Would an Army air arm still embrace strategic bombing?

If the RAF had not formed in 1918, would an Army air corps still have been captured by strategic-bombing doctrine?

Possibly, but Army command and its need to support troops could have checked the doctrine and changed bombing and procurement priorities.

The Royal Air Force as a whole should be distinguished from the air-ministry faction that gained influence at a crucial moment and prioritized strategic bombing. An Army air corps could still have fallen for claims that bombing alone wins wars, but commanders responsible for troops would also have demanded direct battlefield support. This institutional setting might have favored daylight precision attacks on railways and factories over area bombing at night. It would also alter fighter procurement, Fleet Air Arm funding, and Britain's willingness to invest in ground-based air defense. The later dependence on Type 45 destroyers for the country's strongest sovereign missile-defense capability offers a long institutional echo of those priorities.