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UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1908-Contin ued

specifications of an airplane capable of operating from

naval vessels on scouting and observation missions,

discussed the tactical advantages of such capability for

naval forces and recommended that a number of air-

craft be purchased and "placed in the hands of the

personnel of the Navy to further develop special fea-

tures adapted to naval uses."

1909

16 August A Bureau of Equipment request for

authority to advertise for the construction of "two

heavier than air flying machines" was disapproved by

the Acting Secretary of the Navy with the comment:

"The Department does not consider that the develop-

ment of an aeroplane has progressed sufficiently at

this time for use in the Navy."

1 September Commander Frederick 1. Chapin, U.S.

Naval Attache at Paris, reported his observations at the

Rheims Aviation Meet, expressing the opinion that "the

airplane would have a present usefulness in naval

warfare, and that the limits of the field will be extend-

ed in the near future," and in elaborating upon that

theme prophetically noted two means by which air-

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craft could be operated from naval vessels. The first

was the use of the Wright launching device (a cata-

pult) to launch planes from the cleared quarterdeck of

battleships, and the second was the construction of a

floor (a flight deck) over the deck houses of auxiliary

ships to provide the clear space required for take-off

runs and landing aboard.

3 November Lieutenant George C. Sweet was taken

up as a passenger in the first Army Wright by

Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm, USA, at College Park, Md.

As a result, Sweet is credited with having been the first

Navy officer to fly in an airplane.

1910

26 September The Secretary of the Navy informed

the U.S. Aeronautical Reserve (a new organization of

private citizens formed to advance aeronautical sci-

ence as a means of supplementing the national

defense) that Captain Washington 1. Chambers,

Assistant to the Aid for Material, had been designated

as the officer to whom all correspondence on avia-

tion should be referred. This is the first recorded ref-

erence to a provision for aviation in Navy

Department organization.

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Eugene E/y Leaving Birmingham at Hampton Roads in the first takeoff from any ship, November /4, /9/042878