First Yale Unit
Encyclopedia
The First Yale Unit was started by then Yale
sophomore F. Trubee Davison
in 1915. The First Yale Unit is considered to be the first naval air reserve unit. Davison and 11 other Yale students were fascinated with the possibilities of aviation in general and of naval aviation specifically. After meeting with Admiral Robert Peary to gain authorization for the unit, Trubee Davison acquired a Curtiss Model "F" seaplane
and members of the First Yale Unit were trained as pilots during the summer of 1916. They were used as the first aerial coastal patrol unit.
Through they were still civilians and volunteers, the Yale students now had an official mission. On August 29, 1916, Congress passed the Naval Reserve Appropriations Act and established a Naval Reserve Flying Corp. In March 1917, 13 days before the United States
entered World War I
, the First Yale Unit volunteers enlisted en masse.
From this small group of 29 emerged an Assistant Secretary of War, an Undersecretary of the Navy and a Secretary of Defense. Lt. David Ingalls
, a member of the First Yale Unit, flying a Sopwith Camel
with the RAF
, was the first US naval aviator to become an ace. He later served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Trubee Davison was injured in a crash during training and never saw combat. However, he went on to become the director of the Civil Aeronautics Board. First Yale Unit members Robert Lovett
and Artemus Gates
became commandants of the Army and Navy air corps, respectively.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
sophomore F. Trubee Davison
F. Trubee Davison
Frederick Trubee Davison , usually known as F. Trubee Davison, or Trubee Davison, was an American World War I aviator, Assistant US Secretary of War, Director of Personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and President of the American Museum of Natural History.Davison was the brother-in-law of...
in 1915. The First Yale Unit is considered to be the first naval air reserve unit. Davison and 11 other Yale students were fascinated with the possibilities of aviation in general and of naval aviation specifically. After meeting with Admiral Robert Peary to gain authorization for the unit, Trubee Davison acquired a Curtiss Model "F" seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
and members of the First Yale Unit were trained as pilots during the summer of 1916. They were used as the first aerial coastal patrol unit.
Through they were still civilians and volunteers, the Yale students now had an official mission. On August 29, 1916, Congress passed the Naval Reserve Appropriations Act and established a Naval Reserve Flying Corp. In March 1917, 13 days before the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered 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 First Yale Unit volunteers enlisted en masse.
From this small group of 29 emerged an Assistant Secretary of War, an Undersecretary of the Navy and a Secretary of Defense. Lt. David Ingalls
David Sinton Ingalls
David Sinton Ingalls, DSC and DFC was the only United States Navy Flying Ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in U. S. Navy history. He was the son of Albert S. Ingalls; his mother, Jane Taft, was the niece of President William Howard Taft...
, a member of the First Yale Unit, flying a Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
with the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, was the first US naval aviator to become an ace. He later served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Trubee Davison was injured in a crash during training and never saw combat. However, he went on to become the director of the Civil Aeronautics Board. First Yale Unit members Robert Lovett
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. Promoted to the position from deputy secretary of defense Domhoff described Lovett as a "Cold War...
and Artemus Gates
Artemus Gates
Artemus Lamb Gates was an American businessman, naval aviator, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air in charge of naval aviation efforts in World War II . He also was briefly Undersecretary of the Navy...
became commandants of the Army and Navy air corps, respectively.
Further reading
- Marc Wortman, The Millionaires' Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys who Fought the Great War and Invented America's Airpower. New York : Public Affairs, 2006. ISBN 1586483285