Ira Eaker
| Ira C. Eaker | |
|---|---|
Lt Gen Ira C. Eaker, USAAF, Deputy Commander of the Army Air Forces
|
|
| Birth name | Ira Clarence Eaker |
| Born |
April 13, 1896 , Texas |
| Died | August 6, 1987 (aged 91) Andrews AFB, Maryland |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Infantry, United States Army Air Service, United States Army United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces United States Air Force
|
| Years of service | 1917–1947 |
| Rank |
 General (1985) |
| Commands held | Eighth Air Force |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
| Other work | VP of Hughes Aircraft (1947–57) and Douglas Aircraft (1957–61) |
General Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and organize its bomber command. However while he struggled to build up airpower in England, the organization of the Army Air Forces kept evolving and he was named commander of the Eighth Air Force on December 1, 1942.
Although his background was in single-engine fighter aircraft, Eaker became the architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty groups of 60 heavy bombers each, supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1,500 aircraft, most of which was in place by the time he relinquished command at the start of 1944.
Eaker then took overall command of four Allied air forces based in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and by the end of World War II had been named Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces. He worked in the aerospace industry following his retirement from the military, then became a newspaper columnist.
Eaker was born in , Texas, in 1896, the son of a tenant farmer. He attended Southeastern State Teachers College in Durant, Oklahoma, and then joined the United States Army in 1917.
He was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry, Officer's Reserve Corps, and assigned to active duty with the 64th Infantry Regiment at Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas. The 64th Infantry was assigned to the 14th Infantry Brigade on December 20, 1917, to be part of the 7th Infantry Division when it deployed to France.
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