Charles deForest Chandler

Charles deForest Chandler
Military portrait, sometime between 1910 and 1918.
Born(1878-12-24)December 24, 1878
DiedMay 18, 1939(1939-05-18) (aged 60)
Buried
AllegianceUnited States
BranchSignal Corps
Years of service1899–1920
RankColonel
CommandsBalloon section of the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI
Known forOne of first aviators to show that a machine gun could be fired from an airplane
AwardsDistinguished Service Medal

Colonel Charles deForest Chandler (December 24, 1878 – May 18, 1939) was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, that later became the United States Air Force. He was one of earliest aviators to show that a machine gun could be fired from an airplane.