<text id=00he0507><title>Observers in Europe</title>
<history>US Air Force: Events History</history>
<article><hdr>Observers in Europe</hdr><body>
<p>The Air Corps sent observers to Europe to learn what they could about the problems of operating military aircraft in modern wartime environments, and to report on the kinds of design improvements that the British were rushing into production aircraft.
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<p>In concentrating so much effort on the development of the heavy bomber, Air Corps leadership had almost ignored fighter development trends. Prewar bomber technology was far in advance of fighter technology in the United States. The contemporary of the early B-17s was the Boeing P-26, an open-cockpit, wire-braced low-wing monoplane, and it couldn't catch the B-17 in a flat race.
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<p>That kind of bomber performance lent strength to the argument of its proponents that the bomber would always get through. And that, in turn, led to ignoring the concept of the escort fighter. The bomber's speed and gunnery would get it to the target. That was the official argument, and as one result, fighter design languished. It was to cost the bomber forces dearly.
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<p>Whether the British saw the possibilities inherent in the Mustang when they first ordered it, or had to find out later, is immaterial. What does matter is that the North American design, which became the pre-eminent long-range escort fighter of the USAAF in later years and numerically dominated the fighter force, was the direct result of British interest, British contracts and British operational experience. With very few exceptions, and the Mustang is the best known example, the American airmen fought the war with the airplanes that were in production before the war.
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<p>The Flying Fortress had been in production of sorts since 1936. Its counterpart, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, lagged behind by almost four years, but was in production before the US entered the war. Both the North American B-25 Mitchell and the Martin B-26 Marauder entered production in 1941. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Bell P-39 Airacobra and Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk were in production in 1940, and the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt joined them a year later.
