American and German Fighter Control Through 1945

This thesis examines the development of American and German fighter control. It specifically seeks to provide a detailed history of fighter control's early development and how five factors, geography, technology, leadership, collaboration, and doctrine (GT-LCD Framework), played a role in shaping fighter control. The study concludes by comparing the five factors of each country, highlighting how each positively or negatively affected each nation. It concludes that the United States was more able to capitalize on its geography, technology, and collaborative efforts with the British. The Germans bound themselves by their geography and lack of collaboration with another advanced nation, and were thus unable to produce the critical technologies required for effective fighter control. Each nation's doctrine drove their thinking, with America's doctrine blindly helping and Germany's hurting it. Most critically, leadership decisions at higher levels dictated the technology pursued, the battles fought, and the production rates that led to American success and German failure. Finally, the implications for today of studying history and using the framework to evaluate where an emerging concept may develop are discussed.