Ployer Peter Hill (October 24, 1894 – October 30, 1935), known as "Pete" or "Peter", was a pilot and an officer with a varied career, but is best known for his abilities as a
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
. In an aviation career that spanned eighteen years, Hill piloted nearly 60 of the Army Air Corps' newest aircraft, testing and evaluating their capabilities for service.
Pete Hill was born in
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
on October 24, 1894 and attended grammar school and high school in his hometown. In 1916, he graduated from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
.
The following year, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1918, he received flight instruction at the School of Military Aeronautics at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, the Aviation Concentration Camp at Camp Dix in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and at
Chanute Field Chanute may refer to:
*Chanute, Kansas, United States
**Chanute High School
*Octave Chanute (1832–1910), American civil engineer and aviation pioneer
*Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, United States
*Octave Chanute Award, awarded by the Western S ...
in
Rantoul,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. Hill then accepted a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the regular Army and served as a flying instructor before receiving instruction as a bombardment pilot.
In 1919, Hill served in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, then in 1920 was ordered to duty with the American Army of Occupation in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where he served as the Engineer Officer of the Air Service Flying Station in
Weissenthurm. In 1922, he was assigned to duty with the
12th Aero Squadron
The 12th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The squadron was assigned as a Corps Observation Squadron, performing short-range, tactical reconnaissance over the I Corps, ...
stationed at
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...
in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, then transferred back to Chanute Field for instruction in aerial photography. After completing the course, he stayed on as a student instructor.
In 1924, he returned to duty in Washington, D.C., in the Training and War Plans Division under the Chief of the Air Service. In 1925, he was ordered to duty at
Mitchel Field
Mitchell may refer to:
People
*Mitchell (surname)
*Mitchell (given name)
Places Australia
* Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate
* Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst
* Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, where he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 14th Photo Section, a job he held until 1929. He then served as the Commanding Officer of the 6th Photo Section at Nichols Field in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.
In 1932, he returned to the United States and was assigned to Wright Field in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
, where he served as a
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
and Assistant Chief of Planes and Engines in the Maintenance Unit. In 1935, he was assigned as the Chief of the Flying Branch of the Material Division at Wright Field, with the temporary rank of Major. His duties involved the flight testing and evaluation of numerous new military aircraft designs at various contractors' plants, including the
Consolidated P-30
The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2) was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with two Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals. The P-30 is significant for being the fi ...
,
Martin B-10
The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to be regularly used by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934.Jackson 2003, p. 246. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to ...
,
B-12, and many others.
![Boeing Model 299 crash](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Boeing_Model_299_crash.jpg)
On October 30, 1935, Hill and Boeing's chief test pilot Leslie Tower died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash of the Boeing experimental aircraft
Model 299 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. Loca ...
; three others on board survived.
[,]
The crash occurred because the crew neglected to remove the
wind-gust locks, devices intended to keep the control surfaces from moving when the plane was on the ground.
This aircraft was the prototype of what later became the famous
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
of
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 ...
. Major Hill was buried in
Newburyport
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
,
, on November 3, 1935.
[
In 1939, the U.S. War Department named the site of the ]Ogden Air Depot
The Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) performs programmed depot maintenance on a number of US Air Force weapon systems. Specifically it supports A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-2 Spirit, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and LGM-30G Minuteman III systems. Addi ...
"Hill Field" in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill. In 1948, Hill Field was renamed Hill Air Force Base
Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent to ...
.
References
This biography has been copied (for the most part word for word) from th
Hill Air Force Base factsheet for Major Hill
which is permissible, the website requesting only that credit is attributed to the source.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Ployer Peter
1894 births
1935 deaths
American test pilots
Aviation pioneers
Aviators from Massachusetts
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Brown University School of Engineering alumni
People from Newburyport, Massachusetts
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1935