MITCHELL, WILLIAM ("Billy"). Typed letter signed ("Wm. Mitchell") to Lester D. Gardner, London, 2 February 1919, one page, 4to. Written as head of the air arm of the American Expeditionary Forces, shortly after the end of WWI: "...I am in London...on temporary duty in connection with Aviation, but am under orders to proceed to the States...."; Typed letter signed to the same, France, 17 November 1918, one page, 4to, removed from old mount with portion of mount showing through: "I asked for you so many times and I should have thought some of the requests would have had some effect, but apparently not. The war is now over as far as we are concerned and I am very sorry that you haven't gotten over here...."; Typed letter (an unsigned carbon) to Arthur Brisbane, Washington, 26 December 1924, 2 pages, 4to. AN EXCEPTIONAL LETTER ON AIR AND NAVAL POWER:"...We have spent something like four hundred and fifty million since the war, on aviation. What have we to show for it?....As to the use of aircraft on the so-called 'aircraft carriers'...in a rough sea...it is practically impossible to take off from them....Defense across the seas must be obtained by aircraft operating from land bases....The navies of the five great nations, including fifty-five battleships...were unable to stop the Germans sinking eleven million tons of British shipping...Submarines should be auxiliaries to air power and not air power auxiliary to submarines....As to tests against battleships, we have proved conclusively that aircraft can sink battleships....These tests have been misrepresented...." --BRISBANE, ARTHUR. Typed letter signed to Gardner, 23 December 1924, one page, 4to, on stationery of the New York Evening Journal. "I have sent to Washington for a complete copy of General Mitchell's statement before the Congressional Committee....You couldn't get anybody to provide the battleships to be sunk....I saw the President in Chicago....What is more to the point, I have caused this matter to be discussed in several thousand little newspapers throughout the country...Can not some test be made...not necessarily making the target as expensive as a battleship?...." (4)
MITCHELL, WILLIAM ("Billy"). Typed letter signed ("Wm. Mitchell") to Lester D. Gardner, London, 2 February 1919, one page, 4to. Written as head of the air arm of the American Expeditionary Forces, shortly after the end of WWI: "...I am in London...on temporary duty in connection with Aviation, but am under orders to proceed to the States...."; Typed letter signed to the same, France, 17 November 1918, one page, 4to, removed from old mount with portion of mount showing through: "I asked for you so many times and I should have thought some of the requests would have had some effect, but apparently not. The war is now over as far as we are concerned and I am very sorry that you haven't gotten over here...."; Typed letter (an unsigned carbon) to Arthur Brisbane, Washington, 26 December 1924, 2 pages, 4to. AN EXCEPTIONAL LETTER ON AIR AND NAVAL POWER:"...We have spent something like four hundred and fifty million since the war, on aviation. What have we to show for it?....As to the use of aircraft on the so-called 'aircraft carriers'...in a rough sea...it is practically impossible to take off from them....Defense across the seas must be obtained by aircraft operating from land bases....The navies of the five great nations, including fifty-five battleships...were unable to stop the Germans sinking eleven million tons of British shipping...Submarines should be auxiliaries to air power and not air power auxiliary to submarines....As to tests against battleships, we have proved conclusively that aircraft can sink battleships....These tests have been misrepresented...." --BRISBANE, ARTHUR. Typed letter signed to Gardner, 23 December 1924, one page, 4to, on stationery of the New York Evening Journal. "I have sent to Washington for a complete copy of General Mitchell's statement before the Congressional Committee....You couldn't get anybody to provide the battleships to be sunk....I saw the President in Chicago....What is more to the point, I have caused this matter to be discussed in several thousand little newspapers throughout the country...Can not some test be made...not necessarily making the target as expensive as a battleship?...." (4)
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
