Charles deForest Chandler



Colonel Charles deForest Chandler (December 24, 1878 – May 18, 1939) was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, that later became the United States Air Force. He was one of earliest aviators to show that a machine gun could be fired from an airplane.

Biography
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1878. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Signal Corps during the Spanish–American War. He was discharged in 1899 but was re-commissioned in 1901.

While in the rank of captain, he served as of the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps from August 1, 1907, to May 13, 1908, and also from June 20, 1911, to April 1, 1913.

With the United States entering World War I in April 1917, he quickly rose from captain to temporary colonel in a period of only seven months, during which he commanded the balloon section of the American Expeditionary Forces. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his services during the war.

Chandler reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel in April 1920 and retired from the army for disability in the line of duty in October of the same year. He was promoted to colonel on the retired list in June 1930.

He died on May 18, 1939, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Publications

 * Balloon and airship gases (1926) with Walter Stuart Diehl

Awards

 * Distinguished Service Medal
 * Spanish War Service Medal
 * Philippine Campaign Medal
 * World War I Victory Medal