Beschreibung:

MITCHELL, WILLIAM, Brigadier General . Typed letter signed ("Wm. Mitchell"), to Lester D. Gardner, War Department, Air Service, Washington, D.C., 24 October 1924, one page, 4to. Mitchell expresses his strong hopes for a separate air service (not acheived until 1947): "I am very glad to get the advance copy of Grey's stuff. It's fine. Things look very well for a separate service during the coming session [of Congress] which I will explain to you when I see you again. I wish you would send me those figures you have on the expenditures for the various branches of the Government in aviation which I understand you compiled. I had these things up to a couple of years ago but have not revised them up-to-date. I also have a few articles on pertinent subjects which you might like to see...."; Typed letter BOLDLY SIGNED ("Brig. Gen. Wm. Mitchell") to Lester D. Gardner, "Headquarters Air Service," 6 July 1918, one page, 4to, some stains, pasted back-to-back with letter of Thurman Bane, 1922, both sheets wrinkled. An unusually early letter, with a succinct indictment of American military aircraft: "...As you know, Phil Roosevelt is Operations Officer with one of our Pursuit Groups and is very near me now. Of course, there is a great deal of news here which we cannot write. The whole subject of American airplanes is a joke, but we who are over here knew practically well what would happen as we knew the people who were in control of it...." (2)