Eagle Biography
Elwood R. "Pete" Quesada
Lieutenant General Elwood R. "Pete" Quesada was a primary pilot of the famed
Question Mark. Completion of the 6-day, non-stop flight in 1929 pioneered
development of modern aerial refueling operations vital to the defense capability of the
United States. General Quesada was born in Washington, D.C., in 1904. He enlisted in the
Air Service's aviation cadet program in 1924 and earned his pilot wings and commission
the following year. After the successful flight of the Question Mark, "Pete
" Quesada was appointed assistant air attaché to Cuba. Prior to the outbreak of
World War II, he served as aide to General "Hap" Arnold and also directed Army
Air Corps participation in the Lend-Lease Program.
He assumed command of the 33rd Pursuit
Group flying the P-40 in July 1941 and later commanded the 1st Air Defense Wing, which he
took to Africa in 1943. He next became commanding general of the 12th Fighter Command and
later served as deputy commander of the Northwest African Coastal Air Force. General
Quesada directed the American participation in the successful interdiction campaign
against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's lines of communication between Italy and North
Africa. In October 1943, he was assigned to England where he participated in planning
the Allied invasion of Europe.
He assumed command of the 9th Fighter Command and directed
deployment of the P-51 Mustang in its initial combat role of escorting Eighth
Air Force bombers into Germany. On D-Day plus one, he established an advanced
headquarters on the Normandy beachhead and directed men and planes in support of the
invasion and the American First Army until the surrender of Germany. Following World War
II, he established the Tactical Air Command and became its first commander. In 1955,
General Quesada was appointed Special Assistant to President Eisenhower. During the next
6 years, he not only wrote the legislation establishing the Federal Aviation Agency but
also served as its first administrator. He retired to private life in 1961.
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| 1983
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On 1 January 1929, Major Carl Spaatz, Captain Ira Eaker, and Lieutenant
"Pete" Quesada took off from Mines Field in Los Angeles,
California, in the famed Fokker tri-motor Question Mark. The plane
and crew remained aloft more than 6 days and demonstrated the feasibility of
in-flight refueling and sustained flying operations for both military and
commercial aviation. During their record-setting flight from 1-7 January
1929, the crew covered more than 11,000 miles at an average speed of 70 miles
per hour--an astounding feat in those early days of aviation.
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