Ralph Ambrose O'Neill was a flying ace from World War I credited with 103 combat patrols and five aerial victories. He was the first "Chief" of the modern Mexican Air Force. He was also a pioneer of commercial aviation.
Biography
Rafael Ambrose O'Neill was born in Durango, Durango, Mexico on 17 December 1896 to father Ralph Lawrence O'Neill, an Irish Catholic candidate for Senator in Arizona; and to a Mexican mother, Dolores O'Neill, of Castilian lineage. He was raised in the United States and began a career with the mining industry where his father operated the newspaper for the border town of Nogales, Arizona. O'Neill entered the United States Air Service in August 1917. In March 1918, he was assigned to the 147th Aero Squadron, flying the Nieuport 28 and the SPAD S.XIII. From 2 July to 31 October 1918, teaming with such squadron mates as Kenneth Porter, James Meissner, Francis Simonds, and James Healy, he shot down five German airplanes. He was awarded a total of three of the army's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters along with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre with palm. O'Neill claimed to have made an additional six unconfirmed victories for a total of eleven. He was the winner of the Tilton prize for becoming one of the first five American aviation aces of the World War I. A real character amongst his squadron, he was given the nickname "The Snake" for his unorthodox flying techniques, and fierce aggression in seemingly unfavorable odds. He was amongst the first combat pilots to paint the infamous Sharks Teeth Nose art. After gaining notoriety, he was also said to go into combat sitting on a large frying pan, which subsequently saved his life from machine gun fire. After the war, with his fluency in Spanish, O'Neill was hired to be the South American representative for Boeing and the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company, affording him introductions to many heads of state. In August 1920, he signed a five-year contract to build a functional Mexican Air Force and train Mexican pilots, as Mexico was undergoing numerous violent ideological uprisings and military coups following the Plan of Agua Prieta. In 1923, he flew several combat missions against Adolfo de la Huerta's rebellion. After securing 17 new De Havilland DH-4B aircraft from America, O'Neill easily out-maneuvered the insurgents. Under his command, the Mexican Air Force achieved victory against overwhelming odds, where some 60% of the original Mexican army had been turned against the sitting government. A military dictatorship was clearly averted. O'Neill was the first to prove the resilience of air superiority on a truly grand scale. Better flying techniques and new technology helped to crush the strongholds in Veracruz and Jalisco. Many of the rebels had never encountered combat aircraft before and fled in utter dismay. During one such mission, O'Neill was able to free an entire hi-jacked passenger train. "Jefe Rodolfo" as he was then called, left Mexico in December 1925 with the rank of Brigadier General. After a regime change, which placed an anti-catholic leader in power, O'Neill returned to the United States Army Air Reserve where he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. O'Neill is widely considered to be one of the founders of civil aviation and was amongst the first to see the potential of building a vast international mail and leisure network. Most did not have confidence in the future of flight outside of war. O'Neill hoped to change the public's mind. He constructed the majority of Latin America's first landing areas, which ran up the entire Atlantic seaboard. In 1929, O'Neill created his dream company, New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line, which operated the first airmail route from Argentina to Miami in a Sikorsky S-38. At 8,000 miles it was the worlds longest trans-continental travel service. The airline was to become the forerunner for both Pan American World Airways and Panair do Brasil. In his auto-biography, O'Neill describes the birth of the flying industry and his relationship with other notable friends such as Charles Lindbergh and the first use of the Consolidated Commodore luxury travel seaplanes. After a forced merger, over the right to acquisitioning United States government mail contracts and a power struggle with Juan Trippe for control of the industry, O'Neill resumed a career in mining exploration. In 1932, his new venture, the Bol-inca Mining Corporation, opened up previously inaccessible gold deposits high in the Andes. The company was later nationalized by the Bolivian Government in the 1960s. He retired to Atherton California, where he was laid to rest in 1980. He is a member of the OX5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame and the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame.
Military awards
Distinguished Service Cross :
Croix de Guerre
Fierce combat pilot with unfailing courage. On July 5, 1918, he destroyed two enemy planes. On July 2, he attacked with his patrol a formation of twelve enemy battle planes and officially shot one down. On July 24, he shot down a new adversary and put to flight a second after a fierce combat.
