The Division of Military Aeronautics was the name of the aviation organization of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

for a four-day period during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was created by a reorganization by the

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of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on April 24, 1918, still as part of the Signal Corps. It was removed from the Aviation Section by

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

on May 20, 1918, and existed as the sole Army aviation agency until a War Department general order issued May 24, 1918, established it and the ''Bureau of Aircraft Production'', created by the same reorganization on April 24, as coordinate components of the "Air Service". As such, it is recognized by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

as the third of its antecedents. As a subordinate component of the Air Service, the DMA continued until March 19, 1919, when the Board of Aircraft Production was consolidated with it into the

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

History of the DMA

Creation

The failure of the Aircraft Production Board (after October 1, 1917, the

Aircraft Board The Aircraft Board was a United States federal government organization created from the Aircraft Production Board on October 1, 1917, by Act of Congress to provide statutory authority to the APB, which had been created by a resolution of the Council ...

) and the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps to meet aircraft production goals for the establishment of an adequate air combat force in

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by the summer of 1918 forced the administration of

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Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to overhaul the bureaucratic structure of military aviation. In addition the Aircraft Board was being investigated by both the

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and the

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for possible fraud. For similar reasons, the Division of Military Aeronautics was created on April 24, 1918, replacing the ''Air Division'', which had been the final designation of the original Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps. On May 20, 1918, by Executive Order 2862, issued under authority of the Overman Act signed into law that date, the Division of Military Aeronautics was removed from the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps for the duration of the war and six months thereafter. The administration, training, aircraft requirements, personnel, and facilities of Army aviation became the responsibility of the DMA, headed by the ''Director of Military Aeronautics'', reporting directly to the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

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. The existing Aircraft Board was replaced at the same time by a Bureau of Aircraft Production (BAP), headed by a civilian director, John D. Ryan, formerly president of

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, who had been appointed Director of Aircraft Production on April 24.

Consolidation into the Air Service

Four days later War Department General Order 51 implemented the executive order, specifying the duties and responsibilities of both the DMA and BAP, in effect creating the

. From May 24, 1918, to March 19, 1919, the Division of Military Aeronautics continued as a part of the nominal Air Service. Although it recognized that both the DMA and BAP together formed its Air Service, the War Department determined that no ''Director of Air Service'' would be appointed as long as the BAP was a separate executive bureau. The Director of Military Aeronautics thus also acted as titular head of the Air Service except in matters of aircraft production, a major shortcoming in authority. In August, the Senate completed its investigation of the Aircraft Board, and while it found no criminal culpability, it reported that massive waste and delay in production had occurred. Ryan, the Director of Aircraft Production (who had also been chairman of the Aircraft Board), was appointed to the vacant position of Second Assistant Secretary of War and by War Department General Orders No. 81, designated as Director of Air Service on August 28. The separate status of both the Division of Military Aeronautics and the Bureau of Aircraft Production technically ended, but Ryan allowed them to continue to operate separately, reporting to him, and were not officially terminated until an executive order was issued on March 19, 1919. The first Director of Military Aeronautics was

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William L. Kenly William Lacy Kenly (February 18, 1864 – January 10, 1928) was a major general in the United States Army. During World War I, he was a leader of the United States Army Air Service, the progenitor of the United States Air Force. Early life Wil ...

. His executive officer was Colonel Henry H. Arnold, who had also held the same position in the former Aviation Section. On March 6, 1919, Kenly reverted to his permanent rank of Colonel, Field Artillery, and Brig. Gen.

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 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, command ...

was named to replace him as Director of Military Aeronautics. Mitchell became Director on March 10, but nine days later Executive Order 3066 by President Wilson consolidated the Board of Aircraft Production and the DMA into the ''Air Service'' under a Chief of Air Service, leaving the position titular only. Mitchell retained the title until the Training and Operations Group came into being. Initially Menoher's "Third Assistant Executive", as chief of the Training and Operations Group he was able to expound his airpower theories.

Lineage of the United States Air Force

* Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps: August 1, 1907 – July 18, 1914 *

Aviation Section, Signal Corps The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and co ...

: July 18, 1914 – May 20, 1918 * Division of Military Aeronautics: May 20, 1918 – May 24, 1918 *

: May 24, 1918 – July 2, 1926 *

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

: July 2, 1926 – June 20, 1941 *

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

: June 20, 1941 – September 18, 1947 *

September 18, 1947–present

Sources

*Mortenson, Daniel R., "The Air Service in the Great War," ''Winged Shield, Winged Sword: A History of the United States Air Force'' Vol. I (1997), *"2005 Almanac," ''Air Force Magazine'', May 2005, Vol. 88, No. 5, the Air Force Association, Arlington, Virginia {{DEFAULTSORT:Division Of Military Aeronautics United States Army aviation United States Army Air Service Aviation in World War I Military units and formations of the United States in World War I 20th-century history of the United States Air Force History of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1918 establishments in the United States 1919 disestablishments in the United States Disbanded air forces