The leading generals of the WW1 airmen ...

[Volker_Nemsch]

Hello!

We are frequently discussing the actions of WW1 pilots but rarely we have discussions concerning the "The leading generals of the WW1 airmen".

I admit that I know not much about them. I have some bits of information concering Sir Hugh Montague Trenchard of the Royal Flying Corps and later of the Independent Air Force. Additionally I have some informations about Ernst Wilhelm von Hoeppner Trenchard's German counterpart. I would like to get some more informations about their work, duties, etc. if possible.


But the gaps in my knowlwdge are worse concerning French military aviation - I really have no idea who the "top French airmen general" was.


I would be pleased to get any kind of assistance to fill these gaps ...
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[rammjaeger]

Yes, sadly we do not know enough about French leaders and the air service in general. I had to look in a book to find some names for the beginning:

General Bernard was director of Military Aeronautics in charge of War Ministry's Twelfth Directorate during mobilization 1914.

In 1916 Grand Quartier Général commander Edouard Barès seems to lead the French Air Power but he was replaced by a Commandant du Peuty in 1917.

As well I noticed the name General Guillemin as director general of aeronautics in 1917.

Nevertheless the right man seems to be Colonel/General Duval who became new aviation commander on 2 August 1917 and Commander of Autonomous Aerial Division on 14 May 1918.

It seems the French military had a lot of infights over the years in the aviation sector (and possibly not only there).

On the German side I would not overrate the importance of von Hoeppner. He was an old horseman and needed the support of real experts and "makers" like Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen and Wilhelm Siegert.

[Volker_Nemsch]

Of course I agree, most generals loose more than half of their worth without a capable general staff. But they get the recognition and the orders if "their" military branch is successful ...


Do you some more informations about this French General Duval?
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[TomVrille]

Greetings Volker..
Although you did not mention the American air forces, they were led by General "Billy" Mitchell during 1918. As one of the few zealous advocates of American military aviation, even before the war, Mitchell was an obvious choice for this role. His continued advocacy after the war was particularly irritating to Army and Navy top brass, leading to his court-martial in 1925, and his demotion to Colonel. He was eventually vindicated after WW2, awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, and promoted to Major General in 1945. A fascinating life story!

There is a reference that contains a fairly detailed account of Mitchell's activities for the period April to December 1918 that might be of interest. It is a selection of entries from Mitchell's war diary, called Leaves From My War Diary, and can be found in the book Great Battles of World War One In The Air, compiled by Frank C. Platt. This book has the great merit of being available at a very modest price (i.e cheap!).

[FliegerJG1]

Billy Mitchell was a visionary...a man ahead of his times. After a visit to Hawaii in 1924, he predicted a future war with Japan and the attack on the islands, many years before it would actually happen!

Ernst von Hoeppner wrote a book, "Germany's War in the Air." I have not read it but it would be interesting to know something about this.

FliegerJG1

[rammjaeger]

It seems the man's name is Maurice Duval and he lieved from 1869-1958 if the source is correct here.
This website shows names of responsible French aviation commanders:
http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill...09/France.html

Nevertheless I miss more detailled information. I think I could find his name in La Guerre Aérienne but that is not promising without knowledge in French language.

[Volker_Nemsch]

Hello rammjaeger,

thank you for the hint. I will try to get some information out of the link you mentioned - if it is still possible with my very basic knowledge of the French language.


Hello FliegerJG1 and TomVrille,

please don' t get me wrong - at the moment I'm more focussed on the leading men of the major airforces of this conflict (Great Britain, France and Germany). The other airforces (in alphabetical order: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Turkey, United States) will follow after filling the above mentioned gaps. But you both are right: General Billy Mitchell was one of the men on my list for the second part of this "project". Thank you very much.


If someone has any additional (English) information about General Duval I would be glad to get some help.
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[adrian roberts]

Try www.rafweb.org for biographies of senior RAF/RFC/RNAS officers, such as Trenchard, the Salmond brothers, Henderson etc.

Adrian

[leo]

General Emil Uzelac was, I believe the only commanding gneral of an airforce who was both a pilot and an engineer. He was a hands on commander and oftem tested airplanes that were later adopted by the kuk LFT.