Thursday, September 03, 2015

Witteman-Lewis XNBL-1 (Barling Bomber)


There was only one built and it was considered a failure at that time. The bomber also became known as "Mitchell's Folly" due to Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell's strong support. From Wikipedia: "He antagonized many people in the Army with his arguments and criticism (of air vs. sea power) and, in 1925, was returned from appointment as a brigadier general to his permanent rank of Colonel.

(turns out he was right and the Navy finally admitted that about 1991 when they retired the Missouri, realizing that battleships were not as useful as fighters forward deployed on aircraft carriers)

Later that year, he was court-martialed for insubordination after accusing Army and Navy leaders of an "almost treasonable administration of the national defense" for investing in battleships instead of aircraft carriers. He died in 1936 and the Mitchell B-25 bomber is named after him.

Found on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Antique-Images-from-the-Collection-of-Michael-J-Semas/319722608043803?fref=nf

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