In September 1923, Brigadier General Mitchell demonstrated the effectiveness of aerial bombardment against surface vessels to skeptical government and military observers. Taking off from his temporary Hatteras Village airfield, he rendezvoused with Martin Bombers from Langley Field, Virginia, and with newly developed bombsights and supercharged engines the bombers quickly sank the obsolete battleships "Virginia" and "New Jersey" anchored just 20 miles off the Hatteras Island coast. After Mitchell urgently called for construction of a temporary airfield, local Hatterasmen used shovels, hoes, horsedrawn carts, and a tractor pulling a weighted pallet to fill holes, tidal pools, and marshy areas and pack level a landing strip, helping ensure the success of the demonstration. Despite the effectiveness of this and other demonstrations, many years passed before Mitchell's far-reaching ideas on air power were adopted. He was posthumously honored in 1946 with a special Medal of Honor in recognition of his outstanding pioneer service and foresight in America's military aviation.