Lieutenant Kenneth Lee Porter was a World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with five aerial victories.

World War I service

Porter was an engineering graduate from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

who joined the U.S. Army Air Service in August 1917. He reported to the 147th Aero Squadron in February 1918. While on patrol with Ralph O'Neill and four other American pilots, they shot down a Pfalz D.III over Château Thierry on 2 July. After switching his

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieupor ...

for a Spad XIII, Porter would score four more times, from 28 September through 12 October 1918, sharing his scores with Wilbert White,

Francis Simonds Lieutenant Francis May Simonds (17 October 1894 – 10 July 1961) was an American World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Biography Captain of the football team and a member of the varsity eight in his junior year, Francis May ...

, and three other pilots. He also became a

Flight Commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

. He received the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.

Postwar

He worked for

Burroughs Corporation The Burroughs Corporation was a major American manufacturer of business equipment. The company was founded in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company by William Seward Burroughs I, William Seward Burroughs. The company's history paralleled many ...

and the Pesco Pump Co. in New York until World War II. During the war, he worked with

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 ...

. Afterwards, he returned to civilian engineering.

References

Bibliography

* ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . 1896 births 1988 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American World War I flying aces Burroughs Corporation people People from Dowagiac, Michigan American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) University of Michigan alumni {{US-mil-bio-stub

World War I service

Postwar

See also

References

Bibliography