Lester Maitland
| Lester J. Maitland | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les |
| Born |
February 8, 1899 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Died | March 27, 1990 (aged 91) Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch |
 Aviation Section, Signal Corps Air Service, United States Army United States Army Air Corps United States Army Air Forces Michigan Air National Guard
|
| Years of service | 1917-1943, 1951-1956 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier general
|
| Commands held |
386th Bomb Group (medium) 28th Bombardment Squadron8th Attack Squadron |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
 Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross
|
| Other work | Director, Wisconsin Aeronautics Commission Michigan Director of Civil Defense Episcopal lay-minister |
Lester James Maitland (February 8, 1899 – March 27, 1990) was an aviation pioneer and career officer in the United States Army Air Forces and its predecessors. Maitland began his career as a Reserve pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and rose to brigadier general in the Michigan Air National Guard following World War II.
In 1927 Maitland and Lt. Albert F. Hegenberger completed the first transpacific flight from California to Hawaii, flying the modified transport Bird of Paradise. Although the recognition accorded them was less in comparison with the adulation given Charles Lindbergh for his transatlantic flight only five weeks earlier, Maitland and Hegenberger's feat was arguably more significant from a navigational stand point.
Maitland continued his career in the Air Corps, serving in combat as a bombardment group commander during World War II. He later became the first director of the Wisconsin Aeronautics Commission and the Director of Civil Defense for the state of Michigan before changing professions and becoming an Episcopal minister.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1899, Maitland graduated from Riverside High School in 1917. He enlisted as an aviation cadet in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps three days after the United States entered World War I and was assigned to training at a School of Military Aeronautics on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas in the fall of 1917. His flight training took place at Rich Field in Waco, Texas, after which he received a rating of Reserve Military Aviator and was commissioned on May 25, 1918 as a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Service, National Army at the age of nineteen. After a stint as a flying instructor, he was sent to gunnery school at Taliaferro Field, Texas, but the war ended before he could be sent overseas.
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