George Kenney
George Kenney (born August 6, 1889 in Yarmouth , Nova Scotia , Canada , † August 9, 1977 in Bay Harbor Islands , Florida ) was an American general in the US Air Force during World War II .
biography
1917 to 1941
Kenney was the eldest son of a carpenter and grew up with three siblings in Brookline , Massachusetts . He graduated from Brookline High School and became a cadet in the aviation division of the United States Army Signal Corps in 1917 . He fought as a fighter pilot and lieutenant in the First World War on the Western Front.
In 1920 he served as a temporary captain ( captain ) in Camp Knox, Kentucky and then attended an Air Service Engineering School .
In 1926 he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School, where he later became an instructor. In 1932 he studied at the Army War College in Washington and in 1935 became a temporary lieutenant colonel . From 1939 he was head of the production technology department in Wright Field , Ohio and in early 1940 as a lieutenant colonel deputy military attaché in France, where he had important observations and findings during the air operations of the beginning World War II .
In 1941 he became Brigadier General in command of the Air Corps Experimental Depot and Engineering School at Wright Field.
The USA at war
As a major general , Kenney was appointed commander of the Air Force Air Defense and Training Organization in San Francisco in March 1942. From July 1942 he was in command of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific under General Douglas MacArthur . He succeeded in implementing decisive personnel, material, tactical and strategic changes and thus expanding air control in the Pacific. He was promoted to lieutenant general in October 1942 . In June 1944 he became the commander of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) with six air fleets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th , 7th and 13th US Air Force). In March 1945 he was promoted to general.
After the war
From April 1946 to October 1948, Kenney was in the US Army Air Forces commander of the newly formed Strategic Air Command (SAC) with an initial 84,000 men and 1,300 aircraft. Political differences led to his replacement. Until 1951 he was President of Air University at Maxwell of the Air Force in Alabama .
He had been married since 1923 and had two children. After retiring, he lived in Bay Harbor Islands , Florida . He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia .
Honors (selection)
See also
Web links
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- R. Manning Ancell, Christine Miller: The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers . The US Armed Forces. Westport, Connecticut, ISBN 0-313-29546-8 .
- Priscilla Roberts: Kenney, George Churchill (1889–1977) . In: Spencer C. Tucker: 500 Great Military Leaders. Santa Barbara 2014, ISBN 9781598847581 .
- USAirforces: General Georg Churchill Kenney .
- General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War (USAF Warrior Studies) , Office of Air Force History, 1987, ISBN 978-0912799445 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kenney, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kenney, George Churchill |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Yarmouth , Nova Scotia , Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 1977 |
| Place of death | Bay Harbor Islands , Florida |