United States Army Air Corps

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. The statutory administrative forerunner of the United States Air Force, it was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926 and part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps was the immediate predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), established on 20 June 1941. Although discontinued as an administrative echelon during World War II, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.

The Air Corps was renamed by the United States Congress largely as a compromise between the advocates of a separate air arm and those of the traditionalist Army high command who viewed the aviation arm as an auxiliary branch to support the ground forces. Although its members worked to promote the concept of air power and an autonomous air force between the years between the world wars, its primary purpose by Army policy remained support of ground forces rather than independent operations.

United States Army

The United States Army (USA) is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed (14 June 1775) to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–83)—before the U.S. was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784, to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.

United States Army No. 101

US Army 101 is a 2-8-0 steam locomotive that was originally operated by the United States Army. It is one of two survivors of the 1,500 General Pershing locomotives built in 1916–1918 for the War Department in World War I. The 101 went on to see action in three wars — World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

History

The history of the 101 is something of a mystery. Is known is that it was built for the US Army for use in World War I by Baldwin Locomotive Works. It was owned by the US Army until it was donated to Korea in 1947 - after the end of the Japanese occupation (1945) and prior to the start of the Korean War (1950).

In 1953, the 101 was recovered from damaged areas and reconstructed by the Army Transportation Corps, under the direction of Col. George Simpson. It seems that the 101 was still property of the Korean Republic, however. Col. George Simpson, Harold T.I. Shannon, and Harold E. Fuller started to talk with the Korean Republic about donating the engine to the National Railroad Museum.

Army Air Corps

Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:

See also

Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)

The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army, first formed in 1942. There are eight regiments (7 Regular Army and 1 Reserve) of the AAC as well as four Independent Flights and two Independent Squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations across the world. They are located in Britain, Brunei, Canada, and Germany. The AAC provides the offensive air elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade through Joint Helicopter Command.

History

The first Army Air Corps

The British Army first took to the sky during the 19th century with the use of observation balloons. In 1911 the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was the first heavier-than-air British military aviation unit. The following year, the Battalion was expanded into the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps which saw action throughout most of the First World War until 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force.

Between the wars, the Army used RAF co-operation squadrons, though a true army presence did not occur until the Second World War.