William A. Moffett

For the American librarian, see William Andrew Moffett.

William Adger Moffett (October 31, 1869 – April 4, 1933) was an American admiral and Medal of Honor recipient known as the architect of naval aviation in the United States Navy.

William Adger Moffett
Rear Admiral William A. Moffett
Born	(1869-10-31)October 31, 1869 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	April 4, 1933(1933-04-04) (aged 63) off the coast of New Jersey, U.S.
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1890–1933
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands	USS Chester (CL-1) Great Lakes Naval Training Center USS Mississippi (BB-41) Bureau of Aeronautics
Battles / wars	Spanish–American War *Capture of Guam *Battle of Manila (1898) Mexican Revolution *Battle of Veracruz World War I
Awards	Medal of Honor Navy Distinguished Service Medal Silver Lifesaving Medal

Biography

Admiral Moffett meets the airship Shenandoah and crew, during flight test landing at St. Louis Flying Field, on October 2, 1923

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 Captain and adjutant-general, Hagood's Brigade, Twenty-fifth South Carolina Volunteers.

Grave at Arlington National Cemetery

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).

Commander Moffett was the captain of the Chester during the Tampico Affair. In December 1915 Moffett 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). (See text of the Citation set forth below.)

In World War I, he was commander of the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, where he established an aviator training program. While commanding the battleship USS 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 with Captain Henry C. Mustin as its first Assistant Chief. 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. A master politician, he maintained official 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.

Moffett was a strong advocate of the development of lighter-than-air craft, and lost his life when the USS Akron, then the largest dirigible in the world, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean during 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 (1885–1958), and one of their three sons, William Adger Moffett, Jr. (1910–2001), who was also a Navy admiral.

In 2008, Moffett was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

Decorations

• Top – Naval Aviation Observer wings.
• 1st row – Medal of Honor
• 2nd row – Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Lifesaving Medal, Navy Spanish Campaign Medal
• 3rd row – Philippine Campaign Medal, Mexican Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy. Entered service at: Charleston, South Carolina Born: 31 October 1869, Charleston, South Carolina 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

• The USS Moffett (DD-362) was named for him.
• The naval air station that he helped establish in Sunnyvale, California was renamed Moffett Field in his memory soon after his death.
• Mount Moffett, a mountain in Alaska.
• John Philip Sousa's march, "The Aviators" is dedicated to William A. Moffett, the man responsible for Sousa's enlistment and commission in the American Navy during World War I.
• In May 1999, NAVAIR dedicated its headquarters building to William A. Moffett.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients (Veracruz)
• Bureau of Aeronautics
• Naval aviation
• U.S. Occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, 1914

Further reading

• Edward Arpee, From Frigates to Flat-tops: The story of the life and achievements of Rear Admiral William Adger Moffett, U.S.N. "The Father of Naval Aviation" October 31, 1869 – April 4, 1933. (Published and distributed by the author, 1953).
• William F. Trimble, Admiral William A. Moffett: Architect of Naval Aviation (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994)

External links

• William Adger Moffett, ArlingtonCemetery.net, 7 November 2022, an unofficial website
• William Adger Moffett Papers, 1920–1948 MS 198 and William Adger Moffett Collection, 1887–1976 MS 234 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy