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H.H. Arnold, One of the Nation's First Military Aviators, Went on to Become

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H.H. Arnold, One of the Nation's First Military Aviators, Went on to Become H.H. Arnold, one of the nation’s first military aviators, went on to become the founding father of the US Air Force. HapHap By Walter J. Boyne n July 27, 1903, 17-year-old when assigned to the infantry. His OHenry Harley Arnold entered the protests failed, however, and that was US Military Academy at West Point the break of his life. Had he gone to and became a cadet. That he did so the cavalry, he probably would never was a small miracle. Virtually from have taken up flying. Then, H.H. “Hap” the day he was born on June 25, 1886, Arnold might well have wound up everyone had expected him to become commanding an obscure tank division a minister. His father had won the West instead of achieving world fame and the Point appointment for his eldest son, five stars of the first and only General but when he refused to take the exam, of the Air Force. Henry went instead. It was his destiny to become a domi- Cadet Arnold always ranked be- nant figure in American air power. In tween 62d and 66th in a class of 110. the 1920s and 1930s, his was one of few He never became a class officer. He but highly significant voices speaking was large for the time, packing about up for development of military avia- 185 pounds on a frame just short of tion. He was a powerhouse in World 6 feet tall. Still, he was only a fair War II, breaking through the barriers athlete. In his last year at West Point, of conservatism and vested interest to he was confined to quarters for some mold the various elements of airpower time for a sensational senior prank into a powerful striking force. “In with fireworks. General Arnold’s story,” the New York When he graduated in 1907, Arnold Times editorialized at the war’s end, wanted to join the cavalry, which was “can be found the key to that fierce the glamour arm of the Army in those loyalty, that close identification of men days, and he complained vigorously and weapons, which has had so much 44 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 45 began flying in the more powerful Wright C aircraft. All six of the Army’s Wright Cs would eventually be lost in crashes, killing six men. This early aircraft had an inherent flaw: When H.H. Arnold, shown here gliding at low speeds, sudden applica- during his flight training tion of power would cause the nose with the Wright broth- to pitch down—exactly the opposite ers in Dayton, Ohio, had of what a pilot would expect. In a less than four hours in the air when he flew his pusher-type aircraft, moreover, the first solo. Just six weeks engine was perfectly placed to crush later, on June 5, 1911, he the pilot upon impact with the ground. and 2d Lt. Thomas Mill- In November 1912, Arnold was ing were certified as US Army aviators. flying a Wright C at Ft. Riley, Kan., conducting radio experiments. Then, at about 400 feet altitude, the aircraft suddenly spun in a 360-degree turn and plunged toward the earth. Arnold was sure he was going to die, but by some miracle, his frantic, random manipulation of the controls man- aged to pull him out of the dive just a few feet above the ground so that he could land. The experience left Arnold badly shaken, and he finally acknowledged that flying in Army aircraft virtually qualified as an act of suicide. He waited 20 days to regain his composure, to do with bringing the air arm to its six weeks of flying, Milling and Arnold swallowed his pride, and formally present stage of terrifying efficien cy.” were certified as US Army Aviators No. requested release from flying duty. Then, as World War II drew to a close, 1 and No. 2, respectively, and were The Army granted his wish. Arnold saw that a new, powerful, and told to report to College Park, Md., independent Air Force would have to where they became instructor pilots. “No Preliminaries” be forged in the face of public apathy Flying was extremely dangerous Arnold was reassigned to a desk and took the lead in organizing public in those days, generating names for job with the Signal Corps in Wash- support for the task. Army airfields (Selfridge, Kelly, Scott, ington. There, he experienced two Hazelhurst, and Rockwell) faster than thrilling events. The first came in Next Stop: Wright Brothers the airfields could be built. Between 1913 when, after serving six years of In his first assignment after West 1909 and 1913, the Army produced active duty, he finally was promoted Point, the young Arnold served an only 24 officers it deemed qualified to first lieutenant. Second, he married uneventful two-year tour in the Phil- to fly. Eighteen were killed in air an aristocratic hometown girl, Eleanor ippines with the 29th Infantry before mishaps—11 in training accidents Pool, proposing before he ever had sailing west to return to the US. On and seven in later crashes. In Mill- kissed her or told her he loved her. this long journey home, he passed ing’s words, “Everybody expected As Mrs. Arnold laughingly recalled through Paris, where he observed Louis to be killed.” in a 1969 interview: “That was Hap. Blériot’s famous aircraft. On his return Despite the dangers, Arnold flew No preliminaries.” to US soil, with the 29th at Governor’s with a flair that broke both records and On a second tour in the Philippines, Island, N.Y., he made a second attempt precedents. On Aug. 18, 1911, he set a Arnold met and began developing an to get out of the infantry, asking the military altitude record of 4,167 feet. He admiration for another Army officer, Signal Corps to put him in “aeronau- pioneered the use of goggles, won the George C. Marshall, a man who tical work.” This time he succeeded. first Mackay Trophy for a long recon- would shape his career and the fate On April 21, 1911, Arnold and 2d Lt. naissance flight, and directed artillery of the US Air Force to an inordinate Thomas DeWitt Milling were ordered fire from the air, first by dropping notes degree. Upon returning to the US, he to report to Dayton, Ohio, to learn to and then by using a primitive radio. The also encountered, for the second time, fly under the supervision of the Wright press eagerly reported on the exploits a newly emerging force in military brothers themselves. of the young pilot. Adding to his grow- aviation, then–Maj. Billy Mitchell. The Wrights’ machines were ex- ing fame were his appearances in two Mitchell invited the young lieutenant tremely difficult to fly, but Arnold’s 1911 movies, The Military Scout and to “volunteer” to return to flying du- instructor, Al Welsh, sent him solo with The Elopement, in which he played the ties and dangled before him the rank less than four hours of actual flying role of aircraft pilot. of captain as a part of the bargain. time. On June 5, 1911, after another In his next assignment, Arnold Arnold accepted and resumed flying. 46 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 1997 Not long after the US entered World War I in April 1917, Arnold was pro- moted to major and then was jumped to a colonel’s rank. Despite efforts to get overseas and take part in combat, he did his best work in the new Office of Military Aeronautics, meeting many top figures in the fledgling industry and gaining knowledge that, 25 years later in another war, would prove invaluable. He also got the bug for aviation research and development, which was to become a hallmark of his leadership. When World War I ended, Arnold was dropped back to captain for one day and then promoted to major, whereupon he promptly embarked on a decade of activity that, at the time, seemed to inflict irreparable damage In 1934 at age 48, Arnold (standing, center) led a flight of B-10 bombers on an on his career. 18,000-mile trip from Washington, D.C., to Alaska and, in the process, won his sec- Arnold’s major sin, in the view of ond Mackay Trophy. This photo includes the Alaskan flight members, as well as Lt. Army leaders, was to openly back Nate Twining (kneeling, third from right), a future USAF Chief of Staff. Mitchell’s cause during the latter’s infamous 1925 court-martial. Then, all of its attendant publicity. Patrick American nation of Colombia. With already under the gun as a result of folded, but he “exiled” Arnold to Ft. Carl Spaatz, he laid the framework the Mitchell affair, Arnold in 1926 Riley with a disastrous efficiency for an American airline to counter was discovered to be a ringleader in report intended to be the ultimate German influence. Plans devised by highly unauthorized political activ- career killer. these two airmen eventually became ity; he and others had covertly been However, what was supposed to a blueprint for creation of Pan Ameri- using Army paper, equipment, and be the end of the line for Arnold’s can Airways. While at Ft. Riley, he information to spread and popularize career proved instead to be the launch­­ was offered a top job at Pan Am, pro-airpower views. ing pad from which he rocketed to with a salary twice that of his Army The second offense was the last the top, for it was at Ft.
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