Joseph B. Duckworth (September 8, 1902 – July 26, 1964) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and was regarded as the "father" of modern instrument flight. He is also noted in record books as being the first person to fly through the eye of a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Early life

Duckworth was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

in 1902.

Aviation career

Duckworth enlisted in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

as a Flying Cadet in 1927 and received his wings and reserve commission at Kelly Field,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, the following year. After graduation, he flew for Ford Motor Co.,

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

Flying Service, and Eastern Air Lines. It was during this time that he developed his knowledge of instrument flight (obtaining a law degree from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

in the meantime). In late 1940, Duckworth was called to active duty in the rank of a major and promoted to lieutenant colonel soon after the US joined

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 opposing ...

. He was shocked at the profound ignorance of instrument flying throughout the Air Corps, and appalled that the losses sustained from that type of ignorance were greater than losses due to actual combat. During the rest of the war, he introduced his knowledge of instrument flying at various flying schools, first at Columbus Army Flying School in Columbus, Mississippi, then at Bryan Air Base, and helped to standardize instrument flight instruction within the Air Corps. Duckworth’s most notable single achievement occurred on July 27, 1943, when he flew an AT-6 single engine trainer into a small but strong

in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

near Galveston, Texas, becoming the first person to safely fly through a hurricane. After the war, he served as the head of the safety bureau of the

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: T ...

, retiring from the Air Force in 1955 after serving as base commander of

Hickam AFB Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Later life

He died on July 26, 1964 in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Air Force presents the Col. Joseph B. Duckworth Instrument Award annually to the individual or unit making the greatest contribution to aerospace instrument flight.

References

Albion Historical Notebook: Colonel Joseph Duckworth

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Joseph Aviators from Georgia (U.S. state) United States Army Air Forces pilots United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 1902 births 1964 deaths