Great Warrior Leaders/Thinkers

Foulois, Benjamin D.
1879-1967

American aviation pioneer who was chief of the Army Air Corps from 1931 to 1935.

December  2000

Compiled by Ron Fuller
Bibliographer, Air University Library
Maxwell AFB, AL

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All sites last accessed March 13, 2003.

Internet Resources

Benjamin D. Foulois 1880-1967.
Available at: http://members.tripod.com/ralphcooper0/efoulois.htm
Recounts episodes from early days of flying.

Foulois, Benjamin Delahauf Papers (1917-1945).
Available at: http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/personal_papers/pp077.html
Brief career summary and listing of location for Foulois' personal papers and related materials.

Major General Benjamin D. Foulois.
Available at: http://www.af.mil/news/biographies/foulois_bd.html
Lists many of the pioneering "firsts" by Foulois.
Last accessed: December 4, 2000.

The Wright Brothers - 1909-1910.
Available at: https://www.asc.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/preww1/preww1.htm
Photos and narrative from ealy days of flight training.

Books

Please note: A call number beginning with "R" denotes a reference book.

Borden, Norman E., Jr. Air Mail Emergency. 1934: An Account of Seventy-Eight Tense Days in the Winter of 1934 When the Army Flew the United States Mail. Freeport, ME, Bond Wheelwright, 1968. 177 p.
See index for appropriate page references.
Book call no.:  383.1 B728a

Cagle, Eldon, Jr. Quadrangle: The History of Fort Sam Houston. Austin, TX, Eakin Press, 1985. 192p.
See index for references to Foulois.
Book call no.:  355.709764351 C131q

Cornelisse, Diana Good. The Foulois House: It's Place in the History of the Miami Valley and American Aviation. Dayton, OH, History Office, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 1992. 112 p.
Primary focus is the history of the farm house and local area where Foulois lived in 1929-30. Includes early photos of Foulois and supplementary article, "Benjamin D. Foulois: In the Beginning," by John F. Shiner.
Book call no.:  358.417 C814f

Dictionary of American Military Biography. Volume 1, edited by Roger J. Spiller and others. Westport,CT, Greenwood Press, 1984. 419 p.
Foulois, Benjamin O., pp 343-347.
Book Call no.:  R 923.573 D554 v.1

DuPre, Flint O. U.S. Air Force Biographical Dictionary. New York, Franklin Watts, 1965.
273 p.
Foulois, pp 78-79.
Book call no.:  R 923.573 D942u

Foulois, Benjamin D. and Glines, C. V. From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts: The Memoirs of Benjamin D. Foulois. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1968. 306 p.
Book call no.:  92 F768f

Makers of the United States Air Force, edited by John L. Frisbee. Washington, Office of Air Force History, 1987. 347 p. (USAF warrior studies)
Benjamin D. Foulois, pp 11-41.
Book call no.:  920.073 M218

National Aviation Hall of Fame (U.S.). Enshrinee Album: "The First Twenty-One Years." by James W. Jacobs. Dayton, OH, National Aviation Hall of Fame, 1984. 230 p.
Foulois, pp 70-71, includes portrait.
Book call no.:  R 926.2913 N277e

Shiner, John F. The Army Air Arm in Transition: General Benjamin D. Foulois and the Air Corps. 1931-1935.  Ann Arbor, Ml, University Microfilms, 1975. 2 vols.  Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University.
Book call no.:  358.4 S556a

Shiner, John F. Foulois and the U.S. Army Air Corps. 1931-1935. Washington, U.S. Air Force. Office of Air Force History, 1983. 346 p.
A copy of this book is also located in the reference area.
Book call no.:  358.400973 S556f

The U.S. Air Service in World War I, compiled and edited by Mauer Mauer. Washington, U.S. Air Force,Office of Air Force History, 1978-79. 4 vols.
See indexes in volumes II and IV for appropriate page references.
 Book call no.:  940.44973 U581
The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War I. Volume10. New York, Marshall Cavendish, 1984. 2945-3252 p.
See pages 2992-2996.
 Book call no.:  R 940.3 M367 v.10

Documents


Marek, Hugo E. . Benjamin Delahauf Foulois: Great Military Thinker. Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University. Air Command and Staff College. June 1965. 118 p.
 Doc. call no.: M-U 35582-7 M324b

Nuhn, Perry R.  The Mexican Punitive Expedition and the United States Army Aviation Section. Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University. Air Command and Staff College June 1968. 295 p.
Doc. call no.: M-U 35582-7 N968m

Periodicals

Callander, Bruce. Mavericks Paved the Way for Separate Air Arm. Air Force Times 48: A11-A13 September 7, 1987.

Callander, Bruce. Pioneers Fought Time, Space, Distance. Air Force Times 48: A15+ September 7, 1987.

Cole, Dave.  Last of the First (Lt Col Carleton G. Chapman, Ret). Airman 15:9-11 June 1971. 
Foulois and the Mexican Punitive Expedition.

Compney, Carmen C. Gen Foulois: One-man Air Force.  Airman 3:45 March 1959.

Compney, Carmen C. One-Man Air Force. U.S. Lady 3:14-15+ March 1959.

Compney, Carmen C. Shirt-Tail Air Force. Army in Europe, pp 18-23, March 1965.
Maj Gen Foulois' first flights.

Craven, Harold L.  Shadow of the Jennies.  Airman 7:35 March 1963.
Foulois and the Mexican Punitive Expedition.

Crouch, James L.  Wings South: The First Foreign Employment of Air Power by the United States. Aerospace Historian 19:27-31 Spring/March 1972
Foulois' role in the Mexican Punitive Expedition.

Eaker, Ira C.  "The Little Big One" or "The Last of the First." Aerospace Historian 17:140-143 December 1970.
Based on an address by Gen Ira C. Eaker during which he commented on the characteristics and traits of Gen Benjamin D. Foulois.

Foulois, Benjamin D. (MajGen), as told to Harold L. Craven. The Day I Taught Myself To Fly. Airman 14:14-17 March 1970. 
also in Airman 9:16-19 September 1965.

Foulois, Benjamin D. Early Flying Experiences--Why Write a Book. Air Power Historian. 
Part 1, 2:17-35 April 1955. 
Part 2, 2:45-65 July 1955. 
Part 3, 3:114-133 April 1956.

Foulois, Benjamin D. Past Failures--What to do about Them. U.S. Air Service 2:18-21 November 1919. 
Foulois' views on how the aircraft industry could best be developed.

Frisbee, John L. AACMO--Fiasco or Victory? Air Force Magazine 78:79 March 1995.
Foulois headed the Army Air Corps when it was given responsibility for airmail operations. The results of the experiment contributed to investigations that prompted his retirement.
Also available online at: http://www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0395valor.html

Frisbee, John L. In the Beginning.... Air Force Magazine 67:106 June 1984.
Recaps Foulois early flight instruction..."teach yourself to fly."
Also available online at: http://www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0684valor.html

General Foulois, Flight Pioneer, Lauded by Air Force System Command on 85th Birthday. Air Force Times 25:7 December  23, 1964.

Holritz, Robert T. Air Force--The Quest for Autonomy. Flying Safety 53:12-14+ September 1999.
Events that led to the creation of the USAF, with emphasis on the roles of Mitchell and Foulois.
Also available online at: http://www-afsc.saia.af.mil/magazine/htdocs/septmag97/spg12.htm

In Memoriam: Benjamin Delahauf Foulois, Maj Gen, Ret (1879-1967) (Obituary). Airman 11:14-15 June 1967.

In Memoriam (Obituary). Aerospace Historian 14:160-161 Autumn 1967.

(Maj Gen Benjamin D. Foulois, Chief of Air Corps, 1931-1935). Air Power Historian 7:136-137 July 1960; also in Pegasus 26: sup pp 6-7 July 1957.

Meilinger, Phillip S. U.S. Air Force Leaders: A Biographical Tour. Journal of Military History 62:833-870 October 1998.
See pp. 837-838 for Foulois in a review article that brings together short critical analyses of writings on major Air Force Leaders.

Shiner, John F. Benjamin D. Foulois: Chief of the Air Corps, 1931-35.  Air Force Magazine 62:86-88 April 1979.

Shiner, John F. General Benjamin Foulois and the 1934 Air Mail Disaster--the Time the "Can Do" Attitude Failed to Deliver. Aerospace Historian 25:221-230 December 1978.

Shiner, John F. The General and the Subcommittee: Congress and U.S. Army Air Corps Chief Benjamin Foulois, 1934-35. The Journal of Military History 55:487-505 October 1991.
Chronology of events leading to Foulois' resignation.

Skinner, Richard M. Bennie Foulois--1879-1967 (Obituary) Air Force and Space Digest 50:85-87+ June1967.

Smith, Robert P. Maintenance on the Cheap: Air Force Logistics, 1907-1917. Air Force Journal of Logistics 11:17-20 Spring 1987.

Wilkins, Fred J. One-Man Air Force. Army Digest 25:38-41 March 1970.

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