Ployer Peter Hill

Who was Ployer Peter Hill?

Ployer Peter Hill was a pilot and an officer with a varied career, but is best known for his abilities as a test pilot. In an aviation career that spanned eighteen years, Hill piloted nearly 60 of the Army Air Corps' newest aircraft, testing and evaluating their capabilities for service.

Pete Hill was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on October 24, 1894 and attended grammar school and high school in his hometown. In 1916, he graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.

The following year, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1918, he received flight instruction at the School of Military Aeronautics at Cornell University, the Aviation Concentration Camp at Camp Dix in Dallas, Texas, and at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois. Hill then accepted a commission as a 2nd lieutenant in the regular Army and served as a flying instructor before receiving instruction as a bombardment pilot.

In 1919, Hill served in the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps in Washington, D.C., then in 1920 was ordered to duty with the American Army of Occupation in Germany, where he served as the Engineer Officer of the Air Service Flying Station in Weissenthurm. In 1922, he was assigned to duty with the 12th Aero Squadron stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, then transferred back to Chanute Field for instruction in aerial photography. After completing the course, he stayed on as a student instructor.