known as Hap Arnold
born June 25, 1886, Gladwyne, Pa., U.S.
died Jan. 15, 1950, Sonoma, Calif.
U.S. air force officer.
He attended West Point and initially served in the infantry. Volunteering as a flyer, he received instruction from Orville Wright . After World War I, with Billy Mitchell he became an eloquent advocate of an expanded air force. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army Air Corps to become its commander in 1938, and he commanded the Army Air Forces worldwide during World War II, overseeing a massive buildup and greatly influencing air bombardment strategy. He was named general of the army in 1944 and, after the National Defense Act of 1947 created an independent Air Force, general of the Air Force.