Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Encyclopedia
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army
from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force
. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps
, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military Aeronautics
, and then by the Air Service, United States Army
. The Aviation Section organized the first squadrons of the aviation arm and conducted the first military operations by United States aviation on foreign soil.
The Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps was created by the 63rd Congress (Public Law 143) on July 18, 1914 after earlier legislation to make the aviation service independent from the Signal Corps died in committee. From July 1914 until May 1918 the aviation section of the Signal Corps was usually known by the title of its administrative organizational component, named variously Aeronautical Division, Air Division, Division of Military Aeronautics, and others. For historic convenience, however, the air arm is commonly referred to during its existence as Aviation Section, Signal Corps, and is the designation recognized by the United States Air Force as its predecessor for this period.
The Aviation Section began in turbulence, first as an alternative to making aviation in the Army a corps independent of the Signal Corps, then with friction between its pilots, who were all young and on temporary detail from other branches, and its leadership, who were more established Signal Corps officers and non-pilots. After Lieutenant Colonel George O. Squier was brought in as chief to bring stability to Army aviation, it soon found itself wholly inadequate to the task of supporting the Army in combat after the United States entered World War I
on 6 April 1917. It attempted to expand and organize a competent arm but its efforts were largely chaotic and in the spring of 1918 aviation was removed, first from the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief of Signal where it had resided since its inception, and then from the Signal Corps altogether.
for the Aviation Section was $250,000 for fiscal year 1915.Approximately $5.5 million in 2011 dollars. US Inflation Calculator
The new law also decreed restrictions that only unmarried lieutenants of the line under the age of 30 could be detailed to the section, provisions which encouraged a lack of discipline and professional maturity among the aviators that handicapped the growth of the service, hampered retention of pilots, and prevented flying officers from commanding flying units. Officers on aviation duty who were promoted to permanent captain in their branch arm were automatically returned to the line. Aggravating the situation, all 24 pilots previously rated as Military Aviators
had their ratings automatically reduced to Junior Military Aviator (and therefore incurred a 25% reduction in flight pay) when requirements were changed to include three years experience as a JMA before qualifying for the higher rating. This placed them on the same level as newly graduated pilots, and none of those so reduced regained their ratings before 1917.
At its creation, the Aviation Section had 19 officers and 101 enlisted men. The Aeronautical Division, a quasi-headquarters (Lt. Col. Samuel Reber, Washington, D.C.) with three officers and 11 enlisted men, issued orders in the name of the Chief Signal Officer. All other personnel of the aviation section were organized on August 5, 1914, by Signal Corps Aviation School General Order No. 10 into the:
totaling 16 officers, 90 enlisted men, seven civilians, and seven aircraft.The organization of the aero squadron into two companies lasted only until April 1915, when it changed to 12 sections, including a section for each of its eight aircraft. The companies of the 1st Aero Squadron, carried on separate rolls, were consolidated into a single entity on April 17.
Most of the air service had just returned to San Diego from detached service in Texas
for the second time in as many years to support Army ground forces in a possible war with Mexico
over the Tampico Affair
. The impending war was defused by the resignation of Victoriano Huerta
on July 15.Company A of the 1st Aero Squadron, led by Capt. Foulois, left San Diego April 24 with five pilots, a medical officer, thirty enlisted men and three airplanes by train for Galveston, arriving April 30, one day after the last transport sailed for Veracruz
. As a result they did no flying for four months, since their planes were never uncrated. (Pool, p. 438; and Hennessy, p. 120) A small detachment returned to Texas in April 1915, when the Army massed around Brownsville
, Texas
, in response to civil war
between the forces of Pancho Villa
and the Carranza
government.
By December 1914, the Aviation Section consisted of 44 officers, 224 enlisted men, and 23 aircraft.
George P. Scriven announced on April 9, 1915 that following the establishment of an aero company at San Antonio, three additional companies would be sent overseas, to the Philippine Department
for station on Corregidor
, to Fort Kamehameha
in the Hawaiian Department, and to the Panama Canal Zone
. The 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron
was activated on May 12, 1915 at San Diego but not manned until December.
Beginning in August 1915, the 1st Aero Squadron
spent four months at Fort Sill
, Oklahoma
, training at the Field Artillery School with eight newly-delivered Curtiss JN-2s. After a fatal crash on August 12, the pilots of the squadron met with squadron commander Foulois and declared the JN-2 unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudders. Foulois and Capt. Thomas D. Milling
disagreed, and the JN-2 remained operational until a second crashed on September 5. The aircraft were grounded until October 14, when conversions of the JN-2s to the newer JN-3 began, two copies of which the squadron received in early September.
Between November 19 and 26, 1915, the six JN-3s of the 1st Aero Squadron at Fort Sill (the other two were on detached duty at Brownsville) made the first cross-country squadron flight, 439 mi (706.5 km) to a new airfield built near Fort Sam Houston
, Texas
.
The Texas base became the "first permanent aeronautical station"The site had been approved in April 1913 but was delayed by lack of funding. on January 6, 1916, designated as the San Antonio Air Center. Ironically, the first "permanent" base was abandoned after several months and its remaining funding allocated to the establishment of a new training school on Long Island
, New York
. Signal Corps Aviation Station, Mineola (later Hazelhurst Field) opened on July 22, 1916.
On January 12, 1916, the strength of the Aviation Section stood at 60 officers (23 JMA-rated pilots, 27 student pilots) and 243 enlisted men (eight of whom were pilots). It was now organized into four subordinate organizations:
It had 23 aircraft: four seaplane
s based overseas at Manila
, two seaplanes and nine trainers at San Diego, and eight JN-3s in Texas. Thirty-two other aircraft had been destroyed or written off since 1909, one was in the Smithsonian Institution
, and three were too damaged to repair economically.
On November 1, 1915, the first aviation organization in the National Guard was created, the "Aviation Detachment, 1st Battalion Signal Corps, New York National Guard", later called simply the "1st Aero Company". Consisting of four officers and 40 enlisted men, it used two leased aircraft to train until five aircraft were purchased for its equipment in 1916.
Following Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico
, on March 9, 1916, the 1st Aero Squadron was attached to Major General
John J. Pershing
's Punitive Expedition
. It consisted of 11 pilots, 84 enlisted men (including two medics), a civilian mechanic, and was supported by an engineer officer and 14 men. Eight Curtiss JN-3sFormer JN-2s S.C. Nos. 41-45 and 48; and original JN-3s Nos. 52-53 were disassembled at Fort Sam Houston on March 12 and shipped the next day by rail to Columbus, along with the squadron's 12 trucks, one automobile, and six motorcycles. The JN-3s were reassembled as they were off-loaded on March 15, the date the first column marched into Mexico. The first observation mission flown by the squadron, and the first the first American military reconnaissance
flight over foreign territory, was flown the next day and lasted 51 minutes with Dodd at the controls and Foulois observing.
On March 19, Maj. Gen. Pershing telegraphed Foulois and ordered the squadron forward to his base at Colonia Dublán
to observe for the 7th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. The ground echelon moved forward by truck, and the eight JN-3s took off at 17:10. None of the eight aircraft made Dublán that evening: one turned back to Columbus because of engine problems, and one was destroyed by scavengers after a forced landing in Mexico. Four that landed together at Ascensión (about halfway to Dublán) flew on to Dublán in the morning, where they were joined by the plane that had returned to Columbus and one that had landed on a road at Janos.
The squadron returned to Columbus on April 22, where it expanded to a roster of 16 pilots and 122 enlisted men. It flew liaison missions for Pershing's force using detachments in Mexico until August 15, 1916. The 1st Aero Squadron flew a total of 540 liaison and aerial reconnaissance missions, flying 19553 mi (31,467.4 km) with a flight time of 345 hours 43 minutes. No observations were made of hostile troops but the squadron performed invaluable services maintaining communications between ground units deep inside Mexico and Pershing's headquarters. During this expedition, a solid red star on the rudder became the first national insignia for United States military aircraft.
Their airplanes did not have sufficient power to fly over the Sierra Madre Mountains
nor did they perform well in the turbulence of its passes, and missions averaged only 36 mi (57.9 km) distance from their landing fields. The planes were nearly impossible to maintain because of a lack of parts and environmental conditions (laminated wooden propellers had to be dismounted after each flight and placed in humidors to keep their glue from disintegrating), and after just 30 days service only two were left. Both were no longer flight worthy and were condemned on April 22. Congress voted the Aviation Section an emergency appropriation of $500,000 (twice its previous budget), and although four new Curtiss N-8sNumbers 60-63, later designated JN-4s were shipped to Columbus, they were rejected by Foulois after six days of flight testing. Although recommended for condemnation, they were shipped to San Diego, modified, and ultimately became training aircraft.
A new agency was also created within the Aviation Section, the Technical Advisory and Inspection Board, headed by Milling, and staffed by pilots who had attended engineering course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and civilian engineers, including Donald Douglas
. The Board recommended a new squadron be equipped with Curtiss R-2s, which used a 160 hp engine.
The first two were delivered on May 1, 1916, and the remaining 10 by May 25. They were assigned Signal Corps numbers 64 to 75. The R-2s were equipped with Lewis machine guns, wireless sets, and standard compasses, but their performance proved little better than that of their predecessors. Pilots were quoted by name in both the New York Times and New York Herald Tribune
as condemning their equipment, but Pershing did not pursue the issue, noting they had "already too often risked their lives in old and often useless machines they have patched up and worked over in an effort to do their share of the duty this expedition has been called upon to perform."
and had risen rapidly in rank through transfers and assignments to the Service Schools. He moved from the Infantry to the Signal Corps in March 1909, then in 1910 headed the Aeronautical Division at the age of 35. He personally recruited Henry H. Arnold
for pilot duties. He was Signal Officer of the 2nd Division in Texas City, Texas, when Capt. Charles deF. Chandler
was relieved and transferred to the Philippines over differences with his pilots. Temporarily assigned to command the provisonal 1st Aero Squadron, he was made commandant of the Signal Corps Aviation School when the squadron returned to the school in June 1913. refused to discontinue use of the aircraft, dismissing the pilots as "nothing but amateurs".Cowan's statement was made to and included in the Inspector General's report investigating the crashes as justification of his decision.
While recuperating, Goodier assisted Capt. Townsend F. Dodd
and 1st Lt. Walter Taliaferro in an attempt to prefer charges against Cowan for fraudulently collecting flight pay when he was neither certified to fly nor on flying duty.Cowan's total flight experience was 24 minutes of "grass-cutting" -- tethered flying in short, straight hops just above the ground. They were aided by Goodier's father, Lt. Col. Lewis E. Goodier, Sr., Judge Advocate General of the Western Department in San Francisco, who in addition also preferred charges against former squadron commander Captain William L. Patterson for similar offenses,Before becoming squadron commander, the Canadian-born Patterson had been the aide-de-camp of Brigadier General Charles B. Hall, Commandant of the Signal School. charging that he had been awarded a rating of Junior Military Aviator, and was drawing pay based on it, without being qualified to fly or being on flying duty.
The charges were routed to the Chief Signal Officer at a time when Cowan's superior, Chief of the Aviation Section Lt. Col. Samuel Reber,Reber was an 1886 graduate of the United States Military Academy. He was an early member of the Aero Club of America as a balloonist. Unlike his predecessor Cowan, Reber was older (48) at the time of his appointment in 1913 as Chief of Aviation. Among his classmates were the two future Chiefs of Air Service Charles T. Menoher
and Mason M. Patrick
. He was the son-in-law of Lt. Gen. Nelson A. Miles
, retired Commanding General of the United States Army
. himself an integral part of the accusations and also a non-flyer, was temporarily in command. Reber had the charges against Cowan and Patterson dismissed, then he and Cowan charged the elder Goodier with "Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Discipline" for assisting in drawing up of charges against Cowan, specifying that he did so out of malice
.
However the charge of malice allowed defense counsel wide latitude in its introduction of evidence, and documents including official correspondence describing numerous incidents that confirmed Capt. Goodier's original charges against Cowan became part of the court record, including support by the Chief Signal Officer of a pattern of retribution against officers on flying duty who fell in disfavor of Cowan.
Senator Joseph T. Robinson
immediately brought the matter before the United States Senate
, introducing S.J. Resolution 65 in January 1916, calling for an investigation of malfeasance
in the Aviation Section involving serious mismanagement, disregard for flying safety, favoritism, fraud, and concealment of wrongdoing in the Aviation Section's chain of command
. Robinson conducted hearings and released to the public all of the documents held in evidence at the court martial. S.J. Resolution 65 passed on March 16, 1916, without opposition. An acting head of section was immediately appointed pending the outcome of the investigation.
The second of the acting heads of division was Captain William L. Mitchell, a General Staff officer. As a result of negative publicity regarding its airplanes in Mexico, Mitchell and the Aviation Section came under severe criticism during this period. Mitchell defended the department, insisting that the U.S. firms did not produce better aircraft, but the outcry produced several long-term results, including instructing Mitchell in political tactics, participation in which ultimately resulted in his court-martial at the end of his career.
, the Inspector General
, was appointed by Army chief of staff Gen. Hugh L. Scott
to head a board of investigation into the Aviation Section. The Garlington Board confirmed Goodier's allegations and also cited Scriven and Reber for failing to supervise the section adequately, holding them responsible for acquiring substandard aircraft. The Garlington Board's report, together with the Senate resolution and public criticism of the equipment used in Mexico, prompted Secretary of War Newton Baker to issue letters of censure to Scriven, Reber and Cowan. Reber was formally relieved as Chief of the Aviation Section on May 5,Reber's "punishment" was short-lived, and he was promoted to full colonel less than two months after his relief. He went to France with the American Expeditionary Force
in March 1918 as a provost marshal
, and saw action on the last day of the war with the 109th Infantry Regiment. He retired at his own request in 1919 and joined the newly-created Radio Corporation of America. and Cowan of his duties in July.The official history of the United States Air Force, published in 1997, is much more sympathetic to Cowan, stating "Cowan's subordinates were maneuvering to depose him, allegedly because he played favorites and ignored safety. Actually the root of his departure from the air arm was the mutual misunderstanding between pilots, understandably concerned with safety, and a non-flying manager determined to get the most efficient use from the obsolescent machines entrusted to him." (Heimdahl and Hurley, p.30). However, the official history completely omits any mention of the court martial; the evidence of Cowan's retribution against officers he disliked, including the attempt to cashier Capt. Goodier after his crash; and Secretary Baker's actions as reasons for the "departure". Cowan afterwards served in a number of Signal Corps training billets, and was promoted to major in May 1917. He received a wartime temporary promotion to colonel and served as a staff officer in the headquarters of the AEF in France. He was promoted to permanent colonel in the 1920s and was post commander of Fort Monmouth
, New Jersey, the last 10 years of his career. Cowan reached mandatory retirement age in April 1939 after 40 years of service. He was recalled to active duty from the retired list on November 22, 1940, serving as signal officer of the Ninth Corps Area
Service Command, and was again placed on the retired list September 30, 1942, at the age of 67. Cowan's retirement was changed to "disability incident to service" on November 27, 1943. Both were assigned non-aviation duties in the Signal Corps after extensive leaves of absence. Lt. Col. George O. Squier
was recalled from duty as military attaché
in London
and appointed Chief of the Aviation Section on May 20, with orders to reform it literally from the ground up.
On April 24, 1916, the General Staff appointed a committee chaired by Col. Charles W. Kennedy to make recommendations for reform and reorganization of the Aviation Section. Milling was named the representative from the section, over the objections of Foulois, who believed him to be too close to the previous Signal Corps leadership. The committee took statements from all 23 officers then on flying duty with the Aviation Section and found that 21 favored separation of aviation from the Signal Corps. Only Milling and Captain Patterson were opposed to separation—and Patterson was the non-flyer who had acquired his flying certificate through the censured actions of Cowan.
The Kennedy Committee recommended in July 1916 that aviation be expanded and developed, and that it be removed from the Signal Corps and placed under a central agency, in effect endorsing for the first time a call for a separate air arm. The recommendation was quickly attacked by Assistant Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tasker Bliss, who branded the air officers supporting separation as having "a spirit of insubordination" and acting out of "self-aggrandizement". The Kennedy Committee's recommendations were rejected by the War Department, but the issue of a separate Air Force had been born and would not die until separation was finally achieved in 1947.
On June 3, 1916, in anticipation of possible U.S. entry in the war in Europe
, Congress adopted the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916
(39 Stat. 166, 174, 175), provisions of which authorized an increase in the size of the Aviation Section to 148 officers, allowed the President
to determine the size of the enlisted complement, and established the first reserve components for aviation, the Signal Officers Reserve Corps (297 officers) and the Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps (2,000 men). On August 29, Congress followed with an appropriations bill that allocated $13,000,000Approximately $270M in 2011. (more than 17 times the previous combined allocation) to the military aeronautics in both the Signal Corps and National Guard
. By December 7, the force still consisted of a total of only 503 personnel. Squier also created a Field Officers course for aviation at North Island similar to that for the Service Schools in Fort Leavenworth to train field grade officers in the staff administration of aviation. Of the four officers assigned to the course in November 1916, two actually headed the section or its successor.Lt. Col. John B. Bennet, who succeeded Squier, and Col. William L. Kenly
, who headed the Division of Military Aeronautics.
The Aviation Section's poor showing in Mexico also showed that the U.S. aviation industry was not competitive in any respect with European aircraft manufacturers. No American-manufactured airplane had a vital function, none were mounted with weapons, and all were markedly inferior in speed and other performance characteristics. Further, U.S. companies were distracted by protracted legal battles and in-fighting over licenses and royalties while their European counterparts had been energized by the needs of the battlefield.
The Aviation Act (40 Stat. 243), passed July 24, 1917, transferred aviation support functions from the Aeronautical Division to the following newly-established organizations in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OCSO):
The Aeronautical Division was renamed the Air Division (also called the Air Service Division), with functions limited to operation, training, and personnel on October 1, 1917. The Air Division was abolished by order of Secretary of War on April 24, 1918, and OCSO aviation functions realigned to create the Division of Military Aeronautics, with responsibility for general oversight of military aviation; and the Bureau of Aircraft Production, which had charge of design and production of aircraft and equipment.
In its final year as a component of the Signal Corps, from April 1917 to May 1918, the Aviation Section developed into parallel air forces, a training force in the United States and a combat force in Europe. At the time of the declaration of war on Germany
by the United States in April 1917, the Aviation Section consisted of 65 regular officers, 66 reserve officers, 1,087 enlisted men, and 280 airplanes (all trainers), with more on order. The service had 36 pilots and 51 student pilots. By comparison, the United States Navy
's air service had 48 officers, 230 enlisted men, and 54 powered aircraft.
Of its seven authorized squadrons, the first was in the Columbus, New Mexico, the 2nd in the Philippines
, the seventh was training to be deployed to the Panama Canal Zone
, the sixth was newly formed in Hawaii
, and the third, fourth, and fifth were not yet formed. Six reserve squadrons were being organized for coast defense.
In the United States, the Aviation Section was nearly overwhelmed with the problems of rapid expansion to fight a modern war—the recruitment and training of pilots and mechanics, the production of airplanes, the formation and equipping of combat units, and the acquisition of air bases—while overseas a second force developed as part of the American Expeditionary Force
, absorbing most of the experienced leadership of military aviation and taking over much of the expansion responsibilities except aircraft production. This second force, the Air Service of the AEF, used European-built aircraft and training facilities and forced the separation of aviation from the Signal Corps.
Part of this separation occurred when the Aviation Section failed in its most pressing need, the production of new airplanes. Under pressure from the French, the Wilson administration
set up a production plan to develop a force of 6,000 pursuit
planes; 3,000 observation craft; and 2,000 bombers, a ratio established by Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing
. Despite pronounced resistance from the Army general staff
, $640,000,000Approximately $11.3 billion in 2011 dollars. was funded by Congress to meet this goal (45 times the budget of the preceding year) when Brig. Gen. George O. Squier
, Chief Signal Officer and former head of the Aviation Section, appealed directly to the Secretary of War
.
An Aircraft Production Board was set up under the chairmanship of an automobile manufacturer, Howard E. Coffin of the Hudson Motor Car Company
, but the airplane of World War I was not suitable to the mass-production methods of automobile manufacturing and Coffin neglected the priority of mass-producing spare parts. Though individual areas within the industry responded well—particularly in engine production, with the development of the Liberty engine, of which 13,500 were produced—the industry as a whole failed. Attempts to mass-produce European models under license in the U.S. were largely failures. Among pursuit planes, the SPAD
could not be engineered to accept an American engine and the Bristol F.2
became dangerous to fly using one.
Because of this failure, President Wilson determined that the Chief Signal Officer was too overburdened by tasks to supervise effectively the Aviation Section and created a new subordinate organization, the Division of Military Aeronautics
, on April 24, 1918, to assume all the functions and responsibilities for aviation. The DMA was removed from the Signal Corps altogether by executive order, under war powers granted to the president under the newly-passed Overman Act, on May 20, 1918, reporting directly to the Secretary of War.
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...
from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the 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...
. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps
Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps was the world's first heavier-than-air military aviation organization and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S...
, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military Aeronautics
Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War
The Division of Military Aeronautics was the name of the Army's aviation organization for a four-day period during World War I. It was created by a reorganization by the War Department of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on April 24, 1918, still as part of the Signal Corps...
, and then by the Air Service, United States Army
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...
. The Aviation Section organized the first squadrons of the aviation arm and conducted the first military operations by United States aviation on foreign soil.
The Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps was created by the 63rd Congress (Public Law 143) on July 18, 1914 after earlier legislation to make the aviation service independent from the Signal Corps died in committee. From July 1914 until May 1918 the aviation section of the Signal Corps was usually known by the title of its administrative organizational component, named variously Aeronautical Division, Air Division, Division of Military Aeronautics, and others. For historic convenience, however, the air arm is commonly referred to during its existence as Aviation Section, Signal Corps, and is the designation recognized by the United States Air Force as its predecessor for this period.
The Aviation Section began in turbulence, first as an alternative to making aviation in the Army a corps independent of the Signal Corps, then with friction between its pilots, who were all young and on temporary detail from other branches, and its leadership, who were more established Signal Corps officers and non-pilots. After Lieutenant Colonel George O. Squier was brought in as chief to bring stability to Army aviation, it soon found itself wholly inadequate to the task of supporting the Army in combat after the United States 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...
on 6 April 1917. It attempted to expand and organize a competent arm but its efforts were largely chaotic and in the spring of 1918 aviation was removed, first from the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief of Signal where it had resided since its inception, and then from the Signal Corps altogether.
Lineage of the United States Air Force
- Aeronautical Division, Signal CorpsAeronautical Division, U.S. Signal CorpsThe Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps was the world's first heavier-than-air military aviation organization and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S...
August 1, 1907–July 18, 1914 - Aviation Section, Signal Corps July 18, 1914–May 20, 1918
- Division of Military Aeronautics May 20, 1918–May 24, 1918
- Air Service, United States ArmyUnited States Army Air ServiceThe 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...
May 24, 1918–July 2, 1926 - United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air CorpsThe 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...
July 2, 1926–June 20, 1941 - United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe 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....
June 20, 1941–September 18, 1947 - United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe 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...
September 18, 1947–present
1914
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps was created by the Act of July 18, 1914, Chapter 186 (Public Law 143, 63rd Congress), 38 Stat. 514, to supersede the Aeronautical Division, an administrative creation of the Signal Corps within the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OCSO), as the primary agency for military aviation. Earlier legislation to make the aviation service independent from the Signal Corps died in committee. Later provisions of the National Defense Act (39 Stat. 174), June 3, 1916, and the Aviation Act (40 Stat. 243), July 24, 1917, permitted aviation support functions to be gradually transferred from the Aeronautical Division to newly established aviation section organizations. The new law established the purpose and duties of the section, authorized a significant increase in size of U.S. military aviation to 60 officers and 260 enlisted men, increased the size of the Signal Corps by an equal number of personnel to provide them, stipulated that pilots be volunteers from branches of the line of the Army, and detailed them for four years. The Aeronautical Division then became a component of the Aviation Section until its abolition in 1918. The first funding appropriationAppropriation
Appropriation is the act of taking possession of or assigning purpose to properties or ideas. The word appropriation was first used by a Russian theorist named Bakhtin to describe a holistic language theory. The Russian word for appropriation is prisvoenie, which directly translated means ‘to make...
for the Aviation Section was $250,000 for fiscal year 1915.Approximately $5.5 million in 2011 dollars. US Inflation Calculator
The new law also decreed restrictions that only unmarried lieutenants of the line under the age of 30 could be detailed to the section, provisions which encouraged a lack of discipline and professional maturity among the aviators that handicapped the growth of the service, hampered retention of pilots, and prevented flying officers from commanding flying units. Officers on aviation duty who were promoted to permanent captain in their branch arm were automatically returned to the line. Aggravating the situation, all 24 pilots previously rated as Military Aviators
U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Ratings
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight", The standard by which flight status has been defined in law, executive orders, and regulations...
had their ratings automatically reduced to Junior Military Aviator (and therefore incurred a 25% reduction in flight pay) when requirements were changed to include three years experience as a JMA before qualifying for the higher rating. This placed them on the same level as newly graduated pilots, and none of those so reduced regained their ratings before 1917.
At its creation, the Aviation Section had 19 officers and 101 enlisted men. The Aeronautical Division, a quasi-headquarters (Lt. Col. Samuel Reber, Washington, D.C.) with three officers and 11 enlisted men, issued orders in the name of the Chief Signal Officer. All other personnel of the aviation section were organized on August 5, 1914, by Signal Corps Aviation School General Order No. 10 into the:
- Signal Corps Aviation SchoolRockwell FieldRockwell Field was an Army air base located in Coronado, California, near San Diego. It shared the area known as North Island with Naval Air Station North Island from 1912 to 1935. Its functions were eventually moved to March Field so that the naval air station could take over the whole area...
(Capt. Arthur S. Cowan, San Diego),Four officers, 37 enlisted men, and seven civilians, plus airplane S.C. No. 22 - 1st Aero Squadron1st Reconnaissance SquadronThe 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force reconnaissance training unit based at Beale Air Force Base, near Marysville, California. It is the oldest squadron in the Air Force, and the first organization to be established as a U.S. military flying unit...
(Capt. Benjamin D. Foulois),A headquarters of two officers and one enlisted man - 1st Company, 1st Aero Squadron (Capt. Harold C. GeigerHarold GeigerMajor Harold C. Geiger , born in East Orange, New Jersey, was a pioneer in US military aviation and ballooning who was killed in an airplane crash in 1927...
)Five officers, 26 enlisted men, and three airplanes: S.C. Numbers 24, 25, and 26. - 2nd Company, 1st Aero squadron (Capt. Lewis E. Goodier, Jr.),Five officers, 26 enlisted men, and S.C. Numbers 20, 28, and 30.
totaling 16 officers, 90 enlisted men, seven civilians, and seven aircraft.The organization of the aero squadron into two companies lasted only until April 1915, when it changed to 12 sections, including a section for each of its eight aircraft. The companies of the 1st Aero Squadron, carried on separate rolls, were consolidated into a single entity on April 17.
Most of the air service had just returned to San Diego from detached service in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
for the second time in as many years to support Army ground forces in a possible war with Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
over the Tampico Affair
Tampico Affair
The Tampico Affair started off as a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to General Victoriano Huerta during the guerra de las facciones phase of the Mexican Revolution...
. The impending war was defused by the resignation of Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
on July 15.Company A of the 1st Aero Squadron, led by Capt. Foulois, left San Diego April 24 with five pilots, a medical officer, thirty enlisted men and three airplanes by train for Galveston, arriving April 30, one day after the last transport sailed for Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. As a result they did no flying for four months, since their planes were never uncrated. (Pool, p. 438; and Hennessy, p. 120) A small detachment returned to Texas in April 1915, when the Army massed around Brownsville
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in response to civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
between the forces of Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
and the Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
government.
By December 1914, the Aviation Section consisted of 44 officers, 224 enlisted men, and 23 aircraft.
1915-1916
Chief Signal Officer Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
George P. Scriven announced on April 9, 1915 that following the establishment of an aero company at San Antonio, three additional companies would be sent overseas, to the Philippine Department
Philippine Department
The Philippine Department was a regular US Army unit, defeated in the Philippines, during World War II. The mission of the Philippine Department was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army...
for station on Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, to Fort Kamehameha
Fort Kamehameha
Fort Kamehameha was a United States Army military base that was the site of several coastal artillery batteries to defend Pearl Harbor starting in 1907 in Honolulu, Hawaii.-History:The eastern areas of the fort were in the district called Moanalua...
in the Hawaiian Department, and to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. The 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron
2d Air Refueling Squadron
The 2d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions....
was activated on May 12, 1915 at San Diego but not manned until December.
Beginning in August 1915, the 1st Aero Squadron
1st Reconnaissance Squadron
The 1st Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force reconnaissance training unit based at Beale Air Force Base, near Marysville, California. It is the oldest squadron in the Air Force, and the first organization to be established as a U.S. military flying unit...
spent four months at Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, training at the Field Artillery School with eight newly-delivered Curtiss JN-2s. After a fatal crash on August 12, the pilots of the squadron met with squadron commander Foulois and declared the JN-2 unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudders. Foulois and Capt. Thomas D. Milling
Thomas D. Milling
Thomas DeWitt Milling was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force....
disagreed, and the JN-2 remained operational until a second crashed on September 5. The aircraft were grounded until October 14, when conversions of the JN-2s to the newer JN-3 began, two copies of which the squadron received in early September.
Between November 19 and 26, 1915, the six JN-3s of the 1st Aero Squadron at Fort Sill (the other two were on detached duty at Brownsville) made the first cross-country squadron flight, 439 mi (706.5 km) to a new airfield built near Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
The Texas base became the "first permanent aeronautical station"The site had been approved in April 1913 but was delayed by lack of funding. on January 6, 1916, designated as the San Antonio Air Center. Ironically, the first "permanent" base was abandoned after several months and its remaining funding allocated to the establishment of a new training school on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Signal Corps Aviation Station, Mineola (later Hazelhurst Field) opened on July 22, 1916.
On January 12, 1916, the strength of the Aviation Section stood at 60 officers (23 JMA-rated pilots, 27 student pilots) and 243 enlisted men (eight of whom were pilots). It was now organized into four subordinate organizations:
- the Aeronautical Division (Washington D.C.),
- the Signal Corps Aviation School (San Diego);
- the 1st Aero Squadron (San Antonio Air Center), and
- the 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron (Manila).
It had 23 aircraft: four 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...
s based overseas at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, two seaplanes and nine trainers at San Diego, and eight JN-3s in Texas. Thirty-two other aircraft had been destroyed or written off since 1909, one was in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, and three were too damaged to repair economically.
On November 1, 1915, the first aviation organization in the National Guard was created, the "Aviation Detachment, 1st Battalion Signal Corps, New York National Guard", later called simply the "1st Aero Company". Consisting of four officers and 40 enlisted men, it used two leased aircraft to train until five aircraft were purchased for its equipment in 1916.
Punitive expedition
Columbus, New Mexico
Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census. The town is named after 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus.-History:...
, on March 9, 1916, the 1st Aero Squadron was attached to Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
's Punitive Expedition
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
. It consisted of 11 pilots, 84 enlisted men (including two medics), a civilian mechanic, and was supported by an engineer officer and 14 men. Eight Curtiss JN-3sFormer JN-2s S.C. Nos. 41-45 and 48; and original JN-3s Nos. 52-53 were disassembled at Fort Sam Houston on March 12 and shipped the next day by rail to Columbus, along with the squadron's 12 trucks, one automobile, and six motorcycles. The JN-3s were reassembled as they were off-loaded on March 15, the date the first column marched into Mexico. The first observation mission flown by the squadron, and the first the first American military reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
flight over foreign territory, was flown the next day and lasted 51 minutes with Dodd at the controls and Foulois observing.
On March 19, Maj. Gen. Pershing telegraphed Foulois and ordered the squadron forward to his base at Colonia Dublán
Colonia Dublan
Colonia Dublán began as a Mormon colony, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is now a part of Nuevo Casas Grandes. It is one of the few surviving Mormon colonies in Mexico .-History:...
to observe for the 7th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. The ground echelon moved forward by truck, and the eight JN-3s took off at 17:10. None of the eight aircraft made Dublán that evening: one turned back to Columbus because of engine problems, and one was destroyed by scavengers after a forced landing in Mexico. Four that landed together at Ascensión (about halfway to Dublán) flew on to Dublán in the morning, where they were joined by the plane that had returned to Columbus and one that had landed on a road at Janos.
The squadron returned to Columbus on April 22, where it expanded to a roster of 16 pilots and 122 enlisted men. It flew liaison missions for Pershing's force using detachments in Mexico until August 15, 1916. The 1st Aero Squadron flew a total of 540 liaison and aerial reconnaissance missions, flying 19553 mi (31,467.4 km) with a flight time of 345 hours 43 minutes. No observations were made of hostile troops but the squadron performed invaluable services maintaining communications between ground units deep inside Mexico and Pershing's headquarters. During this expedition, a solid red star on the rudder became the first national insignia for United States military aircraft.
Their airplanes did not have sufficient power to fly over the Sierra Madre Mountains
Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico.-Setting:Spanning the Sierra Madre Oriental runs from Coahuila south through Nuevo León, southwest Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, and Hidalgo to northern Puebla, where it joins with the east-west running Eje Volcánico...
nor did they perform well in the turbulence of its passes, and missions averaged only 36 mi (57.9 km) distance from their landing fields. The planes were nearly impossible to maintain because of a lack of parts and environmental conditions (laminated wooden propellers had to be dismounted after each flight and placed in humidors to keep their glue from disintegrating), and after just 30 days service only two were left. Both were no longer flight worthy and were condemned on April 22. Congress voted the Aviation Section an emergency appropriation of $500,000 (twice its previous budget), and although four new Curtiss N-8sNumbers 60-63, later designated JN-4s were shipped to Columbus, they were rejected by Foulois after six days of flight testing. Although recommended for condemnation, they were shipped to San Diego, modified, and ultimately became training aircraft.
A new agency was also created within the Aviation Section, the Technical Advisory and Inspection Board, headed by Milling, and staffed by pilots who had attended engineering course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and civilian engineers, including Donald Douglas
Donald Douglas
Donald Douglas may refer to:*Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. , founder of Douglas Aircraft Company*Donald Wills Douglas, Jr. , son of the founder and later president of the company*Donald Douglas , film and television actor...
. The Board recommended a new squadron be equipped with Curtiss R-2s, which used a 160 hp engine.
The first two were delivered on May 1, 1916, and the remaining 10 by May 25. They were assigned Signal Corps numbers 64 to 75. The R-2s were equipped with Lewis machine guns, wireless sets, and standard compasses, but their performance proved little better than that of their predecessors. Pilots were quoted by name in both the New York Times and 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...
as condemning their equipment, but Pershing did not pursue the issue, noting they had "already too often risked their lives in old and often useless machines they have patched up and worked over in an effort to do their share of the duty this expedition has been called upon to perform."
Charges and countercharges
The commanding officer of the 1st Aero Squadron's 2nd Company at San Diego, Capt. Lewis E. Goodier, was seriously injured in a demonstration accident on November 5, 1914. Flying with Glenn L. Martin in a new aircraft undergoing a required competitive slow speed test, the aircraft stalled, and when Martin overcorrected with too much throttle, went into what was described as the first tailspin. Goodier suffered a nearly severed nose, two broken legs, a re-opened skull fracture, and a severe puncture of his knee from the drive shaft. The accident occurred amidst a series of fatal training crashes, all involving the Wright C pusher airplane, that resulted in six deaths between July 1913 and February 1914, and culminated in pilots refusing to fly pusher airplanes. After a cursory review of the crashes, school commandant Capt. Arthur S. CowanCowan was an 1899 graduate of the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
and had risen rapidly in rank through transfers and assignments to the Service Schools. He moved from the Infantry to the Signal Corps in March 1909, then in 1910 headed the Aeronautical Division at the age of 35. He personally recruited 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...
for pilot duties. He was Signal Officer of the 2nd Division in Texas City, Texas, when Capt. Charles deF. Chandler
Charles deForest Chandler
Colonel Charles deForest Chandler was an American military aviator, and the first head of the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps that later became the United States Air Force.-External links:**...
was relieved and transferred to the Philippines over differences with his pilots. Temporarily assigned to command the provisonal 1st Aero Squadron, he was made commandant of the Signal Corps Aviation School when the squadron returned to the school in June 1913. refused to discontinue use of the aircraft, dismissing the pilots as "nothing but amateurs".Cowan's statement was made to and included in the Inspector General's report investigating the crashes as justification of his decision.
While recuperating, Goodier assisted Capt. Townsend F. Dodd
Townsend Foster Dodd
Townsend Foster Dodd was a pioneer aviator. In 1914 he won the Mackay Trophy.-Biography:He was born on March 6, 1886. In 1914 he won the Mackay Trophy. He died in 1919 in an air crash.-External links:* at Early Aviators...
and 1st Lt. Walter Taliaferro in an attempt to prefer charges against Cowan for fraudulently collecting flight pay when he was neither certified to fly nor on flying duty.Cowan's total flight experience was 24 minutes of "grass-cutting" -- tethered flying in short, straight hops just above the ground. They were aided by Goodier's father, Lt. Col. Lewis E. Goodier, Sr., Judge Advocate General of the Western Department in San Francisco, who in addition also preferred charges against former squadron commander Captain William L. Patterson for similar offenses,Before becoming squadron commander, the Canadian-born Patterson had been the aide-de-camp of Brigadier General Charles B. Hall, Commandant of the Signal School. charging that he had been awarded a rating of Junior Military Aviator, and was drawing pay based on it, without being qualified to fly or being on flying duty.
The charges were routed to the Chief Signal Officer at a time when Cowan's superior, Chief of the Aviation Section Lt. Col. Samuel Reber,Reber was an 1886 graduate of the United States Military Academy. He was an early member of the Aero Club of America as a balloonist. Unlike his predecessor Cowan, Reber was older (48) at the time of his appointment in 1913 as Chief of Aviation. Among his classmates were the two future Chiefs of Air Service Charles T. Menoher
Charles T. Menoher
Major General Charles Thomas Menoher was a U.S. Army general, first Chief of the United States Army Air Service, and commanded the U.S. Army Hawaiian Department from 1924-1925...
and Mason M. Patrick
Mason Patrick
Mason Mathews Patrick was a U.S. Army general and air power advocate.Patrick was born in Lewisburg, West Virginia and graduated from West Point in 1886. For three years he was at the Engineer School of Application, Willets Point, New York, graduating in 1889...
. He was the son-in-law of Lt. Gen. Nelson A. Miles
Nelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...
, retired Commanding General of the United States Army
Commanding General of the United States Army
Prior to the institution of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1903, there was generally a single senior-most officer in the army. From 1783, he was known simply as the Senior Officer of the United States Army, but in 1821, the title was changed to Commanding General of the United...
. himself an integral part of the accusations and also a non-flyer, was temporarily in command. Reber had the charges against Cowan and Patterson dismissed, then he and Cowan charged the elder Goodier with "Conduct to the Prejudice of Good Order and Discipline" for assisting in drawing up of charges against Cowan, specifying that he did so out of malice
Malice
Malice may refer to:* Malice , a legal term describing the intent to harm* Jerry Tuite , American professional wrestler also known by the ring name Malice-Entertainment:...
.
Goodier court-martialed
The resulting court martial proceedings, which began October 18, 1915, resulted in the conviction of Lt. Col. Goodier and a sentence of reprimand. Brig. Gen. E. H. Crowder, the Army's Judge Advocate General, ruled (after the preferring of charges against Lt. Col. Goodier but before his trial) that neither Cowan nor Patterson was criminally culpable of fraud because of legal technicalities.Cowan and Patterson were paid a 35% increase over their base pay by a provision of the aviation appropriations act of 2 March 1913 that allowed up to 30 officers assigned to the Aeronautical Division to do so (the division had nowhere near 30 pilots). Although neither Cowan or Patterson completed training, nor could fly solo, the 1913 act did not require a rating or actual flying to draw the pay, even though its intent was to compensate for risk. Both retained their flight pay after passage of Public Law 143 (July 18, 1914) creating the Aviation Section, because the new law did not specifically repeal the 1913 appropriations act. A ruling was made on behalf of Cowan by the JAG that he was excepted from the 1914 requirements and entitled to the pay under the 1913 act. Patterson received a JMA rating in September 1914 (in effect, from Cowan), after Public Law 143 established it as a legal requirement to draw flight pay, because no flying ability test was yet required by the War Department to acquire the rating. Reber was aware of all these facts. Although legally correct, the ruling put the Army in a bad public light for not only condoning obvious misfeasance but failing to correct it. Patterson was actually made commander of the first company of the new 2nd Aero Squadron, and eventually learned to fly solo. Cowan also learned to fly but never earned a Junior Military Aviator rating. Evidence also showed that at the same time Reber and Cowan had used Capt. Goodier's injuries as a pretext to have him dismissed from the Aviation Section while he was recuperating.However the charge of malice allowed defense counsel wide latitude in its introduction of evidence, and documents including official correspondence describing numerous incidents that confirmed Capt. Goodier's original charges against Cowan became part of the court record, including support by the Chief Signal Officer of a pattern of retribution against officers on flying duty who fell in disfavor of Cowan.
Senator Joseph T. Robinson
Joseph Taylor Robinson
Joseph Taylor Robinson was an American politician from Arkansas, of the Democratic Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S...
immediately brought the matter before the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, introducing S.J. Resolution 65 in January 1916, calling for an investigation of malfeasance
Malfeasance
The expressions misfeasance and nonfeasance, and occasionally malfeasance, are used in English law with reference to the discharge of public obligations existing by common law, custom or statute.-Definition and relevant rules of law:...
in the Aviation Section involving serious mismanagement, disregard for flying safety, favoritism, fraud, and concealment of wrongdoing in the Aviation Section's chain of command
Chain of Command
Chain of Command may refer to:* Chain of command, in a military context, the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed* "Chain of Command" , the fifth episode of the first season of Beast Wars...
. Robinson conducted hearings and released to the public all of the documents held in evidence at the court martial. S.J. Resolution 65 passed on March 16, 1916, without opposition. An acting head of section was immediately appointed pending the outcome of the investigation.
The second of the acting heads of division was Captain William L. Mitchell, a General Staff officer. As a result of negative publicity regarding its airplanes in Mexico, Mitchell and the Aviation Section came under severe criticism during this period. Mitchell defended the department, insisting that the U.S. firms did not produce better aircraft, but the outcry produced several long-term results, including instructing Mitchell in political tactics, participation in which ultimately resulted in his court-martial at the end of his career.
Report of the Garlington Board
While the Senate hearings were in progress and the 1st Aero Squadron encountered difficulties with its airplanes in Mexico, Scriven issued a statement accusing the young aviators of "unmilitary insubordination and disloyal acts" in an attempt to form an air service separate from the Signal Corps. Brig. Gen. Ernest Albert GarlingtonErnest Albert Garlington
Ernest Albert Garlington was a United States Army general who received the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.-Early life and education:...
, the Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
, was appointed by Army chief of staff Gen. Hugh L. Scott
Hugh L. Scott
Hugh Lenox Scott was a post-Civil War West Point graduate who served as superintendent of West Point from 1906 to 1910, and Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1914 to 1917, including the first few months of American involvement in World War I.-Biography:Born September 22, 1853 in...
to head a board of investigation into the Aviation Section. The Garlington Board confirmed Goodier's allegations and also cited Scriven and Reber for failing to supervise the section adequately, holding them responsible for acquiring substandard aircraft. The Garlington Board's report, together with the Senate resolution and public criticism of the equipment used in Mexico, prompted Secretary of War Newton Baker to issue letters of censure to Scriven, Reber and Cowan. Reber was formally relieved as Chief of the Aviation Section on May 5,Reber's "punishment" was short-lived, and he was promoted to full colonel less than two months after his relief. He went to France with the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in March 1918 as a provost marshal
Provost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
, and saw action on the last day of the war with the 109th Infantry Regiment. He retired at his own request in 1919 and joined the newly-created Radio Corporation of America. and Cowan of his duties in July.The official history of the United States Air Force, published in 1997, is much more sympathetic to Cowan, stating "Cowan's subordinates were maneuvering to depose him, allegedly because he played favorites and ignored safety. Actually the root of his departure from the air arm was the mutual misunderstanding between pilots, understandably concerned with safety, and a non-flying manager determined to get the most efficient use from the obsolescent machines entrusted to him." (Heimdahl and Hurley, p.30). However, the official history completely omits any mention of the court martial; the evidence of Cowan's retribution against officers he disliked, including the attempt to cashier Capt. Goodier after his crash; and Secretary Baker's actions as reasons for the "departure". Cowan afterwards served in a number of Signal Corps training billets, and was promoted to major in May 1917. He received a wartime temporary promotion to colonel and served as a staff officer in the headquarters of the AEF in France. He was promoted to permanent colonel in the 1920s and was post commander of Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth was an installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The post covers nearly of land, from the Shrewsbury...
, New Jersey, the last 10 years of his career. Cowan reached mandatory retirement age in April 1939 after 40 years of service. He was recalled to active duty from the retired list on November 22, 1940, serving as signal officer of the Ninth Corps Area
Corps area
A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure of the United States Army used to accomplish domestic administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army, Organized Reserve and National Guard of the United States...
Service Command, and was again placed on the retired list September 30, 1942, at the age of 67. Cowan's retirement was changed to "disability incident to service" on November 27, 1943. Both were assigned non-aviation duties in the Signal Corps after extensive leaves of absence. Lt. Col. George O. Squier
George O. Squier
Major General George Owen Squier was born in Dryden, Michigan, United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1887 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1893....
was recalled from duty as military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and appointed Chief of the Aviation Section on May 20, with orders to reform it literally from the ground up.
On April 24, 1916, the General Staff appointed a committee chaired by Col. Charles W. Kennedy to make recommendations for reform and reorganization of the Aviation Section. Milling was named the representative from the section, over the objections of Foulois, who believed him to be too close to the previous Signal Corps leadership. The committee took statements from all 23 officers then on flying duty with the Aviation Section and found that 21 favored separation of aviation from the Signal Corps. Only Milling and Captain Patterson were opposed to separation—and Patterson was the non-flyer who had acquired his flying certificate through the censured actions of Cowan.
The Kennedy Committee recommended in July 1916 that aviation be expanded and developed, and that it be removed from the Signal Corps and placed under a central agency, in effect endorsing for the first time a call for a separate air arm. The recommendation was quickly attacked by Assistant Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tasker Bliss, who branded the air officers supporting separation as having "a spirit of insubordination" and acting out of "self-aggrandizement". The Kennedy Committee's recommendations were rejected by the War Department, but the issue of a separate Air Force had been born and would not die until separation was finally achieved in 1947.
National Defense Act of 1916
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...
, Congress adopted the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916
National Defense Act of 1916
The National Defense Act of 1916, , provided for an expanded army during peace and wartime, fourfold expansion of the National Guard, the creation of an Officers' and an Enlisted Reserve Corps, plus the creation of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps in colleges and universities...
(39 Stat. 166, 174, 175), provisions of which authorized an increase in the size of the Aviation Section to 148 officers, allowed the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
to determine the size of the enlisted complement, and established the first reserve components for aviation, the Signal Officers Reserve Corps (297 officers) and the Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps (2,000 men). On August 29, Congress followed with an appropriations bill that allocated $13,000,000Approximately $270M in 2011. (more than 17 times the previous combined allocation) to the military aeronautics in both the Signal Corps and National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
. By December 7, the force still consisted of a total of only 503 personnel. Squier also created a Field Officers course for aviation at North Island similar to that for the Service Schools in Fort Leavenworth to train field grade officers in the staff administration of aviation. Of the four officers assigned to the course in November 1916, two actually headed the section or its successor.Lt. Col. John B. Bennet, who succeeded Squier, and Col. William L. Kenly
William L. Kenly
William Lacy Kenly was a Major General in the United States Army. During World War I, he was a leader of a progenitor of the United States Air Force, the United States Army Air Service...
, who headed the Division of Military Aeronautics.
The Aviation Section's poor showing in Mexico also showed that the U.S. aviation industry was not competitive in any respect with European aircraft manufacturers. No American-manufactured airplane had a vital function, none were mounted with weapons, and all were markedly inferior in speed and other performance characteristics. Further, U.S. companies were distracted by protracted legal battles and in-fighting over licenses and royalties while their European counterparts had been energized by the needs of the battlefield.
The Aviation Act (40 Stat. 243), passed July 24, 1917, transferred aviation support functions from the Aeronautical Division to the following newly-established organizations in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer (OCSO):
- Engineering Division, April 6, 1917: Procurement and distribution of aviation supplies; later designated Finance and Supply Division; and Engineering Division again on August 2, 1917.
- Construction Division, May 21, 1917: Air field construction and maintenance; redesignated Supply Division, October 1, 1917, with added responsibility for procurement and distribution of aviation supplies transferred from Engineering Division and vested in subordinate Materiel Section, organized January 24, 1918.
- Aircraft Engineering Division, May 24, 1917: Research and design; redesignated Science and Research Division, October 22, 1917.
- Wood Section, August 1917: Airplane lumber contracts; expanded and redesignated Spruce Production DivisionSpruce Production DivisionThe Spruce Production Division was a unit of the United States Army established in 1917 to supply the army with high quality spruce and other wood products needed for the production of aircraft for the United States war effort in World War I. The division was part of the Army Signal Corps's...
, November 15, 1917.Appointed to command the Wood Section was Lt. Col. Brice P. DisqueBrice DisqueGeneral Brice Pursell Disque was a U.S. Army officer and businessman. He is best remember for having headed the Spruce Production Division during World War I, for conceiving the idea of sending military troops to work in the logging industry to spur wartime wood production, and as the creator of a...
on September 15, 1917. Disque was a former 3rd Cavalry officer who had been on special assignment as a civilian investigating labor unrest in the Pacific Northwest.
The Aeronautical Division was renamed the Air Division (also called the Air Service Division), with functions limited to operation, training, and personnel on October 1, 1917. The Air Division was abolished by order of Secretary of War on April 24, 1918, and OCSO aviation functions realigned to create the Division of Military Aeronautics, with responsibility for general oversight of military aviation; and the Bureau of Aircraft Production, which had charge of design and production of aircraft and equipment.
Failures of expansion
Declaration of war by the United States
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall have power to ... declare War"...
by the United States in April 1917, the Aviation Section consisted of 65 regular officers, 66 reserve officers, 1,087 enlisted men, and 280 airplanes (all trainers), with more on order. The service had 36 pilots and 51 student pilots. By comparison, 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...
's air service had 48 officers, 230 enlisted men, and 54 powered aircraft.
Of its seven authorized squadrons, the first was in the Columbus, New Mexico, the 2nd in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the seventh was training to be deployed to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, the sixth was newly formed in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and the third, fourth, and fifth were not yet formed. Six reserve squadrons were being organized for coast defense.
In the United States, the Aviation Section was nearly overwhelmed with the problems of rapid expansion to fight a modern war—the recruitment and training of pilots and mechanics, the production of airplanes, the formation and equipping of combat units, and the acquisition of air bases—while overseas a second force developed as part of the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
, absorbing most of the experienced leadership of military aviation and taking over much of the expansion responsibilities except aircraft production. This second force, the Air Service of the AEF, used European-built aircraft and training facilities and forced the separation of aviation from the Signal Corps.
Part of this separation occurred when the Aviation Section failed in its most pressing need, the production of new airplanes. Under pressure from the French, the Wilson administration
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
set up a production plan to develop a force of 6,000 pursuit
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
planes; 3,000 observation craft; and 2,000 bombers, a ratio established by Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
. Despite pronounced resistance from the Army general staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
, $640,000,000Approximately $11.3 billion in 2011 dollars. was funded by Congress to meet this goal (45 times the budget of the preceding year) when Brig. Gen. George O. Squier
George O. Squier
Major General George Owen Squier was born in Dryden, Michigan, United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1887 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1893....
, Chief Signal Officer and former head of the Aviation Section, appealed directly to the 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...
.
An Aircraft Production Board was set up under the chairmanship of an automobile manufacturer, Howard E. Coffin of the Hudson Motor Car Company
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
, but the airplane of World War I was not suitable to the mass-production methods of automobile manufacturing and Coffin neglected the priority of mass-producing spare parts. Though individual areas within the industry responded well—particularly in engine production, with the development of the Liberty engine, of which 13,500 were produced—the industry as a whole failed. Attempts to mass-produce European models under license in the U.S. were largely failures. Among pursuit planes, the SPAD
Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés
SPAD was a French aircraft manufacturer between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane was the most popular French fighter airplane in World War I.-Deperdussin:...
could not be engineered to accept an American engine and the Bristol F.2
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
became dangerous to fly using one.
Because of this failure, President Wilson determined that the Chief Signal Officer was too overburdened by tasks to supervise effectively the Aviation Section and created a new subordinate organization, the Division of Military Aeronautics
Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War
The Division of Military Aeronautics was the name of the Army's aviation organization for a four-day period during World War I. It was created by a reorganization by the War Department of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on April 24, 1918, still as part of the Signal Corps...
, on April 24, 1918, to assume all the functions and responsibilities for aviation. The DMA was removed from the Signal Corps altogether by executive order, under war powers granted to the president under the newly-passed Overman Act, on May 20, 1918, reporting directly to the Secretary of War.
Chiefs of the Aviation Section
- Lt. Col. Samuel Reber (July 18, 1914 — May 5, 1916)
- Lt. Col. George O. Squier (May 20, 1916 — February 19, 1917)
- Lt. Col. John B. Bennet (February 20, 1917 — June 30, 1917)Lt. Col. John Bradbury Bennet, West Point 1891, was a career infantry officer who was one of the four senior officers assigned to the Aviation Field Officers Course in November 1916. He succeeded Squier as head of the division/section in February 1917 when Squier was promoted to major general and named Chief Signal Officer of the Army. After taking command of the 49th Infantry on July 29, 1917, Bennet was promoted to colonel, became commander of the 11th Infantry11th Infantry Regiment (United States)The 11th Infantry Regiment is a regiment in the United States Army.-The First 11th Infantry:Under the authority granted the President by the Act of July 16, 1798, to raise twelve additional regiments of infantry, the first 11th Infantry came into existence in the Army of the United States in...
in March 1918, and led that unit in combat in France. In October 1918 he was promoted to temporary brigadier general, then reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel in June 1919. After being assigned as a student at the Army War College, he received promotion to permanent colonel in August 1919. Bennet retired in 1925 and was promoted to brigadier general on the retired list on June 21, 1930, shortly before his death. - Lt. Col. Benjamin D. FouloisBenjamin FouloisBenjamin 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"...
(June 30, 1917 — November 12, 1917) - Brig. Gen. Alexander L. Dade (November 12, 1917 — February 27, 1918)Dade, a colonel of cavalry, was made school commander of the Signal Corps Aviation School on April 11, 1917, when Col. William A. Glassford reached the mandatory retirement age of 64. Dade was promoted to temporary general of the Signal Corps on December 17, with a date of rank of October 29, and appointed to command the Air Division and by seniority, the Aviation Section.
- Col. Laurence Brown (February 28, 1918 — April 24, 1918)
See also
- Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal CorpsAeronautical Division, U.S. Signal CorpsThe Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps was the world's first heavier-than-air military aviation organization and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S...
- Division of Military Aeronautics
- United States Army Air ServiceUnited States Army Air ServiceThe 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...
- List of American Aero Squadrons
- List of American Balloon Squadrons
External links
- Side views of Curtiss R-2 and JN-3, 1st Aero Squadron in Mexico
- Report of the Operations of the First Aero Squadron, Signal Corps, with the Mexican Punitive Expedition, for period March 15 to August 15, 1916. By Capt. Benjamin D. Foulois, Signal Corps, U.S. Army
- New York Times Feb. 20, 1916: "Army Itself Makes An Aviation Inquiry", regarding Garlington Board
