Luis de Florez (March 4, 1889 − November 1962) was a
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
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
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 ...
that was actively involved in experimental aerospace development projects for the United States Government. As both an active duty and a retired U.S. Navy admiral, de Florez was influential in the development of early
flight simulators
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
, and was a pioneer in the use of "virtual reality" to simulate flight and combat situations in World War II.
Biography
Luis de Florez was from New York City. De Florez attended
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
, and graduated in 1911 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
[Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History (ed. Anne Sauer)]
/ref> He wrote his thesis on the subject of an aircraft problem, titled "Thrust of Propellers in Flight." The ''Admiral de Florez Design and Innovation Award'' is named after him, and his son, Peter de Florez, who was an MIT professor, established a $500,000 fund to
foster and encourage activities related to humor at MIT. The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering was established in 1964 at his bequest.
De Florez worked in the United States Navy as a career officer in World War I. He worked in the aviation section of the Navy and also on the development of refinery technology.
In the 1930s, De Florez also worked as an engineering consultant for various oil companies. His name is on several patents, including a 1918 U.S. patent (#1,264,374) for a "Liquid prism device" with rigid closed sides which included a system for varying the density of a medium filling the prism and thereby varying the refraction of light waves passing through the prism, and a 1930 Canadian patent for the "cracking and distillation of hydrocarbon oils". During World War II, he gave up his business to help solve the Navy's training problems.
World War II
In 1941, then Commander de Florez visited the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and wrote what would become an influential report on British aircraft simulator techniques. It influenced the establishing of the Special Devices Division of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (what would later become the NAWCTSD
The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is an Echelon IV command of the United States Navy, reporting to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCTSD is lo ...
).
Later that year, Commander de Florez became head of the new Special Devices Desk in the Engineering Division of the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics. De Florez championed the use of "synthetic training devices" and urged the Navy to undertake development of such devices to increase readiness. He also worked on the development of antisubmarine devices. De Florez has been credited with over sixty inventions.
During World War II, he was subsequently promoted to captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and then to Flag rank, becoming a rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
in 1944.
In 1944, de Florez was awarded the Robert J. Collier Trophy
The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA), presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to im ...
for 1943 for his work in training combat pilots and flight crews through the development of inexpensive synthetic devices.
De Florez was awarded with the Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
in June 1945.
Post-war
In 1946, Tufts University awarded de Florez an honorary Doctor of Science degree at commencement.
Admiral de Florez was the first director of technical research at the CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
. In 1950, de Florez helped Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
get a contract with the Office of Naval Research
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...
to develop the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system. In 1954, as the CIA's chairman of research, de Florez argued against reprimanding those responsible for the then-secret but now controversial MKULTRA
Project MKUltra (or MK-Ultra) was an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), intended to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used in interrogations to weak ...
L.S.D. research program.
In the mid-1950s, de Florez was the president of the Flight Safety Foundation
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals from all sectors ...
. Presented since 1966, the Foundation's ''Admiral Luis de Florez Flight Safety Award'' is named after him. It recognizes "outstanding individual contributions to aviation safety, through basic design, device or practice." De Florez established a trust to support the award that provides each recipient with $1,000.
De Florez worked as an aide to Navy Vice Admiral Harold G. Bowen, Sr., Director of Office of Research and Invention (ORI) (later named ONR).
He also once served as a director of Douglas Aircraft
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
Corp.
Luis de Florez died in November 1962,Luis deFlorez
/ref> at the age of 73 in the cockpit of his airplane, which was ready for take-off at a Connecticut airport. The main building complex at the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division
The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) is an Echelon IV command of the United States Navy, reporting to the Commander, Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. NAWCTSD is lo ...
, Naval Support Activity Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, is named in his honor.
See also
*Hispanics in the United States Navy
Hispanics in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to men such as Lieutenant Jordi Farragut Mesquida, who served in the American Revolution. Hispanics, such as Seaman Philip Bazaar and Seaman John Ortega, ha ...
[Hispanics in the US Navy](_blank)
*Hispanic Americans in World War II
Hispanic Americans, also referred to as Latin Americans, Latinos, served in all elements of the American armed forces in the war. They fought in every major American battle in the war. Between 400,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florez, Luis
1889 births
1962 deaths
Collier Trophy recipients
MIT School of Engineering alumni
Members of the Early Birds of Aviation
People of the Central Intelligence Agency
United States Naval Aviators
United States Navy rear admirals
United States Navy personnel of World War I
United States Navy World War II admirals
Recipients of the Legion of Merit