Ployer Peter Hill was a pilot and an officer with a varied career, but is best known for his abilities as a test pilot. In an aviation career that spanned eighteen years, Hill piloted nearly 60 of the Army Air Corps' newest aircraft, testing and evaluating their capabilities for service.
Pete Hill was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on October 24, 1894 and attended grammar school and high school in his hometown. In 1916 he graduated from
Brown UniversityBrown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III...
with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Civil EngineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings...
.
The following year he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1918 he received flight instruction at the School of Military Aeronautics at
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
, the Aviation Concentration Camp at Camp Dix in Dallas,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
, and at Chanute Field in
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,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
. Hill then accepted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the regular Army and served as a flying instructor before receiving instruction as a bombardment pilot.
In 1919 Hill served in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
, then in 1920 was ordered to duty with the American Army of Occupation in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, where he served as the Engineer Officer of the Air Service Flying Station in Weissenthurm. In 1922 he was assigned to duty with the 12th Aero Squadron stationed at
Fort BlissFort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is TRADOC's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the National...
in
El Paso, TexasEl Paso is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and part of the American Southwest. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2006 population estimates, the city had a population of 606,913. It is the sixth-largest city in Texas and the 22nd-largest city in...
, then transferred back to Chanute Field for instruction in aerial photography. After completing the course he stayed on as a student instructor.
In 1924 he returned to duty in Washington, D.C., in the Training and War Plans Division under the Chief of the Air Service. In 1925 he was ordered to duty at Mitchel Field,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 14th Photo Section, a job he held until 1929. He then served as the Commanding Officer of the 6th Photo Section at Nichols Field in
ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
.
In 1932 he returned to the United States and was assigned to Wright Field in
Dayton, OhioDayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest...
, where he served as a
test pilotA test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated.Test pilots may work for military organizations or private, companies...
and Assistant Chief of Planes and Engines in the Maintenance Unit. In 1935 he was assigned as the Chief of the Flying Branch of the Material Division at Wright Field, with the temporary rank of Major. His duties involved the flight testing and evaluation of numerous new military aircraft designs at various contractors' plants, including the
Consolidated P-30The Consolidated P-30 was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with two Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals...
, the
Martin B-10The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to that of the Army's pursuit aircraft of the time...
and
B-12The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to that of the Army's pursuit aircraft of the time...
, and many others.
On October 30, 1935 Ployer Peter Hill died as a result of injuries received from the crash of the Boeing experimental aircraft Model 299 at
Wright FieldWright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties, eight miles northeast of the central business district of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Part of the base is located along the city limits of Riverside and is also adjacent to Fairborn and...
. The crash occurred because the crew neglected to remove the devices intended to keep the control surfaces from moving when the plane was on the ground. This aircraft was the prototype of what would later become the famous
B-17 Flying FortressThe Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps , introduced in the 1930s. Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and more than met the Air Corps'...
of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Major Hill was buried in Newburyport,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
, on November 3, 1935.
In 1939 the U.S. War Department named the site of the Ogden Air Depot "Hill Field" in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill. In 1948, Hill Field was renamed
Hill Air Force BaseHill Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in northern Utah, south of the city of Ogden, adjacent to the cities of Clearfield, Roy, Sunset and Layton and is approximately 29 miles north of Salt Lake City. The base is named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill, who died...
.