Aviation
Historical Chronology
Aviation
Historical Chronology
TEST OF STRENGTH
A small group of pioneer Navy and Marine Corps aviators had nurtured
the early growth of Naval aeronautics, but it was too small and
poorly equipped to wage war. When the call came in April 1917,
one air station was operating, 48 aviators and students were available;
54 aircraft were on hand, but none of them had been designed for
the work that would be required.
In the 19 months between declaration of war and the armistice,
expansion was remarkable (see Appendix 4). Air stations sprang
up on both sides of the Atlantic. Training programs were established
at new air stations, on university campuses, and even with private
industry. The Naval Reserve Flying Corps produced thousands of
aviators, ground officers, mechanics and technical specialists.
Aircraft of many types were produced, and one aircraft engine
advanced from concept to mass production and operation.
The speed and breadth of the expansion produced an expected chaos,
but Naval aviation nonetheless won a good wartime record. One
of its units was the first from the United States to reach France.
Naval aircraft flew more than 3 million nautical miles and attacked
and damaged a dozen U-boats. By war's end, Navy and Marine Corps
squadrons had organized the Northern Bombing Group which was preparing
a round-the-clock air campaign which would have been the first
strictly American air offensive of the war. When hostilities ceased,
the Navy and Marine Corps aviators were using 27 bases in Europe,
two in Canada, one in the Canal Zone, one in the Azores, and 12
in the United States.
Naval aviation's outstanding technical product of the war was
the long-distance flying boat. Numerous types appeared but they
all bore the look of a single family. The design progressed through
the HS-1 and H-16 to the British original known as the F5L, but
all could trace their ancestry to the earlier work of Glenn Curtiss.
The culmination of work with flying boats in the war was the Curtiss
NC type. A product of three Naval constructors, a Yankee builder
of aircraft, and New England yacht manufacturers, the NC type
became immortal in 1919 as the first aircraft to fly the Atlantic.
The flying boat was so impressive that many Naval aviators urged
its adoption as the major means of taking air power to sea. Others
remained of the opinion that aircraft should fly from the combatant
ships of the fleet, and enthusiasts of lighter-than-air pointed
to airship success in the war and urged development of their specialty.
The logic of these claims, and the usefulness of these aeronautic
types, were not ignored. The 1920's saw development in each area.
But even as the war ended, sentiment in favor of the aircraft
carrier was gaining currency. In 1919, the Navy decided to convert
a collier to a carrier. This decision represented a modest beginning
for a program which would occupy the attention of a host of ship
builders, aircraft designers, and naval tacticians for years to
come.
JANUARY
6--A board of Army and Navy officers recommended to the Secretaries
of the War and Navy Departments that an airship of the Zeppelin
type be designed and constructed under the direction of the Chief
Constructor of the Navy with funds provided equally by the Army
and the Navy, and that a board of three Army and three Navy officers
be created to insure effective interservice cooperation in prosecution
of the work.
8--A Benet-Mercie machine gun, installed in a flexible mount in
the Burgess-Dunne AH-10, was fired at altitudes of 100 and 200
feet above Pensacola. Both the gun and the aircraft operated satisfactorily
during the test.
10--The first production order for aerial photographic equipment
was initiated when the Naval Observatory issued requisitions for
20 aero cameras and accessories to be manufactured by the Eastman
Kodak Company.
15--Seattle (Armored cruiser No. 11) arrived at Culebra, P.R.,
with an aviation detachment and aircraft on board, for fleet exercises
in the Southern Drill Grounds. From this date until 23 March her
air detachment operated from ship and temporary shore bases performing
scouting and other missions in conjunction with fleet operations.
FEBRUARY
4--The Secretary of the Navy directed that 16 non-rigid airships
of Class B be procured. Contracts were subsequently issued to
the Connecticut Aircraft Corporation, the Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Company and the B. F. Goodrich Company.
5--The Chief of Naval Operations recommended that, in view of
the urgent military necessity, eight aeronautic coastal patrol
stations be established.
10--The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics established
a Patent subcommittee with Lieutenant J. H. Towers as a member.
The necessity for this subcommittee arose from the fact that the
threat of infringement suits being brought by the holders of basic
aeronautic patents was causing prohibitive prices for aircraft
and general demoralization of the entire industry.
13--At Pensacola, Captain Francis T. Evans, USMC, performed the
first loop with a seaplane, an N-9 floatplane at 3,000 feet, and
then forced it into a spin and successfully recovered. For this
contribution to the science of aviation, he was later awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross.
MARCH
12--The first interservice agreement regarding the development
of aeronautic resources and the operations of aircraft was submitted
by a board of Army and Navy officers and approved by the Secretaries
of the War and Navy Departments. The agreement recognized a general
division of aeronautical functions along lines traditional to
the services but stressed the importance of joint development,
organization, and operation, and enunciated basic principles whereby
joint effort could be achieved in these areas.
13--The Bureau of Construction and Repair directed that all seaplanes
be finished in an opaque yellow color over all.
24--The First Yale Unit of 29 men, among which were four destined
to hold such high positions in the military departments as Assistant
Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, Under
Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of Defense; enlisted in the
Naval Reserve Flying Force and four days later left college to
begin war training at West Palm Beach. This was the first of several
college groups to join up as a unit for war service.
APRIL
6--The United States declared a state of war with Germany. The
strength of Naval Aviation, Navy and Marine Corps combined, was:
48 officers and 239 enlisted men, 54 airplanes, 1 airship, 3 balloons,
and 1 air station.
6--The Secretary of the Navy, by approval of the recommendation
of a Board on Flying Equipment, established standard flight clothing
for the Naval Flying Service, and authorized its issuance as Title
B equipage. Clothing consisted of a tan sheepskin long coat, short
coat and trousers, moleskin hood, goggles, black leather gloves,
soft leather boots, waders, brogans, and life belts.
7--By Executive Order the President directed that the Coast Guard
be transferred from the Treasury Department to operate
as a part of the Navy until further orders.
4--The Navy's first guided-missile effort began when the Naval
Consulting Board recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that
$50,000 be apportioned to carry on experimental work on aerial
torpedoes in the form of automatically controlled aeroplanes or
aerial machines carrying high explosives.
20--The Navy's first airship, DN-1, made its first flight at Pensacola.
Its performance was unsatisfactory on several counts and, after
only two more flights in this month, it was grounded and never
flown again.
26--The catapult installed on Huntington (ACR 5) was given its
first dead load tests at Mare Island Navy Yard.
27--The Marine Aeronautic Company, Advance Base Force, was organized
at Marine Barracks, Philadelphia Navy Yard, by the transfer of
personnel from the Marine Aviation Section at Pensacola, from
other Marine Corps units, and from the Marine Corps Reserve Flying
Corps. Captain A. A. Cunningham was in command.
MAY
1--An expansion of the training program was approved which called
for assignment of new classes every 3 months and the establishment
of a course of 18 months duration to qualify officers as pilots
of either seaplanes or dirigibles. The program also provided for
training enlisted men as aviation mechanics and for selection
of a few for pilot training and qualification as quartermaster.
4--The Commandant of the First Naval District was directed to
assume control of the Naval Militia station at Squantum, Mass.,
for use in air training. On the same date, arrangements were completed
to take over the Naval Militia station at Bay Shore, N.Y. These
were two of several actions taken immediately after declaration
of war to expand the flight training program while stations of
a more permanent nature were being built.
5--The Secretary of War agreed to a proposal of the Secretary
of the Navy that a joint board be established for the purpose
of standardizing the design and specifications of aircraft. The
board, subsequently established, was originally titled "Joint
Technical Board on Aircraft, except Zeppelins."
5--Pensacola reported on a test in which a Berthier machine gun,
synchronized to fire through the propeller, was fired from a Curtiss
R-3 taxiing on water and standing on the beach.
15--The Secretary established an order of precedence for work
involved in the preparation for war which placed "aircraft
and their equipment" ninth on a list of twenty major fields
of material procurement.
16--The Aircraft Production Board was established by resolution
of the Council of National Defense as a subsidiary agency to act
in an advisory capacity on questions of aircraft production and
procurement. Membership included a representative from each service,
the Navy's being Rear Admiral D. W. Taylor. Reconstitution of
the Board by Act of Congress of 1 October 1917, transferred its
control to the War and Navy Departments, enlarged its membership
for greater service representation, and changed its title to Aircraft
Board.
17--AIRCRAFT MACHINE GUN PROCUREMENT-- The Chief of Naval Operations
requested purchase of 50 aircraft machine guns synchronized to
fire through propellers and 50 for all-around fire.
17--Captain Noble E. Irwin was ordered to the Material Branch
to relieve Lieutenant J. H. Towers as officer in charge of the
aviation desk in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Lieutenant Towers, who remained as an assistant to Irwin, was
given additional duty orders to the Bureau of Navigation as Supervisor,
Naval Reserve Flying Corps.
17--A contract was made with the Curtiss Exhibition Company to
train 20 men of the Naval Reserve Flying Force as aviators at
the company field at Newport News, Va.
18--Experimental self-sealing fuel tanks, consisting of double
walled galvanized iron containing layers of felt, gum rubber and
an Ivory soap-whiting paste, were demonstrated
to representatives of the Army and Navy by the Bureau of Standards.
19--A distinguishing insignia for all United States Government
aircraft was described in a General Order which directed that
it be placed on all naval aircraft. The insignia called for a
red disc within a white star on a blue circular field to be displayed
on the wings and for red, white and blue vertical bands on the
rudder, with the blue forward.
19--The Secretary directed that the building number of each aircraft
be placed in figures three inches high at the top of the white
vertical band on each side of the rudder. As a result of this
order, the practice of assigning numbers to aircraft, as AH, was
discontinued and the building, or serial, number became the sole
means of identifying a particular aircraft.
19--The Chief of Naval Operations requested that two small seaplanes
and one pilot be detailed for duty in connection with radio experimentation
at Pensacola.
23--The initial production program to equip the Navy with the
aircraft necessary for war was recommended by the Joint Technical
Board on Aircraft, to consist of 300 school machines, 200 service
seaplanes, 100 speed scouts, and 100 large seaplanes. The N-9
and R-6 were listed as the most satisfactory for school and service
seaplanes, but the remaining two types were not sufficiently developed
to permit a selection.
28--Huntington (ACR 5) arrived at Pensacola from Mare Island.
While there, and until 1 August 1917, she was used in various
aeronautic experiments involving the operation of seaplanes and
kite balloons from her deck.
29--A contract was made with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
of Akron, Ohio, to train 20 men as LTA pilots.
30--The Navy s first successful dirigible, the B-1, landed in
a meadow 10 miles from Akron, Ohio, completing an overnight test
flight from Chicago. The B-1 was manufactured at Akron by Goodyear,
assembled in Chicago, and piloted on this flight by Goodyear pilot,
R. H. Upson.
JUNE
4--The construction of five prototype models of 8- and 12-cylinder
Liberty motors was authorized by the Aircraft Production Board
and the Joint Technical Board on Aircraft. The design of these
engines, based on conservative engineering practices especially
adapted to mass production techniques, had been worked out in
a room in a Washington hotel by J. G. Vincent of the Packard Motor
Car Company and E. J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Car Company,
commencing on 29 May.
5--The first U.S. military unit sent to France in World War I,
the First Aeronautic Detachment, arrived in Pauillac, France,
aboard Jupiter (AC 3). The Detachment, consisting of seven officers
and 122 enlisted men, including the element aboard Neptune (AC
8) which arrived at St. Nazaire on 8 June, was commanded by Lieutenant
Kenneth Whiting. Offloading was completed by 10 June.
11--All aviation personnel and aircraft were transferred from
Seattle ((Armored cruiser No. 11) as she made ready for convoy
duty at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Her catapult, while left on board,
was dropped and secured to the deck where it would not interfere
with normal operations at sea.
14--The establishment of patrol stations along the Atlantic coast
was implemented as the first contract for base construction was
let. The contract covered sites on Long Island located at Montauk,
Rockaway and Bay Shore.
17--A joint Army-Navy Mission (called the Bolling Mission after
its senior member, Major R. C. Bolling), of which the Navy members
were Commander G. C. Westervelt and Lieutenant W. G. Child, sailed
for Europe to study air developments among the Allies and recommend
a policy and program for the American air services.
22--Enlisted men of the First Aeronautic Detachment began preliminary
flight training in Caudron landplanes under French instructors
at the Military Aviation School, Tours, France. At about the same
time, 50 men of the Detachment were sent to St. Raphael for training
as mechanics.
22--Change No. 11 in uniform regulations was the first to make
special provision for aviators. It provided for a summer service
flying uniform of Marine Corps khaki of the same pattern and design
as service whites, to be worn when on immediate active duty with
aircraft. The order also provided for a working dress uniform
made as a coverall of canvas, khaki or moleskin of the same color
as the flying uniform.
JULY
4--The first eight-cylinder Liberty motor arrived in Washington,
D.C., for test by the Bureau of Standards, having been assembled
at the Packard Motor Car Company from parts made by manufacturers
in plants scattered from Philadelphia, Pa., to Berkeley, Calif.
Design, manufacture, and assembly of this motor had required less
than 6 weeks.
7--Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting, commanding the First Aeronautic
Detachment, cabled the Secretary of the Navy reporting the results
of his negotiations with the French in regard to training and
establishment of air stations and requested departmental approval.
Under the terms of the agreement, the first of several concerned
with the expansion of Naval Aviation overseas, the French agreed
to train personnel of the Detachment at existing French Army Aviation
Schools (pilots at Tours and mechanics at St. Raphael), and to
start construction of three patrol stations for American use,
located at Dunkirk, the mouth of the Loire River (Le Croisic),
and the mouth of the Gironde (St. Trojan), and a training station
at Lake Lancanau (Moutchic).
9--A group of 24 potential Naval Aviators under Ensign Frederick
S. Allen as Officer-in-Charge, reported at the University of Toronto
for the start of flight training under the Canadian Royal Flying
Corps. This training was arranged by an agreement with the Army
and the RFC that 25 men from the Navy would be included in the
contingent of 100 Americans for which the Government of Canada
had agreed to provide flight training.
10--A plan for training student officers of the Naval Reserve
Flying Corps was circulated for comment. It proposed a program
in three parts: (1) A Ground School for indoctrination into the
Navy and study of subjects related to aircraft and flight, (2)
a Preliminary Flight School for flight training through 5 to 10
hours of solo, and (3) a Completing Flight School for advanced
flight training and qualification as a Naval Aviator and a commission
as Ensign, USNRF. This plan was implemented without benefit of
formal directive by the establishment of the Ground School in
the same month and the later division of flight training into
elementary and advanced courses.
23--Ground instruction for prospective pilots and for aviation
ground officers began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
with a class of 43 students comprising the Naval Air Detachment
under command of Lieutenant E. H. McKitterick. In this, and in
similar programs later established at the University of Washington,
Seattle, and the Dunwoody Institute, Minneapolis, large numbers
of officers were indoctrinated and introduced to the fundamentals
of aviation.
24--A large obstacle to the effective expansion of aircraft production
was removed by formation of the Manufacturers Aircraft Association
to handle the business of a Cross Licensing Agreement by which
member companies had full access to all patents held by other
members at fixed low rates.
26--The Army Navy Airship Board endorsed a proposal by the Bureau
of Mines for the experimental production of helium and recommended
the allotment of $100,000 to construct a small plant for the purpose.
This action, subsequently approved by both Departments, initiated
helium production in the United States.
27--An Act of Congress authorized the President to take possession
of North Island for use by the Army and Navy in establishing permanent
aviation stations and aviation schools. The arrival of Lieutenant
E. W. Spencer on 8 November 1917, under orders to establish and
command a station for the purpose of training pilots and mechanics
and conducting coastal patrols, marked the beginning of the present
NAS North Island.
27--Construction of the Naval Aircraft Factory at the Navy Yard,
Philadelphia, was authorized for the purposes of constructing
aircraft, undertaking aeronautical developments and providing
aircraft construction cost data.
AUGUST
8--The approval by the Secretary of the Navy of plans to establish
one training and three coastal patrol stations in France was the
first of several dealing with an overseas base construction program
that was successively expanded and ultimately provided 27 locations
in France, England, Ireland and Italy from which naval air units
were operating at the close of the war.
10--Ground was broken for the Naval Aircraft Factory at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard.
14--In an experiment initiated through the impetus of Rear Admiral
B. A. Fiske, and conducted by Lieutenant E. O. McDonnell at Huntington
Bay, Long Island, a dummy torpedo was launched from a seaplane,
but struck the water at an unfavorable angle and ricocheted, nearly
striking the plane. This event marked the beginning of serious
Navy interest in launching torpedoes from aircraft.
15--The Bureau of Construction and Repair authorized the Curtiss
Company to paint the wings of naval aircraft with "English-Khaki-Gray-Enamel"
and all aircraft manufacturers to use either opaque yellow or
clear varnish on floats and hulls. These, the initial variations
to the color scheme that had been established the preceding March,
were followed by so many other exceptions that no standard existed
for the next 6 months. The trend, however, was to use an opaque
yellow finish for school machines and to use a khaki finish, similar
to that used on British aircraft, for service machines.
25--The NC flying boat development was initiated by Chief Constructor
D. W. Taylor in a memo which outlined certain general requirements
of an airplane needed in war and directed his staff to investigate
the subject further. In part, Taylor stated: "The 'United
States [Liberty] Motor' gives good promise of being a success,
and if we can push ahead on the airplane end, it seems to me the
submarine menace could be abated, even if not destroyed, from
the air. The ideal solution would be big flying boats or the equivalent,
that would be able to fly across the Atlantic to avoid difficulties
of delivery, etc."
25--The 12-cylinder Liberty motor passed a 50-hour test with a
power output of 301 to 320 horsepower, preliminary to being ordered
into mass production.
SEPTEMBER
4--The technical members of the Bolling Mission, having just returned
from studying air developments in Europe, submitted a report to
the Secretaries of War and Navy. Among other things they recommended
that air measures against submarines have precedence over all
other air measures, that the United States establish and operate
as many coastal patrol stations in Europe as possible, and that
European aircraft be obtained for use at those stations until
the more satisfactory types manufactured in the United States
became available.
7--In tests which led to additional orders for 300 Simon radio
transmitters, radio signals, sent from an R-6 seaplane flying
from NAS Pensacola, were received by Naval Radio Station New Orleans,
140 miles distant.
7--A forestry green winter service flying uniform, of the same
design as the summer uniform, was authorized for all officers
assigned to aviation duty.
7--A winged foul anchor was adopted as an official device to be
worn on the left breast by all qualified Naval Aviators. Before
the wings were issued, use of the letters "U.S.", which
had been incorporated in the first design, was abandoned by order
of 12 October 1917 and the design adopted was essentially that
of the wings worn today.
8--A site at Naval Operating Base, Hampton Roads, was established
as an air training station and patrol base to conduct experimental
work in seaplane operation. Detachments under training at the
Curtiss School at Newport News and at Squantum, Mass., transferred
to this location in October, and on 27 August of the next year,
the Naval Air Station was formally established.
17--A kite balloon from Huntington ((ACR 5) was hit by a squall
and while being hauled down struck the water so hard that the
observer, Lieutenant (jg) Henry W. Hoyt, was knocked out of the
basket and caught underwater in the balloon rigging. As the balloon
was pulled toward the ship, Patrick McGunigal, Ships Fitter First
Class, jumped overboard, cleared the tangle and put a line around
Lieutenant Hoyt so that he could be hauled up on deck. For this
act of heroism, McGunigal was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
18--A production program of 1,700 operational type aircraft was
established on the basis of a report issued this date by the Joint
Technical Board on Aircraft.
26--Lieutenant L. H. Maxfield, commanding the Naval Air Detachment
at Akron, Ohio, reported the qualification of 11 students, including
himself, as lighter-than-air pilots and requested their designation
as Naval Aviator (Dirigible). These men, the first trained specifically
as dirigible pilots, were subsequently assigned naval aviator
numbers ranging from 94 to 104.
OCTOBER
6--The Secretary of War authorized the Navy to use a part of the
Army landing field at Anacostia for the erection and maintenance
of a seaplane hangar. Terms of use were within those of a revokable
license and with the understanding that the Army might have joint
use of the Navy area at any time. In the following January, the
NAS Anacostia was established to provide a base for short test
flights, to provide housing and repair services for seaplanes
on test flights from NAS Hampton Roads and the Army station at
Langley Field, and to set up new seaplane types for study by those
responsible for their construction and improvement.
11--The catapult, aircraft and all aeronautics gear were removed
from North Carolina (ACR 12) at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
13--After serving on convoy duty without using her aeronautic
gear except for one attempt with a kite balloon, Huntington (ACR
5) transferred her equipment ashore at New York. This transfer,
and the subsequent departure of aviation personnel, marked the
end of the operational test with aircraft on board combatant ships
that had started with the North Carolina (ACR 12) in 1916.
14--The Marine Aeronautic Company at Philadelphia was divided
into the First Aviation Squadron, composed of 24 officers and
237 men, and the First Marine Aeronautic Company, composed of
10 officers and 93 men. On the same day, the First Marine Aeronautic
Company transferred to the Naval Air Station at Cape May, N.J.,
for training in seaplanes and flying boats and on 17 October the
First Aviation Squadron transferred to the Army field at Mineola,
Long Island, for training in landplanes.
16--The first power driven machine was started at the Naval Aircraft
Factory, just 67 days after ground was broken.
21--FIRST FLIGHT TEST OF LIBERTY ENGINE--The 12-cylinder Liberty
engine was successfully flown for the first time in a Curtiss
HS-1 flying boat at Buffalo, N.Y. This flight and other successful
demonstrations led to the adoption of both the engine and the
airplane as standard service types.
22--Special courses to train men as inspectors were added to the
Ground School program at MIT with 14 men enrolled. Eventually
established as an Inspector School, this program met the expanding
need for qualified inspectors of aeronautical material by producing
58 motor and 114 airplane inspectors before the end of the war.
24--The first organization of U.S. Naval Aviation Forces, Foreign
Service, which had evolved from the First Aeronautic Detachment,
was put into operation as Captain H. I. Cone relieved Lieutenant
Commander K. Whiting of command over all naval aviation forces
abroad.
24--Routine instruction in flight and ground courses began at
NAS Moutchic, France, established as a training station serving
naval air units in Europe.
NOVEMBER
2--Twelve men who had organized as the Second Yale Unit and had
taken flight training at their own expense at Buffalo, N.Y., were
commissioned as Ensigns, USNRF, and soon after received their
designations as Naval Aviators.
5--To coordinate the aviation program, Captain N. E. Irwin, Officer
in Charge of Aviation, requested that representatives of bureaus
having cognizance over some phase of the program meet regularly
each week in his office for the purpose of discussing and expediting
all matters pertaining to aviation.
9--Permission was received from the Argentine Government to use
three Argentine Naval Officers, recently qualified as U.S. Naval
Aviators, as instructors in the ground school at Pensacola.
10--A Navy "flying bomb," manufactured by the Curtiss
Company, was delivered to the Sperry Flying Field at Copiague,
Long Island, for test. Also called an aerial torpedo, the flying
bomb was designed for automatic operation carrying 1,000 pounds
of explosive with a range of 50 miles and a top speed of 90 miles
per hour. In addition to this specially designed aircraft, N-9's
were also converted for automatic operations as flying bombs that
were closely related to the guided missile of today.
14--A major step in assuring the success of the Navy's World War
I aircraft production program was taken when the Secretary of
War, Newton D. Baker, approved a recommendation "that priority
be given by the War Department to naval needs for aviation material
necessary to equip and arm seaplane bases."
15--A Committee on Light Alloys, with Naval Constructor J. C.
Hunsaker a member, was established within the NACA to intensify
efforts to develop light metal alloys for aeronautical use.
18--U.S. aerial coastal patrols in European waters began with
Tellier seaplanes from LeCroisic at the mouth of the Loire River.
This seaplane patrol station, the first of eight established in
France, was established 27 November under command of Lieutenant
W. M. Corry.
21--A demonstration of the Navy N-9 flying bomb at Amityville,
Long Island, was witnessed by Major Gen. George O. Squier, USA,
Chief Signal Officer. Subsequently the Army established a parallel
aerial torpedo project.
22--A Tellier seaplane piloted by Ensign Kenneth R. Smith, with
Electricians Mate Wilkinson and Machinists Mate Brady on board,
was forced down at sea on a flight out of NAS LeCroisic to investigate
the reported presence of German submarines south of Belle Isle.
Two days later, and only minutes before their damaged plane sank,
they were rescued by a French destroyer. It was the first armed
patrol by a U.S. Naval Aviator in European waters.
24--In discussing the development of aircraft torpedoes and torpedo
planes, the Chief of Naval Operations pointed out that available
aircraft could carry no more than a 600 pound ordnance load and
thus were incapable of delivering a torpedo with an explosive
charge large enough to seriously damage a modern warship. This
problem, the size of an effective torpedo versus the capabilities
of aircraft, retarded torpedo plane development in World War I
and continued as an important factor in the post war years.
DECEMBER
1--NAS Pauillac was established as an active assembly and repair
station supporting all naval air stations in France.
5--The policy regarding helicopter development was established
by the Secretaries of the War and Navy Departments on the basis
of recommendations made by the Joint Technical Board on Aircraft.
Basically, need for improvements in powerplants and propellers
was recognized as necessary if a successful helicopter was to
be obtained, but actual support of development efforts was to
be limited to moral encouragement until a vendor had demonstrated
a helicopter of military value.
7--Fighter-type aircraft development was initiated with the Secretary's
authorization for the Curtiss HA, or "Dunkirk Fighter."
This single-pontoon seaplane was equipped with dual synchronized
machine guns forward and dual flexible machine guns in the rear
cockpit.
7--The Naval Aeronautic Station Pensacola was redesignated a Naval
Air Station.
22--The addition of an Aerography School to the training program
at MIT was marked by the start of classes with one student enrolled.
A major portion of the new school's instruction program was carried
out at the Blue Hill Observatory, Harvard University, but some
classes were also held at the Aerographic Laboratory on the MIT
campus. Of 55 men enrolled in the school, 54 qualified as aerologists
by the end of the war.
31--The First Aviation Squadron of the Marine Corps, commanded
by Captain William M. McIlvain, transferred from Mineola to Gerstner
Field, Lake Charles, La., for advanced training in landplanes.
JANUARY
1--The Experimental and Test Department at Pensacola was transferred
to NAS Hampton Roads to overcome difficulties arising from the
remoteness of the former location from the principal manufacturing
and industrial areas.
21--The First Marine Aeronautic Company, Captain F. T. Evans,
USMC, commanding, arrived at Naval Base 13, Ponta Delgada, to
fly antisubmarine patrols over convoy lanes in the Azores area.
25--The Supervisor, Naval Reserve Flying Corps requested that
Dr. Alexander McAdie, Director of Blue Hill Observatory, Harvard
University, be enrolled as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval
Reserve and be assigned to the Aviation Office in CNO to organize
a Naval Aerological Organization.
FEBRUARY
3--Aerial gunnery training for prospective Naval Aviators and
enlisted men began under Canadian RFC instructors at the Army
field at Camp Taliaferro, Fort Worth, Tex.
8--A change in national aircraft insignia was promulgated to the
Navy which replaced the white star with concentric circles of
red and blue around white, and reversed the order of the red,
white and blue vertical bands on the rudder, placing the red nearest
the rudder post.
21--The NAS Bolsena was established, Ensign W. B. Atwater commanding.
The first of two air stations established in Italy during World
War I, Bolsena was used primarily as a flying school.
22--The Director of Naval Communications was requested to provide
wireless transmitting and receiving equipment at five naval air
stations on the Atlantic coast and at San Diego and Coco Solo,
to permit pilots on patrol to communicate with their bases. The
following May, this request was expanded to cover all naval air
stations.
22--NAS Queenstown, an assembly and repair station for all Naval
Air Stations in Ireland, was established, Lieutenant Commander
P. J. Peyton commanding.
26--In recognition of the importance to flight operations of data
on weather phenomena in the upper atmosphere, and acting largely
on the recommendations of Lieutenant Commander Alexander McAdie,
formerly of Harvard University's Blue Hill Observatory, the Chief
of Naval Operations established an allowance list of aerographic
equipment for air stations abroad.
28--The President issued a Proclamation, effective in 30 days,
that prohibited private flying over the United States, its territorial
waters and its possessions without a special license issued by
the Joint Army and Navy Board on Aeronautic Cognizance.
MARCH
1--The dirigible station at Paimboeuf, where several aviation
personnel had been on duty with the French since November 1917,
was taken over by American forces and established as a Naval Air
Station, Lieutenant Commander L. H. Maxfield in command.
3--DIRIGIBLES IN FRANCE--The AT-1 (Astra-Torres), having been
obtained from the French on 1 March, made its first flight under
American control at Paimboeuf. Prior to the armistice, the Navy
obtained 12 dirigibles from the French.
6--The Bureau of Navigation established instrument allowances
for naval aircraft allotting a compass, two altimeters and a clock
for service seaplanes and flying boats; a compass, altimeter,
clock and statoscope for dirigibles and free balloons; and an
altimeter and clock for kite balloons and training planes.
6--An unmanned flying-bomb type plane was successfully launched
and flown for 1,000 yards at the Sperry Flying Field, Copiague,
Long Island. The launching device was a falling weight type catapult.
7--The Office of the Director of Naval Aviation was established
in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Aviation
Section became a Division.
9--A revised training program for Naval Aviators, Seaplanes, was
initiated which provided that, after a period of general training,
all student aviators specialize in one of three general types
of seaplanes; that they follow a syllabus which divided the program
into elementary, advanced, and advanced specialization courses;
and designated the stations at which the respective courses would
be given.
15--The Bureau of Construction and Repair directed that all new
naval aircraft be painted in low visibility naval gray enamel.
19--As combat operations underlined the need for Aviation Intelligence
Officers, Commander Naval Aviation Forces, Foreign Service, distributed
a circular letter defining the duties and functions performed
by such officers at Royal Navy Air Stations with the suggestion
that provisions for similar services be made at Naval Air Stations
"as may seem expedient." Supplementary letters clarified
the duties and functions and on 31 October it was specifically
stated that Aviation Intelligence Officers be specially trained
for this work.
19--A formation of flying boats, on long range reconnaissance
off the German coast, was attacked by German seaplanes. Ensign
Stephan Potter shot down one of the attackers and was officially
credited as being the first American naval aviator to shoot down
an enemy seaplane.
21--The HA seaplane, or "Dunkirk Fighter," made its
first flight at Port Washington, Long Island, with Curtiss test
pilot Roland Rohlfs at the controls and Captain B. L. Smith, USMC,
occupying the second seat.
25--Ensign John F. McNamara, flying out of RNAS Portland, England,
made the first attack on an enemy submarine by a U.S. Naval Aviator.
For his attack, reported by Admiral Sims as "apparently successful,"
Ensign McNamara was commended by the Secretary of the Navy for
his "valiant and earnest efforts on this particular occasion."
27--The first aircraft built at the NAF, the H-16, Serial No.
A-1049, was flown for the first time. The H-16 was used in antisubmarine
patrol from U.S. and European stations, and for this purpose was
equipped with two 230-pound bombs and five Lewis machine guns;
one forward, two aft, and two amidships.
30--The Curtiss 18-T or "Kirkham" triplane fighter was
ordered from Curtiss Engineering Corporation. This single-engine,
two-seater landplane was fitted with two synchronized and two
flexible guns.
APRIL
15--The First Marine Aviation Force, commanded by Captain A. A.
Cunningham, was formed at NAS Miami from personnel of the First
Aviation Squadron and the Aeronautic Detachment, USMC, both of
which had disbanded the day before. A Headquarters Company and
four squadrons designated A, B, C and D, were organized within
this Force on 16 June and it later transferred overseas to operate
as the Day Wing of the Northern Bombing Group.
16--The first detachment of trained aerologists, consisting of
nine officers and 15 enlisted men, departed for duty at naval
air stations in Europe.
17--Lieutenant W. F. Reed, Jr., reported at NAS Pensacola for
what was then called "aerographical" duty, the first
such assignment ever made to a naval air station.
23--The first shipment of Liberty engines to Naval Aviation units
in France was received at the assembly and repair station, NAS
Pauillac.
27--The airship AT-1, commanded by Lieutenant F. P. Culbert and
a crew made up of Ensigns M. P. Delano, A. D. Brewer and T. E.
McCracken, completed a 25-hour 43-minute flight out of Paimboeuf,
France, during the course of which three convoys were escorted
through a mined zone. For their flight, the longest on record
for an airship of the type, the commanding officer and crew were
officially commended by the French Minister of Marine.
30--NORTHERN BOMBING GROUP--The Secretary of the Navy approved
a plan, recommended by the General Board and developed by U.S.
Naval Forces in Europe, for air operations to be undertaken in
the Dunkirk-Zeebrugge region against German submarine support
facilities by a specially organized unit later designated the
Northern Bombing Group, and directed that bureaus and offices
expedite assembly of the necessary personnel and equipment.
MAY
6--The NAS Coco Solo was established, Lieutenant R. G. Pennoyer
commanding, to maintain patrols over the seaward approaches to
the Panama Canal.
15--The Bureau of Steam Engineering reported that the Marconi
SE 1100 radio transmitter, designed for use on the H-16 flying
boat, had demonstrated dependability in voice communications at
distances up to 50 nautical miles and in code communications at
up to 120 nautical miles. This was one of the first radio sets
used in, and the first tube set developed for, naval aircraft.
18--The Chief of Naval Operations set training goals to provide
pilots for foreign service, and to meet them, directed that eight
elementary training squadrons be operated, two at Key West, four
at Miami, and two at Bay Shore; that elementary training at Pensacola
be discontinued as soon as students on board were graduated; and
that six advanced training squadrons be organized there to begin
training patrol plane and night bomber pilots as soon as practicable.
24--The first consignment of American-built flying boats, six
HS-1's aboard Houston (AK 1) and two aboard Lake Placid, arrived
at Pauillac, France.
JUNE
13--The first American-built aircraft to be assembled in France,
an HS-1, made its first flight at Pauillac, piloted by Lieutenant
C. P. Mason, USN, with Commander J. B. Patton, USN, and Lieutenant
W. B. Jameson, USNRF, as passengers.
19--NAS Pensacola began taking upper atmospheric weather soundings
to provide information on wind velocity and direction, needed
for navigational training flights. Recording instruments were
carried aloft by a kite balloon, a technique developed by the
station meteorological officer, Lieutenant W. F. Reed.
30--The first Navy pilots of the Night Wing, Northern Bombing
Group, to take special training with British units, marked the
completion of their course by participating as observers in a
night bombing raid by RAF Squadron 214.
JULY
1--An Act of Congress repealed all laws relating to the National
Naval Volunteers and authorized the President to transfer as a
Class all its members, in their confirmed ranks and ratings, to
the Naval Reserve, the Naval Reserve Flying Corps or the Marine
Corps Reserve.
7--The Naval Aircraft Factory completed its first order for 50
H-16 flying boats.
20--The RAF Station, Killingholme, England, from which U.S. Navy
pilots had been flying patrols since February 1918, was turned
over to American forces and established as a Naval Air Station,
Lieutenant Commander K. Whiting in command.
21--A surfaced German submarine, firing on a tugboat and three
barges three miles off Nauset Beach on Cape Cod, was attacked
by two seaplanes from NAS Chatham. After firing on both aircraft,
the submarine submerged and escaped.
24--The NAS Porto Corsini, the only U.S. Navy seaplane patrol
station established in Italy during World War I, was placed in
operating status, Lieutenant W. B. Haviland commanding.
25--The Secretary of War approved a recommendation by the Joint
Army and Navy Airship Board, thus completing an inter-service
agreement which assigned responsibility for the development of
rigid airships to the Navy.
27--The N-l, first experimental aircraft designed and built at
the Naval Aircraft Factory, made its fourth successful flight
and its first test of the Davis gun for which it was designed.
Lieutenant Victor Vernon piloted and Lieutenant Sheppard operated
the gun which gave what was reported as a very satisfactory performance
against a target moored in the Delaware River near the factory.
30--Headquarters Company and Squadrons A, B, and C of the First
Marine Aviation Force arrived at Brest, France, on board DeKalb
and upon disembarking proceeded to airdromes between Calais and
Dunkirk for operations as the Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group.
With the arrival, the squadrons were redesignated 7, 8, and 9
respectively.
AUGUST
5--A flying boat piloted by Ensign Ashton W. Hawkins with Lieutenant
(jg) George F. Lawrence as second pilot, took off from NAS Killingholme
in rain and poor visibility at 10:30 p.m. to patrol a course intercepting
a reported Zeppelin raid. The patrol was made in good weather
above the clouds without sighting the enemy and came down through
heavy weather at South Shields, England, at 5:30 a.m. almost out
of fuel. It was the first American night combat patrol out of
Killingholme and may have been the first of the war by a U.S.
Naval aviator.
11--Ensign James B. Taylor made the initial flight in the Loening
M-2 Kitten landplane at Mineola, Long Island. This aircraft, which
was intended for use aboard ship, was not successful; but is of
special interest because it was the first monoplane developed
under Navy contract; was one of the smallest aircraft ever built
for the Navy with a weight empty of less than 300 pounds, and,
although equipped with a British ABC motor for flight, was designed
for use with a two-cylinder Lawrance 30-horsepower air-cooled
engine which was the predecessor of the large American air-cooled
radial engines.
15--Independent offensive operations of the Northern Bombing Group
began as Ensign L. R. Taber of Air Squadron 1, piloted a Caproni
bomber in a night raid on the submarine repair docks at Ostend.
Ensign Charles Fahy was second pilot and D. C. Hale rear gunner
on the flight.
19--NAS Halifax, Nova Scotia, the first of two established in
Canada, was placed in operating status to conduct patrols over
the northern approaches to the Atlantic coast, Lieutenant R. E.
Byrd commanding.
19--In trial runs observed by Naval Constructors H. C. Richardson
and C. N. Liqued, the Kirkham 18-T experimental triplane fighter,
built by the Curtiss Company, achieved speeds of 161, 162, and
158 miles per hour, over a measured course.
21--A flight of bombers and fighters from the NAS Porto Corsini,
Italy, was intercepted by a superior force of Austro-Hungarian
planes over the Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola on the Adriatic
Sea. During the ensuing fight, one American plane was forced down
3 miles from the harbor entrance. Ensign C. H. Hammann, whose
fighter plane was also damaged, evaded his pursuers and landed
alongside the downed pilot; took him on board and flew back to
base. For his extraordinary heroism in effecting the rescue under
hazardous conditions, Ensign Hammann was later awarded the Medal
of Honor.
SEPTEMBER
1--In a reorganization of aviation forces abroad, the Commander,
U.S. Naval Aviation Forces, Foreign Service, was assigned to the
Staff of the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Operating in European
Waters, as the Aide for Aviation, and unit commands were set up
for France, England, Ireland, Italy, and the Northern Bombing
Group to control and direct the operations of stations and units
in their respective areas.
3--The first naval air operations from bases in Ireland began
from NAS Lough Foyle with patrols over the North Channel entrance
to the Irish Sea.
23--The flywheel catapult, a forerunner of those later to be installed
aboard the Lexington and Saratoga, was used successfully to launch
a flying bomb at Copiague, Long Island. Development of this catapult
by the Sperry Company had been undertaken in connection with the
Bureau of Ordnance flying bomb project.
23--The Aircraft Radio School at Pensacola began a course of instruction
for Aircraft Radio Electricians which included code work, semaphore
and blinker study, gunnery, and laboratory work. This school was
subsequently transferred to Harvard University.
24--Lieutenant (jg) David S. Ingalls, while on a test flight in
a Sopwith Camel, sighted an enemy two-seat Rumpler over Nieuport.
In company with another Camel he attacked and scored his fifth
aerial victory in 6 weeks to become the Navy's first Ace. For
this and other meritorious acts while serving as a fighter pilot
with RAF Squadron 213, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross by the British Government and the Distinguished Service
Medal by the President of the United States.
25--Chief Machinist Mate Francis E. Ormsbee went to the rescue
of two men in a plane which had crashed in Pensacola Bay. He pulled
out the gunner and held him above water until help arrived, then
made repeated dives into the wreckage in an unsuccessful attempt
to rescue the pilot. For his heroism, Chief Ormsbee was awarded
the Medal of Honor.
OCTOBER
1--Some of the earliest recorded food-dropping missions were flown
by Marine Corps pilots Captain Francis P. Mulcahy, Captain Robert
S. Lytle, and Lieutenant Frank Nelms. On this day and the next
they made repeated low level runs in the face of enemy fire and
delivered 2,600 pounds of food and badly needed supplies to a
French regiment surrounded by German troops near Stadenburg.
4--The first of the NC flying boats, the NC-1, made its initial
flight at NAS Rockaway with Commander H. C. Richardson, CC, and
Lieutenant David H. McCulloch pilots.
14--The first raid-in-force by the Northern Bombing Group in World
War I, was made by eight planes of Marine Day Squadron 9, which
dropped 17 bombs totaling 2,218 pounds on the German held railroad
junction at Thielt, Belgium. For extraordinary heroism on this
and on an earlier raid in engaging enemy aircraft at great odds,
2d Lieutenant Ralph Talbot, and his observer, Gunnery Sgt. Robert
G. Robinson, were later awarded the Medal of Honor.
15--The Bureau of Steam Engineering reported that five Hart and
Eustiss reversible pitch propellers, were under construction for
use on twin-engine dirigibles. In addition two Hart and Eustiss
variable pitch propeller hubs for the F5L were being ordered.
17--A pilotless N-9 training plane, converted to an automatic
flying machine, was successfully launched at Copiague, Long Island,
and flew a prescribed course, although the distance gear failed
to land the airplane at a preset range of 14,500 yards. The plane
was last seen over the Bay Shore Air Station at an altitude of
4,000 feet, flying eastward.
22--The twin-engine dirigible C-1, commanded by Major B. L. Smith,
USMC, and with crew consisting of Lieutenant R. A. D. Preston,
USNRF, Lieutenant (jg) D. T. Hood, USNRF, Ensign W. L. Hamlen,
USNRF, Ensign M. H. Estorly, USNRF, and two civilian mechanics,
M. Roulette and James Royal, was delivered at NAS Rockaway, having
flown that day from Akron, Ohio, via Washington, D.C. The Aero
Club of America later awarded Smith and Hamlen its Medal of Merit
for this flight.
NOVEMBER
11--An armistice was signed ending the hostilities of World War
I. In the 19 months of United States participation, the strength
of naval aviation had grown to a force of 6,716 officers and 30,693
men in Navy units, and 282 officers, 2,180 men in Marine Corps
units, with 2,107 aircraft, 15 dirigibles, and 215 kite and free
balloons on hand. Of these numbers 18,000 officers and men and
570 aircraft had been sent abroad.
17--NAS Hampton Roads reported that an H-16 flying boat, equipped
with a radio direction finder using the British six-stage amplifier,
received signals from the Arlington, Va., radio station at a distance
of 150 miles.
22--Lieutenant Victor Vernon and Mr. S. T. Williams dropped a
400-pound dummy torpedo from an F5L at the Naval Aircraft Factory
in the initial test of a torpedo launching gear upon which development
had begun the preceding July.
23--Use of titles "Navigation Officer" and "Aerographic
Officer" in Naval Air Station organization was authorized
by the Chief of Naval Operations to identify officers trained
to perform the special duties involved.
27--The NC-1 took off from Rockaway Beach, N.Y., with 51 persons
aboard, establishing a new world record for persons carried in
flight.
DECEMBER
2--Efforts to develop aircraft to operate from ships were renewed
by the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations' request that the
Bureau of Construction and Repair provide aircraft of the simplest
form, lightly loaded, and with the slowest flying speed possible.
12--In a test to determine the feasibility of carrying fighter
aircraft on dirigibles, the C-1 lifted an Army JN-4 in a wide
spiral climb to 2,500 feet over Fort Tilden, N.Y., and at that
height released it for a free flight back to base. The airship
was piloted by Lieutenant George Crompton, Dirigible Officer at
NAS Rockaway, and the plane by Lieutenant A. W. Redfield, USA,
commanding the 52d Aero Squadron based at Mineola.
26--Ensign T. E. Maytham, piloting a B-type airship, completed
a flight from Key West to Tampa, Cape Sable, Palm Beach, and return
that covered approximately 690 miles. This bettered his earlier
endurance mark of 32 hours with a continuous flight of 40 hours
26 minutes. Although recognized only as an
American record, this time surpassed by more than 25 hours the
existing world mark.
30--Lieutenant T. C. Rodman, piloting an H-16 flying boat at Pensacola,
scored the Navy's first win in the Curtiss Marine Trophy Race,
an annual competition set up by Glenn H. Curtiss in 1915 to encourage
seaplane development. The contest was on the basis of miles traveled
in 10 hours of flight, with extra mileage credit for passenger
load. In winning, Rodman carried 11 passengers 670 statute miles,
credited as 970.
JANUARY
23--Ensign F. W. Dalrymple and Chief Machinist's Mate F. H. Harris
took off at NAS Miami in a single-engine pusher flying boat, HS-2L,
and with benefit of special gas tanks remained airborne for 9
hours 21 minutes.
FEBRUARY
3--Captain G. W. Steele, Jr., assumed command of Fleet Air Detachment,
Atlantic Fleet, on board his flagship, Shawmut (CM 4),
in the Boston Navy Yard. Established for the purpose of testing
the capabilities of aviation to operate with fleet forces, the
new command marked the beginning of a permanent provision for
aviation in fleet organization. Although all elements of the Detachment
were not immediately assembled, its composition was: Shawmut flagship
and tender, a Seaplane Squadron of six H-16 flying boats under
Lieutenant Commander B. G. Leighton, an Airplane Division of three
landplanes under Lieutenant Commander E. O. McDonnell on Texas
(Battleship No. 35) and a Kite-Balloon Division of six balloons
on various ships and the Shawmut, under Lieutenant (jg) J. G.
Paul.
9--The submission of aerological data, obtained at various naval
air stations, to the U.S. Weather Bureau for use in coordinated
study of weather conditions, commenced with the report submitted
by NAS Pensacola.
17--The Fleet Air Detachment which had completed assembly at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, on the 15th, began operations with the Fleet by participating
in Long Range Spotting Practice. On this day and in subsequent
exercises, the Detachment gave a practical demonstration of the
capabilities of aircraft and of the advantages to be derived from
the coordinated employment of air and surface units.
MARCH
7--In a test at NAS Hampton Roads, Lieutenant (jg) F. M. Johnson
launched an N-9 landplane from a sea sled making approximately
50 knots. The sea sled was a powerful motor boat designed to launch
an aircraft at a point within range of the target and had been
developed experimentally at the recommendation of and under the
guidance of Commander H. C. Mustin as a means of attacking German
submarine pens.
9--Lieutenant Commander E. O. McDonnell, piloting a Sopwith Camel,
made the first flight from a turret platform on a U.S. Navy battleship
as he successfully took off from No. 2 turret of Texas (Battleship
No. 35), lying at anchor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
12--The feasibility of using voice radio and telephone relay for
air to ground communications was demonstrated as Lieutenant Harry
Sadenwater, in an airborne flying boat, carried on a conversation
with the Secretary of the Navy who was seated at his desk in the
Navy Department some 65 miles away.
13--The Chief of Naval Operations issued a preliminary program
for postwar naval airplane development. Specialized types desired
were fighters, torpedo carriers and bombers for fleet use; single-engine,
twin-engine and long distance patrol and bomber planes for station
use; and a combination land and seaplane for Marine Corps use.
21--A gyrocompass developed by the Sperry Gyroscope Company for
the Navy was tested in an aircraft. Although this particular instrument
was not found acceptable, this is the first recorded instance
of tests of this device which was later to prove an invaluable
navigational instrument for long-range flight.
APRIL
7--The Seaplane Squadron and Shawmut (CM 4) of Fleet Air Detachment
left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the United States after almost
7 weeks participation in fleet exercises, during which time the
squadron had operated entirely afloat and had no support from
shore bases.
8--Captain Thomas T. Craven was detached Irom the Bureau of Navigation
for duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations where,
in the following month, he relieved Captain N. E. Irwin as Director
of Naval Aviation.
10--The roll-up of Naval Air Stations in Europe, which had begun
on 31 December 1918 with the disestablishment of Porto Corsini,
Italy, was completed as the Assembly and Repair Base at Eastleigh,
England, was demobilized.
26--An F5L flying boat, equipped with two 400-hp Liberty engines
and piloted by Lieutenant H. D. Grow out of Hampton Roads, completed
a flight of 20 hours and 19 minutes in which it covered 1,250
nautical miles. Although the flight was not made under FAI supervision
and was prior to the date on which seaplanes were recognized as
a separate class for record purposes, this time was better than
any recognized seaplane duration record until May 1925.
28--Lieutenant Commander R. E. Byrd, who developed and tested
navigational equipment for the forthcoming transatlantic flight,
requested the Naval Observatory to supply bubble levels which
he adapted for attachment to navigational sextants, thereby providing
an artificial horizon which made it possible to use these instruments
for astronomical observations from aircraft.
MAY
8--Seaplane Division One, comprised of three NC flying boats,
took off from NAS Rockaway, NY at 10:00 AM for Halifax, Nova Scotia
on the first leg of a projected transatlantic flight. Commanding
the Division, and the NC-3, was Commander John H. Towers. The
NC-4 was commanded by Lieutenant Commander A.C. Read. The NC-1
was commanded by Lieutenant Commander P.N.L. Bellinger.
14-15--The airship C-5, Lieutenant Commander E. W. Coil commanding,
made a record flight from Montauk Point, Long Island, to St. Johns,
Newfoundland, covering the 1,050 nautical miles in 25 hours and
50 minutes.
16--At about 6 pm, three NC flying boats took off from Trepassey
Bay, Newfoundland, for the long overwater flight to the Azores.
16--Ensign H. C. Rodd, radioman on the NC-4, intercepted a radio
message from the steamship George Washington 1325 miles distant.
A radio message from one of the NC's was also intercepted by the
radio station, Bar Harbor, Maine, when the plane was 1,400 miles
away.
17--After more than 15 hours in the air, the NC flying boats neared
the Azores. At 1323 GMT, the NC-4 landed at Horta. The other NC
boats were not so fortunate; both had lost their bearings in thick
fog and landed at sea to determine their positions. But in landing
they sustained damage and were unable to resume flight. The NC-3
drifted backwards toward the Azores and arrived at Ponta Delgada
1830 on 19 May. The NC-1 sustained additional damage in the heavy
seas and was taken under tow by the Greek steamer Ionia, but the
tow lines soon parted. Gridley (DD 92) then attempted to tow the
NC-1 but the aircraft pulled adrift again and broke up and sank.
Her entire crew was taken on board Ionia and arrived at Horta
at 1230 on 18 May.
27--At 8:01 pm the NC-4 landed in the harbor at Lisbon, Portugal,
completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by air. The
only one of three NC boats to reach the Azores by air, the NC-4
arrived the afternoon of the 17th, and after a layover of 10 days,
covered the last leg of the crossing to Lisbon. Lieutenant Commander
A. C. Read was in command and Lieutenant E. F. Stone, USCG, Lieutenant
J. L. Breese, Lieutenant (jg) W. K. Hinton, Ensign H. C. Rodd
and Chief Machinist's Mate E. S. Rhoads made up the crew. The
NC-4 flight terminated at Plymouth, England, on 31 May.
JUNE
12--A contract was issued for the construction of a revolving
platform at Hampton Roads for use in experimental development
of techniques and equipment for landing aircraft aboard ship.
21--The Bureau of Construction and Repair reported a modification
to the aircraft color scheme whereby stretched fabric surfaces
were to be finished with aluminum enamel. Thus, wing and tail
surfaces and in some instances the fuselage surfaces were to be
aluminum-colored while the specified color for other exterior
surfaces continued to be naval gray enamel.
23--The General Board submitted the last of a series of reports
to the Secretary on a policy for developing a naval air service.
On the conclusion that aviation had become an essential arm of
the Fleet, the Board urged adoption of a broad program for peacetime
development that would establish a naval air service "capable
of accompanying and operating with the fleet in all waters of
the globe." Approved with some modification by the Secretary
on 24 July, this program provided the direction for a number of
actions taken in the following months.
25--NAS Anacostia reported experiments in which aircraft carried
aloft instruments to measure temperature and humidity of the upper
atmosphere.
JULY
1--The Secretary of the Navy authorized installation of launching
platforms on two main turrets in each of eight battleships.
2--The officer in charge of the Navy Detachment under instruction
in landplanes at the Army Air Service School, Langley Field, Va.,
reported that the 27 Naval Aviators on board had completed the
preliminary flight phase in JN-4's and were rapidly nearing the
end of the formation flight syllabus in DH aircraft. This training
was in preparation for the operation of landplanes from battleship
turrets.
11--The Naval Appropriations Act for fiscal 1920 made several
important provisions for the future of naval aviation. Among others
it provided for conversion of the collier Jupiter (AC 3) into
an aircraft carrier, later named Langley; for conversion of two
merchant ships into seaplane tenders, only one of which, later
named Wright (AZ 1), was completed, and for construction of one
rigid dirigible later designated ZR-1 (Shenandoah) and purchase
of another from abroad later designated ZR-2 (R-38). In a more
restrictive sense, the Act limited to six the heavier-than-air
stations that could be maintained along the coasts of continental
United States.
AUGUST
1--To merge aviation with other naval activities, the Aviation
Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations was abolished
and its functions reassigned to other Divisions and to the Bureau
of Navigation. The Director of Naval Aviation retained his title
as head of the Aviation Section of the Planning Division. In the
reorganization, the Aircraft Test Board was transferred to the
Board of Inspection and Survey.
9--Construction of the rigid airship ZR-1, the future Shenandoah
and the Navy's first rigid airship, was authorized by the Secretary
of the Navy. This airship was constructed at the Naval Aircraft
Factory and assembled at Lakehurst.
19--The Secretary of the Navy ordered use of the pre-war white
star national insignia on all naval aircraft in place of the concentric
circle design adopted for the war. By this order, the red, white
and blue vertical bands on the rudder reverted to their pre-war
position, blue being forward.
23--A General Order directed that during dirigible flights parachutes
be carried for each person on board. The following November, this
directive was amplified to apply also to flights in kite balloons
and added the further requirement that life preservers be carried
in all lighter-than-air craft during flights over water.
OCTOBER
22--The Secretary of War approved the Navy's request that 18 naval
aviators and 10 mechanics be given landplane training at the Air
Service Training School at Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Fla., and
two days later approved a similar program at March Field, Riverside,
Calif. This training, an extension of the program already conducted
under the Army at Langley Field, Va., had been requested by the
Secretary of the Navy as necessary to the successful operation
of scouting aircraft from battleship turrets.
NOVEMBER
1--The Aerological School at NAS Pensacola opened with a class
of one Marine Corps and four Navy officers.
18--The Secretary of the Navy informed the Secretary of War that,
in response to his request, arrangements had been made for six
Army men to attend the enlisted men's course in meteorology at
Pensacola and suggested they report about 1 December when classes
were scheduled to start.
21--Engineering plans for the conversion of the collier Jupiter
(AC 3) to an aircraft carrier, originally completed 5 July were
modified, and a summary specification was issued by the Bureau
of Construction and Repair. In addition to an unobstructed "flying-on
and flying-off deck", stowage space for aircraft and facilities
for repair of aircraft, the new plans provided for catapults to
be fitted on both forward and after ends of the flying-off deck.
DECEMBER
5--The Secretary of the Navy approved the basic agreement covering
procurement of the R-38 (ZR-2) rigid airship from the British
Air Ministry.
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Historical Center home page30 June 1997