The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold - Jan. 26th, 2004

www.centennialofflight.gov ^ | Pamela Feltus

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

.

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

.

.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

.

.

.

General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold
(1886 - 1950)

.

When Hap Arnold became a military pilot in 1911, the U.S. military owned just two airplanes. By his retirement in 1946, he had built the U.S. Air Force into a separate service of the armed forces. Under Arnold’s guidance, the two planes and two pilots of 1911 had grown to a peak World War II size of 78,757 aircraft and 2,372,292 personnel. During his 35-year career, the versatile Arnold had combined his vision, political savvy, piloting skills, and engineering knowledge to forge a mission and place for the U.S. Air Force better than anyone who had come before.

Hap Arnold as a boy.

Henry Harold "Hap" Arnold was born in Philadelphia in 1886 and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was known as a prankster and troublemaker. His grades were mediocre, and when he graduated he was denied a commission with the cavalry, his dream position. Instead, he was assigned to the infantry and sent to the Philippines.

But he was lucky enough to befriend Captain Arthur Cowan, who had been charged with finding officers to join the Signal Corps flight training program. Knowing Arnold’s desire to leave the infantry, he chose Arnold. Arnold and another prospective pilot, Thomas DeWitt Milling, were sent to the Wright brothers’ flying school in Ohio to begin training on the newly purchased Wright Flyers.


Henry H. Arnold At College Park Maryland, 1916

Ground school lasted less than a week, and Arnold made his first flight on May 3 in a Wright Model B flyer. On July 6, he earned his civilian pilot certificate and on July 22, he was given military aviator rating.

When their training was completed, Arnold and Milling became flight instructors at the Signal Corps flight school in College Park, Maryland. They also worked on finding military uses for airplanes, which at the time, few people had considered. Arnold was a top-notch pilot and established a world altitude record and in October 1912, became the first Mackay Trophy winner by successfully using aerial reconnaissance to locate a cavalry troop. The next month, while participating in an artillery fire directing experiment, Arnold’s plane suddenly dropped into a downward spin. Arnold survived, performing the first successful spin recovery. When he landed, he asked for a leave of absence from flying and was transferred back to the infantry.


Henry H. Arnold aboard a Wright Flyer, 1911

When Congress increased aviation appropriations at the beginning of war in Europe, Arnold was recalled to the Signal Corps. With a temporary wartime rank of colonel, Arnold spent the war in Washington overseeing aircraft production and mobilization. As one of the few officers with flying experience, Arnold brought a valuable practical viewpoint to his job, and although not happy about being away from the battlefront, he gained valuable administrative experience.

After the war ended, Arnold served at several air bases and attended courses at the Army Industrial College. The new chief of the air service Mason Patrick called Arnold back to Washington in 1924 to serve as chief of information for the air service, charged with keeping abreast of developments in aviation. He was also given the impossible task of trying to subdue the outspoken Billy Mitchell, his old friend and mentor. During Mitchell’s 1926 court-martial, Arnold testified on his behalf. When Mitchell was found guilty and retired from the military, Arnold considered retiring as well, but feeling there was more to accomplish, chose to stay with the air service. Patrick sent him to Fort Riley, Kansas.


Henry H. Arnold in training at Dayton, Ohio, 1911

Despite its reputation as the worst post in the army, Arnold enjoyed Fort Riley. He taught airpower to the infantry soldiers and could interact with them. He could finally spend time with his family, and he wrote children’s stories about a pilot named Bill Bruce.

Leaving Fort Riley and after several reassignments, he was stationed at March Field in California. There, he made valuable contacts in the world of academia, particularly with members of the aeronautics program at Caltech and Theodore von Kármán, the noted aerodynamicist. Arnold became convinced that the only way the U.S. military aviation would be the best would be if industry, military, and academic research institutions all cooperated.



In 1934, Arnold earned his second Mackay Trophy, commanding a fleet of ten B-10 bombers on a roundtrip flight between Washington, D.C., and Fairbanks, Alaska. As a result of careful planning, the 8,290-mile (4,974-kilometer) roundtrip was accomplished with no aircraft losses. And it demonstrated to the American public that the geographical isolation the country had always relied on for protection was no longer a factor.

In 1936, Arnold became the assistant chief of the Air Corps, and when the chief of the Air Corps Oscar Westover died in a plane crash in September 1938, Major General Arnold became chief. Arnold inherited a force of fewer than 2,000 airplanes and 21,000 men at the same time that Europe was gearing up for another major war. Arnold had seen the problems stemming from a lack of preparedness during World War I and was determined that the Air Corps not be in the same position again. Using his administrative, political, and industrial experience, he mobilized both the military and industry. He knew that for the air corps to be useful, it had to have an equal balance of airplanes, pilots, support personnel, and air bases. While he pushed for an increased industrial infrastructure and research to improve his planes, he also developed training programs and built air bases. As much as he wanted the best bombers and fighters, he knew that trainer aircraft were equally important.


Colonel Henry H. "Hap" Arnold (right) with Captain Lowell H. Smith signing the flight log upon Smith's return from the First Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test, 1919.

Among Arnold’s successful mobilization projects was the development of the B-17 and B-29, heavy long-range bombers for large-scale strategic bombing campaigns. Other research programs Arnold pushed were radar, bombsights, windshield de-icing, and jet assisted take-off. But as the country moved closer to war, Arnold changed his views on long-range research. Rather than spend his resources on research projects to develop advanced capabilities that would not be completed until after the war, he preferred to concentrate on projects that would expand the combat range, effectiveness, and safety of the current planes. The only exception to this rule was the development of the XP-59A Airacomet, America’s first jet-engine aircraft. Arnold funded the XP-59A project because he felt that jets were the future of aviation. Although its first official flight was October 2, 1942, the plane never performed to a satisfactory level and did not reach high production levels.


U.S. Generals - George Patton, "Hap" Arnold, and Mark Clark.

On June 20, 1941, the air service was renamed the United States Army Air Force. Six months later, the United States was at war. Arnold organized the USAAF into smaller air forces, each with a specific task and war theater. He oversaw an enormous growth of people, airplanes, and support systems. He also supported initiatives that helped win the war and establish the U.S. Air Force: strategic bombings campaigns, Jimmy Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo, firebombing in Japan, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and the development and fostering of promising officers who would lead the service in the decades to come. Arnold was devoted to his troops and spent much of the war touring overseas operations. He worked extremely hard and his health suffered for it. He had his first of several heart attacks on January 19, 1945, less than a month after his promotion to five-star General of the Army. His doctors and family encouraged him to retire, but he felt duty-bound to finish the war and bring his flyers home. He finally retired in June 1946, and one year later the U.S. Air Force was founded as a separate service. In 1949, President Truman signed a bill making Arnold a permanent (and in 2001, the only) General of the Air Force. He died the following January in his sleep.


Hap Arnold and Claire Chennault, Curtiss P-40s, Chungking, ca. 1942

Arnold’s pioneering flights, devotion to the concept of air power, promotion of technological development, and leadership during World War II have inspired generations of air force personnel, scientists, engineers, and dreamers. To honor him, the air force named an air force base in Tennessee after him in 1951. Arnold Air Force Base is the only base without a flying unit assigned to it; instead it houses the Arnold Engineering Development Center, the world’s largest collection of flight simulators to aid in advanced aeronautical research. For a man who spent his career promoting technology and research, this is a most fitting honor.

[Iris7]

Of course, after the Pratt R-2800, another engine would be needed to keep the big Pratt company. I have another soft spot for the Pratt R-4360 used in the B-36. Now that was a lunker, four rows of seven cylinders and 4,000 horse power. Fifty-six mechanical valve tappets to set. Fifty-six spark plugs. Beautiful. Wonder if I could find one?

My wife just loves this sort of talk!!! hehehe! Just kidding, Honey!

[SAMWolf]

It'll be interesting to see what happens. maybe just a major re-shuffling of responsibilities

[SAMWolf]

I have been discussing this hobby with my wife, who has been encouraging me to find a suitable pastime, so that I will be less in her hair, and for some reason she is not enthusiastic.

Be just the thing for those sleepless nights. One thing is for sure, the earthquake start and awesome roar of a Pratt R-2800 (my personal favorite!), would get my neighbors off to a fine early start to their days!

Let me know if she relents, I love the sound of the prop jobs. :-)

[SAMWolf]

The B-36 stayed on-line for 10 years. It rapidly faded from the scene when the B-47 and B-52 were ready. In the end, no one really knows if the B-36 would have been able to do its mission. Critics point to hundreds of problems with the B-36, and say it would have been toast when put up against a jet fighter. Supporters counter that B-36 flew higher than any contemporary jet fighter, and it would have been able to drop bombs on target before the fighters were able to climb to altitude. And SAC never did base the B-36 in the Artic region, which is where it would have needed to be to fly round-trip to central Russia. Whether or not it was the billion dollar boon-doggle, it was still a remarkable giant.

Of the 385 aircraft produced from the B-36 chassis, only 6 survive.

Serial Number	Aircraft Type	City	State	Location	Notes
42-13571	YB-36	Newbury	Ohio	Walter Soplata Collection	Was on display at USAF Musuem. Cut up for scrap when the museum moved in 1972. Purchased by Walter Soplata, and is laying in pieces at his farm, some parts are being used as storage sheds.
43-52436	XC-99	San Antonio	Texas	Kelly USA	Was on display outside of Kelly AFB, San Antonio, Texas, in the hands of a private individual. After being neglected for many years, the plane was taken over by the USAF Museum. The XC-99 was moved to the former Kelly AFB, now Kelly USA since Kelly was shut down as an active Air Force base. The XC-99 is awaiting eventual restoration.
51-13730	B-36H	Atwater	California	Castle Air Museum	Displayed outside. Formerly on display at Chanute AFB in central Illinois.
52-2217A	B-36J	Ashland	Nebraska	Strategic Air Command Museum	Displayed indoors. Formerly on display at the old SAC Museum at Offutt AFB, just south of Omaha, NE.
52-2220	B-36J	Dayton	Ohio	US Air Force Museum	Displayed indoors. Just moved out of the WWII hangar and into the new display building. The Peacemaker is back on display as of July, 2003.
52-22827	B-36J	Fort Worth	Texas	Southwest Aerospace Museum	Formerly on display at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth. Underwent a ground-up restoration in the 1990's. Still disassembled and waiting to be put on display at a proposed museum at the Alliance airport.

Maybe you could talk one of these guys out of an engine ;-)

[carton253]

I wanted to tell you all about a new book that I have discovered.

Damage Them While You Can by George Walsh. It's a history of the Army of Northern Virgina.

It's pretty good... but a surface book. Walsh accepts the "spin" of Freeman, i.e, Jackson during the Pennisula or Stuart at Gettysburg. That's a strike in my book...

But, it is interesting as we learn more about Pender, Hampton, Gordan, etc.

But I have a question. Besides one throw away line in one book about a Florida regiment, I have yet to read about Florida regiments in the ANV. Nor have I read about Arkansas troops either. Did Florida and Arkansas sit out the war, or did their troops go to Tenessee?

What have you heard?

[SAMWolf]

I think Florida raised about 15,000 troops. I've heard of the Florida Brigade at Gettysburg. They fought at the Peach Orchard on the 2nd as part of Andersons's Division.

Not famliar with any Arkansas units in the ANV.

[SAMWolf]

History has not been kind to the legacy of Florida’s Confederate soldiers. Too often they appear as little more than a footnote in accounts of the American Civil War. Nevertheless, Florida troops were present at Gettysburg and they fought bravely along side their comrades from Alabama and Georgia on July 2 and 3, 1863.

Florida was represented at Gettysburg by a brigade of three infantry regiments in Major General R.H. Anderson’s Division of A. P. Hill’s III Army Corps. By the summer of 1863, these soldiers had become seasoned veterans typical of the Army of Northern Virginia. The 2nd Florida Infantry had experienced heavy combat in several battles during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. The regiment fought at Yorktown, followed by a delaying action at Williamsburg where the regiment's first colonel was killed. At a swampy Virginia crossroads called Seven Pines, the 2nd, then attached to Brigadier General Samuel Garland’s brigade, fought a brutal contest through mud, heavy vegetation and waist deep water. There the 2nd Florida gained everlasting glory when it charged and captured a battery of Federal artillery while sustaining over 50% casualties. After the Seven Days’ battles the battered 2nd was joined by the 5th and 8th Florida Infantry regiments. The Floridians fought at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, and time and again they proved themselves to be tough soldiers full of courage and fight. Following the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland in September 1862, the three regiments were consolidated into a single Florida brigade under Brigadier General Edward Aylesworth Perry of Pensacola.

Jim Studnicki

[SAMWolf]

More than 30 infantry regiments, a dozen cavalry regiments, and a host of assorted battalions, companies, and batteries were raised in Arkansas for Confederate service during the War Between the States. Most of these units, regretfully, have never had a spokesman or a historian. Researching the history of Arkansas's Confederate forces is made doubly hard by the fact that shortages of supplies, including paper, after the summer of 1862 kept many regiments and companies from keeping detailed records. And most regrettably, for the Arkansans who served in the Confederate Army of Tennessee and Army of Northern Virginia, the intensity of combat and harsh life in the field left few survivors to tell their tales.

Only one Arkansas regiment, the 3rd Arkansas Infantry, served with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the eastern theater of the War. Mustering at Lynchburg, VA in late July, 1861, the 3rd Arkansas saw its first engagement in the Seven Days Campaign, and served in all the campaigns of Lee's army until the surrender at Appomattox in April, 1865. Fagan's 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment served briefly with the Confederate Army of the Potomac (as the Army of Northern Virginia was known before July, 1862) near Fredericksburg and at the Battle of 1st Manassas, but was transferred to Albert Sydney Johnston's army near Corinth, Mississippi in February, 1862. Bronaugh's 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion also served in Virginia, but was consolidated with the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment following the Seven Days' Campaign.

[carton253]

Yeah...let's hear it for Arkansas...

As I've read about the ANV, I've heard about Virginians, North and South Carolinians, Georgia was there, as was Mississippi, who could fight. The Tigers from Louisiana were a hard fighting lot as was the Alabamians. And don't get me started on Texas.

But, hardly anything mentioned about Arkansas. Thanks to you... they have been put on the roll of honor where they belong.

Now, how about those Floridians?

[carton253]

Whoa missed this post in my last post to you... That's what I get for not reading in order.

The Floridians were a tough bunch if they were at the Peach Orchard. In Anderson's Division under Longstreet. That's probably how I missed them since I've concentrated more on the 2nd Corps under Jackson.

[Professional Engineer]

One thing is for sure, the earthquake start and awesome roar of a Pratt R-2800 (my personal favorite!), would get my neighbors off to a fine early start to their days!

I had the pleasure to be standing 150ft behind an F4U as the engine was fired a few years ago. Both the plane and I were between two metal hangers. Incredibly loud. I'm sure I was grinning at least from ear to ear.

[Professional Engineer]

52-22827 B-36J Fort Worth Texas Southwest Aerospace Museum Formerly on display at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth. Underwent a ground-up restoration in the 1990's. Still disassembled and waiting to be put on display at a proposed museum at the Alliance airport.

WHOA! I didn't know about this one. Practically in my front yard.

[SAMWolf]

When they put it together you can get some pics of it for us.

[Professional Engineer]

I have another soft spot for the Pratt R-4360 used in the B-36. Now that was a lunker, four rows of seven cylinders and 4,000 horse power. Fifty-six mechanical valve tappets to set. Fifty-six spark plugs. Beautiful. Wonder if I could find one?

In my AF days, I read the entire aviation section of the base library. One of the books on aviation adventures told the story of a B36 flying out of a base in Colorado. It was one of the later models with the 4 turbojet engines, in addition to the 6 turboprop pushers.

The plane had just taken off, and was climbing out. They had an engine flameout. then another, and another, until finally ALL TEN had flamed out. The pilots were able to get it turned around and brought it in for a successful deadstick landing back at the base. The post flight investigation showed the load of JP4 in the fueltanks was contaminated with water.

[Professional Engineer]

I'd be my pleasure Sam.

[SAMWolf]

They had an engine flameout. then another, and another, until finally ALL TEN had flamed out.

That crew had to be thinking they were the unluckiest people in the world right then.

"Six Turnin and Four Burnin"

[Darksheare]

I'm in,
Finally.

[snippy_about_it]

There you are! Good to see you Darksheare.

[colorado tanker]

I don't know much about Arkansas Civil War units, either, Sam. But I betcha one thing - Bill Clinton's ancestors found a way to get out of serving in them.

[SAMWolf]