Naval Aviation Celebrates 100 Years of History
(February 26, 2011) |
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| MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (MCN -
2/23/2011) -- The carrier air wing is possibly the most
powerful conventional weapon in the world. More than 60
aircraft stationed aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier can
deliver devastating sorties to any part of the globe,
enabling the United States Navy to take the fight to any
enemy anywhere. |
Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham floats in a Curtiss hydroaeroplane
in 1914. Cunningham was Naval Aviator No. 5 and as
the first Marine aviator, is considered the father
of Marine Aviation. Contributed Photograph |
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The majesty of
this modern marvel of steel and nuclear power has
its roots in a few enthusiasts experimenting with
canvas wings and gasoline engines a century ago.
This year marks the centennial anniversary of
the birth of Naval Aviation when Navy Capt.
Washington I. Chambers, officer in charge of naval
aviation, bought the Navy's first two biplanes, May
8, 1911.
Birth of Naval Aviation
Aviation has been a part of warfare since the
Napoleonic Wars, when Napoleon would use hot air
balloons to get a bird's eye view on the movements
of his enemies. Though this tactic would be used in
other wars later, to include the American Civil War,
the effect on warfare was not significant.
Significant military air power had to wait until the
invention of powered flight.
Theodore
Roosevelt, assistant secretary of the Navy,
recommended in 1898 that officers investigate the
potential use of aircraft in naval warfare. While
the flight by the Wright brothers was five years
away, the investigation was optimistic and
encouraged the Navy to continue supporting |
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private inventors in experimenting with aircraft. |
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In 1910, seven years after the Wright brothers' first
flight, it became evident to Navy planners that aircraft
technology had advanced by leaps and bounds. Modifications
were considered for many ships to support carrying an
aircraft aboard. Naval engineers also lobbied the Secretary
of the Navy for aircraft and instructors to teach Navy
officers how to fly. Navy Capt. Washington I. Chambers was
designated as the officer to whom all matters of naval
aviation would be referred to. Chambers' job had no official
title, but this position was the head of naval aviation at
the time.
“Captain Washington Irving Chambers, a
battleship officer, could have easily been indifferent to
aviation when he was assigned to handle the correspondence
relating to it,” said Hill Goodspeed, historian of the
National Naval Aviation Museum. “However, he proved a
tireless advocate, studying the technical aspects of flying
and embracing opportunities to demonstrate its potential.”
To head up the naval flight program, the Navy needed an
expert. The Wright brothers were working to fulfill Army
contracts, so the Navy picked up Glenn H. Curtiss.
“Glenn Curtiss brought both the innovative spirit and
technical knowledge that was key to the development of naval
aviation,” Goodspeed said.
Curtiss and his
assistants, working in cooperation with Navy officers under
the supervision of Chambers, would make the first great
strides of naval aviation.
In 1910, Eugene Ely, an
assistant to Curtiss, made the first takeoff from the deck
of any ship, the USS Birmingham anchored in Hampton Roads,
Va. In January of 1911, Ely again made history by being the
first to land aboard a ship, the USS Pennsylvania while it
was anchored in San Francisco Bay. The bare bones basics for
operating today's modern carriers had been learned, but
still had to be improved upon.
The construction of
the first ships specially built for the aircraft carrier
role was still more than a decade away. However, planes for
scouting, carrying cargo and personnel over water were
needed immediately. In early 1911, Curtiss met the Navy's
needs by fitting his aircraft with pontoons and created
their first seaplanes.
“Seaplanes were vital to
integrating aviation into naval operations,” Goodspeed said.
“For Eugene Ely's flights, a temporary wooden deck had to be
erected on the cruisers Birmingham and Pennsylvania. In
normal operations, this would diminish the effectiveness of
the warship, obstructing its gun batteries. For aircraft to
operate at sea, they would need to use the water as a
runway. Thus, seaplanes were the first aircraft produced in
great numbers for the Navy.”
While he developed the
first sea planes, Curtiss also accepted the first naval
aviator as a student. Navy Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson became
Navy Aviator No. 1 and attended the Glenn H. Curtiss
Aviation Camp at North Island, San Diego, Calif. Curtiss and
his assistants would train most of the first generation of
Navy aviators while those aviators assisted him in making
new technological advances on the aircraft he was
developing. Among other aviators was Lt. Alfred A.
Cunningham, Naval Aviator No. 5 and the first Marine
aviator, who was taught to fly by associates of Curtiss.
The technical workings of aircraft were under
development by Curtiss, but in order for aviation to become
a permanent part of the Navy, provisions to support aviation
had to be made within the bureaucracy of the Navy.
In 1911, the General Board created a sub-office to handle
affairs in naval aviation with Chambers at its head. Later,
this office was transferred to the Bureau of Navigation and
funds of $25,000 were appropriated for its use.
With
an established office and money, Chambers bought two Curtiss
biplanes, May 8, 1911, officially giving birth to naval
aviation. The maiden flight of the A-1, the first Navy
aircraft, occurred July 1, 1911, with Curtiss as the pilot.
Later that day Ellyson became the first Navy pilot to fly a
Navy aircraft in the A-1.
From these humble
beginnings, naval aviation would grow to become the
powerhouse of the United States Navy. Aircraft continued to
be improved upon from those early days, eventually
supplanting the battleship as the heart of the Navy. |
By USMC LCpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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