George Kenney

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Gen. George C. Kenney

United States Air Force
August 6, 1889(1889-08-06) – August 9, 1977 (aged 88)

Place of birth Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Place of death Bay Harbor Islands, Florida
Allegiance Flag of the United States United States of America
Service/branch Flag of the United States Air Force United States Air Force
United States Army Air Corps
United States Army
Years of service 1917–1951
Rank General
Commands held 91st Aero Squadron {1919}
Fifth Air Force {World War II}
Southwest Pacific Area {World War II}
SAC
Air University
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Distinguished Service Cross(2)
Distinguished Service Medal(2)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Silver Star
Purple Heart

George Churchill Kenney (August 6, 1889 - August 9, 1977) was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He was commander of the Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) from August 1942 until 1945.

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[edit] Early life

Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, graduating from Brookline High School in 1907. He left MIT after three years to take a job at Quebec Saguenay Railroad as an instrument technician. In June 1917, he enlisted as a flying cadet in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aviation Section and was instructed by noted aviator Bert Acosta. As a lieutenant during World War I, Kenney flew 75 combat missions and shot down two German aircraft while serving with the 91st Aero Squadron. (It is believed that one of the two German pilots he shot down was Hermann Göring, later the head of the Luftwaffe in World War II.)[citation needed] After the war, Kenney remained for a time with the Allied occupation forces in Germany. He was promoted to Captain in 1919 and was appointed commander of the 91st Aero Squadron.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Kenney attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and graduated from the Army War College in Washington, D.C. He was also involved in surveying airfield sites in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Kenney was active in aeronautical research and development during this period, and pioneered the use of machine guns mounted in the wings of Army Air Corps pursuit planes.

By 1939, Kenney, now a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the Air Corps Experimental Division and Engineering School at Wright Field, Ohio. In 1940 he went to France as U.S. Assistant military attaché for Air to observe Allied air operations during the early stages of World War II. As a result of his observations, he recommended many important changes to U.S. Air Corps combat tactics. In 1941, Kenney was promoted to Brigadier General and was made commander of the Fourth Air Force, an air defense command based in California.

[edit] World War II

Kenney (right) in mid-1945, meeting Air Vice Marshal George Jones of the Royal Australian Air Force, in Manila.
Kenney (right) in mid-1945, meeting Air Vice Marshal George Jones of the Royal Australian Air Force, in Manila.

In August 1942 , as a major general, Kenney took over command of both the Allied Air Forces in the SWPA (South West Pacific Area) and the newly-formed US Fifth Air Force, thereby becoming the senior Allied air officer under overall theater commander General Douglas MacArthur. Initially from his headquarters in Brisbane, Australia, and later from New Guinea and the Philippines, Kenney commanded American, Royal Australian Air Force, British Royal Air Force and Dutch air units. He directed the air war against Japanese positions in and around New Guinea (including the surrounding islands), the Dutch East Indies, Borneo, and the Philippines.

One of the most successful air operations directed by Kenney was the destruction of a major Japanese reinforcement fleet during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in 1943. The loss of this huge armada, loaded with supplies and troops, ended Japanese hopes of retaining control of New Guinea.

In 1944, Kenney was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed commander of the revived US Far East Air Force, which came to include the Fifth, Thirteenth and Seventh Air Forces. Units under Kenney's command also took part in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

[edit] Post-war

Kenney received the four stars of a full general on March 9, 1945 and, after World War II, served in Europe as a staff officer. In April 1946 he became the first commander of the Strategic Air Command, but was more concerned with the political battle surrounding establishment of an independent air force. Kenney departed SAC in 1948.

He then served as commander of the Air University, until his retirement in 1951. During a career which spanned over 30 years, Kenney was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and several foreign decorations. After his retirement Kenney lived in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, where he died in 1977.

Kenney wrote three books about the air campaigns he led during World War II. His major work was General Kenney Reports, a personal history of the SWPA air war from 1942 to 1945. He also wrote The Saga of Pappy Gunn and Dick Bong: Ace of Aces, which concerned the careers of two of the most prominent airmen under his command in World War II.

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Preceded by
None		 Commander, Strategic Air Command
1947–1948		 Succeeded by
Gen. Curtis LeMay