The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-01-20
THE EYES OF THE
NAVY, NAVAL AVIATION

AS with many other specialties it |
took the war to bring out the value of
aviation in the navy In 1916, naval
aviation was made up of $50 officers
and men. At the end of the war the
personnel was about $4,000 and grow
ing every week. Naval aviation made
good. Wherever there was any fight
ing at sea the eyes of the Fleet"
were found invaluable.
The United States naval aviation
forces were the first fighting unit to
land in France from this country. 1t
started quickly and, although small,
went straight ahead throughout the
war, keeping its record up and prov
ing valuable aid to the success of
the u. S. sea forces
III this country several colleges
were converted partially or wholly
into aviation schools. These were the
ground schools where the theory of
| flight was taught to the future flyers.
The Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology was the largest such school.
/ There were at one time nearly fifteen
hundred men undergoing training at
that place. This school was for the
officer personnel only.
At Great Lakes. and some of the
| larger bases, enlisted men were be-
| ing trained to care for the planes that
the officers would pilot. or in many
cases, which enlisted men themselves
mechanics were given special train
! ing in the liberty and other motors.
| After the armistice these schools
were returned to their former direc-
| tors and the regular courses resumed.
But the special equipment and many
| of the instructors were transferred to
the new naval aviation centers and
the training is being carried on there
as actively as before, though not in
such large numbers. The courses have
been expanded and made much more
complete.
These are at present, Great Lakes,
San Diego, Hampton Roads and Pen
sacola. The courses taught include
mathematics, electrical engineering,
meterology, photography, wireless in
struction and elementary physics.
| There are also special courses in such
work as caring for and training car
rier pigeons. All courses are thorough
and equal in many cases the courses
given at our colleges. In fact there
are seventy-two colleges in the United
| States which recognize and give
credit for the work at our naval avia-
ton universities.
These schools are intensely practi-
A ;e lob fho
work of building and repairing the
engines, the magnetos or the carbure-
tors He does lathe work, black
smithing and wood-turning. If he
finds that he has abilities along some
particular line he may specialize in
that direction. During the course of
instruction he has the opportunity to
actually build an entire plane, from
er CINE to wings. A mans future will
be limited only by his own ability.
The picture at the left shows the
students hanging a liberty motor in
an HS-2 seaplane. At the right some
men are securing the cloth covering
to the skeleton of land plane. The
bottom picture shows the future cleo
tricians of the aviation forces in the
electrical laboratories, where they
will learn the fundamentals of the
imost necessary branch of aviation.
After a man has gone through
these schools he has several channels
before him which will lead to higher
ratings and eventually to commits
sion. His first promotion will be that
of machinist's mate, second class. with
the pay of fifty-five dollars per
month. If he does any actual flying
!. this will be increased by fifty per
cent. With his food and lodging
thrown in he will live as well as a
man on the outside who is earning
$50 per month He will be healthy
too, for all of the navy goes in strong
70 rathletics.
II is estimated that nearly tive
E thousand dollars is spent on each mar
5 who goes through this course. 1t /!
: therefore not included in the tive
years enlistment offer. The recruit!
j. must have a high school education o.
its equivalent. That is, they mus
show a good spirit, some real ambi
; ton. Any man who shows interest il
his work and is healthy has wonder
~ ful opportunity.
, Naval aviation is a great field. n
one dares to say what it's possibilitie
are. and it is the young men of tn
present age who are going to develo
it. There is no limit. Naval recruit
ing officers in all cities are now look