Harold Evans Hartney

Name:

Attestation Paper

Country:

United States

Rank:

Lieutenant Colonel

Service:

Royal Flying Corps
United States Air Service

Units:

20 (RFC)
27^th Aero, 185^th Aero, 1^st Pursuit Group (USAS)

Victories:

Born:

19 April 1888

Place of Birth:

Pakenham, Ontario, Canada

Died:

05 October 1947

Place of Death:

Washington, D.C., USA

Cemetery:

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Born in Canada, Harold Evans Hartney worked as a clerk in his brother's law firm in Saskatoon after graduating from Toronto University in 1911. After obtaining a graduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, he became a barrister, joined the Saskatoon 105^th Fusiliers, and played the cornet in the town's band. Married in 1914, he shipped out for England with the Canadian Expeditionary Force less than a year latter. As he trained with his battalion on Dibgate Plains, Hartney's visit to an aerodrome near Folkstone and a chance meeting with William Bishop led to his request for transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. On 21 October 1915, Hartney entered the RFC at Norwich. The following day, he survived a near fatal first flight in a Maurice Farman longhorn. By the following year he was grasping the stick of an F.E.2, flying reconnaissance missions over the Western Front. After scoring 5 confirmed victories, he was shot down for the fourth time on the afternoon of 14 February 1917. In his autobiography, Up And At 'Em, Hartney claimed Manfred von Richthofen shot him down that afternoon, northeast of Zillebecke Lake. On 21 September 1917, Hartney was promoted to Major and ordered back to Toronto to assume command of the American 27th Aero Squadron. As a member of the United States Air Service, he scored two more victories by the end of the war. In 1923, Hartney became a citizen of the United States and published an autobiography, "Up and at 'Em," in 1940. He died, age 57, in Washington, D.C. from heart disease.

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Harold E. Hartney, Major (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Fismes, France, August 13, 1918. Major Hartney voluntarily accompanied a reconnaissance patrol. Realizing the importance of the mission, Major Hartney took command, and, although five enemy planes repeatedly made attempts to drive them back, he continued into enemy territory, returning later to our lines with important information. The cool judgment and determination displayed by Major Hartney furnished an inspiration to all the members of his command.

General Orders No. 1, W.D., 1919

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	01 Jul 1916	0555	20	F.E.2d (A3) ¹	Fokker E (OOC)	Lille-Tourcoing
2	01 Jul 1916	0555	20	F.E.2d (A3) ¹	Fokker E (OOC)	Lille-Tourcoing
3	20 Oct 1916	0830	20	F.E.2d (A30) ²	Fokker D (OOC)	Lille
4	02 Feb 1917	1415	20	F.E.2d (A1960) ³	Halberstadt D.II (DES)	Lille
5	14 Feb 1917	1700	20	F.E.2d (A1960) ²	Albatros D.II (DES)	Passchendaele
6	14 Feb 1917	1700	20	F.E.2d (A1960) ²	Albatros D.II (OOC)	Passchendaele
7	25 Jun 1918	1840	27^th	Nieuport 28	Albatros D.V	Lorry
u/c	22 Oct 1918	p.m.	185^th		Gotha	Meuse

1	Observer AM2 A Stanley
2	Observer Lt W T Jourdan
3	Observer Lt H R Wilkinson

Books

American Aces of World War 1: by Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (September 25, 2001)
Over the Front: by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)
Up and at 'Em: Harold E. Hartney / Hardcover / Ayer Co Pub 1979

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