48

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1920-Contin ued

27 March A successful test of the Sperry gyrostabi-

lized automatic pilot system in an F-5L was completed

at Hampton Roads, Va.

2 April NAS Hampton Roads, Va., reported that suc-

cessful night weather soundings had been made since

January, using candlelighted free balloons to measure

the force and direction of the wind.

1 May Developmental and experimental work in

metal construction for aircraft was disclosed in a

Bureau of Construction and Repair report. Twelve

German Fokker D- VII planes, which used welded

steel extensively, were to be obtained from the Army

and two sets of metal wings for the HS-3 flying boat

were being procured from Charles Ward Hall.

18 June A reversible pitch propeller designed by

Seth Hart and manufactured by the Engineering

Division, Army Air Service, was installed on the C-lO

airship at Rockaway Beach. That same month a Hart

reversible pitch propeller was ordered for the VE-7.

22 June The Bureau of Navigation announced plans

to select four officers for a two-year postgraduate

course in aeronautical engineering at the Naval

Academy and M.LT., and asked for volunteers for the

fall semester. Part of the requirement was that

appointees take flight instruction and qualify as Naval

Aviatiors after completing their studies.

28 June Six F-5Ls of the Atlantic Fleet Airboat

Squadron, commanded by Lieutenant Commander

Bruce G. Leighton, returned to Philadelphia, Pa., com-

pleting a seven-month cruise through the West Indies

on which the squadron logged 12,731 nautical miles,

including 4,000 flown on maneuvers with the fleet.

6 July In a test of the radio compass as an aid to

navigation, an F-5L left Hampton Roads, Va., and flew

directly to Ohio (BB 12), 94 miles at sea in a position

unknown to the pilot. Without landing, the plane

made the return trip to Hampton Roads, Va., this time

navigating by signals from Norfolk, Va.

12 July A general order provided for the organiza-

tion of the naval forces afloat into the Atlantic, Pacific

and Asiatic Fleets; and for the formation of type forces

within each designated Battleship, Cruiser, Destroyer,

Submarine, Mine, Air and Train. Under this order, the

Air Detachments in each fleet became Air Forces.

17 July The Secretary prescribed standard nomen-

clature for types and classes of naval vessels, including

aircraft, in which lighter-than-air craft were identified

by the type "Z" and heavier-than-air craft by "V". Class

letters assigned within the Z type were R, Nand K for

rigid dirigibles, non-rigid dirigibles and kite balloons

respectively, while F, 0, S, P, T and G were estab-

lished for fighter, observation, scouting, patrol, torpe-

do and bombing and Fleet planes as classes within the

V type.

17 September The site of the naval aviation activi-

ties on Ford Island was officially designated NAS Pearl

Harbor, T.H.

4 November The third of a series of tests to deter-

mine the effectiveness of aerial bombs against ships

was completed, using the old battleship Indiana

(Battleship No.1) as a target. The tests which began

on 14 October were conducted at Tangier Sound in

the Chesapeake Bay under carefully controlled condi-

tions to determine both the accuracy with which

bombs could be dropped on stationary targets and the

damage caused by near-misses and direct hits.

1921

20 January The Secretary of the Navy approved a

recommendation that development of radio-controlled

aircraft be undertaken by the Bureau of Ordnance and

the Bureau of Engineering.

20 January A Naval Aircraft Factory design of a

turntable catapult, powered by compressed air, was

approved by the Bureau of Construction and Repair

for fabrication at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pa.

Aircraft were launched from capital ships by turntable catapult,

shown on a pier at NAF with an N-9 428435