He also pioneered basic techniques for fighting forest fires, refueling planes in the air and deploying airborne troops — techniques still used today. He charted some of the earliest airway routes and in the mid-1930s flew tests on the original Northrop Flying Wing. In the early 1940s he commanded Davis-Monthan AFB, then a World War II bomber training base. A career Air Force officer, his awards included the Helen Culver Gold Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, French Legion of Honor and Mackay Trophy (twice). Colonel Smith died in a horseback accident in 1945.