1938-Contin
ued
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
93
Entelprise, CV-6 preparing to get undelway with all planes of her air group on the flight deck 13554
17 May
The Naval Expansion Act, among its provi-
sions for Naval Aviation, authorized an increase in
total tonnage of underage naval vessels amounting to
40,000 tons for aircraft carriers, and also authorized
the president to increase the number of naval aircraft
to "not less than" 3,000. Carriers built as a result of this
authorization were
Hornet
and
Essex,
laid down in
1939 and 1941, respectively.
1 June
The routine use of radiosondes (or radio
meteorographs, as they were then called) to obtain
data on weather conditions in the upper atmosphere
was initiated at NAS Anacostia, D.C. By the close of
the year,
California
(BB 44) and
Lexington
were also
outfitted to use radiosondes.
8 June
After over two years of evaluation by fleet
squadrons and various shore-based naval air activities,
the antiblackout or abdominal belt, intended for use
by pilots in dive bombing and other violent maneu-
vers, was returned to a developmental status with a
finding by the Commander, Aircraft Battle Force, that
the advantages of this belt were not sufficient to offset
its disadvantages.
8 June
By policy established by the Secretary of the
Navy, the provisions for maintenance of aircraft
aboard carriers and aircraft tenders were limited to
those required for upkeep and minor repairs.
1 July
New command billets titled Commander,
Carrier Air Group, were authorized, and carrier
squadrons were organized into groups each desig-
nated by the name of the carrier to which it was
assigned.
23 August
A contract was issued to Martin for the
XPB2M-I four-engine flying boat. Initially intended as
a patrol plane, this craft was later converted to the
PB2M-IR Mars transport and served as a prototype for
the JRM series of flying boats.
24 August
In the first American use of a drone tar-
get aircraft in anti-aircraft exercises,
Ranger
fired upon
a radio-controlled JH-l making a simulated horizontal
bombing attack on the fleet. This not only heralded a
new departure in anti-aircraft practice, but also indicat-
ed that radio-controlled aircraft could be used as a
training device in the fleet.
14
September
A radio-controlled N2C-2 target
drone engaged in a simulated dive-bombing attack
against the battleship
Utah
(BB 31) in test firing of
antiaircraft battery. The proponents of guided missile
development view this as the first demonstration of
the air to surface missile.
15
October
A new specification prescribing color
for naval aircraft was issued. Trainers were to be fin-
ished in orange-yellow overall with aluminum colored
floats or landing gear. The color of service aircraft
remained essentially as prescribed in 1925, aluminum
overall with orange-yellow on wing and tail surfaces
that were visible from above.
2 November
A revision of the pilot training syllabus
was approved instituting minor adjustments in the
flight program and changes of greater significance in
the ground program. A special course was added for
flight surgeons, celestial navigation was added for
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