page_title: Patrick N. L. Bellinger
section_title: Fight for the Naval Aviation
hierarchical_section_title: Patrick N. L. Bellinger / Interwar period / Fight for the Naval Aviation
caption_attribution_description: English: Official portrait of Patrick N. L. Bellinger as Lieutenant commander, USN in 1919 (Naval History and Heritage Command image).
context_page_description: Patrick Nieson Lynch Bellinger was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. A Naval Aviator #8 and a naval aviation pioneer, he participated in the Trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Azores in May 1919 and was decorated with Navy Cross, the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor.
  During the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Bellinger served as Commander, Patrol Wing Two and he was responsible for sending the message, "Air raid, Pearl Harbor. This is no drill", which was the first notice to the outside world of the attack. He was later appointed Commander, Naval Air Forces, Atlantic and distinguished himself during the U-Boat campaign with Atlantic Fleet.
context_section_description: Bellinger was ordered to the Officer of Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C. in June 1919 and was attached mostly to the aviation duty. During October and November 1920, he served as the Naval observer of the Army's bombing of the obsolete battleship USS Indiana in Tangier Sound in the Chesapeake Bay and later served as Naval Observer during the bombing of the former German battleship Ostfriesland, which was sunk by Army Brigadier General Billy Mitchell’s planes in the Atlantic Ocean a few miles off the Virginia Capes in July 1921.
  During the both tests, Army successfully sank both targets and General Mitchell claimed that the success of his land-based planes made naval aviation unnecessary, but Bellinger disagreed with that opinion and for the rest of his career, he remained strong advocate of Naval aviation. He stated that aircraft should be with the fleet to gain control of the air above it, prior to any naval battle.
  Bellinger was meanwhile transferred to the newly established Bureau of Aeronautics under Rear admiral William A. Moffett, where he remained until October 1921, when he joined Aircraft Squadrons, Pacific Fleet. He was later transferred to Aircraft Squadrons, Scouting Fleet and remained that assignment until June 1923, when he was transferred to aircraft tender USS Wright under Commander Lamar R. Leahy. Bellinger later became executive officer of that vessel and was detached in September 1924 in order to enter instruction at Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. While at the College, he was promoted to Commander on November 16, 1924.
  Upon graduation one year later, he served for brief period on the staff of the college and also held additional duty as aviation expert on the Morrow Board, named after its chairman, Dwight Morrow. The Board of inquiry had task to determine the future of military aviation. Bellinger made nine recommendations including the need for naval aviation to be a combatant force within the fleet. Among other things he recommended that naval aviation be recognized as a permanent career for officers and enlisted men; that there be established a “flight line” to determine succession to command; that commanders of aviation activities including aircraft carriers and tenders only be officers permanently assigned to naval aviation; that seniority of officers in naval aviation be fairly integrated into the fleet; that a school of strategy and tactics be established for naval aviation; and that a separate naval aviation experiment and test station be established. Most of them were included in the board's final report.
  In May and June 1926, Congress acted quickly to make them part of bills that authorized the restructuring of the military air forces. Not only was the Naval Air Corps permanently established, but a five-year, 1,000-plane program was approved. Also, the experimental test and repair facilities at Naval Air Station Norfolk that Bellinger had taken command of in 1918 were firmly established. 
  Bellinger was appointed Aide and Fleet Aviation Officer on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Battle Fleet under Admiral Charles F. Hughes. When Hughes was transferred to command of the United States Fleet, he took Bellinger with him as his aide. Admiral Hughes became Chief of Naval Operations in November 1927 and Bellinger followed him again, being attached to the Ship Movement Section of Hughes's office. The assignments under Hughes enabled Bellinger to influence future naval aviation policy, facilities, and ship development.
  He remained in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations until July 1928, when he was ordered to Italy for duty as Assistant Naval Attache under Captain Forde A. Todd at the American Embassy in Rome. While there, Bellinger was decorated with Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by the Government of Italy.
  In June 1931, Bellinger returned to the United States and assumed command of aircraft tender USS Wright, where he served several years before. He commanded that vessel until July 1932, when he was transferred to command USS Langley, the first aircraft car
caption: Bellinger as Lieutenant commander in 1919.
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