William Adger Moffett (October 31, 1869 – April 4, 1933) was an
American admiral notable as the architect of
naval aviation in the
United States Navy.
Biography
Born October 31, 1869 in
Charleston, South Carolina, he graduated from the
United States Naval Academy in 1890. He was the son of George Hall Moffett (1829 - 1875), who enlisted in the Confederate States army as a private, and was promoted for bravery on the field of battle, eventually attaining the rank of adjutant-general, Hadgood's Brigade, Twenty-fifth South Carolina Volunteers.
Moffett was on
USS Charleston (C-2) when she sailed across the Pacific and captured Guam. Ultimately ending up in the
Philippines, a month after the
US victory at Manila Bay. The
Charleston then shelled enemy positions in support of American and Filipino troops at the
Battle of Manila (1898).
He received the
Medal of Honor for his captaincy of the
USS Chester in a daring and dangerous night landing in 1914 at
Veracruz, Veracruz,
Mexico. (See also
United States occupation of Veracruz, 1914).
In
World War I, he was commander of the
Great Lakes Naval Training Center near
Chicago, and there established an aviator training program. While commanding the
battleship Mississippi (1918–1921) he supported the creation of a
scout plane unit on the ship.
Although not himself a
flyer, Moffett became known as the "Air Admiral" for his leadership of the Navy's
Bureau of Aeronautics from its creation in 1921. In this role, he oversaw the development of tactics for naval aircraft, the introduction of the
aircraft carrier, and relations with the civilian aircraft industry. By adroit use of
public relations, he maintained support for
naval aviation against
Billy Mitchell, who favored putting all military aircraft into a separate
air force. In that regard, Moffett benefited from his longstanding friendship with
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by
Woodrow Wilson in 1913.
Admiral Moffet meets the ZR-1 and crew, during flight test landing at St. Louis Flying Field, on October 2, 1923
Moffett was also an advocate of the development of lighter-than-air
airships, or "dirigibles."
He lost his life on the
Akron when that airship, which was then the largest dirigible in the world, went down in a storm off the coast of New Jersey on April 4, 1933.
He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery, alongside his wife
Jeanette Whitton Moffett. One of their three sons
William Adger Moffett, Jr. was also a Navy admiral; he died in 2001, and is also buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy. Entered service at: Charleston, S.C. Born: 31 October 1869, Charleston, S.C. G.O. No.: 177, 4 December 1915. Other Navy award: Distinguished Service Medal.
Citation:For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Comdr. Moffett brought his ship into the inner harbor during the nights of the 21st and 22d without the assistance of a pilot or navigational lights, and was in a position on the morning of the 22d to use his guns at a critical time with telling effect. His skill in mooring his ship at night was especially noticeable. He placed her nearest to the enemy and did most of the firing and received most of the hits.
Namesake
- John Phillip Sousa's march, "The Aviators" is dedicated to William J. Moffett, the man responsible for Sousa’s commission in the American Navy during World War I.
[http://www.medinacommunityband.org/july-4--2009]
See also
