John Johannes Hospers was born October 5, 1901 in Ommen, Netherlands and became a naturalized citizen of the United States on January 4, 1926. He was married to Sally Ann Kata of Oswego, New York, and had one daughter. He attended the college at the Graduate Aviation Engineering School in New York City and in 1922, joined the Merchant Marine. After leaving the Merchant Marine, he worked briefly at a flying school in New York, and then joined the United Aircraft Corporation. In 1928, he became a field representative for the Chance Vought and Sikorsky divisions of UAC, and by 1945, was the company’s vice president.

Hospers was caught behind German lines during the fall of France, where he was serving as a “Tech Rep” for the French Navy’s V-156 (SB2U Vindicator), then in service as a dive bomber. Eventually, he made his way to a neutral country and was repatriated. During the Pacific War, he served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves aboard several aircraft carriers. He was also the head “Tech Rep” for the fleet introduction of the F4U Corsair and helped sort out early difficulties, such as collapsing tail wheels and other engineering issues. All aircraft damage not credited to enemy action was given to him to investigate and to make recommendations. Postwar, he evaluated extreme cold carrier operations aboard USS Midway and led the fleet introduction of the F7U Cutlass, one of the first Navy fighter jets.

After his service, Hospers remained active with the Navy League and the Dallas-Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. He was also active with the Dallas Grand Jury Association, a member of the Texas Aeronautics Commission Advisory Council, and served as the Director of the Dallas Health and Science Museum and the Caruth Rehabilitation Center.

Jack Hospers passed away on December 17, 1989 and is buried at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas.

Link to the collection's Descriptive Finding Guide.