The Mackay Trophy is awarded yearly by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) for the "most meritorious flight of the year" by an Air Force person, persons, or organization. The trophy is housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.Smithsonian Mackay Trophy Page The award is administered by the NAA in cooperation with the U.S.A.F. .
The award was established on 27 January 1911 by Clarence Mackay, who was then head of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company and the Commercial Cable Company. Before the establishment of the Air Force in the 1940s, aviators could compete for the trophy annually under rules made each year or the War Department could award the trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year.
The trophy was manufactured by Tiffany and Co. and consists of a gold-lined silver cup embellished with four Wright military flyers. The cup sits atop a tiered mahogany base with plaques for the awardees. Clarence H. Mackay Trophy
Awardees The following is a list of awardees:NAA list of Mackay Trophy Winners
1910s YearAwardeeAction Lieutenant Henry Harley Arnold "Most Meritorious Flight" during a reconnaissance competition flown over Virginia on 9 October 1912. Second Lieutenant Joseph Eugene CarberrySecond Lieutenant Fred Seydel Reconnaissance Captain Townsend Foster DoddLieutenant S. W. Fitzgerald Reconnaissance Lieutenant Byron Q. Jones Duration record of 8 hours 53 minutes. Not Awarded Not Awarded Captain Eddie Rickenbacker Highest scoring American ace of World War I; 26 air-to-air victories. Lieutenant Colonel Harold Evans HartneyCaptain John Owen DonaldsonCaptain Lowell Herbert SmithCaptain F. SteinleLieutenant Belvin N. MaynardLieutenant Alexander Pearson, Jr.Lieutenant R. S. NorthingtonLieutenant E. M. ManzelmanLieutenant B. G. BagbyLieutenant D. B. Gish For flights between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
1920s
YearAwardeeAction Captain St. Clair StreettFirst Lieutenant Clifford C. NuttSecond Lieutenant Erik H. NelsonSecond Lieutenant C. H. CrumrineSecond Lieutenant Ross C. KirkpatrickSergeant Edmond HenriquesSergeant Albert T. VierraSergeant Joe E. English For a flight from Mitchel Field, New York to Nome, Alaska and back. Lieutenant John Arthur Macready World altitude record. Lieutenant John Arthur MacreadyLieutenant Oakley George Kelly World duration record. Lieutenant John Arthur MacreadyLieutenant Oakley George Kelly Non-stop transcontinental flight. Captain Lowell Herbert SmithFirst Lieutenant Leslie P. Arnold Second Lieutenant John Harding Jr. First Lieutenant Leigh WadeFirst Lieutenant Erik H. NelsonSecond Lieutenant Henry H. Ogden First round-the-world flight. Lieutenant James H. DoolittleLieutenant Cyrus K. Bettis For winning the Schneider and Pulitzer Races. Major Herbert A. DargueCaptain Ira Clarence EakerCaptain Arthur B. McDanielCaptain C. F. WoolseyFirst Lieutenant J. W. BentonFirst Lieutenant Charles McK RobinsonFirst Lieutenant Muir Stephen FairchildFirst Lieutenant Bernard S. ThompsonFirst Lieutenant Leonard D. WeddingonFirst Lieutenant Ennis Whitehead Pan-American Good Will Flyers. Lieutenant Albert Francis HegenbergerLieutenant Lester James Maitland First transoceanic flight to Hawaii Lieutenant Harry A. Sutton Performing spin testing of observation aircraft. Captain A. W. Steven Long range aerial photography.
1930s
YearAwardeeAction Major Ralph Royce For conducting an 'Arctic Patrol' round trip flight from Selfridge Field to Spokane, Washington, in January 1930. The flight provided valuable information about equipment and personnel operating in extreme cold weather. Brigadier General Benjamin Delahauf Foulois Commanded the 1st Air Divisions (Provisional) through 40,000 flying hours with no loss of life or serious injury. 11th Bombardment SquadronFirst Lieutenant Charles H. Howard Relief missions to snowbound Navajo and Hopi. Captain Westside T. Larson For his pioneering flights in connection with the development of methods and procedure of Aerial Frontier Defense. Lieutenant Colonel Henry H. Arnold Commanding officer of mass flight of 10 Martin B-10s from Bolling Field to Fairbanks, Alaska, and back. Captain Albert William StevensCaptain Orvil Arson Anderson Flew balloon to 72,395—a then-record. Captain Richard Emmel NugentFirst Lieutenant Joseph A. MillerFirst Lieutenant Edwin G. SimensonSecond Lieutenant William P. Ragsdale, Jr.Second Lieutenant Burton W. ArmstrongSecond Lieutenant Herbert Morgan, Jr.Tech Sergeant Gilbert W. OlsonStaff Sergeant Howard M. MillerCorporal Air Mechanic 2/c Frank B. Connor For demonstration of expert instrument flying and navigation, and the will to overcome obstacles to accomplish their mission under exceptionally adverse weather conditions during a flight of three B-10 s from Langley Field to Allegan, Michigan. Captain Carl J. CraneCaptain George Vernon Holloman For successful development and demonstration of an automatic landing system. 2d Bombardment GroupLieutenant Colonel Robert Olds For good will flight to Buenos Aires and return. Major Caleb Vance HaynesMajor William D. OldCaptain John Alexander SamfordFirst Lieutenant Richard S. FreemanFirst Lieutenant Torgils G. WoldTech Sergeant William J. HeldtTech Sergeant Henry L. HinesTech Sergeant David L. SpicerStaff Sergeant Russell E. JuniorStaff Sergeant James E. SandsMaster Sergeant Adolph Cattarius For flight of Boeing XB-15 from Langley Field to Chile on relief mission after 1939 Chillán earthquake.
1940s
YearAwardeeAction Not Awarded Not Awarded Not Awarded Not Awarded Not Awarded Not Awarded Not Awarded Captain Chuck Yeager First to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1. Lieutenant Colonel Emil Beadury For the rescue of twelve marooned airmen from the Greenland ice sheet Crew of Lucky Lady IICaptain James G. Gallagher First non-stop aerial round-the-world flight.
1950s
YearAwardeeAction 27th Fighter Wing For moving 180 fighter jets across the Atlantic Ocean. Colonel Fred Ascani For breaking the world speed record at 635.686 mph at the National Air Races. Major Louis H. Carrington, Jr.Major Frederick W. ShookCaptain Wallace D. Yancey First non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean in a multi-engine jet bomber; a B-45 Tornado. 40th Air Division For flying 25 F-84 Thunderjets non-stop from the United States to the United Kingdom and North Africa under adverse conditions. 308th Bombardment Wing For successfully completing a leap from intercontinental maneuver, a milestone in expanding and proving the combined operational capabilities of the B-47 Stratojet and in determining fatigue limits of combat crews. Colonel Horace A. Hanes Breaking the flight airspeed record at 822.1 mph in an F-100 Super Sabre at the National Air Show. Captain Iven C. Kincheloe Breaking the flight altitude record in a Bell X-2. 93d Bombardment Wing For non-stop circumnavigation of the globe by three B-52 Stratofortresses. Tactical Air Command'sAir Strike Force, X-Ray Tango For its rapid and effective deployment to the troubled Far East during the fall of 1958. U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds For goodwill tour of the Far East.
1960s
YearAwardeeAction 6593d Test Squadron For its first aerial recovery of an object from space orbit. Lieutenant Colonel William R. PayneMajor William L. PolthemusMajor Raymond R. Wagener For their nonstop flight from Carswell Air Force Base to Paris, which culminated in the establishment of two international speed records. Major Robert G. SowersCaptain Robert MacDonaldCaptain John T. Walton For flight as members of a B-58 Hustler crew which established three transcontinental speed records. Crew of C-47 "Extol Pink"Captain Warren P. TomsettCaptain John R. OrdemannCaptain Donald R. MackTech Sergeant Edson P. InlowStaff Sergeant Jack E. MorganStaff Sergeant Frank C. Barrett For the evacuation of wounded troops in Vietnam at night under enemy fire with a C-47 Skytrain. 464th Troop Carrier Wing For its participation in the humanitarian airlift of some 1,500 hostages and refugees from rebel held territory in the Republic of the Congo during November 1964. Colonel Robert L. StephensLieutnenat Colonel Daniel AndreLieutenant Colonel Walter F. DanielMajor Noel T. WarnerMajor James P. Cooney For flight in the Lockheed YF-12, which culminated in the establishment of nine new world speed and altitude records. Lieutenant Colonel Albert R. Howarth For his exemplary courage and airmanship as a pilot in a combat strike mission in Southeast Asia under hazardous conditions of darkness and intense enemy fire. Major John H. CasteelCaptain Dean L. HoarCaptain Richard L. TrailMaster Sergeant Nathan C. Campbell For performing the first multiple aerial refueling between a KC-135 Stratotanker and an A-3 Skywarrior which simultaneously refueled an F-8 Crusader under emergency fuel shortages and combat condition. Lieutenant Colonel Daryl D. Cole For gallantry as a C-130 Hercules pilot in the emergency evacuation of personnel in Vietnam. 49th Fighter Wing For a flawless deployment of 72 F-4 Phantom IIs from Spangdahlem Air Base to Holloman Air Force Base without a single abort, completing 504 successful air-to-air refuelings on the 5,000 mile trip.
1970s
YearAwardeeAction Captain Alan D. MilacekCaptain James A. RussellCaptain Roger E. ClancyCaptain Ronald C. JonesCaptain Brent C. O'BrienTech Sergeant Albert A. NashStaff Sergeant Adolfo Lopez, Jr.Staff Sergeant Ronald R. WilsonSergeant Kenneth E. FirestoneAirman First Class Donnell H. Cofer Displaying great courage in returning their heavily damaged aircraft to their air base. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. EstesMajor Dewain C. Vick For their operation of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft establishing new world records for duration and distance covered. Captain Charles B. DeBellevueCaptain Jeffrey S. FeinsteinCaptain R. Stephen Ritchie For their extraordinary gallantry, superb airmanship, and intrepidity in the face of the enemy. (They were the three US Air Force "Aces" from the Vietnam War.) Operation Homecoming Military Airlift Command Aircrews For their efforts to repatriate U.S. prisoners of war from Vietnam. Major Roger J. SmithMajor David W. PetersonMajor Willard R. MacFarlane For participating in F-15 advanced fight test during which time eight world class time-to-climb records were established. Captain James A. Yule For gallantry and unusual presence of mind while participating in a flight as an instructor pilot of a B-52D Stratofortress.