Technology, Group Interest, and Norwegian Air Power, 1920–1940

The Norwegian army and navy built their separate air arms around a few flimsy aircraft acquired from 1912. During the interwar period, the Army Air Force desired independence while its smaller naval counterpart fought tenaciously to remain part of the navy. The battle was carried out in the national military journals. Army aviation officers seduced by the air power theories of Giulio Douhet advocated independent operations; they maintained that challenges of air war and the skills required were independent of the surface over which it was fought. They also expected economic benefits from a unified service that could acquire fewer types of aircraft and unify technical services and education. Naval aviation officers maintained that naval air operations required knowledge of naval warfare, seamanship, tight naval integration, and specialized aircraft. What’s more, they resented the very idea that air power could win wars independently.