Interception of the Rex

Interception of the Rex
Three B-17 bombers intercepted the Italian liner SS Rex 620 nm from New York (1938)
Date 12 May 1938 Location 620 nautical miles (715 miles or 1,100 km) east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey Result Long-range bombers successfully located and intercepted a ship far out at sea

The interception of the Rex was a training exercise and military aviation achievement of the United States Army Air Corps prior to World War II. The tracking and location of an ocean-going vessel (the Italian liner SS Rex) by B-17 Flying Fortresses on 12 May 1938 was a major event in the development of a doctrine that led to a United States Air Force independent of the Army.^[1] The mission was ostensibly a training exercise for coastal defense of the United States, but was conceived by planners to be a well-publicized demonstration of the capabilities of "heavy bombers (as) long range instruments of power".^[2]

The flight was conducted during coastal defense maneuvers held by the Air Corps without the participation of the United States Navy, and apparently without understanding of their purpose by the Army Chief of Staff.^[3] Both had continuing disagreements with the leaders of the Air Corps over roles and missions, with the Navy disputing its maritime mission and the Army seeking to limit its role to that of supporting ground forces.^[4]

With a characteristic flair for creating publicity,^[5][6] the Air Corps' General Headquarters Air Force (its combat organization) not only successfully made the interception at sea, but exploited both live radio news coverage and dramatic photographs. Although the publicity resulted in a short-term setback for Air Corps ambitions, within a year both U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and future Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall became new proponents of long-range air power.^{[7][8][n 1]}

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