Evening star., 1936-08-09
Naval Aviation

of Naval Operations, where an aviation
desk was placed under the aide for
material. Lieut.. c. K. Bronson was
detailed to fill this newly created po-
sition and continued in that capacity
until November, 1916, when he died
as a result of an aviation accident.
Lieut.. Towers then was assigned as
assistant for aviation and occupied
this post when the United States de-
clared war against Germany on April
6, 1917.
When the country entered the con-
f1ict naval aviation was under general
supervision of Capt. j. S. Mexican,
aide for material, with Lieut.. Towers,
as his aide for aviation, in direct
charge of all naval aviation activities.
A month after war was declared Lieut..
Towers was relieved by Capt. Noble r.
Irwin, U. S. NJ, who carried the load
of responsibility for naval aviation
during the period of hostilities, Lieut..
Towers remaining on duty as his
assistant.
On March Z, 1918, the Office of Di-
rector of Naval Aviation was created,
with Capt. Irwin as first director.
When the World War began, the
United States Navy had only 38 naval
aviators and 1853 enlisted men with
aviation ratings, or total Of 201 Off
GERS and men. At the Armistice it had
1856 naval aviators, 288 student naval
aviators, 891 ground officers. and 1881
student officers under training COM
mission, or a total of 6,7l6 officers as
signed to aviation duty. 1t had 30,-
693 enlisted personnel on aviation
duty, or total of 37,409 officers and
men.
The Navy sent a total of 1884 ma
val aviation officers and men overseas
during the world war. OF this num-
ber. l,237 were officers and S,215 were
enlisted men with aviation ratings.
Naval aviation fatalities during the
World War totaled SO officers and Sc
enlisted men, killed overseas. and 38
officers and 48 enlisted men killed
while on duty in this country.
lONLY one naval aviation station
was in existence on April 6, 1917.
At the time of the Armistice there
were "a stations and schools operated
by the Navy. one of them in Canada.
The naval appropriation act of Au-
gust, 1916, made provision for Naval
Reserve Flying Corps and as soon as
it became evident that the United
States would enter the war, certain
groups of college men got together
and applied for enrolment. The first
group, under the lead of F. Trubee
Dawson, later Assistant Secretary of
War for Aviation, consisting of 20
men, was enrolled in January, 1917,
and Immediately began training in
| their own seaplanes and at their own
expense at Palm Beach, Fla. The sec
ond group trained at Newport News
and the third at Buffalo In each
case naval aviator was assigned to
duty in general charge of the unit
| THE zeal and enthusiasm of the
men of these groups" the Navy De-
partment has stated, resulted in
naval aviation having available very
shortly after the war nucleus of very
capable young officers who proved of
inestimable value in the building up
of the big corps which so soon became
necessary to carry out the mission of
naval aviation. This nucleus was
augmented by officers of the Naval
Militia, who were later transferred to
the Naval Reserve Flying Corps and
by many men taken up directly from
civil life for administrative duties"
Twenty-Five years! The puny,
wobbly fledgling has developed into an
eagle so powerful and so fierce that
there now is arising in the minds of
men serious doubt whether civiliza-
ton itself can survive a full unleash
ing of the power of combat aviation