After Moffett died in the crash of USS Akron, King became chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and worked with the Bureau of Navigation to expand aviator recruitment and training. Their aviation-cadet program targeted college graduates and addressed the personnel side of expanding naval air power. King then told the House Appropriations Committee that Pratt & Whitney could make profits of 45 percent as the sole engine provider. The Vinson-Trammell Act of 1934 limited profits on government aviation contracts to 10 percent and encouraged competing builders. In this account, the Bureau of Aeronautics was the naval bureau most clearly prepared for war, and these personnel and industrial measures put King's preparedness argument into practice.
Chapter · 53:47-59:58
King expanded aviator training and challenged a fragile supplier base
As Bureau of Aeronautics chief, King expanded aviator training and challenged dependence on a single engine supplier through the Vinson-Trammell Act.