Airpower Quotes

In order to assure an adequate national defense, it is necessary - and sufficient - to be in a position in case of war to conquer the command of the air.

Giulio Douhet

Military, War, Air

General Giulio Douhet (2014). “Command Of The Air”, p.51, Pickle Partners Publishing

66 Copy quote

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Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Europe, Air Power, Aviation

20 Copy quote
Airpower has become predominant, both as a deterrent to war, and-in the eventuality of war-as the devastating force to destroy an enemy's potential and fatally undermine his will to wage war.

Omar N. Bradley

Military, War, Enemy

22 Copy quote
If we lose the war in the air we lose the war and lose it quickly.

Bernard Law Montgomery

War, Air, Aviation

44 Copy quote
We're at a real time of transition here in terms of future aviation. What's going to be manned? What's going to be unmanned? There are those who see [the JSF] as the last manned fighter/bomber. And I'm one that's inclined to believe it-whether it's right or not.

Michael Mullen

Military, Real, Believe

9 Copy quote
For good or for ill, air mastery is today the supreme expression of military power and fleets and armies, however vital and important, must accept a subordinate rank.

Winston Churchill

Military, Army, Air

9 Copy quote
My solution to the problem would be to tell [the North Vietnamese Communists] frankly that they've got to draw in their horns and stop their aggression or we're going to bomb them into the Stone Age. And we would shove them back into the Stone Age with Air power or Naval power - not with ground forces.

Curtis LeMay

Military, Age, Vietnam

"Mission With LeMay: My Story". Book by Curtis E LeMay and MacKinlay Kantor, p. 565, 1965.

88 Copy quote

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Air power is indivisible. If you split it up into compartments, you merely pull it to pieces and destroy its greatest asset - its flexibility.

Bernard Law Montgomery

Air, Pieces, Splits

42 Copy quote
In our victory over Japan, airpower was unquestionably decisive. That the planned invasion of the Japanese Home islands was unnecessary is clear evidence that airpower has evolved into a force in war co-equal with land and sea power, decisive in its own right and worthy of the faith of its prophets.

Carl Andrew Spaatz

Military, War, Home

21 Copy quote
Anyone who has to fight, even with the most modern weapons, against an enemy in complete command of the air, fights like a savage against modern European troops, under the same handicaps and with the same chances of success.

Erwin Rommel

Fighting, Air, Enemy

64 Copy quote
Not to have an adequate air force in the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of national freedom and independence.

Winston Churchill

Military, Air, Independence

Winston S. Churchill (2013). “Arms and the Covenant”, p.54, RosettaBooks

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We were once told that the aeroplane had "abolished frontiers"; actually it is only since the aeroplane became a serious weapon that frontiers have become definitely impassable.

George Orwell

Air Power, Weapons, Serious

George Orwell (1968). “The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell: In front of your nose, 1945-1950”

6 Copy quote

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Aviation is going to control the world economically and militarily whether we like it or not. Airpower is not merely military aviation, it is also civilian aviation and airpower is peace power.

Roscoe Turner

Military, World, Aviation

8 Copy quote
To have command of the air means to be able to cut an enemy's army and navy off from their bases of operation and nullify their chances of winning the war.

Giulio Douhet

Military, War, Mean

General Giulio Douhet (2014). “Command Of The Air”, p.42, Pickle Partners Publishing

25 Copy quote

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Gulf Lesson One is the value of airpower.

George H. W. Bush

Lessons, Values

6 Copy quote
The time will come, when thou shalt lift thine eyes To watch a long-drawn battle in the skies. While aged peasants, too amazed for words, Stare at the flying fleets of wondrous birds.

Thomas Gray

Eye, Sky, Long

6 Copy quote
Strategic air assault is wasted if it is dissipated piecemeal in sporadic attacks between which the enemy has an opportunity to readjust defenses or recuperate.

Henry H. Arnold

Military, Opportunity, Air

29 Copy quote
Air Power is, above all, a psychological weapon - and only short-sighted soldiers, too battle-minded, underrate the importance of psychological factors in war.

B. H. Liddell Hart

War, Air, Soldier

21 Copy quote
I have a mathematical certainty that the future will confirm my assertion that aerial warfare will be the most important element in future wars, and that in consequence not only will the importance of the Independent Air Force rapidly increase, but the importance of the army and navy will decrease in proportion.

Giulio Douhet

War, Independent, Army

General Giulio Douhet (2014). “Command Of The Air”, p.139, Pickle Partners Publishing

45 Copy quote

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Only air power can defeat air power. The actual elimination or even stalemating of an attacking air force can be achieved only by a superior air force.

Alexander P. de Seversky

Air, Aviation, Defeat

12 Copy quote
Air power can either paralyze the enemy's military action or compel him to devote to the defense of his bases and communications a share of his straitened resources far greater that what we need in the attack.

Winston Churchill

Military, Communication, Air

6 Copy quote
A modern, autonomous, and thoroughly trained Air Force in being at all times will not alone be sufficient, but without it there can be no national security.

Henry H. Arnold

Air, Aviation, Modern

48 Copy quote
Offense is the essence of air power.

Henry H. Arnold

Military, Air, Essence

32 Copy quote
There are a lot of people who say that bombing cannot win the war. My reply to that is that it has never been tried. . . and we shall see.

Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet

War, Winning, People

76 Copy quote
Air power alone does not guarantee America's security, but I believe it best exploits the nation's greatest asset - our technical skill.

Hoyt Vandenberg

Military, Believe, Air

59 Copy quote