Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps
Encyclopedia
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps (1907–1914) was the world's first heavier-than-air military aviation organization and the progenitor of the United States Air Force
. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronautical Division procured the first powered military aircraft in 1909, created schools to train its aviators, and initiated a rating system for pilot qualifications. It organized and deployed the first permanent American aviation unit, the 1st Aero Squadron
, in 1913. The Aeronautical Division trained 51 officers and 2 enlisted men as pilots, and incurred 13 fatalities in air crashes. During this period, the Aeronautical Division had 29 factory-built aircraft in its inventory, built a 30th from spare parts, and leased a civilian airplane for a short period in 1911.S.C. No. 30, a Curtiss J, was to have been the 31st aircraft, but although ordered at the same time as S.C. No. 29, was not delivered until September.
Following statutory authorization of an Aviation Section
in the Signal Corps by the United States Congress
in 1914, the Aeronautical Division continued as the primary organizational component of the section until April 1918, when its inefficiency in mobilizing for World War I
caused the War Department
to replace it with an entirely new organization that eventually became the foundation of the Army's Air Service
.
Signal Corps became associated with aeronautics
during the American Civil War
, when Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
was named chief of the Union Army Balloon Corps
. In 1892, Major General Adolphus Greely
, Chief Signal officer of the Army, formulated plans for a War Balloon detachment for the Signal Corps and authorized the purchase of a balloon from France, dubbed the General Myer,The General Myer and Fort Myer, Virginia, were named for Colonel Albert J. Myer
, Signal Officer of the Army of the Potomac
during the American Civil War
. Ironically, Myer snagged John Wise
's balloon in trees trying to deliver it to the Bull Run battlefield
, then in August 1863 rejected the balloon unit outright as costing more than it was worth. based at Fort Riley
in 1893 and Fort Logan in 1894. When the General Myer deteriorated, a second balloon, the Santiago, was manufactured by members of the Signal Corps in 1897 using the General Myer as a model, and served in combat in Cuba in 1898
.The Santiago, after observing Spanish movements near El Caney on June 30, 1898, was placed within 650 yards of the Spanish trenches on San Juan Hill
on July 1, where it was struck repeatedly by small arms fire and shrapnel. Badly damaged, it was not used again. (Greely, "Balloons in War", pp. 48-49)
In 1898-99, the War Department
accepted the report of an aeronautically-minded investigating committee that included Alexander Graham Bell
and invested $50,000 for the rights to a heavier-than-air flying machine being developed by Samuel Pierpont Langley
, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
. Although Langley's "Aerodrome" failed embarrassingly, the Army later resumed its interest in aviation as a result of the success of the Wright Brothers
and entered into protracted negotiations for an airplane.
All balloon school activities of the U.S. Army Signal Corps were transferred to Fort Omaha, Nebraska in 1905. In 1906, the commandant of the Signal School in Fort Leavenworth
, Kansas
, Major
George O. Squier
, studied aeronautical theory and lectured on the Wright flying machine. One of his instructors—Captain William L. Mitchell—was also a student of aviation and taught the use of reconnaissance
balloons. Squier became executive officer to the Chief Signal Officer, Brigadier General
James Allen, in July 1907, and immediately convinced Allen to create an aviation entity within the Signal Corps.
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, consisting at its inception of one officer and two enlisted men, began operation on August 1, 1907. Captain Charles deForest Chandler
was named to head the new division, with Corporal
Edward Ward and Private First Class
Joseph E. Barrett as his assistants.Ward was commissioned during World War I and received a balloonist license. Barrett, with a fear of hydrogen balloons, deserted
soon after the establishment of the Division but served honorably later in the U.S. Navy. (Correll, "First of the Force", p. 51) 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm, a cavalry officer, was also detailed to the division and joined it September 17, 1907. Both officers were balloonists. Lahm had earned renown the year before when he won the inaugural Gordon Bennett Cup, an international balloon event, while Chandler was already a member of the Aero Club of America
. He remained head of the division until 1908, then again from 1911 to 1913. During the interim, he was relieved by Lahm and from May 1910 to June 1911 (while Chandler attended the Signal School Course at Fort Leavenworth
) by Capt. Arthur S. Cowan, a former infantry officer and non-aviator assigned to the Signal School. On December 23, 1907, the Signal Corps issued Specification No. 486 for a heavier-than-air flying machine and requested bids. A copy of the specification was sent to the Wright Brothers
on January 3, 1908.
Theodore Roosevelt
in the acquisition process, purchased a nonrigid dirigible from Thomas Scott Baldwin
for $6,750,Approximately $150,000 in 2011 dollars. US Inflation Calculator and an airplane from the Wright Brothers for $25,000. Specification No. 486 required both types of airships be able to carry two persons. The dirigible had to be able to carry a load of 450 lb (204.1 kg) and reach a speed of 20 mph (32.2 km/h); the airplane's requirements were a load of 350 lb (158.8 kg), a speed of 40 mph (64.4 km/h), and a flying distance of at least 125 mi (201.2 km).
The dirigible was delivered first, in July 1908, after Baldwin submitted an extremely low bid to ensure receiving the contract ($25,000 had been budgeted).Approximately $570K in 2011. Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss
flew the test trials and met all specifications except speed, which was just under the requirement. During August, Baldwin trained three officer candidates to fly the dirigible: Lahm, 1st Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, Field Artillery
; and 1st Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois
, Infantry
. Foulois was trained as the first dirigible pilot and prepared to move the ship from Fort Omaha to St. Joseph, Missouri for a state fair
exhibition. However, the first solo ascent in the dirigible, and the first flight solely by army pilots, did not occur until May 26, 1909.
The Wright Brothers, who had been asking $100,000 for their airplane,Approximately $2.25M in 2011. then agreed to sell an airplane satisfying the requirements for $25,000 (they also received a $5,000 bonus for exceeding the speed requirement). The airplane was delivered to Fort Myer
, Virginia
, on September 1, 1908, for trials. The first acceptance flight of the airplane was made on September 3 at Fort Myer, with Orville at the controls. Selfridge and Lahm were named official observers of the trials of the Wright aeroplane for September 1908. Both Lahm and Major Squier made acceptance flights as observers, and on September 13, Wright kept the airplane aloft for an hour and ten minutes.
On September 17, 1908, because he was under orders to travel to St. Joseph for the dirigible exhibition, Selfridge asked to take the place of a United States Navy
observer, Lieutenant George Sweet, scheduled for a test flight. During the flight, flying at 150 ft (45.7 m), a propeller
split and shattered, severing a wire to the rudder, and caused the airplane to crash. Wright was hospitalized, and Selfridge—the Army's only officer experienced in heavier-than-air flight—was killed in the first fatal crash of an airplane.
Orville Wright, along with Wilbur this time, returned to Fort Myer in June 1909 with a new though smaller and faster airplane, powered by the engine from the wrecked 1908 Flyer. The brothers spent the better part of July fine tuning the airplane and warming up for the final tests while bad flying weather hampered much of the month. For 1909's acceptance trials both Lahm and Foulois were named as official observers.
Lahm flew with Wright on July 27, and on July 30, with President William H. Taft as a spectator, Foulois and Wright in the final acceptance trial made a cross country flight of 10 mi (16 km) around Shuter's (or Shooters) Hill
between Fort Myer and Alexandria, Virginia. This flight broke all of the existing records for speed, duration with a passenger and altitude with a passenger. Pleased with the performance of this airplane the Army purchased it awarding the Wrights $25,000 plus an added bonus of $5,000 ($1,000 for each mile achieved over 40 mph (64 km/h)). The plane's best speed had been 45 mph (72 km/h) bringing the total sale price to $30,000.
at College Park, Maryland
for use as a training field. The newly purchased airplane was delivered to College Park on October 7, assembled by Wilbur Wright, and flown for the first time the next day. Wright began instruction of Lahm and 2nd Lt
Frederic E. Humphreys, detailed from the Corps of Engineers
, flying constantly in front of often large crowds of curiousity seekers, newspaper reporters, and dignitaries. Both soloed on October 26, Humphreys going ahead of Lahm (the detachment commander) because it was his turn to fly. Although both flights were of less than 15 minutes in duration and 30 ft (9.1 m) of altitude, late in the day Lahm remained aloft for 40 minutes, telling Wright he landed only because it was suppertime. The Army's contract with the Wright Brothers ended with the completion of training of the two student pilots, and Wilbur Wright made his last public flight on November 2. Later that day, Lahm took Lt. Sweet up as a passenger and he became the first naval officer to fly.
On November 5, both pilots were aboard the airplane, with Lahm at the controls, when it crashed in a low altitude turn. Although neither pilot was injured, and the Wrights bore the expense of repairs, the crash ended flights until 1910. Both Lahm and Humphreys returned to duty with their respective branches.Henry H. Arnold recorded in his memoirs that Humphreys was recalled to the Corps of Engineers after being detached only two months because of a "holier than thou" attitude by the Corps, while Lahm had been recalled to the Cavalry because it was reported he had taken a woman up in his plane. In actuality, it had been Wilbur Wright. He flew Sarah (possibly Sadie) Van Deman, the wife of Capt. Ralph H. Van Deman
of the 21st Infantry, as a passenger on October 26 to fulfill a pledge made to this friend of his sister Katherine. While Humphreys was not a "Manchu Law" victim, and resigned his commission the next year as a result of his recall, Lahm's time away from the Cavalry had reached its four-year maximum. (Pool, pp. 344-345; Allen, "Wright Military Training")
gas used to lift the ship caused the gasbag to leak with increasing severity. The dirigible was condemned and sold at auction
. Foulois had been a vocal critic of the dirigible, recommending that it be abandoned, and although one of the two candidates selected to be trained as an airplane pilot, he was sent to Nancy, France instead as a delegate to the International Congress of Aeronautics. Foulois arrived back from France on October 23 and was given some preliminary flight time with Wilbur Wright, even though Wright was not contractually obligated to do so, with the intent that Humphreys would complete Foulois' training.
In November 1909, Foulois became the only officer detailed to the Aeronautical Division. He accrued three hours and two minutes total flying time at College Park but did not solo. Because of inclement winter weather at College Park, Foulois was assigned to move the flying program to Fort Sam Houston
, an Army post near San Antonio, Texas
. Foulois and eight enlisted menThe enlisted men, representing the entire air corps of the Army in 1910 and early 1911, were Sgt. (later lieutenant colonel) Stephen J. Idzorek, Sgt. Herbert Marcus, Cpl. (later colonel) Vernon L. Burge, Pvt. Glenn R. Madole, Pvt. R.W. Brown, Pvt. Felix G. Clarke, Pvt. William C. Abolin, and Pvt. Bruce Pierce. Pvt. Kenneth L. Kintzel was detailed to the detachment after it reached Texas. He and Burge accompanied S.C. No. 7 to the Philippines in 1912. disassembled the still-damaged S.C. No. 1, shipped it to Texas in 17 crates, and reassembled it on February 23, 1910, after building a shed to house it on the Arthur MacArthur Field used for cavalry drill. On 2 March 1910, after training himself, Foulois logged his first solo from 9:30am to 9:37am and four flights in total, crashing the S.C. No. 1 on its final landing. He achieved a maximum altitude of 200 ft (61 m) and a speed of 50 mph (80.5 km/h) in logging 59 minutes and 30 seconds of flight time. He flew the repaired craft five times on March 12, and received written instruction by mail from the Wright Brothers. Until 1911, Foulois remained as the Army's sole aviator and innovator. He stated in annotating the aircraft's flight log that he installed a 4 ft (1.2 m) leather cinch strap
from the Cavalry saddlery as a safety belt on the S.C. No. 1 on March 12, 1910, then on August 8 he and Oliver Simmons
bolted wheels from a cultivator
onto the landing skids to provide the first landing gear. S.C. No. 1 made its last flight, and the 66th on it by Foulois, on February 8, 1911.
In early 1911, the United States gathered much of the Regular Army in south Texas as a show of force to Mexican revolutionaries, forming the "Maneuver Division". In March 1911 near Fort McIntosh
at Laredo, Texas
, Foulois and Wright instructor Philip Orin Parmelee
demonstrated the use of airplanes in support of ground maneuvers for the first time. The S.C. No. 1 was not sufficiently airworthy for the reconnaissance and messaging missions it performed, and for a nominal fee of one dollar, Foulois rented the Wright B Flyer
privately owned by Robert J. Collier, owner of Collier's Weekly
, on February 21. Foulois and Parmalee landed the rented airplane in the Rio Grande River during their second flight, on March 5.Flying at 75 feet, the Collier Wright B lost altitude when the pilots accidentally killed the engine while admiring a flight of ducks. It flipped over onto its back when the engine restarted at full throttle as it skimmed the water during their frantic attempts to regain powered flight. When it was retrieved, it was found that little actual damage had been incurred, and the aircraft was repaired and placed back in service. (Pool, p. 359)
Major Squier, as Chief Signal Officer of the Maneuver Division, formed a provisional aero company on April 5, 1911, the first aviation unit in American history, in anticipation of training 18 additional pilots.Squier became Chief of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in 1916. Five new airplanes were authorized for purchase, and two were received at Fort Sam on April 20, a Curtiss 1911 "Type IV military aeroplane" (Curtiss Model D
) designated Signal Corps No. 2, and a new Wright Model B that became S.C. No. 3. Both came equipped with wheels rather than skids, and the Curtiss aircraft was powered by an 8-cylinder, 60 hp engine in sharp contrast to the 40 hp 4-cylinder training engines the student pilots were accustomed to. Two civilian pilots, Frank Trenholm Coffyn
of the Wright Company and Eugene Ely from Curtiss, arrived with the aircraft to assist in instruction. All three of the Army's aircraft took to the air at the same time on April 22, 1911, during a parade and review of troops of the Maneuver Division at Fort Sam Houston, captured in a panoramic photograph
linked below.
After Army acceptance of the aircraft on April 27, Foulois and Ely then undertook training a small group pilot candidates on the Curtiss machine, including three (Capt. Paul W. Beck
, 2nd Lt. George E.M. Kelly, and 2nd Lt. John C. Walker, Jr.) who had been partially trained as prospective Curtiss instructors by Glen Curtiss at North Island
, San Diego, California
, before being ordered to Texas. Student pilots were divided into separate sections because the flight controls on the two types were markedly different and the single-seat Curtiss machines did not allow for dual instruction. S.C. No. 1, judged no longer airworthy due to many rebuilds, was retired from service on May 4 and sent to the Smithsonian Institution
in October.
The most proficient new pilot was Beck, who by seniority was made commander of the provisional aero company, causing a permanent rift between himself and Foulois, by far the more experienced pilot. On May 10, Kelly, the least experienced pilot, was killed on his qualification flight when S.C. No. 2 crashed while landing in gusty wind conditions. The division commander, Major General William H. Carter
, immediately withdrew permission to fly at Fort Sam.Carter disliked airplanes and believed they had no military value whatsoever. (Pool, p. 366) Foulois, who was a mustang officer
and a combat veteran of the Spanish-American War
, blamed the crash on improper maintenance of the Curtiss D, and indirectly, on Beck. Foulois also refused to serve under Beck. Foulois was again removed from the aviation by enforcement of the "Manchu Law".Article IV, Paragraph 40, Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1910, mandated by the Detached Service provision of the Army's 1912 appropriations bill, which limited an officer's assignment to the Detached Officers List (duty other than "in branch," defined as present for duty with a unit of the arm to which he belonged) to a maximum of four years in any six-year period, with two years troop duty before becoming eligible for detached service again. All aviation officers except those in the Signal Corps were affected. Beck took over from Foulois as instructor, and moved the school back to College Park with S.C. No. 3.S.C. No. 2, the Curtiss D in which Lt. Kelly was killed, was not returned to service until July 25, after its engine had been swapped with a less powerful one from the new Curtiss Model E, S.C. 6 (Cameron, p. 44). Beck's tenure as head of the flying program lasted only a year. On May 1, 1912, Beck too was returned to the Infantry by enforcement of the "Manchu Law".
in 1908, 2nd Lt. Henry H. Arnold
assisted Capt. Arthur S. Cowan (then in the Infantry) in a military mapping detail. Cowan returned to the United States, transferred to the Signal Corps, and was assigned to recruit two lieutenants to become pilots. Cowan contacted Arnold, who cabled his interest in also transferring to the Signal Corps but heard nothing in reply for two years. In 1911, relocated to Fort Jay
, New York
, Arnold sent a request to transfer to the Signal Corps, and on April 21, 1911 received orders detailing him and 2nd Lt. Thomas D. Milling
to Dayton, Ohio
, for flight instruction at the Wright brothers
' aviation school. Beginning instruction on May 3, Milling had soloed on May 8 after two hours of flight time while Arnold made his first solo flight May 13 after three hours and forty-eight minutes of flying lessons.
In June, he and Milling completed their instruction and were sent to College Park, Maryland
, as the Army's first flight instructors, on June 14. Two Wright B airplanes were available for use in instruction when S.C. No. 4 was delivered five days later and joined S.C. No. 3, newly arrived from Texas. The school officially opened on July 3, 1911, and taught ten students, including two members of the National GuardPfc. Beckwith Havens of New York, FAI
Certificate N. 127; and Lt. Col. Charles B. Winder of Ohio, FAI Cert. No. 130. (Hennessy, p. 246) and Chandler, who had been assigned to command the school and division again after graduation from the Signal School.Chandler's training under Arnold was minimal, and he actually earned his qualification flying with Orville Wright in Dayton at the end of the summer of 1911. S.C. No. 2, repaired and returned to service, was joined at the end of July by S.C. No. 6, a new Curtiss E "scout"
, and Milling became the only aviator able to master the significantly different flight controls of each type. A split developed between the "Wright pilots" and the "Curtiss pilots" that was not resolved until the Wright machines were phased out in 1914 for safety reasons.Because the Wright airplanes were equipped with only a single warp (rudder control) lever between the pilot seats, the arrangement also produced "right seat pilots" and "left seat pilots" until 1912, when dual controls were introduced. Lahm and Humphreys, as an example, flew with each other to gain "left seat" experience for instructing purposes.
Milling won the Tri-State Biplane Race in a Wright B against a field of experienced fliers, flying a course from Boston, Massachusetts to Nashua, New Hampshire
to Worcester, Massachusetts
to Providence, Rhode Island
and back to Boston, a total of 175 miles, without the use of a compass. It was also his first night flight, with several large bonfires providing guidance to the landing field.
Arnold set an altitude record of 3260 ft (993.6 m) on July 7, 1911, and twice broke it. In August, he experienced his first crash, trying to take off from a farm field after getting lost. At the end of the November the school disassembled its four aircraft and moved to Augusta, Georgia
for the winter, flying from a leased farm. One of its students, Lt. Col. Charles B. Winder
of Ohio, was the first National Guard officer to complete flying training and receive an F.A.I. certificate in the spring of 1912.The Army pilots were not happy training Winder, however. The cost of the training was paid from the Aeronautical Division's limited funds, not by the State of Ohio; pilot training would have been provided by the manufacturer when the state purchased an aircraft; and Winder immediately put his certificate to private commerical use by advertising himself as a barn-stormer. This last point seems to have been the major irritant, since no similar criticism is documented against Private Havens of New York, who was both a salesman for Glenn Curtiss and a member of his exhibition team. (Cameron, pp. 48-49)
Arnold accepted delivery of the Army's first tractor plane (with a propeller
and engine mounted on the front) on June 26, 1912, but crashed into the bay at Plymouth
, Massachusetts
during takeoff. Arnold began to develop a phobia about flying, intensified by the fatal crashes of the Wright Company instructor who taught him, Arthur L. Welsh
on June 12, and an academy classmate of Arnold's, 2d Lt. Lewis Rockwell, on September 18, 1912, both in the new Wright C "speed scouts"
.
In October 1912, Arnold and Milling were sent to Fort Riley
, Kansas
, to experiment with spotting
for the field artillery
. On November 5, Arnold’s Wright C stalled, went into a spin, and he narrowly avoided a fatal crash. He immediately and voluntarily grounded himself, then returned to the Infantry in 1913 after closing down the school at College Park, which was discontinued in favor of one with favorable flying conditions year-round at San Diego, California
, named Rockwell Field
in 1917 in memory of Arnold's classmate.
In 1911, the Aeronautical Division received its first direct appropriation
from Congress
for aviation ($125,000 for Fiscal Year 1912, half of what was proposed), and added five airplanes to its inventory. In addition to S.C.s 2, 3, 4, and 6, a Wright B was ordered to be built under license by Burgess Company and Curtis
as its "Model F" (S.C. No. 5). A sixth aircraft, a Wright B Flyer designated S.C. No. 7, was assembled at Fort McKinley
in the Philippines
and used by Lt. Lahm to make the first flight of an American military airplane outside the continental United States on March 21, 1912.A third school was established at Fort Kamehameha
in Hawaii
by 1st Lt. Harold Geiger in July 1913, using S.C. 8 and 21, but trained no students after preliminary flying was suspended in September because of treacherous winds and the aircraft stored in November. The following year the engines were shipped back to the United States, Geiger and his detachment sent home, and the aircraft sold at auction for a combined total of $450.
Rules of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
(FAI) were adopted, including standards for the certification of pilots, and Lts. Henry H. Arnold
and Thomas D. Milling
became the first two Army pilots to be FAI certified. On February 23, 1912, the U.S. Army established its own military aviator rating
and issued the first five (of 24) to Lt. Arnold, Capt. Chandler, Lt. Milling, Capt. Beck, and Lt. Foulois in July 1912.
In February 1912, recognizing a need for specialized aircraft in field service, the Aeronautical Division drew up its first new specifications for aircraft since 1907, creating a "Scout" classification for a two-man, slow speed, tactical reconnaissance airplane; and "Speed Scout", for a lighter, faster, one-man airplane for strategic (longer ranged) reconnaissance. In May 1912, the division purchased its first Speed Scout, a Wright C. The aircraft crashed during its acceptance trials on June 11 at College Park, killing 2nd Lt. Leighton W. Hazelhurst, who had been among the first class of student pilots, and Arthur L. Welsh
, the Wright Company instructor who had taught Arnold to fly. Arnold himself was flying a Wright C (S.C. No. 10) in November 1912 at Fort Riley
, Kansas
, when he was nearly killed.S.C. No. 10 crashed on February 9, 1914, killing 1st Lt. Henry B. Post
. In all the division purchased six Wright Cs (not including the one flown by Welsh and Hazelhurst) and a Burgess Model J (a Wright C made under license), six of which crashed. This led to the grounding on February 24, 1914, of all "pusher"
aircraft, including the sole Wright C survivor and a Burgess model rebuilt to Wright C standard.
In anticipation of a possible war with Mexico
, Captain Chandler, four pilots, 21 enlisted men and a detachment of Curtiss JN-3 airplanes were sent from the Aviation School's winter location at Augusta, Georgia
, to Texas City, Texas
, on February 28, 1913. Ultimately, eight pilots and nine airplanes trained with the 2nd Division on the Gulf Coast and San Antonio. Organized as a provisional unit on March 5, the 1st Aero Squadron became the first permanent unit of the air force on December 8, 1913.The term "squadron" was derived from cavalry terminology and was used by early military air organizations internationally. In 1913, Chief Signal Officer Scriven testified before Congress "the aeroplane is an adjunct to the cavalry." When the time came to form a tactical aviation organization, planners adapted the cavalry squadron organization to their purposes. Like cavalry squadrons, the new aero squadrons were administrative and tactical units, which usually consisted of two or more elements. In England, the Royal Flying Corps formed the first two aero squadrons in May 1912. The US Army followed the British example. While at Texas City, the junior pilots complained directly about safety concerns to new Chief Signal Officer Brig. Gen. George P. Scriven, who had come to Texas on an inspection trip after reading adverse newspaper reports on the squadron, in effect delivering an ultimatum to Scriven that either Chandler be replaced or they would withdraw from aviation. Despite calling the incident an "incipient mutiny", Scriven relieved Chandler on April 1 and transferred him to Fort McKinley
in the Philippines
, replaced on an interim basis by Cowan, who was already in Texas City as the signal officer of the mobilizing 2d Division.Another historian, however, wrote that Chandler may have been deposed by the anti-aviation Gen. Carter, who was still in command of the Central Department, in order to hand-pick as his replacement a non-aviator (Carter's signal officer). The inadequacy of the field at Texas City and Chandler's complaints about it were apparently the catalyst for his relief, whichever general initiated it, but the pilots viewed Chandler as a non-aviator and held him responsible for the acquisition of inadequate, underpowered and unsafe aircraft. From then forward Chandler's aviation activities were limited to ballooning. (Pool, "Military Aviation in Texas," p. 432; Heimdahl and Hurley, p. 30) In September, Lt. Col. Samuel Reber—a former balloonist and influential member of the Aero Club of America
—became the new head of the Aeronautical Division.Reber had arranged for the first firing of a weapon (a rifle) from a flying airplane by Lt. Jacob E. Fickel
on August 20, 1910. Both Cowan and Reber were non-aviators, causing further friction with the pilots and creating a permanent consensus among them that only an aviator was qualified to command flying units. When the 1st Aero Squadron joined the Curtiss airplanes at North Island in June,College Park was abandoned in June 1913 at the expiration of the lease, despite congressional pressure to buy it, because the cost of purchasing the property ($400,000) was considered exorbitant by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
. Arnold supervised the closing of the facility as his final task with the Aeronautical Division. Reber made Cowan commandant of the Aviation School at North Island, deepening the divisions.
James Hay (Democrat-Virginia) introduced a bill intended to establish a semi-autonomous "Air Corps." The bill died, but Hay offered a revision in May with hearings held in August 1913. Beck appeared to testify on behalf of the bill, the only officer to do so, and was opposed by Major William L. Mitchell representing the General Staff, Foulois, Arnold, and Milling. That bill died too, in committee.
Appropriations for aviation fell to $100,000, in part because the Signal Corps had spent only $40,000 of the Fiscal Year 1912 funding. However, as a result of the high number of fatalities, flight pay (35% increase above base pay) and accelerated promotion for pilots were approved by Congress on March 3, 1913, in the appropriations legislation and the Aeronautical Division grew from 14 to 18 pilots. The Army Air Forces Statistical Digest (World War II) listed the strength of the division at 51 officers and men on November 1, 1912, and 114 on September 30, 1913.
In the following year, Congress increased the size and prestige of Signal Corps aviation by enacting a law on July 18, 1914, that established an Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
and absorbed the Aeronautical Division into it. Reber became chief of the section and was promoted to lieutenant colonel, delegating the duties of head of the Aeronautical Division to another non-aviator, Major Edgar Russel, senior instructor and assistant commandant of the Signal School.Russel eventually became Chief Signal Officer of the AEF during World War I and a major general. Russel Hall, the headquarters building at Fort Monmouth, is named for him. On October 1, 1917, during World War I
, the Aeronautical Division was renamed the Air Division and was abolished altogether by the War Department on April 24, 1918.
Between August 1, 1908, and June 30, 1914, the Signal Corps spent $430,000 on aeronautics, funding the purchase of 30 aircraft and the building of a 31st (S.C. No. 23) from spare parts.The manufacturers delivered 32 airplanes, but two crashed before acceptance. One (the Wright C Scout S.C. 10) was assigned a number before acceptance that was duplicated by its replacement, but the other, the Burgess F intended to be S.C. No. 5, was not. The leased Collier Model B was not assigned an SC number. As noted earlier, S.C. No. 30 was not delivered until after creation of the Aviation Section. By 1914, only nine of the surviving 23 remained in service, and two of those retired never flew operationally.S.C. 19 and 20 were experimental Wright D Speed Scouts never placed in service after flight acceptance flights.
August 1, 1907 to July 18, 1914:
Acting Chief of DivisionThe United States Senate
passed S.J. Resolution 65 on March 16, 1916, calling for an investigation of malfeasance in the Aviation Section, causing the immediate appointment of an acting head of the division/section. See "The Goodier court-martial" at Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Chiefs of Division (and Aviation Section head), 1916–1918
* The Air Force does not acknowledge Lahm as OIC of the Aeronautical Division between 1908 and 1910. However, Chandler's biography and Hennessy's history (page 14) indicate that from May 1908 to July 1910 Chandler was commander of the Signal Corps Balloon Station at Fort Omaha, Nebraska. Also, Lahm was mandatorily returned to the Cavalry in late 1909, and no replacement is given, although if one was assigned, it was likely Foulois.
** Chandler was also Chief of the Aviation School and commander of the 1st Provisional Aero Squadron when those organizations were active. He was relieved of duty on April 1, 1913, and transferred to the Philippines. Capt. Cowan replaced him in command of the 1st Aero Squadron and as acting OIC of the Aeronautical Division.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronautical Division procured the first powered military aircraft in 1909, created schools to train its aviators, and initiated a rating system for pilot qualifications. It organized and deployed the first permanent American aviation unit, the 1st Aero Squadron
1st Reconnaissance Squadron
The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force reconnaissance training unit based at Beale Air Force Base, near Marysville, California. It is the oldest squadron in the Air Force, and the first organization to be established as a U.S. military flying unit...
, in 1913. The Aeronautical Division trained 51 officers and 2 enlisted men as pilots, and incurred 13 fatalities in air crashes. During this period, the Aeronautical Division had 29 factory-built aircraft in its inventory, built a 30th from spare parts, and leased a civilian airplane for a short period in 1911.S.C. No. 30, a Curtiss J, was to have been the 31st aircraft, but although ordered at the same time as S.C. No. 29, was not delivered until September.
Following statutory authorization of an Aviation Section
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
in the Signal Corps by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1914, the Aeronautical Division continued as the primary organizational component of the section until April 1918, when its inefficiency in mobilizing for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
caused the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
to replace it with an entirely new organization that eventually became the foundation of the Army's Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
.
Lineage of the United States Air Force
- Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps August 1, 1907–July 18, 1914
- Aviation Section, Signal CorpsAviation Section, U.S. Signal CorpsThe Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
July 18, 1914–May 20, 1918 - Division of Military Aeronautics May 20, 1918–May 24, 1918
- Air Service, United States ArmyUnited States Army Air ServiceThe Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
May 24, 1918–July 2, 1926 - United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air CorpsThe United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
July 2, 1926–June 20, 1941 - United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
June 20, 1941–September 18, 1947 - United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
September 18, 1947–present
Birth of an air arm
The United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Signal Corps became associated with aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
Thaddeus S. C. Lowe
Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt Lowe , also known as Professor T. S. C. Lowe, was an American Civil War aeronaut, scientist and inventor, mostly self-educated in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and aeronautics, and the father of military aerial reconnaissance in the United States...
was named chief of the Union Army Balloon Corps
Union Army Balloon Corps
The Union Army Balloon Corps was a branch of the Union Army during the American Civil War, established by presidential appointee Thaddeus S. C. Lowe...
. In 1892, Major General Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely , was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Early military career:...
, Chief Signal officer of the Army, formulated plans for a War Balloon detachment for the Signal Corps and authorized the purchase of a balloon from France, dubbed the General Myer,The General Myer and Fort Myer, Virginia, were named for Colonel Albert J. Myer
Albert J. Myer
Albert James Myer was a surgeon and United States Army officer. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor of wig-wag signaling , and also as the father of the U.S...
, Signal Officer of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Ironically, Myer snagged John Wise
John Wise (balloonist)
John Wise was a pioneer in the field of ballooning. He made over 400 flights during his lifetime and was responsible for several innovations in balloon design...
's balloon in trees trying to deliver it to the Bull Run battlefield
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
, then in August 1863 rejected the balloon unit outright as costing more than it was worth. based at Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
in 1893 and Fort Logan in 1894. When the General Myer deteriorated, a second balloon, the Santiago, was manufactured by members of the Signal Corps in 1897 using the General Myer as a model, and served in combat in Cuba in 1898
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
.The Santiago, after observing Spanish movements near El Caney on June 30, 1898, was placed within 650 yards of the Spanish trenches on San Juan Hill
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill , also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish-American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about two kilometers east of Santiago de Cuba. The names San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill were names given by the...
on July 1, where it was struck repeatedly by small arms fire and shrapnel. Badly damaged, it was not used again. (Greely, "Balloons in War", pp. 48-49)
In 1898-99, the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
accepted the report of an aeronautically-minded investigating committee that included Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
and invested $50,000 for the rights to a heavier-than-air flying machine being developed by Samuel Pierpont Langley
Samuel Pierpont Langley
Samuel Pierpont Langley was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and pioneer of aviation...
, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Although Langley's "Aerodrome" failed embarrassingly, the Army later resumed its interest in aviation as a result of the success of the Wright Brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
and entered into protracted negotiations for an airplane.
All balloon school activities of the U.S. Army Signal Corps were transferred to Fort Omaha, Nebraska in 1905. In 1906, the commandant of the Signal School in Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
George O. Squier
George O. Squier
Major General George Owen Squier was born in Dryden, Michigan, United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1887 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1893....
, studied aeronautical theory and lectured on the Wright flying machine. One of his instructors—Captain William L. Mitchell—was also a student of aviation and taught the use of reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
balloons. Squier became executive officer to the Chief Signal Officer, Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
James Allen, in July 1907, and immediately convinced Allen to create an aviation entity within the Signal Corps.
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, consisting at its inception of one officer and two enlisted men, began operation on August 1, 1907. Captain Charles deForest Chandler
Charles deForest Chandler
Colonel Charles deForest Chandler was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps that later became the United States Air Force.-External links:**...
was named to head the new division, with Corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Edward Ward and Private First Class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
Joseph E. Barrett as his assistants.Ward was commissioned during World War I and received a balloonist license. Barrett, with a fear of hydrogen balloons, deserted
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
soon after the establishment of the Division but served honorably later in the U.S. Navy. (Correll, "First of the Force", p. 51) 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm, a cavalry officer, was also detailed to the division and joined it September 17, 1907. Both officers were balloonists. Lahm had earned renown the year before when he won the inaugural Gordon Bennett Cup, an international balloon event, while Chandler was already a member of the Aero Club of America
Aero Club of America
The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Glidden and others to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New England. It thrived until 1923, when it transformed into the National Aeronautic...
. He remained head of the division until 1908, then again from 1911 to 1913. During the interim, he was relieved by Lahm and from May 1910 to June 1911 (while Chandler attended the Signal School Course at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
) by Capt. Arthur S. Cowan, a former infantry officer and non-aviator assigned to the Signal School. On December 23, 1907, the Signal Corps issued Specification No. 486 for a heavier-than-air flying machine and requested bids. A copy of the specification was sent to the Wright Brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
on January 3, 1908.
Acquisition of aircraft
In 1908, the Aeronautical Division, at the intercession of PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
in the acquisition process, purchased a nonrigid dirigible from Thomas Scott Baldwin
Thomas Scott Baldwin
Thomas Scott Baldwin was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute.-Early career:...
for $6,750,Approximately $150,000 in 2011 dollars. US Inflation Calculator and an airplane from the Wright Brothers for $25,000. Specification No. 486 required both types of airships be able to carry two persons. The dirigible had to be able to carry a load of 450 lb (204.1 kg) and reach a speed of 20 mph (32.2 km/h); the airplane's requirements were a load of 350 lb (158.8 kg), a speed of 40 mph (64.4 km/h), and a flying distance of at least 125 mi (201.2 km).
The dirigible was delivered first, in July 1908, after Baldwin submitted an extremely low bid to ensure receiving the contract ($25,000 had been budgeted).Approximately $570K in 2011. Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
flew the test trials and met all specifications except speed, which was just under the requirement. During August, Baldwin trained three officer candidates to fly the dirigible: Lahm, 1st Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, Field Artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
; and 1st Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois
Benjamin Foulois
Benjamin Delahauf Foulois , was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright Brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achieved numerous other military aviation "firsts"...
, Infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. Foulois was trained as the first dirigible pilot and prepared to move the ship from Fort Omaha to St. Joseph, Missouri for a state fair
State fair
A state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
exhibition. However, the first solo ascent in the dirigible, and the first flight solely by army pilots, did not occur until May 26, 1909.
The Wright Brothers, who had been asking $100,000 for their airplane,Approximately $2.25M in 2011. then agreed to sell an airplane satisfying the requirements for $25,000 (they also received a $5,000 bonus for exceeding the speed requirement). The airplane was delivered to Fort Myer
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, on September 1, 1908, for trials. The first acceptance flight of the airplane was made on September 3 at Fort Myer, with Orville at the controls. Selfridge and Lahm were named official observers of the trials of the Wright aeroplane for September 1908. Both Lahm and Major Squier made acceptance flights as observers, and on September 13, Wright kept the airplane aloft for an hour and ten minutes.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
observer, Lieutenant George Sweet, scheduled for a test flight. During the flight, flying at 150 ft (45.7 m), a propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
split and shattered, severing a wire to the rudder, and caused the airplane to crash. Wright was hospitalized, and Selfridge—the Army's only officer experienced in heavier-than-air flight—was killed in the first fatal crash of an airplane.
Orville Wright, along with Wilbur this time, returned to Fort Myer in June 1909 with a new though smaller and faster airplane, powered by the engine from the wrecked 1908 Flyer. The brothers spent the better part of July fine tuning the airplane and warming up for the final tests while bad flying weather hampered much of the month. For 1909's acceptance trials both Lahm and Foulois were named as official observers.
Lahm flew with Wright on July 27, and on July 30, with President William H. Taft as a spectator, Foulois and Wright in the final acceptance trial made a cross country flight of 10 mi (16 km) around Shuter's (or Shooters) Hill
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason. The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of...
between Fort Myer and Alexandria, Virginia. This flight broke all of the existing records for speed, duration with a passenger and altitude with a passenger. Pleased with the performance of this airplane the Army purchased it awarding the Wrights $25,000 plus an added bonus of $5,000 ($1,000 for each mile achieved over 40 mph (64 km/h)). The plane's best speed had been 45 mph (72 km/h) bringing the total sale price to $30,000.
First solo flights
The Army accepted the Wright A Military Flyer on August 2, 1909, designating it "Signal Corps (S.C.) No. 1". On August 25, the Army leased 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) of land along the Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
at College Park, Maryland
College Park Airport
College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, USA. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport.-History:...
for use as a training field. The newly purchased airplane was delivered to College Park on October 7, assembled by Wilbur Wright, and flown for the first time the next day. Wright began instruction of Lahm and 2nd Lt
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
Frederic E. Humphreys, detailed from the Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
, flying constantly in front of often large crowds of curiousity seekers, newspaper reporters, and dignitaries. Both soloed on October 26, Humphreys going ahead of Lahm (the detachment commander) because it was his turn to fly. Although both flights were of less than 15 minutes in duration and 30 ft (9.1 m) of altitude, late in the day Lahm remained aloft for 40 minutes, telling Wright he landed only because it was suppertime. The Army's contract with the Wright Brothers ended with the completion of training of the two student pilots, and Wilbur Wright made his last public flight on November 2. Later that day, Lahm took Lt. Sweet up as a passenger and he became the first naval officer to fly.
On November 5, both pilots were aboard the airplane, with Lahm at the controls, when it crashed in a low altitude turn. Although neither pilot was injured, and the Wrights bore the expense of repairs, the crash ended flights until 1910. Both Lahm and Humphreys returned to duty with their respective branches.Henry H. Arnold recorded in his memoirs that Humphreys was recalled to the Corps of Engineers after being detached only two months because of a "holier than thou" attitude by the Corps, while Lahm had been recalled to the Cavalry because it was reported he had taken a woman up in his plane. In actuality, it had been Wilbur Wright. He flew Sarah (possibly Sadie) Van Deman, the wife of Capt. Ralph H. Van Deman
Ralph Van Deman
Ralph Henry Van Deman was a soldier in the United States Army, and sometimes called "The Father of American Military Intelligence." General Van Deman is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.-Early career:...
of the 21st Infantry, as a passenger on October 26 to fulfill a pledge made to this friend of his sister Katherine. While Humphreys was not a "Manchu Law" victim, and resigned his commission the next year as a result of his recall, Lahm's time away from the Cavalry had reached its four-year maximum. (Pool, pp. 344-345; Allen, "Wright Military Training")
Foulois and Beck
The dirigible service proved short-lived, as the corrosive effects of weather and the hydrogenHydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
gas used to lift the ship caused the gasbag to leak with increasing severity. The dirigible was condemned and sold at auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
. Foulois had been a vocal critic of the dirigible, recommending that it be abandoned, and although one of the two candidates selected to be trained as an airplane pilot, he was sent to Nancy, France instead as a delegate to the International Congress of Aeronautics. Foulois arrived back from France on October 23 and was given some preliminary flight time with Wilbur Wright, even though Wright was not contractually obligated to do so, with the intent that Humphreys would complete Foulois' training.
In November 1909, Foulois became the only officer detailed to the Aeronautical Division. He accrued three hours and two minutes total flying time at College Park but did not solo. Because of inclement winter weather at College Park, Foulois was assigned to move the flying program to Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
, an Army post near San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Foulois and eight enlisted menThe enlisted men, representing the entire air corps of the Army in 1910 and early 1911, were Sgt. (later lieutenant colonel) Stephen J. Idzorek, Sgt. Herbert Marcus, Cpl. (later colonel) Vernon L. Burge, Pvt. Glenn R. Madole, Pvt. R.W. Brown, Pvt. Felix G. Clarke, Pvt. William C. Abolin, and Pvt. Bruce Pierce. Pvt. Kenneth L. Kintzel was detailed to the detachment after it reached Texas. He and Burge accompanied S.C. No. 7 to the Philippines in 1912. disassembled the still-damaged S.C. No. 1, shipped it to Texas in 17 crates, and reassembled it on February 23, 1910, after building a shed to house it on the Arthur MacArthur Field used for cavalry drill. On 2 March 1910, after training himself, Foulois logged his first solo from 9:30am to 9:37am and four flights in total, crashing the S.C. No. 1 on its final landing. He achieved a maximum altitude of 200 ft (61 m) and a speed of 50 mph (80.5 km/h) in logging 59 minutes and 30 seconds of flight time. He flew the repaired craft five times on March 12, and received written instruction by mail from the Wright Brothers. Until 1911, Foulois remained as the Army's sole aviator and innovator. He stated in annotating the aircraft's flight log that he installed a 4 ft (1.2 m) leather cinch strap
Girth (tack)
A girth, sometimes called a cinch , is a piece of equipment used to keep the saddle in place on a horse or other animal. It passes under the barrel of the equine, usually attached to the saddle on both sides by two or three leather straps called billets...
from the Cavalry saddlery as a safety belt on the S.C. No. 1 on March 12, 1910, then on August 8 he and Oliver Simmons
Oliver George Simmons
Oliver George Simmons was a pioneering aviator with the Wright brothers.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia in 1878 to Eller D. and George O. Simmons, and his sibling was Mary E. Simmons. He enlisted in the Signal Corps he served in the Philippines from 1899 to 1902...
bolted wheels from a cultivator
Cultivator
A cultivator is any of several types of farm implement used for secondary tillage. One sense of the name refers to frames with teeth that pierce the soil as they are dragged through it linearly. Another sense refers to machines that use rotary motion of disks or teeth to accomplish a similar result...
onto the landing skids to provide the first landing gear. S.C. No. 1 made its last flight, and the 66th on it by Foulois, on February 8, 1911.
In early 1911, the United States gathered much of the Regular Army in south Texas as a show of force to Mexican revolutionaries, forming the "Maneuver Division". In March 1911 near Fort McIntosh
Fort McIntosh
Fort McIntosh is the name of several former military installations in the United States:* Fort McIntosh * Fort McIntosh, Texas* Fort McIntosh...
at Laredo, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Foulois and Wright instructor Philip Orin Parmelee
Philip Orin Parmelee
Philip Orin Parmelee was an American aviation pioneer trained by the Wright brothers and credited with several early world aviation records and "firsts" in flight...
demonstrated the use of airplanes in support of ground maneuvers for the first time. The S.C. No. 1 was not sufficiently airworthy for the reconnaissance and messaging missions it performed, and for a nominal fee of one dollar, Foulois rented the Wright B Flyer
Wright Model B
|-See also:-References:* * * * * * -External links:* *...
privately owned by Robert J. Collier, owner of Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, on February 21. Foulois and Parmalee landed the rented airplane in the Rio Grande River during their second flight, on March 5.Flying at 75 feet, the Collier Wright B lost altitude when the pilots accidentally killed the engine while admiring a flight of ducks. It flipped over onto its back when the engine restarted at full throttle as it skimmed the water during their frantic attempts to regain powered flight. When it was retrieved, it was found that little actual damage had been incurred, and the aircraft was repaired and placed back in service. (Pool, p. 359)
Major Squier, as Chief Signal Officer of the Maneuver Division, formed a provisional aero company on April 5, 1911, the first aviation unit in American history, in anticipation of training 18 additional pilots.Squier became Chief of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in 1916. Five new airplanes were authorized for purchase, and two were received at Fort Sam on April 20, a Curtiss 1911 "Type IV military aeroplane" (Curtiss Model D
Curtiss Model D
|-See also:-External links:...
) designated Signal Corps No. 2, and a new Wright Model B that became S.C. No. 3. Both came equipped with wheels rather than skids, and the Curtiss aircraft was powered by an 8-cylinder, 60 hp engine in sharp contrast to the 40 hp 4-cylinder training engines the student pilots were accustomed to. Two civilian pilots, Frank Trenholm Coffyn
Frank Trenholm Coffyn
- Biography :He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 24, 1878 to George M. Coffyn, a banker.He married Louise D. Adams around 1900 and had the following children: Nancy Lou Coffyn and Kingsland A. Coffyn ....
of the Wright Company and Eugene Ely from Curtiss, arrived with the aircraft to assist in instruction. All three of the Army's aircraft took to the air at the same time on April 22, 1911, during a parade and review of troops of the Maneuver Division at Fort Sam Houston, captured in a panoramic photograph
Panoramic photography
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio...
linked below.
After Army acceptance of the aircraft on April 27, Foulois and Ely then undertook training a small group pilot candidates on the Curtiss machine, including three (Capt. Paul W. Beck
Paul W. Beck
Paul Ward Beck was an officer in the United States Army, an aviation pioneer, and one of the first military pilots. Although a career Infantry officer, Beck twice was part of the first air services of the U.S. Army, first as nominal head of the flying section of the Aeronautical Division, U.S...
, 2nd Lt. George E.M. Kelly, and 2nd Lt. John C. Walker, Jr.) who had been partially trained as prospective Curtiss instructors by Glen Curtiss at North Island
Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field was an Army air base located in Coronado, California, near San Diego. It shared the area known as North Island with Naval Air Station North Island from 1912 to 1935. Its functions were eventually moved to March Field so that the naval air station could take over the whole area...
, San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, before being ordered to Texas. Student pilots were divided into separate sections because the flight controls on the two types were markedly different and the single-seat Curtiss machines did not allow for dual instruction. S.C. No. 1, judged no longer airworthy due to many rebuilds, was retired from service on May 4 and sent to the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in October.
The most proficient new pilot was Beck, who by seniority was made commander of the provisional aero company, causing a permanent rift between himself and Foulois, by far the more experienced pilot. On May 10, Kelly, the least experienced pilot, was killed on his qualification flight when S.C. No. 2 crashed while landing in gusty wind conditions. The division commander, Major General William H. Carter
William Harding Carter
William Giles Harding Carter was a US Cavalry officer who served during the American Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I...
, immediately withdrew permission to fly at Fort Sam.Carter disliked airplanes and believed they had no military value whatsoever. (Pool, p. 366) Foulois, who was a mustang officer
Mustang (military officer)
A Mustang is United States Military slang for a commissioned officer who began his or her career as an enlisted service member. Mustangs are older and more experienced than their peers-in-grade who earned their commissions from one of the service academies , Officer Candidate...
and a combat veteran of the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, blamed the crash on improper maintenance of the Curtiss D, and indirectly, on Beck. Foulois also refused to serve under Beck. Foulois was again removed from the aviation by enforcement of the "Manchu Law".Article IV, Paragraph 40, Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1910, mandated by the Detached Service provision of the Army's 1912 appropriations bill, which limited an officer's assignment to the Detached Officers List (duty other than "in branch," defined as present for duty with a unit of the arm to which he belonged) to a maximum of four years in any six-year period, with two years troop duty before becoming eligible for detached service again. All aviation officers except those in the Signal Corps were affected. Beck took over from Foulois as instructor, and moved the school back to College Park with S.C. No. 3.S.C. No. 2, the Curtiss D in which Lt. Kelly was killed, was not returned to service until July 25, after its engine had been swapped with a less powerful one from the new Curtiss Model E, S.C. 6 (Cameron, p. 44). Beck's tenure as head of the flying program lasted only a year. On May 1, 1912, Beck too was returned to the Infantry by enforcement of the "Manchu Law".
Arnold and Milling
While stationed in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1908, 2nd Lt. Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
assisted Capt. Arthur S. Cowan (then in the Infantry) in a military mapping detail. Cowan returned to the United States, transferred to the Signal Corps, and was assigned to recruit two lieutenants to become pilots. Cowan contacted Arnold, who cabled his interest in also transferring to the Signal Corps but heard nothing in reply for two years. In 1911, relocated to Fort Jay
Fort Jay
Fort Jay is a harbor fortification and the name of the former Army post located on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Fort Jay is the oldest defensive structure on the island, built to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Arnold sent a request to transfer to the Signal Corps, and on April 21, 1911 received orders detailing him and 2nd Lt. Thomas D. Milling
Thomas D. Milling
Thomas DeWitt Milling was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force....
to Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, for flight instruction at the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
' aviation school. Beginning instruction on May 3, Milling had soloed on May 8 after two hours of flight time while Arnold made his first solo flight May 13 after three hours and forty-eight minutes of flying lessons.
In June, he and Milling completed their instruction and were sent to College Park, Maryland
College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
, as the Army's first flight instructors, on June 14. Two Wright B airplanes were available for use in instruction when S.C. No. 4 was delivered five days later and joined S.C. No. 3, newly arrived from Texas. The school officially opened on July 3, 1911, and taught ten students, including two members of the National GuardPfc. Beckwith Havens of New York, FAI
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
Certificate N. 127; and Lt. Col. Charles B. Winder of Ohio, FAI Cert. No. 130. (Hennessy, p. 246) and Chandler, who had been assigned to command the school and division again after graduation from the Signal School.Chandler's training under Arnold was minimal, and he actually earned his qualification flying with Orville Wright in Dayton at the end of the summer of 1911. S.C. No. 2, repaired and returned to service, was joined at the end of July by S.C. No. 6, a new Curtiss E "scout"
Curtiss Model E
-References:* * *...
, and Milling became the only aviator able to master the significantly different flight controls of each type. A split developed between the "Wright pilots" and the "Curtiss pilots" that was not resolved until the Wright machines were phased out in 1914 for safety reasons.Because the Wright airplanes were equipped with only a single warp (rudder control) lever between the pilot seats, the arrangement also produced "right seat pilots" and "left seat pilots" until 1912, when dual controls were introduced. Lahm and Humphreys, as an example, flew with each other to gain "left seat" experience for instructing purposes.
Milling won the Tri-State Biplane Race in a Wright B against a field of experienced fliers, flying a course from Boston, Massachusetts to Nashua, New Hampshire
Nashua, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 86,494 people, 35,044 households, and 21,876 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,719.9 people per square mile . There were 37,168 housing units at an average density of 1,202.8 per square mile...
to Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
to Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and back to Boston, a total of 175 miles, without the use of a compass. It was also his first night flight, with several large bonfires providing guidance to the landing field.
Arnold set an altitude record of 3260 ft (993.6 m) on July 7, 1911, and twice broke it. In August, he experienced his first crash, trying to take off from a farm field after getting lost. At the end of the November the school disassembled its four aircraft and moved to Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
for the winter, flying from a leased farm. One of its students, Lt. Col. Charles B. Winder
Charles B. Winder
Charles B. Winder of Ohio was a Corporal in the Ohio Army National Guard. He was the winner of the Leech Cup in 1903 in Sea Girt, New Jersey....
of Ohio, was the first National Guard officer to complete flying training and receive an F.A.I. certificate in the spring of 1912.The Army pilots were not happy training Winder, however. The cost of the training was paid from the Aeronautical Division's limited funds, not by the State of Ohio; pilot training would have been provided by the manufacturer when the state purchased an aircraft; and Winder immediately put his certificate to private commerical use by advertising himself as a barn-stormer. This last point seems to have been the major irritant, since no similar criticism is documented against Private Havens of New York, who was both a salesman for Glenn Curtiss and a member of his exhibition team. (Cameron, pp. 48-49)
Arnold accepted delivery of the Army's first tractor plane (with a propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
and engine mounted on the front) on June 26, 1912, but crashed into the bay at Plymouth
Plymouth (town), Massachusetts
Plymouth is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Plymouth holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore and culture, and is known as "America's Hometown." Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the famous ship the...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
during takeoff. Arnold began to develop a phobia about flying, intensified by the fatal crashes of the Wright Company instructor who taught him, Arthur L. Welsh
Arthur L. Welsh
Arthur L. "Al" Welsh was a Jewish, Russian-born American pioneer aviator who became the first flight instructor for the Wright Brothers. He was killed in an aircrash in 1912.-Early life:...
on June 12, and an academy classmate of Arnold's, 2d Lt. Lewis Rockwell, on September 18, 1912, both in the new Wright C "speed scouts"
Wright Model C
|-References:*], Dr. Richard Stimson, The Wright Stories...
.
In October 1912, Arnold and Milling were sent to Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, to experiment with spotting
Spotting
Spotting may refer to:Pastimes:* Aircraft spotting* Bus spotting* Car spotting* Train spotting* Spots , a method of smoking cannabisPhysical activities:* Spotting...
for the field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
. On November 5, Arnold’s Wright C stalled, went into a spin, and he narrowly avoided a fatal crash. He immediately and voluntarily grounded himself, then returned to the Infantry in 1913 after closing down the school at College Park, which was discontinued in favor of one with favorable flying conditions year-round at San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, named Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field was an Army air base located in Coronado, California, near San Diego. It shared the area known as North Island with Naval Air Station North Island from 1912 to 1935. Its functions were eventually moved to March Field so that the naval air station could take over the whole area...
in 1917 in memory of Arnold's classmate.
Appropriations, growth, and "incipient mutiny"
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
from Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
for aviation ($125,000 for Fiscal Year 1912, half of what was proposed), and added five airplanes to its inventory. In addition to S.C.s 2, 3, 4, and 6, a Wright B was ordered to be built under license by Burgess Company and Curtis
Burgess Company
The Burgess Company was a U.S. airplane manufacturer between 1910 and 1918.-History:The business was incorporated in 1910 as the "Burgess Company and Curtis, Inc." . The company was an offshoot of the W. Starling Burgess Shipyard, of Marblehead, Massachusetts.Burgess was the first licensed aircraft...
as its "Model F" (S.C. No. 5). A sixth aircraft, a Wright B Flyer designated S.C. No. 7, was assembled at Fort McKinley
Fort McKinley
Several places have been named Fort McKinley* Fort William McKinley * Fort McKinley, Maine* Fort McKinley, Ohio--------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and used by Lt. Lahm to make the first flight of an American military airplane outside the continental United States on March 21, 1912.A third school was established at Fort Kamehameha
Fort Kamehameha
Fort Kamehameha was a United States Army military base that was the site of several coastal artillery batteries to defend Pearl Harbor starting in 1907 in Honolulu, Hawaii.-History:The eastern areas of the fort were in the district called Moanalua...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
by 1st Lt. Harold Geiger in July 1913, using S.C. 8 and 21, but trained no students after preliminary flying was suspended in September because of treacherous winds and the aircraft stored in November. The following year the engines were shipped back to the United States, Geiger and his detachment sent home, and the aircraft sold at auction for a combined total of $450.
Rules of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI) were adopted, including standards for the certification of pilots, and Lts. Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
and Thomas D. Milling
Thomas D. Milling
Thomas DeWitt Milling was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force....
became the first two Army pilots to be FAI certified. On February 23, 1912, the U.S. Army established its own military aviator rating
U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Ratings
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", The standard by which flight status has been defined in law, executive orders, and regulations...
and issued the first five (of 24) to Lt. Arnold, Capt. Chandler, Lt. Milling, Capt. Beck, and Lt. Foulois in July 1912.
In February 1912, recognizing a need for specialized aircraft in field service, the Aeronautical Division drew up its first new specifications for aircraft since 1907, creating a "Scout" classification for a two-man, slow speed, tactical reconnaissance airplane; and "Speed Scout", for a lighter, faster, one-man airplane for strategic (longer ranged) reconnaissance. In May 1912, the division purchased its first Speed Scout, a Wright C. The aircraft crashed during its acceptance trials on June 11 at College Park, killing 2nd Lt. Leighton W. Hazelhurst, who had been among the first class of student pilots, and Arthur L. Welsh
Arthur L. Welsh
Arthur L. "Al" Welsh was a Jewish, Russian-born American pioneer aviator who became the first flight instructor for the Wright Brothers. He was killed in an aircrash in 1912.-Early life:...
, the Wright Company instructor who had taught Arnold to fly. Arnold himself was flying a Wright C (S.C. No. 10) in November 1912 at Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, when he was nearly killed.S.C. No. 10 crashed on February 9, 1914, killing 1st Lt. Henry B. Post
Henry Post
Henry Burnet Post was a Lieutenant in the US Army and a pioneer aviator who was killed in a crash. He set the altitude record of 12,120 feet....
. In all the division purchased six Wright Cs (not including the one flown by Welsh and Hazelhurst) and a Burgess Model J (a Wright C made under license), six of which crashed. This led to the grounding on February 24, 1914, of all "pusher"
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
aircraft, including the sole Wright C survivor and a Burgess model rebuilt to Wright C standard.
In anticipation of a possible war with Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Captain Chandler, four pilots, 21 enlisted men and a detachment of Curtiss JN-3 airplanes were sent from the Aviation School's winter location at Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, to Texas City, Texas
Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, on February 28, 1913. Ultimately, eight pilots and nine airplanes trained with the 2nd Division on the Gulf Coast and San Antonio. Organized as a provisional unit on March 5, the 1st Aero Squadron became the first permanent unit of the air force on December 8, 1913.The term "squadron" was derived from cavalry terminology and was used by early military air organizations internationally. In 1913, Chief Signal Officer Scriven testified before Congress "the aeroplane is an adjunct to the cavalry." When the time came to form a tactical aviation organization, planners adapted the cavalry squadron organization to their purposes. Like cavalry squadrons, the new aero squadrons were administrative and tactical units, which usually consisted of two or more elements. In England, the Royal Flying Corps formed the first two aero squadrons in May 1912. The US Army followed the British example. While at Texas City, the junior pilots complained directly about safety concerns to new Chief Signal Officer Brig. Gen. George P. Scriven, who had come to Texas on an inspection trip after reading adverse newspaper reports on the squadron, in effect delivering an ultimatum to Scriven that either Chandler be replaced or they would withdraw from aviation. Despite calling the incident an "incipient mutiny", Scriven relieved Chandler on April 1 and transferred him to Fort McKinley
Fort McKinley
Several places have been named Fort McKinley* Fort William McKinley * Fort McKinley, Maine* Fort McKinley, Ohio--------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, replaced on an interim basis by Cowan, who was already in Texas City as the signal officer of the mobilizing 2d Division.Another historian, however, wrote that Chandler may have been deposed by the anti-aviation Gen. Carter, who was still in command of the Central Department, in order to hand-pick as his replacement a non-aviator (Carter's signal officer). The inadequacy of the field at Texas City and Chandler's complaints about it were apparently the catalyst for his relief, whichever general initiated it, but the pilots viewed Chandler as a non-aviator and held him responsible for the acquisition of inadequate, underpowered and unsafe aircraft. From then forward Chandler's aviation activities were limited to ballooning. (Pool, "Military Aviation in Texas," p. 432; Heimdahl and Hurley, p. 30) In September, Lt. Col. Samuel Reber—a former balloonist and influential member of the Aero Club of America
Aero Club of America
The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Glidden and others to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New England. It thrived until 1923, when it transformed into the National Aeronautic...
—became the new head of the Aeronautical Division.Reber had arranged for the first firing of a weapon (a rifle) from a flying airplane by Lt. Jacob E. Fickel
Jacob Earl Fickel
Major General Jacob Earl "Jake" Fickel had a prominent career in the United States Air Force usually associated with being an instructor of aviation...
on August 20, 1910. Both Cowan and Reber were non-aviators, causing further friction with the pilots and creating a permanent consensus among them that only an aviator was qualified to command flying units. When the 1st Aero Squadron joined the Curtiss airplanes at North Island in June,College Park was abandoned in June 1913 at the expiration of the lease, despite congressional pressure to buy it, because the cost of purchasing the property ($400,000) was considered exorbitant by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...
. Arnold supervised the closing of the facility as his final task with the Aeronautical Division. Reber made Cowan commandant of the Aviation School at North Island, deepening the divisions.
Expansion of the aviation service
Capt. Beck was possibly the first advocate of an air service separate from the Army ground forces. In 1912 Beck authored an article for the Infantry Journal entitled, "Military Aviation: Its Needs," promoting the concept of an independent air force with its own missions. After he returned to the Infantry, he continued to lobby friends in Congress to return to aviation. In February 1913, RepresentativeUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
James Hay (Democrat-Virginia) introduced a bill intended to establish a semi-autonomous "Air Corps." The bill died, but Hay offered a revision in May with hearings held in August 1913. Beck appeared to testify on behalf of the bill, the only officer to do so, and was opposed by Major William L. Mitchell representing the General Staff, Foulois, Arnold, and Milling. That bill died too, in committee.
Appropriations for aviation fell to $100,000, in part because the Signal Corps had spent only $40,000 of the Fiscal Year 1912 funding. However, as a result of the high number of fatalities, flight pay (35% increase above base pay) and accelerated promotion for pilots were approved by Congress on March 3, 1913, in the appropriations legislation and the Aeronautical Division grew from 14 to 18 pilots. The Army Air Forces Statistical Digest (World War II) listed the strength of the division at 51 officers and men on November 1, 1912, and 114 on September 30, 1913.
In the following year, Congress increased the size and prestige of Signal Corps aviation by enacting a law on July 18, 1914, that established an Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
and absorbed the Aeronautical Division into it. Reber became chief of the section and was promoted to lieutenant colonel, delegating the duties of head of the Aeronautical Division to another non-aviator, Major Edgar Russel, senior instructor and assistant commandant of the Signal School.Russel eventually became Chief Signal Officer of the AEF during World War I and a major general. Russel Hall, the headquarters building at Fort Monmouth, is named for him. On October 1, 1917, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Aeronautical Division was renamed the Air Division and was abolished altogether by the War Department on April 24, 1918.
Between August 1, 1908, and June 30, 1914, the Signal Corps spent $430,000 on aeronautics, funding the purchase of 30 aircraft and the building of a 31st (S.C. No. 23) from spare parts.The manufacturers delivered 32 airplanes, but two crashed before acceptance. One (the Wright C Scout S.C. 10) was assigned a number before acceptance that was duplicated by its replacement, but the other, the Burgess F intended to be S.C. No. 5, was not. The leased Collier Model B was not assigned an SC number. As noted earlier, S.C. No. 30 was not delivered until after creation of the Aviation Section. By 1914, only nine of the surviving 23 remained in service, and two of those retired never flew operationally.S.C. 19 and 20 were experimental Wright D Speed Scouts never placed in service after flight acceptance flights.
Aircraft of the Aeronautical Division
SOURCES: Hennessy, The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917, Chapters 2-6, pp. 28–102; Warnock, "From Infant Technology to Obsolescence: the Wright Brothers' Airplane in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1905-1915"| S.C. No. | |Aircraft type | |How disposed | 1 | 2 Aug 1909 | Wright A | 4 May 1911 | retired | donated to Smithsonian Institute | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| none | 21 Feb 1911 | Wright B Wright Model B |-See also:-References:* * * * * * -External links:* *... |
21 Jun 1911 | returned to owner | leased from Robert J. Collier | ||||
| 2 | 27 Apr 1911 | Curtiss D Curtiss Model D |-See also:-External links:... |
24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | 2 fatal crashes (G. Kelly and Park) restored and displayed at NASM National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and... |
||||
| 3 | 27 Apr 1911 | Wright B | 24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | |||||
| 4 | 1 Jul 1911 | Wright B | 28 Sep 1912 | destroyed | fatal crash (Rockwell, Scott) | ||||
| 5 | Oct 1911 | Burgess F Wright Model B |-See also:-References:* * * * * * -External links:* *... |
24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | |||||
| 6 | 27 Jul 1911 | Curtiss E Curtiss Model E -References:* * *... |
24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | trainer with 40 hp engine, swapped engines with S.C. No. 2 | ||||
| 7 | 21 Mar 1912 | Wright B | 28 Aug 1913 | wrecked | Philippines | ||||
| 8 | 19 Mar 1912 | Curtiss E | 12 Nov 1914 | sold | Hawaii | ||||
| 9 | 12 Aug 1912 | Burgess H | 27 May 1914 | wrecked | |||||
| 10 (1) | not acquired | Wright C Wright Model C |-References:*], Dr. Richard Stimson, The Wright Stories... |
11 Jun 1912 | destroyed | fatal crash during acceptance trials (Welsh, Hazelhurst) | ||||
| 10 (2) | by 26 Oct 1912 | Wright C | 9 Feb 1914 | destroyed | fatal crash (Post) | ||||
| 11 | 3 Oct 1912 | Wright C | 8 Jul 1913 | destroyed | fatal crash (Call) | ||||
| 12 | by Nov 1912 | Wright C | 14 Nov 1913 | destroyed | fatal crash Philippines (Rich) | ||||
| 13 | 21 May 1913 | Wright C | 17 Sep 1913 | destroyed | Philippines | ||||
| 14 | by 26 Oct 1912 | Wright C | 24 Nov 1913 | destroyed | fatal crash (Ellington, H. Kelly) | ||||
| 15 | 27 Nov 1912 | Curtiss F | 8 Apr 1913 | condemned | fatal crash (Chandler) | ||||
| 16 | 22 Nov 1912 | Wright C | 24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | |||||
| 17 | Jan 1913 | Burgess I Burgess Model I |-References:* Hennessey, Juliette A. . The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917, Air Force Historical Study No. 98. Air Force History Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.-See also:... |
12 Jan 1915 | destroyed | Philippines | ||||
| 18 | Jan 1913 | Burgess J Wright Model C |-References:*], Dr. Richard Stimson, The Wright Stories... |
4 Sep 1913 | destroyed | fatal crash (Love) | ||||
| 19 | 3 May 1913 | Wright D | 24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | experimental | ||||
| 20 | 6 Jun 1913 | Wright D | 2 Jun 1914 | retired | experimental | ||||
| 21 | 28 Aug 1913 | Curtiss G | 12 Nov 1914 | sold | Hawaii | ||||
| 22 | 1 Dec 1913 | Curtiss G | unk date | unk | |||||
| 23 | 21 Oct 1913 | Curtiss E | 24 Feb 1914 | grounded as unsafe | built in San Diego from spare parts | ||||
| 24 | Nov 1913 | Burgess H | unk date | unk | |||||
| 25 | Nov 1913 | Burgess H | unk date | unk | |||||
| 26 | Jan 1914 | Burgess H | 20 Aug 1915 | condemned | sold 1916 | ||||
| 27 | 15 May 1914 | Burgess H | 25 Aug 1915 | condemned | sold 1916 | ||||
| 28 | 25 May 1914 | Burgess H | 25 Aug 1915 | condemned | |||||
| 29 | 24 Jun 1914 | Curtiss J Curtiss Model J |-See also:-References:* Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London:Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0 370 10029 8.... |
21 Dec 1914 | destroyed | fatal crash (Gerstner) | ||||
| 31 | 2 Jul 1914 | Martin T | Oct 1916 | condemned |
Heads of the Aeronautical Division
The executive head of the Aeronautical Division had no official title between 1907 and 1914 but was usually referred to as the Officer in Charge (OIC). The four recognized by the USAF as the OICs of the Division during this period, and thus as "head" of its progenitor arm, are denoted by a bullet point. All others are on lists in official studies published by the Office of Air Force History or its successor AFHRA. After July 18, 1914, the division was a part of an aviation section authorized by statute, with a Chief of Division who also exercised control of the section.August 1, 1907 to July 18, 1914:
- Captain Charles DeF. ChandlerCharles deForest ChandlerColonel Charles deForest Chandler was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps that later became the United States Air Force.-External links:**...
(August 1, 1907-May 13, 1908)
- 1st Lt. Frank Purdy Lahm (May 14, 1908-December 1909)*
- Unknown (December 1909-June 30, 1910)
- Capt. Arthur S. Cowan (July 1, 1910-June 19, 1911)
- Capt. Charles DeF. Chandler (June 20, 1911-April 1, 1913)**
- 2nd Lt. Henry H. ArnoldHenry H. ArnoldHenry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
(September 18, 1912-December 14, 1912)If Arnold were officially recognized, he would have twice commanded U.S. military aviation, once as a second lieutenant and once as a general of the army. - Maj. Edgar Russel (December 15, 1912-September 9, 1913)
- Lt. Col. Samuel Reber (September 10, 1913-July 17, 1914; Chief of Division July 18, 1914-May 5, 1916)
Acting Chief of DivisionThe United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
passed S.J. Resolution 65 on March 16, 1916, calling for an investigation of malfeasance in the Aviation Section, causing the immediate appointment of an acting head of the division/section. See "The Goodier court-martial" at Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
- Capt. George S. Gibbs (March 17, 1916-April 2, 1916)
- Major William L. Mitchell (April 3, 1916- May 20, 1916)
Chiefs of Division (and Aviation Section head), 1916–1918
- Lt. Col. George O. Squier (May 20, 1916-February 18, 1917)
- Lt. Col. John B. Bennet (February 19, 1917-July 29, 1917)
- Maj. Benjamin D. FouloisBenjamin FouloisBenjamin Delahauf Foulois , was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright Brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achieved numerous other military aviation "firsts"...
(July 30, 1917-November 5, 1917) - Brig. Gen. Alexander L. Dade (November 5, 1917-February 14, 1918)Dade, a colonel of cavalry, became school commander of the Signal Corps Aviation School on April 11, 1917, when Col. William A. Glassford reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. Glassford had purchased the General Myer and commanded the first Signal Corps War Balloon Company in 1894 at Fort Logan. Dade was promoted to temporary general of the Signal Corps on December 17, with a date of rank of October 29, and appointed to command the Air Division, and by seniority, the Aviation Section.
- Col. Laurence Brown (February 28, 1918-April 24, 1918)
Military aviation pioneers with the Aeronautical Division
- 1st Lt. Henry H. ArnoldHenry H. ArnoldHenry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, 29th Infantry - second ratedU.S. Air Force Aeronautical RatingsU.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", The standard by which flight status has been defined in law, executive orders, and regulations...
Military Aviator (July 5, 1912) - Capt. Paul W. BeckPaul W. BeckPaul Ward Beck was an officer in the United States Army, an aviation pioneer, and one of the first military pilots. Although a career Infantry officer, Beck twice was part of the first air services of the U.S. Army, first as nominal head of the flying section of the Aeronautical Division, U.S...
, Signal Corps - first nominal head of an operational aviation unit in 1911-12, first advocate of a separate air service - 2d Lt. Lewis H. BreretonLewis H. BreretonLewis Hyde Brereton was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force...
, Coast Artillery Corps - only member to retire (1948) as part of USAF - Cpl. Vernon L. Burge, Signal Corps - first FAI certified enlisted pilot (June 14, 1912)
- Capt. Charles deF. ChandlerCharles deForest ChandlerColonel Charles deForest Chandler was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps that later became the United States Air Force.-External links:**...
, Signal Corps - balloonist, twice head of the Aeronautical Division, and third rated pilot (July 5, 1912) - 1st Lt. Benjamin D. FouloisBenjamin FouloisBenjamin Delahauf Foulois , was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright Brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achieved numerous other military aviation "firsts"...
, 7th Infantry - third solo pilot, first Army instructor pilot - 2d Lt Leighton W. Hazelhurst, 17th Infantry - second student pilot fatality (June 11, 1912)
- 2d Lt. Frederick E. Humphreys, Corps of Engineers - first to solo in a military aircraft (October 26, 1909)
- 2d Lt. George E. M. KellyGeorge E. M. KellyGeorge Edward Maurice Kelly was the twelfth pilot of the U.S. Army's Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps and the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. He was the second U.S. Army aviation fatality, preceded by Lt...
, 30th infantry - first student and pilot fatality (May 1, 1911) - 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm, 6th Cavalry - second solo pilot, first licensed military pilot, and first Army aviator overseas
- 2d Lt. Moss L. Love, Signal Corps - first pilot trained overseas (killed September 4, 1913)
- 1st Lt. Thomas DeW. Milling, 15th Cavalry - first rated Military Aviator (July 5, 1912)
- 2d Lt. C. Perry Rich, Philippine Scouts - first overseas fatality (November 14, 1913)
- 2d Lt. Lewis C. Rockwell, 10th Infantry - first licensed pilot fatality (September 18, 1912)
- Corp. Frank Scott, Signal Corps - first enlisted and second passenger fatality (September 18, 1912)
- 1st Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, Jr., 1st Field Artillery - first Army officer to learn to fly, first airplane fatality (September 17, 1908)
See also
- Aviation Section, U.S. Signal CorpsAviation Section, U.S. Signal CorpsThe Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
- List of American Aero Squadrons
External links
- Provisional Aero Company in flight, Fort Sam Houston, Texas Parade of the Maneuver Division on April 22, 1911, with S.C. No. 2 (Curtiss D) at right, S.C. No. 3 (Wright B) at center, and S.C. No. 1 (Wright A) at left
