Charles Hazeltine Hammann (March 16, 1892 – June 14, 1919) was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, an early

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, and a recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Biography

Ludlow and Hammann US Navy Historical Center NH 49249

Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Hammann attended

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Balti ...

, and joined the Naval Reserve in October 1917. He was awarded the

, when, as a pilot of a

Macchi M.5 The Macchi M.5 was an Italian single-seat fighter flying boat designed and built by Nieuport-Macchi at Varese. It was extremely manoeuvrable and agile and matched the land-based aircraft it had to fight.Orbis 1985, page 2393 Development The ...

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

on August 21, 1918, off the Austro-Hungarian coast, he dived down and landed next to a downed fellow pilot, George M. Ludlow, and brought him aboard, and although his plane was not designed for the double load, brought him to safety amid constant danger of attack by Austrian planes. An enlisted pilot at the time, he was commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in October 1918. Hammann was killed while on active duty at

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Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, June 14, 1919.

Namesakes

Two ships have been named USS ''Hammann'' for him. The first was the , a

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 ...

-era ''Sims''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

in the service of the

. The second was the , an Edsall-class

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

built for the

during

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve Fleet. Born: March 16, 1892, Baltimore, Md. Appointed from: Maryland. Citation:

For extraordinary heroism as a pilot of a seaplane on 21 August 1918, when with 3 other planes Ens. Hammann took part in a patrol and attacked a superior force of enemy land planes. In the course of the engagement which followed the plane of Ens. George M. Ludlow was shot down and fell in the water 5 miles off
Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People * House of Pola, an Italian noble family * Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress * Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer * Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter * Pola Gojawiczyńsk ...
. Ens. Hammann immediately dived down and landed on the water close alongside the disabled machine, where he took Ludlow on board. Although his machine was not designed for the double load to which it was subjected, and although there was danger of attack by Austrian planes, he made his way to Porto Corsini.

Notes

References

: :
Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue
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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammann, Charles Hazeltine 1892 births 1919 deaths United States Naval Aviators United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from Baltimore United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War I World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from Maryland

Biography

Namesakes

Medal of Honor citation

See also

Notes

References