List_of_lieutenant_generals_in_the_United_States_Air_Force_before_1960

List of lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force before 1960

List of lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force before 1960

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This is a complete list of lieutenant generals in the United States Air Force before 1960, including those appointed in the United States Army from the United States Army Air Forces or United States Army Air Corps before the Air Force was established in 1947. The grade of lieutenant general (or three-star general) is ordinarily the second-highest in the peacetime Air Force, ranking above major general and below general.

List of U.S. Air Force lieutenant generals before 1960

The following list of lieutenant generals includes all officers of the United States Air Force, United States Army Air Forces, and United States Army Air Corps who were appointed to that rank prior to January 1, 1960.[1]

Entries are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was appointed to that rank while on active duty, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer did not serve in that rank while on active duty. Each entry lists the officer's name, date of rank,[2] date the officer vacated the active-duty rank,[3] number of years on active duty as lieutenant general (Yrs),[4] positions held as lieutenant general, and other biographical notes.[5]

Italics denote active duty as lieutenant general while on the retired list.

The list is sortable by active-duty appointment order, last name, date of rank, date vacated, and number of years on active duty as lieutenant general.

More information Name, Photo ...

Timeline

An officer held the active-duty grade of lieutenant general (Lt.gen.) in the U.S. Army (USA) or U.S. Air Force until his death, retirement, resignation, reassignment to a lesser position, or promotion to a higher grade such as general (Gen.) or general of the Army (Gen.Army).

Emery Scott WetzelJames E. BriggsJohn P. McConnell (general)Archie J. Old, Jr.Walter C. Sweeney, Jr.Mark Edward BradleyBernard Adolph SchrieverRobert W. BurnsRobert Merrill LeeRoscoe C. WilsonRoy Henry LynnOliver S. PicherGeorge W. MundyWilliam EckertWilliam F. McKeeFrancis H. GriswoldWilliam E. Hall (U.S. Air Force)John K. GerhartRichard Clark LindsayWalter Edwin ToddJohn A. SamfordFrank A. Armstrong, Jr.Dean C. StrotherFrederic H. Smith, Jr.Earl Walter BarnesManuel Jose AsensioElmer Joseph Rogers, Jr.Clarence S. IrvinePatrick J. TimberlakeRoger Maxwell RameyThomas S. PowerTruman H. LandonDonald L. PuttWilliam H. TunnerEmmett O'Donnell, Jr.Samuel E. AndersonJoseph H. AtkinsonBryant Lemaire BoatnerDavid M. SchlatterJoseph Smith (general)Leon W. JohnsonCharles P. CabellLaurence Cardee CraigieCharles Trovilla MyersGlenn O. BarcusFrank F. EverestCharles B. Stone IIIOrval R. CookThomas D. WhiteLaurence S. KuterOtto P. WeylandRobert Wells HarperEarle E. PartridgeRichard E. NugentWilliam E. KepnerKenneth Bonner WolfeHubert R. HarmonEdwin W. RawlingsElwood R. QuesadaCurtis LeMayLauris NorstadBenjamin W. ChidlawHoward A. CraigIdwal H. EdwardsEnnis WhiteheadNathan Farragut TwiningGeorge E. StratemeyerHoyt VandenbergJohn K. CannonHarold L. GeorgeBarney M. GilesLewis H. BreretonJimmy DoolittleIra C. EakerBarton K. YountCarl SpaatzMillard HarmonGeorge KenneyJoseph T. McNarneyWilliam S. KnudsenGeorge H. BrettHenry H. ArnoldFrank Maxwell AndrewsDelos C. Emmons

History

The United States Air Force originated as the Air Corps of the Regular Army. During World War II the Regular Army was augmented with a larger temporary force of reservists, volunteers, and conscripts to form the Army of the United States. Air personnel in the combined force belonged to the Army Air Forces. After the war, all Air Corps and Army Air Forces personnel split off from the Army to form the independent Air Force.

1939–1947 (U.S. Army Air Forces)

Delos C. Emmons

The first United States airman to become a lieutenant general was Delos C. Emmons, commanding general of General Headquarters Air Force, who was appointed to that grade under a 1940 law authorizing the President to appoint Regular Army officers to temporary higher grades in the Army of the United States. The first airman to become a lieutenant general in the Regular Army was Frank M. Andrews, who was automatically elevated to that grade upon assuming command of the Panama Canal Department in 1941. The Regular Army grade of lieutenant general had been abolished at the end of World War I, but was revived in 1939 when Congress authorized the officers commanding certain important Army formations to be temporarily appointed to the grade while detailed to those positions; these commands included the four field armies and the Panama Canal and Hawaiian Departments.[22]

Numerous airmen were promoted to lieutenant general during World War II. Lieutenant generals typically commanded one of the numbered field armies or air forces; served as deputy theater commanders; or headed major headquarters staffs, administrative commands, or support organizations. Most World War II lieutenant generals were appointed to that grade in the Army of the United States, even if detailed to a position that already carried the Regular Army grade; unlike the ex officio Regular Army grade, which was lost if an officer was reassigned, the Army of the United States grade was personal to each individual, making it easier to transfer officers without inadvertently demoting them.[23]

Although most air lieutenant generals belonged to the Regular Army Air Corps, anyone could be appointed lieutenant general in the Army of the United States, including reservists and civilians; James H. Doolittle was promoted to lieutenant general as an Air Corps Reserve officer and William S. Knudsen was commissioned lieutenant general directly from civilian life.[24]

1947–1960 (U.S. Air Force)

Otto P. Weyland

The National Security Act of 1947 transferred all personnel in the Army Air Forces, Air Corps, and General Headquarters Air Force to the newly created United States Air Force. Lieutenant generals in the new service typically headed divisions of the Air Staff in Washington, D.C.; the unified command in Alaska; the theater air forces in Europe or the Far East; or the Air Force's top-level strategic, tactical, air defense, materiel, or transportation commands. Many early three-star commands were subsequently upgraded to four stars, and their vice commanders were elevated to three stars along with the commanders of the larger numbered air forces.[25]

All three- and four-star ranks were made ex officio by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, meaning that a lieutenant general had to be reconfirmed in that grade every time he changed jobs. During the Korean War the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) vice commander for operations, Major General Otto P. Weyland, was slated for a three-star job in the United States but Air Force Chief of Staff Hoyt S. Vandenberg wanted Weyland to be promoted to lieutenant general while still in the war zone, so Vandenberg created the new three-star position of deputy commanding general of FEAF just for Weyland. Once promoted, Weyland immediately returned stateside but remained technically assigned to FEAF in order to keep his new grade while waiting for the Senate to confirm him in his permanent three-star assignment as commanding general of Tactical Air Command.[26]

It was rare but not unheard of for a lieutenant general to be demoted by accepting a transfer to a lower ranking job. Air Force Inspector General Truman H. Landon and Fifth Air Force commanding generals Frank F. Everest and Glenn O. Barcus all reverted to major general for their next assignments but regained their third stars in subsequent postings.[27] Conversely, Major General Muir S. Fairchild skipped three-star rank entirely when he was appointed to the four-star office of vice chief of staff of the Air Force.[28]

Legislative history

The following list of Congressional legislation includes all acts of Congress pertaining to appointments to the grade of lieutenant general in the United States Air Force or United States Army Air Forces before 1960.[29]

Each entry lists an act of Congress, its citation in the United States Statutes at Large, and a summary of the act's relevance.

More information Legislation, Citation ...

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    The list of lieutenant generals is taken from DuPre; the 1947 World Almanac, pp. 809–810; the Army Register; and the Air Force Register.
  2. [2]
    Dates of rank are taken from the Army Register or Air Force Register.
  3. [3]
    Dates vacated are taken from the Army Register or Air Force Register. An officer could vacate the active-duty rank of lieutenant general via death, retirement, resignation, promotion to a higher permanent grade, or reversion to a lower permanent grade upon relinquishing an office bearing the statutory rank of lieutenant general.
  4. [4]
    The number of years on active duty as lieutenant general is taken to be the number of days rounded to the nearest whole year and excluding any gaps in appointment.
  5. [5]
    Biographical notes include years of birth and death; dates of promotion to higher permanent grade; and other unusual career events such as death in office or resignation. Dates are taken from DuPre, the Army Register, or the Air Force Register.
  6. [6]
    Transferred from United States Army, 26 Sep 1947.
  7. [7]
    Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, with rank of lieutenant general, 17 Dec 1941–1 Jun 1943.
  8. [8]
    Commanding General, Panama Canal Department, with rank of lieutenant general, 19 Sep 1941–9 Nov 1942.
  9. [9]
    Retired as major general, 30 Apr 1945; recalled as lieutenant general, 1 May 1945–10 May 1946; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948.
  10. [10]
    Retired as lieutenant general for disability in line of duty.
  11. [11]
    Retired as major general; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948.
  12. [12]
    Retired as major general, 31 Aug 1947; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948; promoted to general on the retired list, 26 Apr 1985.
  13. [13]
    Army Air Corps Reserve. Appointed brigadier general in the Regular Army, 14 Mar 1946; reverted to inactive reserve status as lieutenant general, 10 May 1946; resigned as Regular Army brigadier general, 22 Jul 1946; recalled to active duty as lieutenant general, 20 Aug–3 Sep 1955, 16 Apr–14 Jun 1956, 31 Jan–14 Feb 1957, 14–20 Apr 1957; retired as lieutenant general, 28 Feb 1959; promoted to general on the retired list, 4 Apr 1985.
  14. [14]
    Retired as major general, 30 Dec 1946; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1948; recalled as lieutenant general, 1 Mar 1955–4 Nov 1955.
  15. [15]
    Recalled as major general, 3 Feb 1954–9 Mar 1954.
  16. [16]
    Retired as lieutenant general, 31 Oct 1951; resigned, 30 Oct 1958, to accept appointment as Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency; reappointed lieutenant general on the retired list, 21 Jan 1961.
  17. [17]
    Retired as lieutenant general, 27 Feb 1953; recalled as lieutenant general, 28 Feb 1953–30 Jun 1953 and 8 Nov 1953–31 Jul 1956.
  18. [18]
    Recess appointment as lieutenant general, 20 Dec 1951; nominated as lieutenant general, 10 Jan 1952, to date from recess appointment; reverted to major general, 30 May 1952; reappointed lieutenant general, 1 May 1953.
  19. [19]
    Reverted to major general, 1 Jun 1953; reappointed lieutenant general, 26 Jul 1954–1 Aug 1960.
  20. [20]
    Reverted to major general, 20 Jun 1956–1 Jun 1959; reappointed lieutenant general, with date of rank 12 May 1957.
  21. [21]
    Retired as captain, 30 Apr 1937; promoted to major general on the retired list, 29 Jun 1943; promoted to lieutenant general on the retired list, 11 Jul 1958, by Private Law 85-493.
  22. [22]
    Army Register; Acts of July 31, 1940, and September 9, 1940.
  23. [23]
    Army Register; "Krueger Is In Line For New Command; President Prepares to Give Third Army Chief New Task by Confirming His Rank", The New York Times, p. 5, February 9, 1943; "63 Army Officers Move Up In Rank; 3 Named Lieutenant General, Eight Major General and 52 Brigadier General", The New York Times, p. 11, May 5, 1943.
  24. [24]
    DuPre, p. 59; "Knudsen the Only Civilian To Enter Army at His Rank", The New York Times, p. 9, January 17, 1942.
  25. [25]
    2011 Air Force Almanac; Air Force Register.
  26. [26]
    Y'Blood, pp. 425, 442, 444–445, 477.
  27. [27]
    Air Force Register.
  28. [28]
    Puryear, p. 129.
  29. [29]
    Legislative history compiled from: Official Army Register; Air Force Register; Military Laws of the United States, 1939; and The Army Almanac.

Bibliography

Biographical registers

  • War Department (1940), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1941), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1942), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1943), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1944), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1945), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1946), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • War Department (1947), Official Army Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • Department of the Army (1948), Official Army and Air Force Register, vol. A–Q, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • Department of the Army (1948), Official Army and Air Force Register, vol. R–Z, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office – via archive.org
  • Department of the Air Force (1951–1968), Air Force Register, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office
  • DuPre, Flint O. (1965), U.S. Air Force Biographical Dictionary, New York City, New York: Franklin Watts, Inc.
  • Young, Gordon R. (1959), The Army Almanac, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company

Other publications

  • Mylander, Maureen (1974), The Generals: Making It, Military Style, New York City, New York: The Dial Press
  • Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Army (1940), Military Laws of the United States, 1939, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office
  • Puryear, Edgar F. Jr. (1981), Stars in Flight: A Study in Air Force Character and Leadership, Novato, California: Presidio Press
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