ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF
U.S. NAVY
AIR POWER
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF
U.S. NAVY
AIR POWER
Edited by
Douglas V. Smith
NAVAL INSTITUTE PRESS
Annapolis, Maryland
The latest edition of this work has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2010 by Douglas V. Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-61251-423-9 (eBook)
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
One hundred years of U.S. Navy air power / edited by Douglas V. Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. United States. Navy—Aviation—History. I. Smith, Douglas V. (Douglas Vaughn), 1948- II. Title:
One hundred years of United States Navy air power.
VG93.O54 2010
359.9’40973—dc22
2010034231
Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
141312111098765432
First printing
All photographs are courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive unless otherwise credited.
This work is dedicated to THOSE who have worn the Wings of Gold, Navy Wings of Silver, and THOSE who have supported them in the air, on the ground, and in their homes;
Professor Emeritus GEORGE W. BAER, who so graciously allowed us to use the title for his award-winning book, One Hundred Years of Sea Power, as an inspiration for our own;
JOYCE I. MILLER, who has been an inspiration and mentor to us all.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1.Introduction
Chapter 2.The Experimental Era: U.S. Navy Aviation before 1916
Chapter 3.Eyes of the Fleet: How Flying Boats Transformed War Plan Orange
Chapter 4.Ships in the Sky
Chapter 5.Big Guns versus Wooden Decks: Naval Aviation Officer Personnel, 1911–1941
Chapter 6.Admiral Joseph Mason “Bull” Reeves, Father of Navy Carrier Aviation
Chapter 7.Aviation in the Interwar Fleet Maneuvers, 1919–1940
Chapter 8.The Two-Ocean Navy Act of 1940: The Impact on American Preparedness for World War II
Chapter 9.U.S. Aircraft Carrier Evolution, 1911–1945
Chapter 10.Foundation for Victory: U.S. Navy Aircraft Development, 1922–1945
Chapter 11.Straight Up: Vertical Flight in the U.S. Navy
Chapter 12.The Transition to Swept-Wing Jets
Chapter 13.Naval Aviation in the Korean and Vietnam Wars
Chapter 14.By Land and Sea: Non-Carrier Naval Aviation
Chapter 15.U.S. Aircraft Carrier Evolution: 1945–2011
Chapter 16.Conclusions
Contributors
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
F-18 Super Hornet.
Eugene B. Ely flies his Curtiss pusher airplane from USS Birmingham (CV-2), 14 November 1910. The USS Roe, serving as plane guard, is visible in the background.
Lieutenant John Towers was convinced of the importance of an aviation program in spite of the skepticism of senior officers.
The Consolidated PBY or Catalina had a 1,000-mile range. By 1941, the U.S. Navy had 330 in service.
The Honorable Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy (right), with Rear Admiral C. C. Bloch, Naval Air Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, September 1940.
The U.S. Navy’s largest non-rigid airships, the ZPG-3W class, flew until 1962.
ZPG-2s in hangar.
Early naval aviators pose at the Naval Aeronautic Station, Pensacola, Florida, spring 1914.
Naval Reserve Freshmen, class of 1930, University of California.
Admiral Joseph Mason “Bull” Reeves.
DT-2 taking off from USS Langley, circa 1925.
USS Langley in Pearl Harbor in 1928.
The USS Lexington with Martin bombers on deck.
Left to right: Representative Carl Vinson (D-GA); Secretary of Navy Francis P. Matthews; Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, Chief of Naval Operations; and Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Commander, Pacific Fleet, 6 October 1949.
USS Essex (CV-9), circa 1945.
The USS Saratoga (CV-3), recovering her aircraft, June 1935.
The USS Midway in a gale off Sicily, February 1949. Photograph taken from the Essex-class carrier Philippine Sea.
The first successful torpedo plane design was Douglas Aircraft Company’s DT.
U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver returns from a strike on Japanese shipping.
The pontoon-equipped XR-4 flights from the USS Bunker Hill in May 1943 marked the birth of naval rotary-wing aviation.
SH-3A (HSS-2) flown publicly for first time, 24 March 1959.
McDonnell FH-1 Phantom.
A-6 Intruder on the USS Independence’s catapult, March 1965.
U.S. Navy Fighters F4U Corsairs return to carrier USS Boxer (CV-21) after a strike over Korea, September 1951.
U.S. Navy F-4B Phantom II from the USS Ranger, February 1968.
P-3 Orion conducting ship surveillance in mid-Pacific, September 1974.
Consolidated B-24 Liberator designated by the U.S. Navy as the PB4Y-1.
Official 1948 sketch of the supercarrier United States, which was designed to carry heavy bombers.
USS Abraham Lincoln, typical of modern U.S. nuclear carriers, October 1994.
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) with guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62).
FOREWORD
I am indeed honored to have been asked to help kick off the Centennial Year of U.S. Navy Aviation by sharing a few insights on Navy aviation’s proud history. As a Navy pilot who has shared the thrills and the agonies of defending our nation in the air, I am happy to congratulate those who wear, or have worn, the Wings of Gold, and I salute the thousands of dedicated men and women in and out of uniform who keep them in the air. America’s citizens owe a great debt to all who pioneered Navy aviation and brought it to such a prominent position in the nation’s arsenal.
In looking back over the past century, it is incredible to see how far aviation technology has come. Within the span of one human lifetime, we have seen remarkable progress from Navy pilot Eugene Ely’s first carrier landing in a fragile Curtiss pusher biplane in 1911, to Navy aviator Alan Shepard’s footsteps on the moon only six decades later! I believe that America’s birthrights of freedom and liberty have been in large part secured through air power. One of the first questions I always asked as Commander-in-Chief when American interests were threatened around the globe was “Where are our aircraft carriers?” The ability to project power from the sea—free from the restrictions of international political maneuvering—has repeatedly played a key part in crisis management and in securing vital U.S. interests.
Some of my fondest memories are of my years as a young Navy pilot, flying off USS San Jacinto during World War II, and of the other pilots, aircrewmen, and ship’s company who shared the experience of flying aircraft in harm’s way. My combat missions were marked by both triumph and tragedy, but I never felt more like a patriot than when I carried America’s flag into
battle in pursuit of a just cause.
You can imagine the pride I felt in January 2009 when I participated in the commissioning of the remarkable new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that bears my name. I said at the time: “Make no mistake, the work aboard this ship will be routinely difficult and sometimes dangerous. But the freedom we seek and the peace we desire can only be found in the countless sacrifices you will make in everyday tasks you will perform.”
It is particularly appropriate that this book, dedicated to the Navy aviator’s courage, incredibly close ties to comrades in arms, sense of duty in the face of death, and loyalty to our great nation, is being published during Navy Aviation’s Centennial celebration. It tells a tale rife with courage and sacrifice, dangerous experimentation and awe-inspiring innovation, tenacity, and dedication. It involves wondrous technologies that include the exhilaration of jet propulsion, the agility of rotary wings, and the iconoclastic ventures of lighter-than-air. Most of all, it is a human drama with far-reaching implications into the shaping of world events and the ultimate success of our great democratic experiment. The book is also, in a very real sense, a tribute to the military families who served quietly in their own way, through countless hours of separation and anxiety, praying for the safe return of their champions.
My life has been blessed with many wonderful experiences, but few rival my days in uniform with the United States Navy. All my best wishes as you celebrate 100 years of U.S. Navy air power!
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Reserve
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would all like to express our sincere thanks to President George Herbert Walker Bush, forty-first President of the United States, not only for providing the foreword for this book, but for his gallant service as a pilot wearing the Navy Wings of Gold in World War II in the Pacific. We thank President Bush as well for saluting all those who have worn or now wear the Wings of Gold, those who have kept and continue to keep them in the air, and those who, past and present, have kept the home fires burning while awaiting their return.
We would also like to thank Mr. Danny Pietrodangelo and his associate, Ms. Dale Harness, of Pietrodangelo Production Group in Tallahassee, Florida, for their excellent photo research and photo editing work for this project.
Dr. Al Nofi would like to add his thanks to Admiral James Hogg, USN (Ret.), and his shipmates from the CNO’s Strategic Studies Group, 2001–2005; as well as the staff of the Naval War College Library and the Naval War College Archives; Editor Emeritus of the Naval War College Review, Frank Uhlig; and Dr. Thomas Hone, without whom his chapter and this entire book would not have been possible.
I add my thanks to all of these, but especially to Tom Hone, who helped envision this project.
Capt. John Jackson, SC USN (Ret.) would like to extend his thanks to Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl, USN (Ret.), who commanded all Navy airships in World War II and was the commanding officer at Naval Air Station Lakehurst the night the German Zeppelin Hindenburg crashed. John’s meeting and discussions with Vice Admiral Rosendahl provided fascinating details of the age of airships. John also thanks his loving wife, Valerie, for her untiring support and encouragement of all that he does.
Tim Jackson and Stan Carpenter thank Mr. Nathaniel Patch at the National Archives and Records Administration for his assistance in locating many essential records relating to naval legislation and appropriations bills.
Dr. Norman Friedman above all wants to thank his wife, Rhea, for her warm support throughout this project. Dr. Friedman’s acquaintance with the story of U.S. carrier design dates back to a NAVSEA project sponsored by Dr. Reuven Leopold, who was then senior civilian ship designer (and who had designed the Tarawa-class large-deck amphibious ships and the Spruance-class destroyers). Dr. Leopold wanted Dr. Friedman to use the NAVSEA preliminary design files to find out why the U.S. Navy preferred large to small carriers. Through Dr. Leopold he became acquainted with the Navy’s preliminary designers, including Herbert S. Meier, who led the team that produced the preliminary design for the Nimitz-class carriers. “I hope I have done them justice. I also want particularly to thank Dr. Evelyn Cherpak, who is responsible for the archive of the Naval War College and to thank the staff of the U.S. National Archives and Records Agency, at both the downtown Washington, D.C., and College Park locations. I would also like to thank Dr. Thomas C. Hone of the Naval War College for many valuable insights developed during our two Joint projects for the Office of Net Assessment. I am grateful to Charles Haberlein, photo curator of the Naval History and Heritage Command, for help not only with photographs but also with much wider issues of ship development and employment.”
Hill Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges Captain Robert Rasmussen, USN (Ret.), and Dr. Robert R. Macon of the National Naval Aviation Museum for their longtime support of his work, and thanks those many naval aviators and aircrewmen who over the years have shared the experiences that have done so much to inspire his writing
Dr. Mike Pavelec singles out Dr. Evelyn Cherpak, Archivist of the Naval War College, for her great support of his archival research, and Hill Goodspeed, Historian of the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida, who is also a contributing author of this work, for his important help on research of all aspects of Navy aviation.
Finally, as editor of this book, I want to thank each of the authors who have shared their insights and scholarship by providing the chapters herein. Every one of them submitted their chapters on time or ahead of schedule, a rarity in the academic community. Experts all, they have made my job easy and enlightened me in the process.
My thanks go out to Dr. Evelyn Cherpak, echoing those above. She is a consummate professional and incredible resource for all scholars of U.S. Naval History. Likewise, I thank Ms. Alice Juda, Senior Reference Librarian and the strongest possible supporter of the scholarly research efforts of members of the Naval War College faculty and student body. Mr. Dennis Zambrotta, library technician at the War College, has provided an important service in locating microfilm holdings that have proven critical to this project and deserves my thanks as well. All six contributing authors of the Naval War College faculty owe a great degree of gratitude to Evelyn, Alice, and Dennis and all the staff of the War College Library.
Thanks also to Rear Admiral Jay DeLoach USN (Ret.), Director of the Navy History and Heritage Command at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., for his support of this project and our archival research in his fine archives; and to Captain Russ Knight, USN, Chief of Staff of the Naval War College and a senior Navy pilot, for offering us advice on aviation matters and contacts useful to this project.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife, Paulette, who has assisted in proofreading this book and in so many other ways. I thank her also for keeping me flying for over twenty years.
Others who have provided help to all of the contributors but who are not named here are gratefully acknowledged.
The views expressed in this book are those of the authors alone and are not to be construed as those of the Naval War College or the Department of the Navy.
DOUGLAS V. SMITH
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Douglas V. Smith
Donato Pietrodangelo
F-18 Super Hornet.
If there is one aspect of the United States Navy that has defined its history, and that stands out in its molding of American history, it is Navy Aviation. It is hard to imagine the centrality of the U.S. Navy in America’s history without the role Navy aviation has played for almost half its existence. Thus, in 2011 when the Navy celebrates the Centennial of Navy Aviation, it is appropriate that all Americans—and particularly those who have worn the Wings of Gold—take time to reflect on the monumental impact Navy aviation has had on this country and its citizens.
It is fitting that a volume be dedicated to the pilots who have proudly worn the Wings of Gold, the Naval Flight Officers and the aircrewmen who have placed their lives in their care, and to the men
and women who have kept them in the air for a century. So too is it important that the pioneers of Navy aviation be recognized, their stories told, and that the thousands of men and women who risked everything to make sure the airplanes in the fleet matched the skills of those who would fly them be honored for their innovation, bravery, sacrifice, and dedication.
A poem on aviation extols the magnificence of being able to have “slipped the surly bonds of Earth—put out my hand and touched the Face of God!”1 Few have ever been able to break those bonds and fly. One can only imagine how exhilarating it must have been in 1911 when some had the prospect of doing just that . . . while serving their country and at the expense of the U.S. Navy. In one hundred years, the prospect of the excitement of air flight has not lessened in the American spirit. Living on the edge constantly—almost every day of one’s life—creates an exhilaration unimaginable to most young people growing up. Strapping on a flame-throwing Mach 2+ rocket today must give a feeling not much different from nestling into a 95-mph biplane with an engine that would not meet the requirements for a good lawn mower a hundred years later. Landing either of these on a postage stamp in the middle of the ocean, inhibited by forty-foot waves and a rolling deck, can only be imagined by someone who has not experienced it. Being referred to regularly as the “best two percent of humanity”2 for being one of the few who can do just that has produced a confidence unmatched in any fraternity of brothers (and more recently sisters) other than naval aviators of the United States Navy. The pages that follow tell their story.
Today the Commander, U.S. Naval Air Forces is Vice Admiral Allen G. Myers IV, USN. He is in the most fortunate position of leading all Navy aviators as they reach the Centennial year of their profession. It is hoped that this volume, which is intended to tell Navy aviation’s story through its first hundred years, might complement the commemorative activities Admiral Myers has planned for the Centennial.
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