1st re-assesment would've probably be the lesson learned from BoB - day bombers need escort.
The first assessment could have been determined when Claire Chennault, during war games, managed to intercept incoming bombers by setting up an early warning network, despite being told not to do so, because the bombers were supposed to get through. War games could have proved something but were nevertheless just considered a cause for disciplinary action. A similar war game scenario found Pearl Harbor to be quite vulnerable, but only in retrospect. The BoB hasn't happened yet, but the lessons learned apply both to bombers and fighters, or pursuits. The pursuit armament limitation doctrine was found in a wiki article on Gordon Saville, I think, or something growing from it. USAAC pursuit aircraft doctrine was determined largely by Kelsey and Saville, though their lowly rank meant that higher ranks had to be fooled into compliance. An early leader of the Air Service, Billy Mitchell, who had rubbed elbows with both Boom Trenchard and Douhet, lacked the subtlety of tom-foolery, and was summarily booted from the service, only to be later honored as father of the Air Force.
The story of drop tanks I got from one of my yellowed Martin Caidin books on the P-38. I miss that guy.
