Joseph Duckworth

Joseph B. Duckworth (1903-1964) was a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, and was regarded as the "father" of modern instrument flight. He is also noted in record books as being the first person to fly through the eye of a hurricane.

Early life

Joseph Duckworth was born in Georgia in 1903.

Aviation career

Joseph Duckworth enlisted in the Air Corps as a Flying Cadet in 1927 and received his wings and reserve commission at Kelly Field the following year. After graduation, he flew for Ford Motor Co., Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, and Eastern Air Lines. It was during this time that he developed his knowledge of instrument flight (obtaining a law degree from the University of Miami in the meantime).

In late 1940, Duckworth returned to active duty as a major, was promoted to lieutenant colonel soon after World War II began. He was shocked at the profound ignorance of instrument flying throughout the Air Corps, and appalled that the losses sustained from that type of ignorance were greater than losses due to actual combat. During the rest of the war, he introduced his knowledge of instrument flying at various flying schools, first at Columbus, Mississippi then at Bryan, Texas, and helped to standardize instrument flight instruction within the Air Corps.

Duckworth’s most notable single achievement occurred on July 27, 1943, when he flew an AT-6 single engine trainer into a small but strong hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas, becoming the first person to safely fly through a hurricane.

After the war, he served as the head of the safety bureau of the Civil Aeronautics Board, retiring from the Air Force in 1953 from Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

Later life

He died on July 26, 1964 in Albion, Michigan.

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