William "Billy" Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 - February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer, regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. After serving in France during World War I, Mitchell was appointed deputy director of the Air Service, calling for increased investment in air power which he believed would be vital in future wars. His advocacy antagonized leaders of the US Army and Navy. However, Mitchell demonstrated through a series of Air Force bombing exercises conducted against Naval ships in 1921 and 1923 that his ideas on the superiority of airpower were indeed correct.
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