John Dale Price (May 18, 1892December 18, 1957) was an admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

who, early in his career, set many records as a naval aviator.

Early life and education

Price graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1916 along with his friend Spig Wead. In 1920, he was designated as a naval aviator.

Career

Lieutenants Wead and Price set five world records for Class C seaplanes with a

Curtiss CS The Curtiss CS (or Model 31) was a reconnaissance and torpedo bomber aircraft used by the United States Navy during the 1920s. It was a large single-engine biplane with single-bay unstaggered wings, the design conventional in all respects other t ...

-2 biplane on June 22–23, 1924 - distance (963.123 miles, 1,544.753 km), duration (13 hours, 23 minutes, 15 seconds), speed over 500 km (73.41 mph, 117.74 km/h), speed over 1,000 km (74.27 mph, 119.12 km/h) and speed over 1,500 km (74.17 mph, 118.96 km/h) - and again on July 11–12 - distance (994.19 miles, 1599.99 km) and duration (14 hours, 53 minutes, 44 seconds). Lieutenant Price is also credited with making the first planned night landing on a US aircraft carrier, on the USS ''Langley'' (CV-1) in a TS fighter biplane on April 8, 1925 (Lieutenant Harold J. Brow "stalled while practicing night approaches" and landed by accident on February 5). He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and at some point commanded Fleet Air Wing Two as a rear admiral. After the war, he served as commander of the Naval Air Forces in the Pacific from 1947 until 1948 and Vice Chief of Naval Operations for Air from 1948 until 1950. He was a "tombstone admiral", meaning he was promoted to four star rank upon retirement. He died in 1957 at the Naval Hospital in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. He was survived by his wife Miriam. He was played by

Ken Curtis Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American actor and singer best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the Western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Early years Born the youngest of three boys in ...

in the 1957 film ''

The Wings of Eagles ''The Wings of Eagles'' is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen O'Hara, based on the life of Frank "Spig" Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is ...

'', which starred

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

as Spig Wead. Price served as a technical adviser on the film. He also served as a technical advisor for the movie '' Mister Roberts''.

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, John 1892 births 1957 deaths American aviation record holders Aviators from Arkansas People from Augusta, Arkansas Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals