William A. Moffett

William A. Moffett, with the rank of " Commander "

William Adger Moffett (born October 31, 1869 in Charleston , South Carolina , † April 4, 1933 ) was an American rear admiral and is considered the architect of naval aviation in the United States Navy .

Life

Moffett was the son of George Hall Moffett, a veteran of the Civil War , and his wife Elizabeth Henry Simonton. In 1886 he attended the naval school, which he successfully completed in 1890. During the Spanish-American War he served on the USS Charleston and took part in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 . In June 1902 he married Jeanette Beverly Whitton, daughter of James Fenwick Whitton and Frances Mary Beverly. They had two children, Janet Whitton Moffett (1903-1958) and William Adger Moffett, Jr. (1910-2001), who also became an Admiral in the Navy. His grandson Charles S. Moffett was an eminent art historian.

For his leadership of the USS Chester during a night landing on April 21, 1914 for the occupation of the Mexican city ​​of Veracruz , he was awarded the Medal of Honor .

During the First World War , Moffett led the rank of captain at the naval training base Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago and set up a training program for pilots there. During his command of the battleship USS Mississippi from 1918 to 1921, he supported the formation of an airborne reconnaissance unit on the ship.

His most significant service began in 1921 when he became director of naval aviation. Although he was never an aviator himself, Rear Admiral Moffet became the first head of the aeronautical office in July 1921, which he led until his death. This usage gives it its nickname "Air Admiral".

He coordinated the development of tactics for naval aviators, the introduction of aircraft carriers into the U.S. Navy, and collaboration with the civil aviation industry. Through clever use of relationships he was able to Naval Aviation over Billy Mitchell argue who spoke out for all aircraft of a central Air Force (dt .: Air Force ) submit.

Moffett was a proponent of airships . He died in the crash of the airship USS Akron off the coast of New Jersey on April 4, 1933. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife Jeanette Whitton Moffett. Their son, William A. Moffett, Jr., was also an admiral in the Navy.

In memory of Moffett, the Naval Air Station (NAS) Sunnyvale, California , which he helped build, was renamed Moffet Field NAS (now Moffett Federal Airfield owned by the NASA Ames Research Center ) soon after his death .

The destroyer DD-362 USS Moffett was also named in his honor . He is also the namesake for the Moffett Glacier in Antarctica.