Russell Maughan

Russell Lowell Maughan was an officer in the United States Army and a pioneer aviator. His career began during World War I, and spanned the period in which military aviation developed from a minor arm of the Army Signal Corps to the huge Army Air Forces on the verge of becoming a separate service.

Maughan became a pursuit pilot and served in combat in France in 1918 with the United States Army Air Service. Following the war, he remained in the Air Service and became a test pilot. In 1924 Maughan completed the first flight across the continental United States within the hours of daylight of a single calendar day.

Biography

Maughan was born March 28, 1893 in Logan, Utah, to Peter W. and Mary (née Naef) Maughan. He graduated from Utah State Agricultural College in June 1917.

The United States had entered World War I and Maughan enlisted as an Army aviation cadet. Commissioned a first lieutenant in the Signal Officer Reserve Corps after flight training and rated a Reserve Military Aviator, he served in France with the 139th Aero Squadron, where he flew a Spad XIII. Maughan was credited with four aerial victories and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on October 27, 1918, the citation for which is given below.