Interception of the Rex
Encyclopedia
The interception of the Rex was a training exercise and military aviation achievement of the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The 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...

 prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The tracking and location of an ocean going vessel by B-17 Flying Fortresses in May 1938 was a major event in the development of a doctrine that led to a United States Air Force
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...

 independent of the Army
United 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...

. The mission was ostensibly a training exercise for coastal defense of the United States, but was conceived by planners to be a well-publicized demonstration of the capabilities of "heavy bombers (as) long range instruments of power".

The flight was conducted during coastal defense maneuvers held by the Air Corps without the participation of the United States Navy
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...

, and apparently without understanding of their purpose by the Army Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...

. Both had continuing disagreements with the leaders of the Air Corps over roles and missions, with the Navy disputing its maritime mission and the Army seeking to limit its role to that of supporting ground forces.

With a characteristic flair for creating publicity, the Air Corps' General Headquarters Air Force (its combat organization) not only successfully made the interception at sea, but exploited both live radio news
Radio News
Radio News was an American monthly technology magazine published from 1919 to 1971. The magazine was started by Hugo Gernsback as a magazine for amateur radio enthusiasts, but it evolved to cover all the technical aspects to radio and electronics. In 1929 a bankruptcy forced the sale of Gernsback's...

 coverage and dramatic photographs. Although the publicity resulted in a short-term setback for Air Corps ambitions, within a year both U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 and future Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall became new proponents of long range air power.Roosevelt was especially impressed by the range of the B-17. (Underwood 146)

Ostfriesland

In July 1921, promoting the concept of an independent Air Force, Gen. Billy Mitchell staged a series of aerial bombing exercises that resulted in the sinking of the former German battleship Ostfriesland by the U.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...

. Although he incurred the enmity of the Navy, which considered the achievement nothing more than a publicity stunt, Mitchell continued to discredit the value of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 as the main weapon for projection of power by sinking several more obsolete ships in the next two years. However the Air Service was limited by Army policy to being an auxiliary of the ground forces and was unable to obtain a role that would employ the use of long distance bombers.The others were the obsolete U.S. pre-dreadnought battleship
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...

s Alabama
USS Alabama (BB-8)
USS Alabama was an pre-dreadnought style battleship in the United States Navy. She was the second ship to carry her name.Alabama was laid down on 1 December 1896 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company. She was launched on 18 May 1898...

 in September, 1921, and
Virginia
USS Virginia (BB-13)
USS Virginia was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class of five. She was the fifth ship to carry her name.Virginia was laid down on 21 May 1902 Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Virginia; launched on 6 April 1904; sponsored by Miss Gay Montague,...

 and
New Jersey
USS New Jersey (BB-16)
USS New Jersey was a Virginia-class battleship of the United States Navy. She was the first ship to carry her name. New Jersey was launched on 10 November 1904 by Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts; sponsored by Mrs. William B. Kenney, daughter of Governor Franklin Murphy of...

 in September, 1923.

The "Shasta Disaster"

On 7 January 1931, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

 and Navy CNO Adm. William V. Pratt reached an agreement assigning the coastal defense role for land-based aircraft to the Air Corps. This came at a time when the Air Corps was seeking a mission to justify the development of all-metal monoplane bombers, and theorists at the Air Corps Tactical School
Air Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. Created in 1920 at Langley Field, Virginia, it...

 were advocating the use of long range heavy bombers. In August of that year, to garner publicity and generate favorable public opinion, Lt.Col. Frank M. Andrews, on the staff of outgoing Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. James Fechet
James Fechet
James Edmond Fechet was the Chief of the United States Army Air Corps in 1927–1931. Men he had selected and worked with both on his staff and in other top Air Corps positions became key leaders of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II.-Biography:Born at Fort Ringgold, Texas, in 1877,...

, proposed to bomb another ship during joint maneuvers with the Navy off the coast of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. Before the mission Col. Roy Kirtland, the base commander at Langley Field, cautioned reporters that the operation was to be only a bombing exercise using small bombs, and that "nothing spectacular" should be expected.

The United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....

 made available a 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...

 cargo ship, the USS Mount Shasta, that had been tied up in the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...

 for a decade. An Army mine vessel
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...

 towed the hulk to sea 60 nautical miles (111 km) off Currituck Beach Light
Currituck Beach Light
The Currituck Beach Light is a lighthouse located on the Outer Banks in Corolla, North Carolina. An example of Gothic Revival architecture, the Currituck Beach Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1973.-History:...

. The next morning, Major Harbert A. Dargue
Herbert Dargue
Herbert Arthur "Bert" Dargue was a career officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of major general in the Army Air Forces. He was a pioneer military aviator and one of the first ten recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross.Dargue entered the United States Military Academy on June...

 led nine B-3A and B-5
Keystone B-5
|-See also:-External links:**...

 bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group
2d Operations Group
The 2d Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 2d Bomb Wing, assigned to the Air Combat Command Eighth Air Force. The group is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

, little different from the Martin NBS-1s that had destroyed the Ostfriesland, to locate and attack the Mount Shasta, but a combination of bad weather and failed communications resulted in the planes being unable to locate the ship. Worse, the failure was witnessed by several dozen reporters, movie newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...

 crews, a broadcast team from NBC radio, and observers from both the Army and Navy, some aboard airplanes that did find the ship. The Navy responded immediately with scornful public mocking of the effort. When a second attempt three days later, scoring only a few hits with the inadequately small 300- and 600-pound bombs, failed to sink the Mount Shasta, a pair of United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 ocean-going tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

s used small guns to sink it.

Despite its earlier disclaimer and subsequent explanations, the Air Corps was highly embarrassed by the incident, referred to as "the bombing flop" within the service. Navy Captain Dudley Knox dubbed it "the
Shasta Disaster", and the New York Evening Post commented that "the Navy evened up an old score". Hanson W. Baldwin
Hanson W. Baldwin
Hanson Weightman Baldwin was the long-time military editor of the New York Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize for "for his coverage of the early days of World War II". He authored or edited numerous books on military topics....

, military editor of the
New York Times and a Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 graduate, averred that it was "illustrative of the inefficiency of land-based pilots over water." As a result, Andrews and six subordinates were replaced by incoming Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Benjamin 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"...

, and the Secretary of War recommended that the Air Corps' budget be slashed. Andrews and Lt.Col. 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...

 (executive officer of the Air Materiel Division at Wright Field
Wright Field
Wright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....

), however, expressed concerns about the apparent lack of capability and possible failures in Air Corps training demonstrated by the fiasco.

Two months later a second opportunity presented itself. Another old ship, the Haines, sank in shallow water while being towed off Plum Tree Island
Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge
The Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Poquoson, Virginia, located on the southwestern corner of the Chesapeake Bay...

 and became a hazard to navigation. The 2nd Bombardment Group redeemed itself by completely destroying the derelict from the air, even though their only visible target was a ten foot square float marker. This accomplishment, however, went entirely unpublicized.
In 1933 the Navy repudiated the coastal defense agreement after Adm. Pratt retired. On 11 September 1935, the Joint Board, at the behest of the Navy and the concurrence of Gen. MacArthur, issued a "Joint Action Statement" that reasserted the limited role of all Air Corps missions, including coastal defense, as auxiliary to the "mobile Army". However, long range bomber advocates interpreted its language to mean that the Air Corps could conduct long range reconnaissance, attack approaching fleets, reinforce distant bases, and attack enemy air bases, all in furtherance of its mission to prevent an air attack on America.

Joint Air Exercise No. 4

On 4 March 1937, the 2nd Bombardment Group, commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Olds
Robert Olds
Robert Olds was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. Gen...

, received the first of the newly developed B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, with 12 delivered during the spring and summer of 1937. Designated the YB-17 because of its prototype status, the Flying Fortress was the first multi-engine long range bomber acquired by the Air Corps, despite resistance from the Army General Staff over its necessity.

The B-17s made their first significant operational contribution during Joint Air Exercise No. 4, an Army-Navy summer maneuver conducted at sea west of San Francisco, California. Authorized by a directive of President Roosevelt issued 10 July 1937, the exercise used the target ship Utah
USS Utah (BB-31)
USS Utah was a battleship that was attacked and sunk in Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. A Florida-class battleship, she was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the U.S. state of Utah...

 to represent a hostile fleet of two battleships, an aircraft carrier, and nine destroyers. A patrol wing of 30 Navy planes commanded by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Ernest J. King was assigned to locate the fleet, after which a force of 41 Air Corps bombers (including seven B-17s operating from March Field) would attack it. War Department orders limited the Air Corps aircraft to operating no more than 300 nautical miles (555.6 km) offshore, even though the directive had specified an exercise area out to 500 nautical miles (926 km).

The exercise began at noon on 12 August 1937 and was scheduled to end in 24 hours. After several hours of searching through a foggy undercast that extended 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) offshore, Navy planes found the Utah 275 nautical miles (509.3 km) from the coast and tracked it heading northwest. Air Corps bombers were sent to attack the ship but searched well into the evening without locating it. Admiral King then found an error in the Navy's position reports, which he later attributed to "clerical error".Underwood (1991), p. 92, however, states that the Navy "deceived" the Air Corps. The Utah had actually been 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) west of the search area provided to the Air Corps. Worse, the ship disappeared into the extensive low fog during the night, breaking the tracking by Navy scout planes. The poor weather also prevented an early morning search for the Utah.

Brig. Gen. Delos Emmons, commander of the GHQ Air Force's 1st Wing
1st Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 1st Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. It was the first wing formed in the reorganized United States Army Air Service, created in August 1919 to control three groups patrolling the border with Mexico after revolution broke out there. Its last assignment was with...

, dispatched bombers at 0900 on 13 August to search an area of 30000 square miles (77,699.6 km²) entirely covered by low clouds. Olds surmised that the
Utah had feinted towards San Francisco, then reversed course to attack the industrial Los Angeles area. Accompanied by Maj. Gen. Frank Andrews (now commander of GHQ Air Force), he flew in the lead B-17 above the clouds, patrolling an area 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) offshore. A Navy patrol aircraft located the Utah at 11:00 steaming southeast 285 nautical miles (527.8 km) off the coast. The 2nd BG bombers responded to the position report and located the Utah shortly before the noon termination of the exercise. From an altitude of 400 feet they attacked the former battleship with Navy-supplied water bombs.

When the Navy protested the low altitude attack, claiming that evasive action could have avoided the attack, both B-17s and B-18s repeated the mission the next day. They found the
Utah and bombed it, with the B-17s bombing from 18,000 feet. The Air Corps produced photographs and bombing data that showed it achieved a higher percentage of hits and near-misses than earlier Navy tests,, and the Navy subsequently had the exercise classified "Secret". The joint report sent to the president by the secretaries of the Navy and War omitted the information showing the success both in navigation and bombing. Despite the secrecy restriction, the success of the B-17s was leaked to radio commentator Boake Carter
Boake Carter
Harold Thomas Henry Carter , aka Boake Carter, was an American national news commentator in the 1930s and early 1940s. He was born in Baku, Russian Empire , where his father, Thomas Carter, worked for a British oil company...

, who disclosed it to the public.

In an attempt to overcome this compartmentalization, Andrews bypassed the chain of command on 8 January 1938, in a memorandum of his own regarding a minor joint air exercise held in November 1937 off the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....

. There four B-17s had found and successfully bombed Navy target vessels. Andrews sent a memo directly to Roosevelt's military aide, Col. Edwin M. Watson, that included confidential Navy memoranda confirming the accuracy of the Army's bombing.

Northeast Maneuvers

In May 1938 the Air Corps conducted one of the largest maneuvers in its history.The total personnel strength and assemblage of units from across the nation was among the greatest in its history. All three wing headquarters, seven group headquarters, and nine complete squadrons participated. 468 officers, 2,380 enlisted men, and 131 aircraft were drawn from all three wings of the GHQ Air Force and based at 18 airports in the northeast United States, "from Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...

, New York, and Aberdeen
Aberdeen, Maryland
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,842 people, 5,475 households, and 3,712 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,166.2 people per square mile . There were 5,894 housing units at an average density of 922.4 per square mile...

, Maryland, westward to Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, Pennsylvania". Included were eight B-17s of the 2nd Bombardment Group.All personnel, aircraft, and unit statistics for the Northeast Maneuvers were specified in an announcement in the Air Corps News Letter (May 1, 1938) Vol. XXI No. 9, page 11. The 131 aircraft, in addition to the B-17s, were: 44 A-17
Northrop A-17
The Northrop A-17, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F was a two seat, single engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the US Army Air Corps.-Development and design:...

 and 12 A-18 attack planes, 34 B-18 bombers, 15 PB-2
Consolidated P-30
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Angelucci, Enzo. and Peter M. Bowers, The American Fighter. New York: Orion Books, 1987. ISBN 0-517-56588-9....

 and P-26 pursuit planes, 2 C-36
Lockheed Model 10 Electra
The Lockheed Model 10 Electra was a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2...

 transports, and an OA-8
Sikorsky S-43
-External links:* - Howard Hughes Sikorsky S-43...

 amphibian. Also, the
ACNL referred to the 2nd Group's bombers as "B-17", and this article follows suit.
All were assigned as the "Blue Force" to defend New England from the "Black Force", an attacking aircraft carrier fleet. The Navy, involved in fleet exercises off the West Coast, did not provide ships to play the role of the Black Force. The Army publicized the resulting scenario as depicting simultaneous attacks on America by hostile fleets on both coasts, with the Air Corps tasked to defend against one of them.

Attached to the exercise was Lt. Col. Ira C. Eaker, the Chief of the Air Corps' Information Division. Eaker, who had a degree in journalism and had just completed a course in news photography
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...

 at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

, used the maneuvers as a platform for publicizing both the capabilities and materiel deficiencies of the Air Corps. His assistant was 2nd Lt. Harris Hull
Harris Hull
Harris B. Hull was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, and part of the original staff of the Eighth Air Force during the Second World War.-Biography:Hull was born in 1909, in Williamsburg, Iowa...

, a reservist on temporary duty for the exercise who was a reporter for the Washington Post in civilian life. When newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

, criticized the maneuvers for using a "mythical fleet" as a target, Hull suggested that an ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

 be substituted for naval vessels. He learned that the Italian Line
Italian Line
The Italian Line or Italia Line, also known as the Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America...

's SS
Rex
SS Rex
The SS Rex was an Italian ocean liner launched in 1931. It held the westbound Blue Riband between 1933 and 1935. Originally built for the Navigazione Generale Italiana as the SS Guglielmo Marconi, its state-ordered merger with the Lloyd Sabaudo line meant that the ship sailed for the newly created...

 was bound for New York and would pass the 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) mark on 11 May. Eaker recommended the interception of the liner to Gen. Andrews, who concurred and received approval from the office of the Army's Chief of Staff. Hull arranged to receive position reports from officials of the line.

Olds, whose B-17s were deployed to Olmsted Field
Olmsted Air Force Base
Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania....

 in Harrisburg, was given the assignment of locating the Rex as far at sea as possible, and assigned Major Vincent J. Meloy, the commanding officer of the 20th Bomb Squadron
20th Bomb Squadron
The 20th Bomb Squadron is part of the 2d Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It operates B-52 Stratofortress aircraft providing strategic bombing capability.-Mission:...

, to act as nominal head of the Black Force. Olds selected three aircraft from the 49th Bomb Squadron
49th Test and Evaluation Squadron
The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 53d Wing, based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.-Mission:...

 for the mission. On the afternoon of 11 May 1937, Olds and his crews flew from Olmsted to the staging base at Mitchel Field
Mitchel Air Force Base
Decommissioned in 1961, Mitchel Field became a multi-use complex currently home to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Nassau Coliseum, Mitchel Athletic Complex, Nassau Community College and Hofstra University.-Origins:...

 on Long Island.

Assigned as lead navigator was 1st Lt. Curtis E. LeMay, who had navigated the finding of the Utah and been a participant in a goodwill mission to South America in February that had won the group the MacKay Trophy
MacKay trophy
The Mackay Trophy was established on 27 January 1911 by Clarence Hungerford Mackay, who was then head of the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company and the Commercial Cable Company. Originally, aviators could compete for the trophy annually under rules made each year or the War Department could award the...

. The Chief of the Materiel Division's Photographic Section, Maj. George W. Goddard, flew co-pilot in aircraft No. 81 to document the mission using a specially-modified Graflex
Graflex
Graflex was a manufacturer, a brand name and several models of cameras. William F. Folmer, an inventor, built the first Graflex camera in 1898, when his company was called The Folmer and Schwing Manufacturing Company, founded originally in New York as a gas lamp company...

 camera. Reporters were also invited to accompany the mission. They included Hanson Baldwin, possibly because of his earlier excoriation of the "Shasta Disaster," and a radio crew from the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 (which on 4 April 1937, had made a live six-minute broadcast from a B-17 at Langley Field) to broadcast from aboard the lead aircraft while it made the interception.

The Blue Force bombers and crews were:
B-17 # Pilot Passengers
80 Maj. Caleb V. Haynes
Caleb V. Haynes
Caleb Vance Haynes was a United States Air Force major general. The grandson of a famous Siamese Twin, he was used by the Air Force as an organizer, able to create air units from scratch...

Major Haynes was commanding officer of the 49th Bomb Squadron.
Olds, LeMay, Meloy, NBC
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

 radio crew
81 Maj. Cornelius W. Cousland Goddard, Hull, C.B. Allen (New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...

)
82 Capt. Archibald Y. SmithCapt. Smith also ran the navigation training school of the 2nd BG. Hanson W. Baldwin (New York Times)


LeMay used the Rexs noon position report of 11 May in conjunction with known routes and speeds of ocean liners bound for New York to calculate an intercept point for the next day, based on the ship's expected noon position for 12 May. An updated position report to refine his calculations was expected that evening but not received. Weather conditions deteriorated during the night, with a forecast that "ceilings would be down to nothing" in the vicinity of the anticipated interception.

Interception

At 08:30 on 12 May, the three B-17s had begun to taxi in a rain squall
Squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...

 when a morning position report from Rex was relayed to LeMay.LeMay wrote that the report was on a soaked piece of paper hand-delivered by a sergeant who literally beat on the hatch of the B-17 to get the bomber to stop. It indicated that the liner was then 725 nautical miles (1,342.7 km) from New York, farther east than his original computations had placed it. LeMay's original flight plan had incorporated an area search if necessary, but weather conditions and the ship's distance from Long Island precluded that possibility.

The B-17s took off from Mitchel Field at 08:45 and cruised east from Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit along the Atlantic coast of New JerseySandy Hook may also refer to:-Places:United States* Sandy Hook , a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut* Sandy Hook, Kentucky, a city in Elliott County...

 at 170 mph on a true course of 101 degrees through rain, hail, downdrafts, and an intense headwind that reduced their ground speed
Ground speed
Ground speed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the ground. Information displayed to passengers through the entertainment system often gives the aircraft groundspeed rather than airspeed....

 by 11.5 mph. LeMay was unable to check the effect of the winds on ground speed and drift
Drift
- Film and literature :* Drift , a 2002 Doctor Who novel* Drift , a series of Japanese films written and directed by Futoshi Jinno* Drift, 2007 experimental short film by Max Hattler* Drift , a fictional character...

 because of a heavy overcast that limited their altitude to 1100 feet (335.3 m). At 10:00 they emerged into good weather that lasted an hour. LeMay took double driftsThe Double Drift Maneuver is a method of wind determination that calculates winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically
Trigonometry
Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves...

 by plotting vectors on a graph.
until the B-17s had to separate to transit a cold front. At 11:15 they reassembled in clear weather on the other side, where LeMay checked their course again. He calculated an intercept time of 12:25 for his pilot, who in turn passed it to Meloy to schedule the live radio broadcast. At noon the B-17s encountered an area of "scattered rain squalls," spreading into a line abreast formation with the aircraft 15 nautical miles (27.8 km) apart to increase their chances of spotting the Rex.

At 12:23, the bombers broke out of a squall line
Squall line
A squall line is a line of severe thunderstorms that can form along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front. It contains heavy precipitation, hail, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and possibly tornadoes and waterspouts....

, and Major Cousland in No. 81 immediately sighted the Rex. "There it is! There it is!" he transmitted by radio to the other pilots, "81 to 80, twelve o'clock." At 12:25, as predicted, the B-17s flew by the Rex while it was 620 miles (997.8 km) east of Sandy Hook.Many sources indicate that Rex was 725 miles (1,166.8 km) from New York, while others state 800 miles (1,287.5 km). However, the Air Corps News Letter (June 15, 1938) account indicated that the captain of the Rex reported during the radio contact between B-17s and ship that it "was the first time he had been welcomed to America while still 620 miles (997.8 km) offshore". The aircraft reversed course and came up the ship's port side, with No. 82 flying wing on No. 80 "at smoke stack level". From the co-pilot's seat of No. 81, Goddard took a series of photographs with the Graflex. In the waist position of No. 80, Meloy made voice contact by radio with the ship's captain, who invited "all members of the flight to come down to lunch." The ship's passengers filled its decks, waving to the bombers, with a group of Americans purportedly singing the Star Spangled Banner.

Because of the bad weather, the B-17s returned individually to Mitchel Field. Cousland's Flying Fortress encountered severe hail, damaging all the forward surfaces of the plane, and ice caused a temporary shutdown of one engine. As a result Cousland lagged behind the others, landing at 16:30. The next morning the three bombers took off to return to Harrisburg and spotted the Rex passing the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

 at 09:30 as it entered New York Harbor.

Impact

The NBC radio
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 crew aboard the lead bomber made its live broadcast coast-to-coast as the bombers flew by the Rex. The Army's low altitude photographs were featured the next day on the front pages of hundreds of newspapers. Eaker exploited a trust of Americans in radio broadcasts and in photography, particular to that era, to bolster the credibility of Air Corps claims that air power was essential in defending the western hemisphere. In addition to the Rex episode, the May 1938 maneuvers conducted a well-publicized mock attack on New York City, and arranged the first voluntary blackout
Blackout (wartime)
A blackout during war, or apprehended war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to navigate to their targets simply by sight, for example during the London...

 in the United States, also planned by Eaker, during a mock raid on Farmingdale
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...

, New York, on 16 May.

The response of the War Department was reluctance to further expand the Air Corps or its roles. In July, Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...

 Harry Woodring canceled an authorization for 144 more B-17s. However in January 1939, anticipating the coming of World War II and the needs of the United States in defending the Western Hemisphere, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 issued a public statement calling for an expansion of the Air Corps that reversed Army policy. Gen. George C. Marshall, who was soon to move up from head of the War Plans Division to be the Army's chief of staff, received personal instruction on the capabilities and strengths of long range bombers from Air Corps chief Gen. 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...

.

Operational restriction

The day after the rendezvous with the Rex, Chief of Staff General Malin Craig
Malin Craig
Malin Craig was a United States Army general.-Biography:Malin Craig was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on August 5, 1875; Graduated from the United States Military Academy, 1898; was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the 4th Infantry, April 1898;-Spanish American War:Served with the...

 telephoned Andrews and issued an order that restricted all Air Corps aircraft to operating within 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) of the coast. Arnold, Eaker, Olds, and Lt. Col. Carl Spaatz
Carl Spaatz
Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz GBE was an American World War II general and the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. He was of German descent.-Early life:...

 all believed that complaints from the Navy motivated the order. Spaatz, who personally answered the call, recorded that Andrews requested the order be issued in writing, but Arnold states he never saw a written order.Arnold's corroboration is especially valuable in that he and Gen. Craig were long-time friends.

Two Air Corps historians, however, state that no evidence exists that the Navy was behind the order. One explained that Craig believed the Air Corps violated War Department policy on publicity, while the second asserted that Craig was unhappy about not being provided details of the mission before it was publicly announced, and thus issued the order to ensure full notification before granting exceptions to the restriction. However, his deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Stanley Embick, claimed that the restriction had been issued as a "safety measure". Another historian, in a biography of Arnold, stated that the restriction had actually been promulgated on 1 September 1936, at the insistence of the Navy, but was not enforced by Craig until after the Rex incident.

In any event, the restriction fomented further interservice enmity between the Air Corps and the Navy that did not abate until World War II. The Navy specifically included the 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) limit in plans for joint maneuvers in 1939 that was deleted only after Andrews objected to Marshall, who had replaced Embick as deputy chief of staff. Emmons, who succeeded Andrews as commander of GHQ Air Force, complained in his "Report on Annual Tactical Inspection", dated 28 July 1939, that because of the 100 nautical miles (185.2 km) restriction, navigation training in the Air Corps had suffered.

Despite this, exceptions to the restriction quickly became the norm. Only a month after the interception of the Rex, B-17s intercepted the 22,000 ton liner SS Queen of Bermuda 300 nautical miles (555.6 km) at sea on 12 June, while aircraft based in Hawaii twice located an Army transport at similar distances during the summer of 1938. In March 1939, Arnold, as Chief of the Air Corps, was given specific authority by the chief of staff to grant exceptions as he saw fit, provided they were unpublicized and he notified the War Department well in advance.

Subsequent history of the participants

Andrews was not reappointed as commander of General Headquarters Air Force when his term expired on 1 March 1939. Exactly as happened with Billy Mitchell, he was reduced in rank to colonel (his "permanent rank") and assigned as air officer of the Eighth Corps Area in San Antonio
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,...

, Texas. His "exile" in San Antonio was brief, however. In August, prospective Army Chief of Staff Marshall had Andrews promoted over the objections of Secretary Woodring and General Craig, beginning a climb to higher command for Andrews that culminated in promotion to lieutenant general and appointment as commander of the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

. Many senior airmen believed he was possibly being groomed to command the Normandy invasion. However, Andrews was killed in the crash of a B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 long range bomber in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 in May 1943 while returning to Washington, D.C.

Capt. Archibald Y. Smith was promoted to colonel during World War II, commanded the 452nd Bomb Group (B-17) in the U.K., and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 in July 1944. Continuing his career after the war in the United States Air Force, he died in the crash of his B-26
A-26 Invader
The Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...

 in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 in April 1949. Cousland also became a colonel and commanded the first B-17 group in England, the 97th BG, although he was relieved of command by Col. Frank A. Armstrong
Frank A. Armstrong
Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Army Air Forces and the inspiration for the main character in the novel and subsequent film, Twelve O'Clock High. After the war he became a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force.Armstrong was born in Hamilton,...

 before it went into combat. Cousland finished the war commanding the 21st Bomb Wing, a training unit.

Seven of the participants became general officers. Hull was recalled to active duty to be an intelligence officer in World War II, then remained in the Air Force as a career. He retired as a brigadier general in 1964. Meloy served as a brigadier general in the Air Transport Command
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...

 and retired in 1946. Goddard was recognized as the principal aerial photography expert of the USAF and retired in 1953 as a brigadier general. Caleb V. Haynes
Caleb V. Haynes
Caleb Vance Haynes was a United States Air Force major general. The grandson of a famous Siamese Twin, he was used by the Air Force as an organizer, able to create air units from scratch...

 and his crew won the MacKay Trophy in 1939 flying an earthquake relief mission to Chile in the XB-15, and delivered the first B-24 Liberator overseas in early 1942. Assigned initially to the Tenth Air Force
Tenth Air Force
The Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....

, he was the first commander of the Assam-Burma-China Ferry Command, the airlift operation flying supplies over the Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...

 to China. Haynes went on to command the bombers of the China Air Task Force under Maj. Gen. Claire Chennault, became a brigadier general, commanded the India Air Task Force, and retired from the USAF as a major general in 1953.

Olds (whose son, Brig. Gen. Robin Olds
Robin Olds
Robin Olds was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the U.S. Air Force. He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general....

, became a fighter pilot icon), was promoted to major general and commanded the Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....

, but died of a heart-related condition in April 1943 at the age of 46.

Eaker and LeMay were both important commanders in the strategic bombing campaigns of World War II. Eaker took command of the Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....

 in 1942, and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces in 1944. He retired in 1947 as a lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

, but was promoted on the retired list to 4-star general
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...

 in 1985 in recognition of his accomplishments. In the autumn of 1942, LeMay led the 305th Bomb Group, one of the four "pioneer" B-17 groups of the Eighth Air Force. He advanced to higher commands in the Eighth Air Force before holding a series of B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

 commands in the Pacific in 1944–45. LeMay was the first commander of the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

 and became the fifth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...

 in 1961.

Laid up in Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

, Italy, by the war, the Rex was seized by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 when Italy surrendered in 1943, then destroyed by the Royal Air Force
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...

 near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

 in September 1944 to prevent it from being used to block the harbor entrance.

The YB-17s soon became obsolete and were transferred to the 19th Bomb Group at March Field, California, in October 1940 when the 2d BG acquired newer models. During World War II they operated again at Langley Field until mid-1942. The Air Corps belatedly put the B-17 into mass production beginning in July 1939, but at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

 still had only 198 in service. However, 12,000 were produced during the war, became the backbone of the air war against Germany, and were an iconic symbol of the AAF.

The 2nd Bomb Group received newer B-17s and served in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...

 with both the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....

s. GHQ Air Force assumed its designated wartime role in November 1940, was renamed Air Force Combat Command in June 1941, but went out of existence in March 1942 in a major reorganization of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The 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....

.

Operation Rex Redux

On 24 August 2007, three B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...

es of the 2nd Bomb Wing, successor to the 2nd BG, conducted "Operation Rex Redux", a training mission commemorating the interception of the Rex. Flying from Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...

, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and using the radio call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...

s Rex 51, Rex 52, and Rex 53, the B-52s intercepted the Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 ship MV 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo east of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

to test the capabilities of a new targeting system.

External links

  • Intercepting the Rex, National Museum of the United States Air Force, downloadable photograph of interception
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