Air commanders of World War I
Encyclopedia
The air commanders of World War I
were army or navy officers
who came to command air services during the first major conflict in which air power played a significant role.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
were army or navy officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
who came to command air services during the first major conflict in which air power played a significant role.
British Empire
- Lieutenant-General Sir David Henderson, General Officer Commanding the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
in the Field (1914-1915) and Director-General of Military Aeronautics (1913-1917) - Major-General Sir Hugh TrenchardHugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount TrenchardMarshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force...
, General Officer Commanding the Royal Flying Corps in the Field (1915-1918), Chief of the Air Staff (1918) and General Officer Commanding the Independent Air ForceIndependent Air ForceThe Independent Air Force , also known as the Independent Force or the Independent Bombing Force and later known as the Inter-Allied Independent Air Force, was a World War I strategic bombing force which was part of the British Royal Air Force and used to strike against German railways, aerodromes...
(1918) - Captain Murray SueterMurray SueterSir Murray Fraser Sueter, CB, MP was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of naval aviation and later became a Member of Parliament .-Naval career:...
, Director of the AdmiraltyAdmiraltyThe Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
Air DepartmentAir DepartmentThe Air Department of the British Admiralty was established prior to World War I by Winston Churchill. Its function was to foster naval aviation developments and later to oversee the Royal Naval Air Service . Its first director was Captain Murray Sueter...
(to 1915) - Rear Admiral Charles Vaughan-LeeCharles Vaughan-LeeSir Charles Lionel Vaughan-Lee, KBE, CB was a senior Royal Navy officer in the early 20th century. He served during the First World War, rising to the rank of rear-admiral....
, Director of the Admiralty Air Department (from 1915 to early 1917) - Commodore Godfrey PaineGodfrey PaineRear Admiral Sir Godfrey Marshall Paine KCB MVO was a senior commander in the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force in the early part of the 20th century...
, Fifth Sea LordFifth Sea LordThe Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were assigned to each of the 'Naval' Lords, who were described as 'Professional' Lords, leaving to the 'Civil' Lords...
and Director of Naval Aviation (1917) - Major-General Frederick SykesFrederick SykesAir Vice-Marshal The Right Honourable Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes GCSI, GCIE, GBE, KCB, CMG was a military officer, British statesman and politician....
, Chief of the Air Staff (1918)
France
- Brigadier GeneralBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Auguste Edouard HirschauerAuguste Edouard HirschauerAuguste Edouard Hirschauer was a French lieutenant general in the First World War and from 1920 to 1936 representatives of Lorraine in the Senate....
, Director of Military Aeronautics 1914-1915 - Colonel Édouard Barès, Head of the Service Aéronautique, to December 1916
- CommandantCommandant (rank)Commandant is a military or police rank. In the French, Spanish and Irish armed forces it is a rank equivalent to major. In South Africa for most of the second half of the 20th century, commandant was a rank equivalent to lieutenant-colonel in other countries.-Ireland:Commandant is a military...
Paul du Peuty, Head of the Service Aéronautique, December 1916 to August 1917
Greece
- Hellenic Naval Air ServiceHellenic Naval Air ServiceThe Hellenic Naval Air Service or ΝΑΥ was the air arm of the Hellenic Navy from 1915 to 1930.The first aviation units in the Greek Armed Forces were formed in June 1912. In the following Balkan Wars, the Hellenic Navy was the first in military history to use aircraft to track down and bomb the...
: Lt Commander Aristeidis MoraitinisAristeidis Moraitinis (aviator)Aristeidis Moraitinis D.S.O. was a pioneer Greek military aviator of the early 20th century. During the Balkan Wars he performed together with Michael Moutoussis the first naval air mission in history, while in the following World War I, he became Greece's only ace with nine aerial victories in...
(1917-1918)
United States
- Brigadier-General William L. KenlyWilliam L. KenlyWilliam Lacy Kenly was a Major General in the United States Army. During World War I, he was a leader of a progenitor of the United States Air Force, the United States Army Air Service...
, Chief of Air Service of the American Expeditionary ForceAmerican Expeditionary ForceThe American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in France (1917) - Brigadier-General Benjamin FouloisBenjamin FouloisBenjamin Delahauf Foulois , was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright Brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achieved numerous other military aviation "firsts"...
, Chief of Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force in France (1917 to 1918) - Major-General Mason PatrickMason PatrickMason Mathews Patrick was a U.S. Army general and air power advocate.Patrick was born in Lewisburg, West Virginia and graduated from West Point in 1886. For three years he was at the Engineer School of Application, Willets Point, New York, graduating in 1889...
, Chief of Air Service of the American Expeditionary Force in France (1918) - Brigadier-General Billy Mitchell, Air Commander, Zone of Advance on the American Expeditionary Force in France
Germany
- Führer der Luftschiffe (Admiral 2nd Class) Peter StrasserPeter StrasserPeter Strasser was chief commander of German Imperial Navy Zeppelins during World War I, the main force operating bombing campaigns from 1915 to 1917. He was killed when flying the war's last airship raid over Great Britain....
, Commander of Airships (1915-1918) - Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel and then Colonel, Hermann von der Lieth-ThomsenHermann von der Lieth-ThomsenGeneral Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen, born Hermann Thomsen, was a German military aviation pioneer, a senior air commander in the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I and a founding father of the German military aviation.-Early life and military career:Hermann Thomsen was born on...
Chief of Field Air Services (1915-1916), Air Service Chief of Staff (1916-1919) - Lieutenant-General Ernst von HoeppnerErnst von HoeppnerGeneral of Cavalry Ernst Wilhelm von Hoeppner was a German cavalry officer who served as the Commanding General of the German Air Service during World War I.-Early life and military career:...
, Chief of the Air Service (1916-1919)
Austro-Hungarian Empire
- Colonel, later Major General Emil UzelacEmil UzelacMilan Emil Uzelac was a Croatian soldier and military commander who was a leading figure in the air forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Independent State of Croatia.-Life:...
, Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (1912-1918) - Colonel General Archduke Josef Ferdinand, Inspector General of the Imperial Air Force (1917-1918)