Glenn Martin's Masterpiece: The Martin B-10 in US Army Air Corps Service: The B-10 in US Army Air Corps Service - Hardcover

by William M. Cahill (Author)

The Martin Model 139, procured as the B-10 by the US Army Air Corps, secured a key place in American

aviation history by helping birth modern American airpower. As the first all-metal monoplane bomber

produced for the Air Corps in quantity, it was the predecessor to more advanced strategic bombers such as

the B-17 and the B-24. The B-10 made operational history in 1934 when then-Lt Col Arnold led a squadron

of ten B-10s on an 8,290-mile round trip from Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., to Fairbanks, Alaska, and back.

The birth of the General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) on March 1, 1935 provided the opportunity for the

B-10 to shine. Tasked with operating beyond the sphere of ground forces and providing aerial reinforcement

of America's overseas territories, GHQ AF turned to the B-10 bombardment groups to prove out theory.

Through annual exercises and such activities as the aerial reinforcement of Panama in early 1937, the B-10

helped the GHQ AF start to make good on Billy Mitchell's promises about airpower. The B-10 continued to

serve America while in second line use, performing such unsung tasks as target towing and multi-engine

training in the critical early years of America's participation in WWII. The B-10 helped the Air Corps perfect

airpower doctrine and trained a generation of airmen - first in front line service, then aiding in the expansion

of the USAAF in the early days of the Second World War.