Barney McKinney Giles (September 13, 1892 – May 6, 1984) was an American military officer who helped develop strategic bombing theory and practice. Giles stepped outside established bomber doctrine during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to develop long-range capabilities for fighter aircraft in use by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. Giles served as commanding general of the

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Res ...

then as commander of the

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

in the Pacific Ocean Areas. In 1945 Giles was appointed honorary

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

King George VI of the United Kingdom George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Indi ...

.''The New York Times'', May 10, 1984
''Barney M. Giles, 91; Was Air Force Leader''.
Retrieved on June 6, 2009.

Early career

Barney McKinney Giles was born on a farm near

Mineola, Texas Mineola is a city in the U.S. state of Texas in Wood County. It lies 26 miles north of Tyler. Its population was 4,823 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as the railroads arrived in 1873. A railroad official, Ira H. Evans, combined t ...

in 1892 to Richard Portlock Giles and Louisa (Read) Giles.The Handbook of Texas Online. Anne Giles Kimbrough
''Giles, Barney McKinney (1892–1984).''
Retrieved on June 6, 2009. He and his identical twin, Benjamin Franklin Giles, both attended East Texas Normal College and taught school for three years. Both twins studied law at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

began in Europe. Benjamin Giles went to Canada to see about joining the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, and then America became directly involved, allowing both brothers to join the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

, Benjamin as an officer candidate becoming second lieutenant in April 1917 and Barney as a flying cadet in August 1917.The Handbook of Texas Online. Anne Giles Kimbrough
''Giles, Benjamin Franklin (1892–1974).''
Retrieved on June 7, 2009. Giles attained the rank of second lieutenant in April 1918 and flew with the 168th Aero Squadron in France for a year. Giles resigned his commission in September 1919, Benjamin in October. The twins returned to duty one year later: Benjamin in March 1920 and Barney in October 1920. Giles served as assistant engineering officer, first at the Aviation Repair Depot in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, and eight months later at San Antonio Air Intermediate Depot. Giles became first lieutenant in April 1921, and remained at San Antonio until July 1924 when he transferred to

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

as engineer and operations officer. Giles served as assistant chief at the Maintenance Branch in

Fairfield, Ohio Fairfield is a suburban city located in both Butler and Hamilton counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Fairfield is located approximately 25 miles north of Cincinnati and is situated on the east bank of the Great Miami River. The population ...

, from July 1925 until April 1927 and then as chief of the Maintenance Engineering Branch, Field Service Station at

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...

from May 1927 until April 1928. Lieutenant Giles spent the next year as assistant engineering officer and instructor in the Flying Department at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

in California and in July 1929 became the post engineering officer at the same field. He served as chief engineering officer at Rockwell Air Depot in San Diego from October 1930 until July 1934, becoming captain in January 1932. Giles attended the

Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...

Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

in Alabama with his twin brother; The two Giles men graduated in June 1935 and both advanced to the rank of major. Other officers in the graduating class included strategic bombing advocates

Haywood S. Hansell Haywood Shepherd Hansell Jr. (September 28, 1903 – November 14, 1988) was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II, and later the United States Air Force. He became an advocate of the doctrine o ...

Muir S. Fairchild General (United States), General Muir Stephen Fairchild (September 2, 1894 – March 17, 1950) was a United States Air Force officer and the service's second Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Vice Chief of Staff. Early service ...

, Vernon M. Guymon,

Laurence S. Kuter General Laurence Sherman Kuter (May 28, 1905 – November 30, 1979) was a Cold War-era U.S. Air Force general and former commander of the North American Air Defense Command ( NORAD). Kuter (pronounced COO-ter) was born in Rockford, Illinois i ...

Lawson H. M. Sanderson Lawson Harry McPhearson Sanderson (July 22, 1895 – June 11, 1973) was an aviation pioneer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. He is most noted for his effort in development of the dive bombing technique. As comman ...

and Hoyt S. Vandenberg. Major Barney Giles commanded the 20th Bomb Squadron at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

in Virginia for a year and moved up to operations officer of the 2d Bomb Group there in July 1936. He flew the first YB-17 Flying Fortress service test bomber to Langley on March 4, 1937. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for leading the rescue of seven men stranded on an ice floe near

Cape Cod Bay A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. After graduation from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

, Kansas in June 1938, he went to Washington, D.C. as chief of the Inspection Division in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps.

World War II

Giles was promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1941, to colonel in January 1942, and to brigadier general in March. In July, General Giles went to Hamilton Field just north of San Francisco where he organized and commanded the 4th Air Service Area Command. Giles received his second star in September 1942. He was named director of military requirements and assistant chief of air staff for operations in March 1943 and chief of Air Staff in July. Giles was appointed lieutenant general in May 1943 and in July was named deputy commander of the Army Air Forces. In this role, he often served as acting head of Army Air Forces because of General Arnold's prolonged illness. Giles actively promoted the development of long-range capabilities for fighter aircraft such as

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

s and P-51 Mustangs. He went to the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was offi ...

in mid-July and held a conference with commanders to arrive at some agreement on the allocation of tonnage over

The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek an ...

. Giles was named commanding general of the Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean Area in April 1945 and was in charge of planning the final

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

air attacks against Japan, including plans for dropping the atomic bombs. At the death of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, Giles and other top military leaders briefed

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in the Oval Office the first morning of his presidency. In May, Giles went to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

to join Major General

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air ...

in planning the strategy of bombing industrial and petroleum targets in Japan. Giles stated to the press that Japan's would receive more bombs than Germany's . In June, Giles backed Admiral

Charles A. Lockwood Charles Andrews Lockwood (May 6, 1890 – June 6, 1967) was a vice-admiral and flag officer of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the commander of ComSubPac, Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II. He devised ...

's plan to hold airman-submariner conferences with the goal of improving

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people ...

operations. Giles was appointed deputy commander of United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific under General Carl Andrew Spaatz on July 5, 1945. Giles witnessed Japan's surrender aboard the battleship . In September 1945, Giles, LeMay and Brigadier General

Emmett O'Donnell Jr. General Emmett E. "Rosie" O'Donnell Jr. (September 15, 1906 – December 26, 1971) was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Forces (CINCPACAF) from 1959 to 1963. He also led the first B-29 ...

piloted three B-29s in a record-breaking non-stop flight from Japan over Alaska and Canada to Chicago, a flight of ,Findlocalweather.com
''How Far Is It?''
"The straight line distance between Chitose Japanese Air Self Defense Force and Chicago, Chicago Midway Airport is approximately 5839 miles or 9397 kilometers." Retrieved on June 8, 2009. then on to Washington D.C. At that date it was the longest non-stop Army Air Forces flight, it was the first non-stop flight from Japan to the U.S., and the bomb bay filled with fuel was the heaviest load ever lifted by a B-29. In October, Giles became commanding general of the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific; he held this position until his retirement on June 30, 1946. Giles's twin brother Benjamin also served at high level in the Army Air Forces and retired from the military in September 1946 at the rank of major general.

Honors

General Giles' awards and decorations include the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

with

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

; Distinguished Flying Cross;

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with two

s, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. He was appointed honorary

in 1945. Giles earned a doctorate degree in aeronautical engineering from

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

. Further awards include the Mexican Medal of Military Merit, the ''Honoris Causa'' from the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

, and the

Order of the Cloud and Banner The Order of the Cloud and Banner () also known as the Order of the Resplendent Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. The insig ...

presented by President

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

of China.

Civilian life

After retirement from the military, Giles served as vice president of Air Associates, Inc. in New York for three years. Subsequently, he worked for ten years with Swiss American Aviation Corporation, later known as Learjet, helping to develop the automatic pilot and other instrumentation. Giles was a member of the

Order of Daedalians The Order of Daedalians is a fraternal and professional order of American military pilots. The namesake of the order is Daedalus who according to Greek mythology was the first person to achieve heavier-than-air flight. History The idea of a fr ...

. Giles married Hollyce Thomas (1896–1968) in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

on April 18, 1922; the 46-year marriage produced no children. After her death in 1968, he married Laura Edwards in 1969. Giles's twin brother Benjamin died in 1974. Laura Edwards Giles died in the early 1970s, and Barney Giles married Katherine Elizabeth Gregg, on October 11, 1975. Giles died of complications of pneumonia on May 6, 1984, in San Antonio, and was buried with full military honors.

References

External links