiny was thrust upon us by the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor and the German's Blitz of London in the early day~ of the war.

When the United States declared war on the Axis Powers in December 1941, heavier-than-air flight was barely four decades old. The Army Air corps' arsenal of aircraft still consisted of many out-of-date bi-planes, as did the Navy's.

The U.S. Air Force was born on August I, 1907, four years after the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, when the Aeronautical Division was organized as part of the Army's Signal Corps. Three men were assigned to the fledgling department to study ways the new toy might be used.

Surveillance and reconnaissance dominated the list of applications, which was as far as Army strategists could see at the time. During World War I, though, Germany, France and England pioneered the use of aircraft as bombers and fighters, and quite soon the United States had to play catch-up. Eventually we had nearly 750 airplanes, divided into 45 squadrons manned and supported by 1200 airmen, on duty in France during the war.

In 1918 Congress authorized the establishment of the Air Service as a separate entity within the Army. Eight years later the branch was renamed Army Air Corps and thus it remained in the public's mind throughout World War II; however the proper designation, in 1941, was Air Force Combat Command and later, Army Air Force.

Until 1944 the only way America and its allies could directly attack the German homeland was through the air. U.S. military aircraft were involved in action on all fronts during the war, including attacks again the Japanese islands and occupied territories, but it was in the European Theater of Operations that the Army Air Corps fought its greatest battles. Of the tens of thousands of planes involved, over 18,000 fighters and bombers were shot down by the Luftwaffe and ground anti-aircraft.

Endlessly supplied by the might of our nation's industrial complex, attack flights of 1,OOO-plane armadas filled German skies beginning in early 1944. Protected by huge fleets of long-range fighter aircraft, they inflicted saturation bombing upon German cities and military installations. Led by swarms of B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-29 Super fortresses - workhorses of the Army Air Corps, American Air Power pulverized the German landscape and eliminated the Luftwaffe. The way was now prepared for General Dwight Eisenhower's D-Day invasion in June.

Air Power and the pilots and airmen who made it all possible became the darlings of the American public. No other branch of the Armed forces was as popular or had so many admirers. Hollywood filmmakers, joining in the effort to rally the nation behind the war effort, churned out an endless stream of patriotic aerial melodramas. Some of the greats were "Winged Victory," "A Wing and a Prayer," "God is My Co-Pilot," "Flying Tigers," "Air Force," "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," and "Dive Bomber."

The aviation theme proved to be a good seller on store postcard racks across the nation. Except for linen military comics, cards of military aircraft were the most liked by customers.

A popular slogan favored by publishers for these postcards was "Keep "Em Flying!" This heart-warming appeal to the home front defense effort is found on cards marketed by Longshaw, Curt Teich, Koppel and others.  

Many other postcards pictured the bombers and fighter aircraft that were carrying the war home to the enemy. Illustrations of Boeing Aircraft Company's famed B-17's and B-29's were plentiful. These were photographic or artistic depictions of aircraft in flight and on the ground at air bases around the country. Other planes similarly showcased included Curtiss' C46 Commando, a transport; trainers; and P-38's.

Interesting also are postcards of individual stateside air bases showing pilots, navigators, mechanics, etc. being trained. Often these took on poster formats.

America's Air Power helped to win World War II. So many postcards about it were published during the conflict that today it is still possible to assemble a magnificent collection about a time when military aircraft and their heroic pilots were the idols of the American people.