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UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995
1940-Contin ued
upon means of identifying friendly aircraft. In follow-
on meetings, British developments of shipboard and
airborne radar were also discussed. A British disclo-
sure growing out of this exchange of particular impor-
tance for airborne radar application was the cavity
magnetron, a tube capable of generating high power
radio waves of a few centimeters in length.
2 September In exchange for 50 four-stack destroy-
ers, Great Britain, by formal agreement ceded to the
United States for a period of 99 years, sites for naval
and air bases in the Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia,
Trinidad, Antigua, and British Guiana, and extended
similar rights freely and without consideration for
bases in Bermuda and Newfoundland. Acquisition of
these sites advanced our sea frontiers several hundred
miles and provided bases from which naval ships and
aircraft could cover strategically important sea
approaches to our coast and to the Panama Canal.
3 October The Chief of Naval Operations requested
the Naval Attache in London to obtain samples of a
variety of British radio echo equipment (radar), includ-
ing aircraft installations for interception (AI), surface
vessel detection (ASY) and aircraft identification (IFF).
5 October The Secretary of the Navy placed all divi-
sions and aviation squadrons of the Organized Reserve
on short notice for call to active duty and granted
authority to call Fleet Reservists as necessary. On the
24th, the Bureau of Navigation announced plans for
mobilizing the aviation squadrons, which called for
one third to be ordered to active duty by 7 November
and all by 1 January 1941.
9 October The Secretary of the Navy approved a
recommendation by the General Board, that 24 of the
authorized submarines be equipped to carry aviation
gasoline for delivery to seaplanes on the water. This
was in addition to Nautilus (SS 168) which had
demonstrated her ability to refuel patrol planes and
had conducted a successful test dive to 300 feet with
aviation gasoline aboard; and to Narwhal (SC 1) and
Argonaut (SF 7) which were being altered to carry
19,000 gallons of aviation gasoline each.
11 October The Technical Aide to the Secretary of
the Navy, Rear Admiral Harold G. Bowen, proposed a
program for development of radio ranging equipment
(radar) which formed the basis for the Navy's pre-war
development program. In addition to identification
equipment and ship-based radar, this program includ-
ed an airborne radar for surface search.
23 October Within the Atlantic Squadron, an admin-
istrative command was set up for carrier aviation enti-
tled, "Aircraft, Atlantic Squadron."
24 October An administrative command for patrol
aviation in the Atlantic Squadron was set up under the
title, "Patrol Wings, Atlantic Squadron."
28 October The Chief of Naval Operations reported
that aircraft with some form of armor and fuel protec-
tion were just beginning to go into service use, and
that within a year all fleet aircraft, except those
assigned Patrol Wing 2, would have such protection.
1 November A reorganization of the fleet changed
the administrative organization of aviation by dividing
the forces between two oceans. This was the begin-
ning of the independent development of forces
according to strategic requirements. In the Atlantic,
aviation was transferred from Scouting Force to Patrol
Force, which was formed in place of the Atlantic
Squadron as a fleet command parallel to Scouting
Force, and set up under Commander, Aircraft Patrol
Force and Commander, Patrol Wings Patrol Force. In
the Pacific, Patrol Wings remained attached to
Scouting Force under the combined command
Commander, Patrol Wings U.S. Fleet and Commander,
Aircraft Scouting Force.
11 November The first general meeting of the
Radiation Laboratory was held at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). The Radiation
Laboratory, as principal scientific and developmental
agency of Division 14 of NDRC, was to become instru-
mental in many aspects of airborne radar develop-
ment.
15 November The seaplane tender Curtiss, first of
two ships of her class, was commissioned at
Philadelphia, Pa., Commander Samuel P. Ginder
commanding.
15 November Naval air operations began from
Bermuda. First to operate were the planes of Patrol
Squadron 54 based on George E. Badger (DD 196).
16 November The Bureau of Aeronautics estab-
lished a catapult procurement program for Essex class
carriers. One flight deck catapult and one athwartships
hangar deck catapult were to be installed on each of
11 carriers.
18 November The Chief of Naval Operations autho-
rized use of the abbreviation, "RADAR," in unclassified
correspondence and conversation and directed that

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