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July 17th, 1938
Martin's Tavern
Washington D.C.

Sixteen men sat seated at two tables, pushed together for convenience... They talked, drank, smoked (some anyway) and ate. This was not just a social gathering however. This was a business venture. These fourteen men had a strange new vision of the future. And the conversation slowly turned from casual, to formal and forward.

"Billy Mitchell was right... But those dunderheads up on the hill won't see it until it's too darn late." Said one man... And the conversation continued.

By 20:00 local, the sixteen men were still discussing business and politics. However, they had come to a similar conclusion, and a mutual decision. The United States would become the proud owner of the world's greatest aerial force in history, and would continue well into the future. At the head, would be these sixteen men... And with them, they would provide the tools for that shared vision.

These sixteen men each worked for a different aircraft corporation. After the meeting there, they would each confront their "corporate masters" and convinced them of their vision. Though corporate mergers were considered impossible by all, they understood what the future would entail...

January 1st, 1942:

War was upon the nation, and the United States Government was in a fury in an attempt to counter the threat of the Japanese. December 14th; the "Date which will live in infamy" saw the surprise attack of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The entirety of the Pacific Fleet was in harbor on that day. Half of the American Battleship Fleet was destroyed beyond repair. Only one Carrier, the USS Enterprise remained intact enough after the raid to be repaired, but she would not see service again until May 10th of 1942 at the earliest estimate.

What was left of the US military at that moment was lackluster at best. Her Philippine Fleet was reduced to slavery for the Japanese, and the crews had not been seen or heard from. Her Pacific Fleet was all but destroyed, and the Atlantic fleet was dedicated to its mission to save the British and ward off the German U-boat Wolf Packs. And the air fleet was not worth mentioning.

Lockheed, Curtiss, Republic, North American, Northrop, Bell, McDonnell, Grumman, Vought, Brewster, Wright1, and Vultee all ramped up production and soon, the United States Air Fleet was growing to meet its new threat.

Lockheed increased production of the P-38 fighter, dubbed the Lightning. Curtiss, on the P-40 Warhawk. Republic began producing the first units of it's P-47 Thunderbolt, as did North American with the P-51 Mustang. Northrop was given the green light to produce the P-56 Swallow2, after drastic improvements were made. Bell furthered production of the P-39 Airacobra and began the development of a new, improved version. McDonnell began developing its new fighter. Grumman also began on developing a replacement for its F4F Wildcat. Brewster took over primary production of the F4U (Now F3A) Corsair while Vought sped up the research and development of the F5U Flapjack, which was quickly put into production, which was slow comparatively due to many factors. Wright produced the P-55 Ascender, which proved itself after an initial period of problems. Vultee took over the license of the Boulton Paul Defiant, turning it into the P-74 Defiant, which was much unlike its British counterpart, and far more capable as well. Hughes began the development of the HK-1, under contract from the United States War Department in an effort to transport troops and supplies to Britain without being destroyed by the relentless German U-Boat campaign. Martin started production of the B-25 and the P4M Mars (Sea-Plane). The Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress saw an impressive increase in production and their service became the backbone of the Strategic Bombing Campaign throughout Europe.

Those sixteen men? They were the masterminds of the aircraft that their companies were now producing. And their vision of the future of American Air Power would exceed even their wildest dreams...
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