108 years ago, the Navy launched a plane from a ship for the first time

Eugene Ely flies his Curtiss Pusher biplane from the USS Birmingham, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on Nov. 14, 1910. (Navy)

On Nov. 14, 1910, the U.S. military took its first step toward linking flight and naval operations when Eugene Ely made the first carrier takeoff, guiding a Pusher biplane off the deck of the light cruiser USS Birmingham in the waters of Norfolk, Virginia.

The Navy tapped Capt. Washington Irving Chambers — who has been called “the father of naval aviation” — earlier that year “to observe everything that will be of use in the study of aviation and its influence upon the problems of naval warfare,” according to the Smithsonian.

Chambers recognized the utility of shipborne landings and takeoffs.

At a flying event in Belmont Park, New York, in October 1914, Chambers asked planemaker Glenn Curtiss and Ely if they would attempt to land on a ship if he supplied one. (Another account has Curtiss and Ely making the offer, and Chambers saying he had no money to finance the experiment but would provide a ship.)

On November 14 — a Monday soiled by fog and intermittent rain — a Curtiss Pusher biplane with floats mounted under the wings was loaded aboard the Birmingham. The U.S. Naval Institute identifies the aircraft as a Hudson Fulton Flyer.

The cruiser was equipped with an 83-foot runway on its deck, but that length meant Ely only had 57 feet to take off.

The original plan was to steam into the Chesapeake Bay and launch the plane while underway, which would provide extra lift, but it was foiled by the weather.

That afternoon, Ely launched his biplane from Birmingham’s deck while the ship was as anchor.

After his wheels left the deck, Ely guided the plane toward the water to build up speed. But he miscalculated, and witnesses watched as the plane smacked into the water and bounced back into the air. The collision damaged the propeller and sprayed Ely’s goggles with saltwater.

After less than five minutes in the air, Ely set the plane down on a nearby beach. He had flown less than 3 miles.

And they said it would never fly. From that first take-off, they were nearly right!

Read the entire article at The Navy Times of course.

Category: Navy