branch death_date death_place birth_place birth_date nickname rank image article_title name
u.s. army air corps 30 october 1935 wright field , ohio newburyport , massachusetts 24 october 1894 pete major hill.jpg ployer peter hill
 ployer peter hill
ployer peter hill

ployer peter hill -lrb- october 24 , 1894 -- october 30 , 1935 -rrb- , known as `` pete '' or `` peter '' , was a pilot and an officer with a varied career , but is best known for his abilities as a test pilot .
in an aviation career that spanned eighteen years , hill piloted nearly 60 of the army air corps ' newest aircraft , testing and evaluating their capabilities for service .
pete hill was born in newburyport , massachusetts on october 24 , 1894 and attended grammar school and high school in his hometown .
in 1916 , he graduated from brown university with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering .
the following year , he enlisted in the aviation section of the u.s. army signal enlisted reserve corps .
in 1918 , he received flight instruction at the school of military aeronautics at cornell university , the aviation concentration camp at camp dix in dallas , texas , and at chanute field in rantoul , illinois .
hill then accepted a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the regular army and served as a flying instructor before receiving instruction as a bombardment pilot .
in 1919 , hill served in the office of the chief of the air corps in washington , d.c. , then in 1920 was ordered to duty with the american army of occupation in germany , where he served as the engineer officer of the air service flying station in weissenthurm .
in 1922 , he was assigned to duty with the 12th aero squadron stationed at fort bliss in el paso , texas , then transferred back to chanute field for instruction in aerial photography .
after completing the course , he stayed on as a student instructor .
in 1924 , he returned to duty in washington , d.c. , in the training and war plans division under the chief of the air service .
in 1925 , he was ordered to duty at mitchel field , new york , where he was appointed commanding officer of the 14th photo section , a job he held until 1929 .
he then served as the commanding officer of the 6th photo section at nichols field in manila .
in 1932 , he returned to the united states and was assigned to wright field in dayton , ohio , where he served as a test pilot and assistant chief of planes and engines in the maintenance unit .
in 1935 , he was assigned as the chief of the flying branch of the material division at wright field , with the temporary rank of major .
his duties involved the flight testing and evaluation of numerous new military aircraft designs at various contractors ' plants , including the consolidated p-30 , the martin b-10 and b-12 , and many others .
on october 30 , 1935 , ployer peter hill died as a result of injuries received from the crash of the boeing experimental aircraft model 299 at wright field .
the crash occurred because the crew neglected to remove the devices intended to keep the control surfaces from moving when the plane was on the ground .
this aircraft was the prototype of what would later become the famous b-17 flying fortress of world war ii .
major hill was buried in newburyport , massachusetts , on november 3 , 1935 .
in 1939 , the u.s. war department named the site of the ogden air depot `` hill field '' in honor of major ployer peter hill .
in 1948 , hill field was renamed hill air force base .
