'''Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold''' (* US-amerikanischer General of the Air Force und war bei der Operation Doolittle Raid im Pazifikkrieg beteiligt.

== Leben ==
thumb|'''Hap Arnold''', 1949/50<br /><small>(Foto:US Air Force)</small>

Im Alter von 21 Jahren begann Arnold seine Ausbildung an der West Point Military Academy, danach ging er zur US Army und wurde Pilot. Dort half der begeisterte Flieger, der damals den Höhenrekord von 6540 ft. hielt, eine Flugschule aufzubauen.

Während des Ersten Weltkriegs wurde Arnold nach Washington versetzt, wo er mit Aufgaben in der Verwaltung betraut wurde.

1936 wurde Arnold zum Vizechef des Luftwaffenkorps ernannt. 1938, nach dem Tod seines Chefs Oscar Westover folgte er in dessen Position und wurde zum ''Major General'' ernannt.

1940 entschieden Kriegsminister Henry L. Stimson und General George Marshall, die Air Force neu zu organisieren. Infolgedessen wurden das Luftwaffenkorps und der ''Air Force Combat Command'' zu ''United States Army Air Forces'' (USAAF) zusammengelegt, deren Leiter Arnold wurde.

1942, nach der erfolgreichen Operation Carl "Tooey" Spaatz verantwortlich durchgeführten Operation Bolero, mit der 1942 Jagdflugzeuge und Bomber via Labrador, Grönland und Island nach Großbritannien verlegt wurden.

{{Infobox Military Person
|name= Henry Harley Arnold
|born= 
|died= 
|placeofbirth=Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
|placeofdeath=Sonoma, California
|image= 180px|
|caption= General Henry "Hap" Arnold
|nickname=Hap
|allegiance=
|branch=United States Army<br/>United States Air Force
|serviceyears=1907—1946
|rank=20px General of the Army<br/>20px General of the Air Force
|commands=Army Air Forces
|unit=
|battles=World War I<br/>World War II
|awards= Distinguished Flying Cross<br/>Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur (Grand Cross, Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico) <br/>Order of the Sun (Peru))
|laterwork=
}}
GCB (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an aviation pioneer and Chief of the United States Army Air Corps (from 1938), Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces (from 1941 until 1945) and the first and only General of the Air Force (in 1949). He is also the only American to achieve five-star rank in two of its armed services.<ref name=Arlington>Arlington National Cemetery profile.</ref>

Instructed to fly by the rated pilot in the history of the Air Service during World War I, and became a protégé of Gen. Billy Mitchell, all of which at times nearly ended his aeronautical career.

Arnold became a powerful advocate for creation of an independent Air Force and played a key role in the political struggles over it with the hierarchies of the United States Army and United States Navy. He rose to command the Army Air Forces immediately prior to U.S. entry into World War II and directed its expansion into the largest and most powerful air force in the world. An advocate of research and development, Arnold's tenure saw the development of the intercontinental bomber, the jet fighter, the extensive use of radar, global airlift, and atomic warfare as mainstays of modern airpower.  

==Early life and career==
Born National Guard and was a member of the prominent political and military Pennsylvania State University) refused to do so, but placed second on the list. He received a delayed appointment when the nominated cadet confessed to being married, which was against academy regulations. 

Arnold entered the United States Military Academy in the summer of 1903 at age 17. At the academy he helped found the "Black Hand", a cadet group of pranksters. He wanted to join the cavalry but an inconsistent demerit record and an academic class standing of 66th out of 111 cadets resulted in his being commissioned on June 14, 1907 as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry, an assignment he initially protested but was persuaded to accept (there was no commissioning requirement for USMA graduates in 1907). His first posting was to the 29th Infantry Regiment (United States) in the Philippines.

There, disliking the infantry, Arnold volunteered to assist Captain Arthur S. Cowan of the Signal Corps in a military cartography detail, mapping the entire island of Luzon. Cowan returned to the United States in January 1909, to become chief of the newly-created Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps and to recruit two lieutenants to become pilots. Cowan contacted Arnold, who cabled his interest in a transfer to the Signal Corps but heard nothing in reply for two years.

In June 1909, the 29th Infantry relocated to Ordnance Department because it offered an immediate promotion to 1st Lieutenant. While awaiting the results of the competitive examination he had taken for the position, he learned that his interest in aeronautics had not been forgotten. He immediately sent a letter requesting a transfer to the Signal Corps, and on Simms Station, Ohio. Beginning instruction on May 3, Arnold made his first solo flight May 13 after three hours and forty-eight minutes of flying lessons (Milling had already soloed on May 8 with just two hours of flight time). In June he and Milling completed their instruction. Arnold received Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) pilot certificate No. 29 on July 6, 1911, and Military Aviator Certificate No. 2 a year later. He also received a Military Aviation badge. This was the original suspended eagle design. While it was soon replaced by the more familiar aviator wings, as can be seen on the photograph above, Arnold wore both types throughout his career.

Arnold and Milling were sent to the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps at College Park, Maryland as the Army's first flight instructors on June 14. There Arnold set an altitude record of  on July 7 and twice broke it (August 18, 1911 to ; and June 1, 1912, 6,540 feet). In August 1911, he experienced his first crash, trying to take off from a farm field after getting lost. In September Arnold became the first U.S. pilot to carry mail, flying a bundle of letters five miles (8 km) on Long Island, New York.

The flight school moved by train to Augusta, Georgia, in November 1911, hoping to continue flying there during the winter, but their flying was limited by rain and flooding, and they returned to Maryland in April 1912. Arnold accepted delivery of the Army's first plane with a Plymouth, Massachusetts, trying to take off. Arnold began to develop a phobia about flying, intensified by the earlier fatal crash of the Wright Company instructor who had taught him to fly, Allan L. Welch, at College Park on June 12. Another fatal crash occurred at College Park on September 18, involving an academy classmate of Arnold's, 2d Lt. Lewis Rockwell.

In October, Arnold and Milling were ordered to enter the competition for the first MacKay Trophy for "the most outstanding military flight of the year." Arnold won when he located a company of cavalry from the air and returned safely, despite high turbulence. As a result he and Milling were sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, to experiment with spotting for the field artillery. On November 5 his plane stalled, went into a spin, and he narrowly avoided a fatal crash. He immediately grounded himself voluntarily and applied for a leave of absence. Flying was considered so dangerous that no stigma was attached for refusing to fly and his request was granted (five of the Army's 14 aviators transferred out during 1913). During his leave of absence he renewed an acquaintance with Eleanor "Bee" Pool, the daughter of a banker and one of his father's patients.

On December 1, Arnold took a staff assignment as assistant in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer in Washington, D.C. with the task of closing down the flying school at College Park. Although promoted to 1st lieutenant on April 10, 1913, Arnold was unhappy and requested a transfer to the Philippines. In August, after his first request had been denied for lack of a vacancy, he returned to the infantry.

On 3rd U.S. Infantry and returned to the United States. En route, he received a telegram in Hawaii from Major William L. Mitchell, whom he had met in 1912 at College Park and who was now executive officer of the Air Service, offering him the rank of captain if he volunteered for a return to aviation. On May 20, 1916, Arnold was promoted to Captain (temporary) and reported to Rockwell Field (named for his academy classmate, Lewis Rockwell) for duty as a supply officer with the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps.

Between October 18 and December 16, 1916, Arnold, encouraged by former associates, worked to overcome his fear of flying with voluntary extra duty flying fifteen to twenty minutes a day. On November 26, he flew solo for the first time in four years, and on December 16 he performed aerobatics. Before he could be reassigned to flying duties, however, he was involved as a witness in a controversial incident. A senior officer at Rockwell had authorized an unofficial excursion flight for a non-aviator that resulted in the loss of the airplane. After testifying to army investigators, Arnold was transferred to Panama by the officer he testified against, one day after the birth of his second child, Henry H. Arnold, Jr., on January 29, 1917.

thumb|left|Major Henry H. Arnold with the first [[Liberty L-12|Liberty V12 aero engine completed]]
Arnold was ordered to find a suitable location for an airfield in the declared war on major on June 27.

On August 5, 1917, he was again promoted and became the youngest full colonel in the Army (Arnold was a Colonel, Signal Corps &mdash; for a period of time he also held the concurrent brevet rank of Major, Infantry), in preparation for being named executive officer of the Aviation Section ten days later. He spent the next year trying to implement a large aviation appropriations bill over the resistance of the Army General Staff. Although he largely failed, Arnold gained significant experience in aircraft production and procurement, the construction of air schools and airfields, and the recruitment and training of large numbers of personnel, as well as learning political in-fighting in the Washington environment, all of which helped him significantly 25 years later.

Arnold's third child, William Bruce Arnold, was born July 17, 1918. Shortly after Arnold arranged to go to France to brief the commander of the American Expeditionary Force, General John Pershing, on new developments. Aboard a ship to France in late October he developed influenza and was hospitalized on his arrival in England. He managed to reach France but the Armistice ended the war on November 11.

==Between the wars==
The improvements in aircraft during the war and the creation of organizations such as the Air Service, Maj. Gen. 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division in France. He was succeeded by another non-aviator, Maj.Gen. Corps of Engineers, who General John Pershing had used to head the Air Service of the AEF.

Arnold was ordered back to Rockwell Field on December 21, 1918, to supervise the demobilization of 8,000 airmen and surplus aircraft. He worked hard to preserve and promote aviation with shows and publicity stunts. At Rockwell Field Arnold first established relationships with the men that would become his main aides, his executive officer, Captain Carl Spaatz and his adjutant, 1st Lt. Ira Eaker, while supporting the highly visible efforts of Brig. Gen. William L. Mitchell. He was promoted to the permanent rank of Captain on June 30, 1920, and the permanent rank of Major the next day, July 1.

However after demobilization Rockwell became a remote outpost of the service. Arnold experienced several serious illnesses and accidents requiring hospitalization. His fourth child, John, was born in the summer of 1921 but died on June 30, 1923, of acute appendicitis.

In August 1924, Arnold was unexpectedly assigned to attend the Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis ordered Patrick to discipline the leakers, and Patrick chose Arnold, with whom he shared a mutual dislike. Arnold was given the choice of resignation from the Army or a general court-martial, but when Arnold chose the latter, the Army apparently decided it did not want another public fiasco, and instead transferred Major Arnold to command the 16th Observation Squadron at Fort Riley, Kansas &mdash; a cavalry post far from any aviation advances. On February 24, 1927, his son David Lee Arnold was born at Fort Riley.

Arnold accepted his exile and in May 1927, participated in war games at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. There he met Maj. Gen. James E. Fechet, who had succeeded Patrick as head of the service, now the U.S. Army Air Corps, and successfully completed a difficult assignment for him. During this period Arnold wrote six books of juvenile fiction whose purpose was to encourage young people to fly.

General Fechet intervened with Fairfield Air Service Depot, Ohio. In 1930 he also became executive officer of the Air Materiel Division, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on February 1, 1931.

On March Field, California. The assignment included the refurbishing of the base into one of the showcase installations of the Air Corps and required that he resolve strained relations with the citizens of Riverside, California. He accomplished this by having his officers join at least one of the local social service organizations and by a series of well-publicized relief efforts. While base commander at March Field, personnel under Arnold's command flew food-drops during blizzards in the winter of 1932-33, assisted in relief work during the Long Beach earthquake of March 10, 1933, and established a camp for 3,000 boys of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In September 1933, Arnold designated a portion of the Rogers Dry Lake near Muroc as a training site for his March Field squadrons. This site would become today's Edwards Air Force Base.  

In 1934, he commanded one of the three military zones during the B-10 bombers on an  flight from Washington to Fairbanks, Alaska and back[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=340]. Although he lobbied for recognition of the other airmen involved in the Alaska flight, the Army Chief of Staff ignored Arnold's recommendations, with the result that his reputation among some of his peers was tarnished by resentment.

On brigadier general on March 2, 1935. 

On Major General on September 22. This move did not return Arnold to the operational Air Force, but it did empower him to plan for expansion of the Air Corps into a branch of the Army co-equal with the ground forces. 

His first move was to encourage B-17 and the concept of Whittle's turbojet in 1941.

==World War II==
thumb|right|[[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall (center) and General Arnold confer with Gen. Omar Bradley on the beach at Normandy, France in 1944.]]
With U.S. participation in the Second World War inevitable, the division of authority between the Air Corps and General Headquarters Air Force was removed with a revision of Army Regulation 95-5 that created the United States Army Air Forces on June 20, 1941. Arnold was made Chief of the Army Air Forces and acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air with command authority over both the Air Corps and Air Force Combat Command (successor to GHQ Air Force). This also provided the air arm with a staff of its own, brought the entire organization under the command of one general (Arnold), and granted it near autonomy. It also by consensus postponed debate on separation of the Air Force into a service co-equal with the Army and Navy until after the war.

Arnold gave the new Air Staff as its first assignment the development of a war plan for fighting both Consolidated B-36s for intercontinental bombing missions of Germany.

Even before then he had pushed for aid to Great Britain; with U.S. entry into the war, Arnold, a strong supporter of strategic bombing, closely supervised the creation of the Eighth Air Force in England to limit the diversion of Army bombers to anti-submarine patrol and to the Pacific Theater, and thwart British lobbying to have U.S. bombers sent as individual replacements for the Royal Air Force.

On Air Museum, Sacramento, California)

In the wake of U.S. entry in the war, Arnold was promoted to lieutenant general on December 15, 1941. On March 9, 1942, the issuance of War Department Circular 59 granted the USAAF full autonomy, equal to and entirely separate from the Army Ground Forces and Services of Supply. The office of the Chief of the Air Corps and the Air Forces Combat Command were eliminated entirely, and Arnold became Commanding General of the USAAF and a member of both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff. 
In response to an inquiry from President Franklin Roosevelt, Arnold directed the Air War Plans Division in August 1942, to revise its estimates and AWPD-42 was issued, calling for 75,000 aircraft and 2.7 million men, but also adding a call for 8,000 gliders and the production of 8,000 aircraft for use by other allies. AWPD-42 reaffirmed earlier strategic priorities, but increased the list of industrial targets from 23 to 177, ranking the German Luftwaffe first and its submarine force second in importance of destruction. It also directed that the B-29 not be employed in Europe because of problems in development, but instead be concentrated in the Far East to destroy Japan.

Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor Arnold began to carry out AWPD-1. The primary strategic bombing force against Nazi Germany would be the Eighth Air Force, and he named General Spaatz to command it and General Eaker to head its Bomber Command. (Arnold and Eaker had written three books together.)  Other Arnold protégés eventually filled key positions in the strategic bombing forces, including Colonels Frank A. Armstrong and Newton Longfellow, and Generals Haywood S. Hansell, Jr., Laurence S. Kuter, Laverne Saunders, Emmitt O'Donnell, and James H. Doolittle.

Despite protecting his strategic bombing force from demands of other services and allies, Arnold was forced to divert resources from the Eighth to support operations in North Africa, crippling the Eighth in its infancy and nearly killing it. Eaker (now Eighth Air Force commander) found from experience that the pre-war doctrine that heavily-armed bombers could penetrate defenses to reach any target without supporting escort fighters was wrong. Early in 1943 he began requesting more fighters and jettisonable fuel tanks to increase their range, in addition to repeated requests to increase the size of his small bombing force. Eaker was resisted not only by opponents of strategic daylight bombing but by his fighter commanders as well, who argued that the use of drop tanks would endanger their aircraft. 

Heavy losses in the summer and fall of 1943 on deep penetration missions increased Eaker's requests. Arnold, under pressure and impatient for results, ignored Eaker's findings and placed the blame on a lack of aggressiveness by bomber commanders. This came at a time when General invasion of Europe, and Arnold approved Eisenhower's request to replace Eaker with his own commanders, Spaatz and Doolittle. Ironically, the very items Eaker requested &mdash; more airplanes, drop tanks, and P-51 fighters &mdash; accompanied the change of command and made the Eighth Air Force a success.

With the strategic bombing crisis resolved in Europe, Arnold placed full emphasis on completion of the development and deployment of the B-29 to attack Japan. The B-29 program had been plagued with a seemingly unending series of development problems, subjecting it and Arnold to much criticism in the press and from skeptical field commanders. The B-29 was the key component of the AAF's fourth strategic priority, since no other land-based bomber was capable of reaching the Japanese homeland, but by February 1944, the XX Bomber Command, slated to begin Operation Matterhorn on June 1, had virtually no flight time yet above an altitude of .

With a designated overseas deployment date of Battle of Kansas": despite labour problems and blizzard weather a complete bomb group was ready for deployment by April 9.

The mechanical problems of the B-29, however, had not been resolved, and combat operations identified many new ones. Arnold felt the pressure of not only achieving the goals of AWPD-1, but of justifying by results a very expensive technological project in the B-29, and also the highly-classified knowledge that the B-29 would be called upon to deliver the atomic bomb, if the Manhattan Project succeeded. Operations against Japanese targets in China and Southeast Asia began in June, 1944 and from the outset produced far less positive results than expected.