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John Henry Towers CBE (January 30, 1885 – April 30, 1955) was a highly decorated United States Navy four-star admiral and pioneer naval aviator. He made important contributions to the technical and organizational development of naval aviation from its beginnings, eventually serving as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics (1939–1942).
John Henry Towers –born on 30 January 1885 at Pome, Ga.-graduated with the Naval Academy class of 1906 and was commissioned ensign in 1908, while serving in battleship Kentucky. He was later assigned to battleship Michigan before being sent to Hammondsport, N.Y., in 1911 for aviation duty.
John Henry Towers, born on 30 January 1885 at Rome, Ga., graduated with the Naval Academy class of 1906 and was commissioned ensign in 1908, while serving in Kentucky (Battleship No. 6).He was later assigned to Michigan (Battleship No. 27) before being sent to Hammondsport, N.Y., in 1911 for aviation duty, where, under the tutelage of Glenn Curtiss, he qualified as a pilot in August of that ...
John Henry Towers was born in Rome, Georgia, on 30 January 1885, son of William Magee and Mary (Norton) Towers. He attended schools in Rome, and the Georgia School of Technology at Atlanta (civil engineering course) for a year prior to his appointment to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, from his native state in 1902. Graduated with credit on 12 February 1906, he served the two years ...
Became the first pioneer naval aviator to achieve flag rank in 1939 and was responsible for expanding naval aviation. Commanded the second carrier task force, Task Force 38 the 5th Fleet. Served as Commander in Chief of the Pacific fleet following World War II.
back to honorees. John Henry Towers requested to be assigned to aviation duty after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1906. The first naval aviator, Lt Theodore Ellyson, taught him to fly and he qualified as Naval Aviator No. 3 in 1911.
The papers of John Henry Towers (1885-1955), pioneering naval aviator, span the years from 1830 to 1989, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period between 1906 and 1955. The collection reflects a career devoted to naval aviation from its inception in 1911 to World War II and after.
