WINGED DEFENSE: THE DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODERN AIR POWER - ECONOMIC AND MILITARY

New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1925. Second Printing. Hardcover. Good Plus. Octavo, 8.75 in. x 6 in., pp. xxiv, 261. Illustrated with frontispiece black and white photograph of William Mitchell and fifteen additional photographs. Dark green cloth boards with frame stamped in blind and gilt title to front and spine. Light rubbing to extremities; a couple scuffs and light stains to the boards. Corners are nudged. Decorated endpapers. William Lendrum Mitchell (1879 - 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, commanded all American air combat units in that country. After the war, he was appointed deputy director of the Air Service and began advocating for increased investment in air power, believing that this would prove vital in future wars. He argued particularly for the ability of bombers to sink battleships and organized a series of bombing runs against stationary ships designed to test the idea.

He antagonized many administrative leaders of the Army with his arguments and criticism and in 1925, his temporary appointment as a brigadier general was not renewed, and he reverted to his permanent rank of colonel, due to his insubordination. Later that year, he was court-martialed for insubordination after accusing Army and Navy leaders of an "almost treasonable administration of the national defense" for investing in warships. He resigned from the service shortly afterwards.

Mitchell received many honors following his death, including a Congressional Gold Medal. He is also the first person for whom an American military aircraft design, the North American B-25 Mitchell, is named. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is also named after Mitchell. (from Wikipedia).