Henry Edward "Pete" Warden (December 26, 1915 – November 15, 2007) was a colonel in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He served almost four years in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during World War II. Although he was trained as a

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

pilot, he possessed an innate ability to assemble, modify, and repair aircraft. After the war, he was assigned to positions in aircraft development that led to the

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...

; he is often credited as the "Father of the B-52".

Early life

Henry Edward Warden was born in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

on December 26, 1915. He was the son of US Army Brigadier General John A. Warden and Jane Abernathy Warden. He studied architecture for two years at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College and received a degree in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

in Washington, D.C. By 1939, Warden had completed the requirements for an

MS degree A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), absent his dissertation. But, when

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

invaded

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in September 1939, Warden left MIT to join 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 ri ...

Military career

In November 1939, Warden enlisted in the Army Air Corps with the rank of lieutenant. By 1940, Warden had earned his wings piloting the

Curtiss P-36 The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

and

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

fighter aircraft at

Hamilton Army Airfield Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserve until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. As part of the

20th Pursuit Squadron 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

, Warden was deployed to

Nichols Field Nichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. The complex is located at Andrews Avenue by the north, Domestic Road by the west, NAIA Road and Ninoy Aquino Ave ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1940, serving as depot inspector and P-40 pilot. In December 1941, when the Japanese invaded the Philippines, Warden and his team were able to salvage 8 aircraft, and he piloted the last aircraft out of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

just after Japanese forces entered the city. Warden was then sent to the island of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

where he and his team of enlisted men were to find and assemble more aircraft that were still packed in crates. In May 1942, resistance by US troops ended in the Philippines, and Warden deployed to the 5th Air Service Command in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. There, Warden was again tasked with assembling, repairing, and modifying aircraft to keep them flying. In June 1944, after serving almost four years in the

, Warden was reassigned to

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. Loc ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. At Wright Field, Warden was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became chief of the Engineering Division, Bombardment Branch in May 1945. In that position, Warden had responsibility over the

Northrop XB-35 The Northrop YB-35, Northrop designation N-9 or NS-9, was an experimental heavy bomber aircraft developed by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II. The airplane used the radical and p ...

, Convair XB-36,

Douglas XB-42 The Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster is an experimental American bomber aircraft, designed for a high top speed. The unconventional approach was to mount the two engines within the fuselage driving a pair of contra-rotating propellers mounted at the tail ...

, and the Boeing XB-52 programs. By 1945, there was a serious debate regarding the development of the next generation of long-range strategic Air Force bombers – propeller-driven engines versus turbojet engines – with emphasis on size of the bomber, cost, and effective flight range. Warden became an advocate for a turbojet heavy bomber and was designated the project officer when

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

was awarded the contract to build the experimental aircraft with turboprop engines. On October 21, 1948, "acting on his own authority", Warden directed Boeing to redesign the

with jet engines. With that decision, Warden became "one of the founding fathers of the B-52".

Later military assignments

*In 1953, after achieving the rank of colonel, Warden was put in charge of long-range planning in the Pentagon's Air Warfare Systems Division because of his technological expertise. *In 1957, Warden became deputy commander for tests at the Air Force Missile Test Center,

Patrick Air Force Base Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. *In 1960, Warden was assigned a central role in restructuring the predecessor to the

Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...

Later years

In 1964, Warden retired from the Air Force. For the next 6 years, he served as corporate director of plans for

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

. In 1970, Warden moved to Columbus, Mississippi, with his wife and three children. In Columbus, he managed his farm and initiated the Warden-Carden School that ministered to the youth of Columbus for more than 20 years. Colonel Warden died on November 15, 2007, and was interred in Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi.

References

External links

*
Warden-Carden School (Lowndes County, Mississippi)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warden, Henry Edward 1915 births 2007 deaths United States Air Force colonels United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II People from McKinney, Texas Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Catholic University of America alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Military personnel from Texas