Bon Homme Richard (CVA 31) - Naval Cruise Book

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' r I 1 -i-.- . All In X llr 1961 T911 50TH Anniversary of NAVAL AVI' TI N , ' . xx' At the turn of the century, the concept of an aero machine stayiriginithe air on its own power, held approximately the same position in the imagination of man that the interplanetary space ship holds today in 1961-the idea that someone will develop it into reality in the not- to-distant future. It is this someone of the Naval Air program that we are speaking of now. The someone is not a man, nor a certain few men, but consists of a large number of men who, through the years, have dedicated their efforts, and indeed their lives, to the goal of man's suc- cessful attempt to stay in the air. Man's'fight to fly through the years is a story familiar to all, and it is not our purpose to retell it. Rather, we take this opportunity to look at the specific men responsible for developing the air arm of the United States Navy into the weapon for peace that it is today, and most specifically, to give an account in the succeeding pages of the status of the Naval Air Force and the men who uphold and maintain the traditions of the past fifty years. Few realize that Naval Aviation had the early beginnings that it did, developing concurrent- ly with aviation itself, for it was as early as 1910 that Captain W. I . Chambers, USN, was as- signed to coordinate the Navy's efforts to learn something about the possible value of the new science of aviation to the surface fleet. To help convince the Navy thatit should buy experi- mental aircraft to work with, he obtained the assistance of Glenn H. Curtiss. One of Curtiss' exhibition pilots, Eugene Ely, on 11p November, 1 910, successfully took off from a platform on the bow of the cruiser BIRMINGHAM. This proved that an airplane could be launched from a vessel, even though it was at anchor. On the morning of 18 January, 1911, he successfully placed his 'Curtiss biplane on the makeshift flight ramp on the stern of the battleship PENN- SYLVANIA. It is from this point, fifty years ago, that we date the history of Naval Aviation. World War I proved the value of the airplane in military operations. The Navy now de- cided to go all out in their adaption of thehair potential to the surface fleet with the commission- ing of the converted aircraft carrier LANGLEY in 1923. After this period, the names of men responsible' for the development of Naval Air are numerous, and are more renowned for their exploits during 'World War II. The building of the LANGLEY led to the building of the SA'RAT'OGA, RANGER, and LEXINGTON, and to the fast carrier forces of World War II. During World War II, squadrons of deck based aircraft, by then divided mainly into fighter, attack and observation types, became the primary weapon of the striking fleet. This is best exemplified in the battle of Midway, in 1942, which was the first time in history two fleets met in combat without seeing each other! With .the explosion of technology and the need of advanced capabilities since 'World War II, the Naval Air Forces of the United States Navy have proven their capability of providing the Power for Peace that serves the Free World so well today. I

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