Early impacts of communications on military doctrine

Airborne radiotelephony was one of the most important, yet least discussed developments of World War I. It evolved from a successful organization of science and engineering created by Chief Signal Officer of the Army, Major General George Owen Squier. Under the leadership of such early notables in the history of electrical engineering as John J. Carty, Frank B. Jewett, and Nugent H. Slaughter the radiotelephone transformed the airplane from a weapon of individual opportunity to a weapon capable of centrally commanded operation. It made it possible to apply the established military principle of concentration of mass to aerial combat. This important innovation came from technical officers-primarily from those who had a vision of aircraft operating in concert. The potential of military aircraft thus conceived differed markedly from the popular image of the fighter pilot engaged in individual combat, which shared much in common with the popular view of cavalry officers in the nineteenth century. Tanks and airplanes are often regarded as the most significant weapons forged in World War I. It must be added that they attained their full significance as weapons only after being equipped with radiotelephones.