Battle Stations - The Navy's Air Arm

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold’s Old Time Radio

Episode: Battle Stations – The Navy’s Air Arm
Date: April 9, 2026
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Original Air Date of Segment: WWII Era (Golden Age of Radio)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio features a rebroadcast of the classic radio series "Battle Stations," specifically focusing on "The Navy’s Air Arm." The dramatized documentary traces the naval aviation’s origins in the United States Navy, its early experimental years, pivotal achievements, and its critical role through World War I and into WWII. It blends narration, dramatization of historical figures, and first-person reminiscences, all designed to educate and stir patriotic feeling during the war years.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dawn of Naval Aviation (00:47 – 08:32)

• 1910, Maryland Aviation Meet:

  • Scene-setting: Spectators gather to watch early aviation feats; focus on missile-dropping accuracy.
  • Key figures introduced: Captain Washington Irving Chambers (progressive naval officer), Wilbur Wright (aviation pioneer), Eugene Ely (daring pilot).
  • Innovation & Skepticism: Chambers advocates for aviation in naval operations despite resistance from colleagues.
  • Quote:
    • “I'm confident the airplane belongs in our Navy, even if it's used only for scouting. Noah had his dove. He was ahead of us in the matter of scouting.” – Narrator quoting Captain Chambers (04:41)

• First Shipboard Flight Experiment

  • USS Birmingham is outfitted with a makeshift runway.
  • Eugene Ely successfully takes off by plane from a ship for the first time (November 1910).
  • Quote:
    • “The craft’s pulling up. It’s over the water. It’s flying.” – Mechanic (07:44)
    • “And for the first time a navy of the world had wings.” – Captain Chambers (07:59)

2. Pushing Boundaries: Landing and Catapult Launches (08:32 – 19:26)

• First Aircraft Carrier Landing (11:44 – 13:40)

  • Ely lands a plane on USS Pennsylvania with the aid of arresting wires and sandbags.
  • This historic feat paves the way for aircraft carriers.
  • Quote:
    • “The plane struggles with the drag of the pairs of 50-pound sandbags. Then with 50 ft to spare, comes to a complete stop. The aircraft carrier has been born.” – Captain Chambers (12:56)

• Skepticism and Adoption of New Techniques

  • Objections: How to equip cruisers? How to recover planes?
  • Introduction of catapult launches for limited-deck ships.
  • Experiments with a goat named Bill and later with human volunteers showcase the trials and errors of innovation.
  • Quote (humorous moment):
    • “I reckon he was dead when he hit the water. I don’t know what in the world happened.” – Mechanic, after launching goat Bill from catapult (18:18)

• Official Integration

  • Formation of the Navy's Board of Aeronautics, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt (19:45).
  • “The air arm had become an official part of the United States Navy.” – Narrator (19:50)

3. Operational Challenges and Notable Firsts (19:45 – 23:53)

• WWI Era Setbacks and Breakthroughs

  • Early bombing runs suffer from lack of accuracy.
  • 1919: Invention of dive bombing as a technique to improve accuracy.
  • Quote:
    • “I'm gonna try it. One to ten was good odds to a man who pioneered in combat flying technique. The trial was a success and dive bombing was born.” – Narrator (22:04)

• First Transatlantic Crossing by Naval Planes

  • NC4 flying boat and crew make the first successful crossing (23:06 – 23:53).
  • Quote:
    • “Receiving the cheers reserved for the first flyers to cross the Atlantic.” – Narrator (23:46)

4. World War II and Legacy (23:53 – 29:27)

• Pearl Harbor:

  • Listener brought to December 7, 1941: The USS Enterprise’s planes, arriving during the Japanese attack, provide a dramatic connection between early aviation pioneers and their modern successors (25:18 – 26:15).

• Rear Admiral Patrick N.L. Bellinger’s Reflections (26:36 – 29:27):

  • Bellinger, a pioneer and current commander, reflects on the progress since WWI.
  • Emphasizes naval aviation’s role in defeating U-boats, safeguarding convoys, and supporting Allied victories.
  • Notable Quotes:
    • “We’re definitely not satisfied unless we can get this U boat down, not temporarily, but permanently.” (26:44)
    • “Naval aviation got scant attention. But it has grown…to one of the major striking forces of the fleet.” (27:15)
    • “There are no parts of the ocean now which are safe for enemy submarines.” (28:11)
    • “Naval aviation was a decisive factor in safeguarding the deliveries that made the victories of Tunisia and Sicily possible.” (29:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Captain Chambers on Vision:
  • “Every cruiser should be equipped with planes. This is the beginning.” (08:19)
• Dramatic Description:
  • “The craft’s pulling up. It’s over the water. It’s flying.” (07:44)
  • “The aircraft carrier has been born. The cosmic keels have been laid for the Lexington, Wasp, Saratoga, Hornet, Enterprise.” (12:56)
• On Resistance:
  • "We can’t build platforms on all our cruisers… How are you gonna get them back?” (09:13)
• Closing Reflection (Bellinger):
  • “Everyone who has contributed… can be proud of what naval planes have done all over the world and what they are doing now in the Pacific.” (27:28)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Early Naval Aviation Demonstrations: 00:47 – 08:32
• USS Birmingham Shipboard Takeoff: 05:09 – 07:59
• USS Pennsylvania Landing/Aircraft Carrier Birth: 11:44 – 13:40
• Catapult Experiment with ‘Bill’ the Goat: 17:03 – 18:31
• Formation of Navy Air Arm: 19:45 – 20:50
• Dive Bombing Innovation: 21:19 – 22:04
• Transatlantic Flight: 23:03 – 23:53
• Pearl Harbor Link: 25:18 – 26:15
• Rear Admiral Bellinger’s Address: 26:36 – 29:27

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Tone and Presentation

The episode hums with a proud, dramatic, and earnest tone, blending documentary clarity and narrative flair. It channels the optimism, caution, and patriotic zeal of early 20th-century military innovators—often voiced through stirring dialogues, pointed narration, and the authentic language of its characters.

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For listeners new to the subject, this episode delivers a sweeping, accessible history of how naval aviation grew from tentative experiments to a powerful force shaping the outcome of global conflict. It honors the visionaries and risks that made modern aircraft carriers possible and spotlights the unbroken thread linking their achievements to WWII’s crucial battles.

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

Battle stations.

[Eugene Ely]

Battle Stations.

[NBC Announcer]

The national broadcast. The broadcasting company's department of Special Events Cooperating with United States Navy presents the third of a series of programs to tell you of your Navy, its accomplishments, its history, its heroes and its hopes. Under the title Battle Stations. Tonight, the Navy's air arm.

[Mechanic]

Pardon me. Pardon me.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Yes, you.

[Mechanic]

I've lost my program. Would you tell me what these flying

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

machines are to do? Why, sure. This is the missile dropping. The flyer will be competing to see which can drop his missile closest to the mark you see in the infield.

[Narrator]

Oh, thanks.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

1910. And the sports minded folks living around Hale Court, Maryland, have come in great crowds to enjoy the latest sport flying. The flying man is stretching his wings, emerging from the chrysalis, and his daring has given sport a new thrill. What is the object of this event? Must they be at a certain height when the missile is dropped? Yeah, I believe that's it. This is a new event. A silent naval officer has followed the progress of the aviation meet with rapt attention. He does not join in the cheers of the crowd. His eyes are fixed not on the far reaches of this day's sky, but on the horizon. The future argosies of magic sails that Tennyson had described 68 years before. Airy navies grappling in the central blue had been the poet's prophetic word. This is Captain Washington Irving Chambers of the United States Navy. The man who sits beside him has enthusiastic comment which he directs to anyone whose eye he catches. The man has turned to Captain Chambers. This champ is taking enough time to

[Narrator]

get over the mark, eh? Yes, but I suppose that's necessary in maneuvering an airship.

[Mechanic]

There he drops it now. That was close. No more than 15ft from the mark.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I'd say that takes a knack.

[Narrator]

Indeed it must.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

This is going to develop into quite a sport.

[Narrator]

Or I miss my guess, and maybe quite a bit more than that. Excuse me. Are you leaving now?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Captain Chambers left the stands and walked rapidly to the building at one end of the field where planes were receiving last minute repairs Pardon me, but could

[Narrator]

you tell me where I'll find Mr. Wright? Mr. Wilbur Wright?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Oh, he ain't at the field now, but there's some of his troop of flyers about, sir.

[Narrator]

Would you know how I can reach him?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Well, there's a telephone in the office. You can call them at it.

[Narrator]

Mr. Wright, this is Captain Wi Chambers.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Hello, Captain.

[Narrator]

I've corresponded with you, if you'll remember.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Yes, I remember. You're with the Navy.

[Narrator]

I'd like to talk with you again. That matter of launching an aircraft from aboard a fighting ship.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

No good, Captain. I don't think we're ready for that as yet.

[Narrator]

Perhaps not, Mr. Wright, but let me have one of your flyers and we'll give it a try anyway.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

No, I'm afraid I have to refuse, Captain. No. Each of Chambers many arguments met with a no. Each successive refusal was spoken with greater finality. The discouraged naval officer left the hangar building.

[Narrator]

Gentlemen, the time is now. There is a place in the Navy for aircraft. That may be very true with the Army, Chambers. Very interesting, that missile dropping you saw. But the Navy fights its actions in mid ocean, right?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Heaven help us if we ever allow an enemy fleet to get close enough to our shore so that aircraft could drop missiles on its units.

[Narrator]

But aircraft can go to sea with the ships. Mr. Eugene Ely here is willing to fly the plane as an experiment from the deck of one of our ships. Isn't that right, Ely?

[Eugene Ely]

I'm willing to try.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I think it can be done.

[Narrator]

Ely's a sound flyer. He's been with Curtis. Now he's on his own. I'm confident the airplane belongs in our Navy, even if it's used only for scouting. Noah had his dove. He was ahead of us in the matter of scouting. Well, I agree with you this far. It should be given a trial.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Well, let's see what we can do.

[Narrator]

You sure this message is correct? Has it been verified? Yes, sir.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I had it repeated.

[Narrator]

USS Birmingham proceed to Norfolk to be at disposal of Captain Chambers for aircraft launching experiment.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Naval constructor William McEntee tackled his job with relish. He'd looked forward for months to this project. The platform he designed sloped downward to the bow and hung out over the water 37ft from the surface.

[Mechanic]

This is a hell of a navy. If they want to keep us out of the sun, why don't they just rig up an awning?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Anybody want to fly a fly machine off? This is great. Men aren't quite as confident as you, Mr. Eling. So are here.

[Narrator]

You seem to have done a very good job, MC.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

At least it seems that way to me. Well, 83ft long. That won't give you a run of much more than 55ft with your plane on the platform. E ling.

[Eugene Ely]

Well, with a dance to pick up

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

speed, I think that'll be long enough. I'm ready, Captain Chambers. The 14th of November will be all right with me. All right, men, I know you haven't had breakfast yet, but there's a job to do. We're hoisting Mr. Ely's airplane aboard grim skies found down on the Norfolk harbor where the Navy was to try on its wings and everyone aboard the Birmingham was obviously nervous.

[Narrator]

The weather isn't going to get any better.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Worse if anything.

[Narrator]

I'd better start before it does get worse. I'm not sure it wouldn't be wise to wait for another day, Elly.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

No, no. If airplanes are to be of any use, they'll have to operate in all weather. I wouldn't want to be the cause

[Narrator]

of wasting the day for all those destroyers.

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

No, I don't mean quite that.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I hope their day will be wasted. I'd rather not have to be picked up out of the water by one of. At three o' clock Ely, wearing a life preserver, his cap turned around with a bill to the back, goggles over his eyes, climbed to his place in the aircraft as the engine raced. Captain Chambers, watching from the bridge was electrified. When the craft was seen to start down the platform, Ely wasn't ready.

[Narrator]

He didn't give the release signal. He just nodded to the mechanic.

[Mechanic]

He hasn't enough speed but it is

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

too late to stop the plane now rolling down the incline. Elias need a tense as the end of the platform nears and he feels no upward lift. Then the plane is plunging down, diving toward the swollen waters of the Chesapeake. Back on the elevator and the craft quivers and begins to level off. The engine fights to pull the craft up above the chopping waves. Too late for the wheel to touch the surface. Both tips of the propeller ignite the water. The spray cover dealing.

[Mechanic]

The craft's pulling up. It's over the water. It's flying.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

The crap was flying. Its propeller blade splintered but it was flying. And for the first time a navy of the world had wings. Captain Chambers was exultant to see the first of his visions realized.

[Narrator]

Every cruiser should be equipped with planes. This is the beginning.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

On this day a sound reverberates wings over water and the sound will have a thunderous echo in years to come. Planes aloft from sea carriers not one, but many. Today, this day in November 1910, the United States Navy has been given charvari and a new striking force. But on this day, not all naval authorities agreed on the place of aviation in the Navy. But it was agreed that it might be well for the Navy to have at least one flyer.

[Eugene Ely]

There it is.

[Narrator]

Emerson. Is it what you want now?

[Eugene Ely]

Here.

[Narrator]

Don't you want to read the order? Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

Thank you, sir. I'm to be trained to fly.

[Narrator]

The Navy department has accepted Glenn Curtis's offer to teach one Navy man.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

You're the one. Lieutenant. Number one on the role of Navy flyers. Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison. These were starts. The launching and the acquiring of a flyer. But resistance remained. Doubters were unconvinced. We can't build platforms on all our cruisers. Sure, they can get into the air from ships. How are you gonna get them back? Right? No, we can't waste any money on it. Until these flying machines can land in water and go up off it or land on the ships some way. I guess that's quite a way off yet. Quite a way off, no. Chamber's vision went far beyond the initial success. He had gone to Glenn Curtis with the plans he had made to fly a land plane onto a naval vessel.

[Eugene Ely]

Well, the plan looks very feasible to me. Chambers say you've got permission to have the landing platform built?

[Narrator]

Yes, on the Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania will be in San Francisco this month. Ely's eager to have a try at it.

[Eugene Ely]

Well, if you ask me, I think Ely's the right man. Yes, I'll say he is.

[Narrator]

A lot depends on the success of this experiment. Aviation in the service will be pushed

[Eugene Ely]

quite a way along.

[Narrator]

It will end a lot of doubts.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Eugene E. Lee is at the controls of his plane.

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[Geico Commercial Announcer]

I'm here on the job site with Dale, who's a framing contractor.

[Eugene Ely]

Hey, good morning.

[Geico Commercial Announcer]

Dale traded up to Geico Commercial Auto Insurance for all his business vehicles. Vehicles. We're here where he needs us most.

[Eugene Ely]

Yep, they sure are.

[Geico Commercial Announcer]

We make it easy for him to save on all his insurance needs, all in one place with coverage that fits his business and bottom Line. Oh, I shouldn't have looked down.

[Eugene Ely]

It's all right.

[Geico Commercial Announcer]

We're so far up here.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Look at me. Take a deep breath.

[Geico Commercial Announcer]

I'm good. So good.

[Narrator]

Get a commercial auto insurance quote [e-mail]

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

and see how much you could save.

[Narrator]

It feels good.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

To Geico. He took off a few minutes ago from the airfield at Tan Paran and is headed now to an appointment with destiny. The USS Pennsylvania is headed toward the Golden Gate Five. Wind is rushing down the bay as Ely's plane climbs over to San Bruno Hills. He will have to make his landing under the worst possible conditions. Downwind, he sees the 120foot superstructure platform. He sees canvas nets spread out on both sides of the landing strips and swimmers ready to dive in and swim to his aid if something goes wrong. Lines across the deck show him the arresting ropes are in place, ready to be caught up by three pairs of steel hooks fastened to his craft beneath him. Wellest turn of the Pennsylvania. Ely turns toward his landing field, the smallest on which a landing had ever been attempted.

[Narrator]

How does it look to you, Curtis?

[Eugene Ely]

The tailwind has shifted across the course, Captain. That's not so good. He's going to have trouble making a

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

straight approach to the deck.

[Narrator]

He seems to be steadying down though.

[Eugene Ely]

Yes, he has his eye on the center line.

[Narrator]

Those arresting lines aren't going to stop that craft at the speed it's going. He's got to catch one of the first of them or he'll go into the barrier.

[Eugene Ely]

Look, he's pulling up. You clear the ramp.

[Narrator]

Good plane.

[Mechanic]

He's setting down.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

He's picking up the arresting lines.

[Mechanic]

The drag is doing it.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

The plane struggles with the drag of the pairs of 50 pound sandbags. Then with 50ft to spare, comes to a complete stop. The aircraft carrier has been born. The cosmic keels have been laid for the Lexington, Wasp, Saratoga, Hornet, Enterprise. The dozens of others that have carried will carry the Navy wings to victory that night aboard the Pennsylvania.

[Narrator]

Yes, sir. We have an answer now to every objection that has been raised. Unless they think up some new ones.

[Eugene Ely]

Yes. You didn't even need the entire platform, Ely. Well, no, I didn't, but I don't

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

think a smaller one would be safe.

[Narrator]

If the ship had been in motion and sailing into the wind, it would have been easier. Don't you think so?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

You bet it would.

[Narrator]

I'm proud that this took place on

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

a ship in my command.

[Narrator]

This has made a believer out of me. Oh, I hope you mean that, Captain Pond. If you ever see my report on this you'll know.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Gentlemen, I'd say a toast is an order.

[Narrator]

You, Captain Chambers, this is your triumph. Yours and Ely's. Gentlemen, a toast to our healthy orphan naval aviation.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

With these notable triumphs to its name, naval aviation is still an orphan, but gaining enthusiasts. For example, as a result of this

[Narrator]

experiment and my observation of the aviation field, I desire to place myself on record as positively assured of the importance of the airplane in future naval warfare. Signed, Captain CF Pond, USS Pennsylvania.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

The boards of strategy of all important sea powers had eyes on these uncertain pioneer development of the air fighters of the sea. And the developments came rapidly. A week after Ely's daring demonstration, Glenn Curtis was seen by excited Sunday picnickers along the Coronado shores skimming over the surf in a strange flying machine that was supported in the water by small boats. The craft lifted from the water and the crowd was seeing a successful flight by a hydroplane. Old line Navy men blinked and the conditions of acceptance became fewer. Secretary of the Navy Meyer, who had been immune to the infection of Chambers enthusiasm, wrote to Curtis, when you show

[Narrator]

me that it is feasible for an airplane to alight alongside a battleship and be hoisted aboard without any false deck to receive it, I shall believe the aeroplane of practical value to the Navy.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Challenge spark to the volatile champions of naval aircraft. Three weeks after the test of his hydroplane, Glenn Curtis flew over the USS Pennsylvania lying at anchor in San Diego Bay and signaled he would like to come aboard. Captain Pond's response come ahead, and within a few minutes, Curtis was alongside the Pennsylvania. Within a few more, the boat's crane was hooked on the sidings on the slings on the upper wings and hoisted aboard. A condition was met and a promise was kept.

[Narrator]

I had hoped for more, but with an appropriation of $25,000, we can be reasonably sure we'll have one aircraft for our one pilot.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Pioneering success is a moving target. And Captain Chambers found new objectives to be met hard on the heels of each development.

[Narrator]

Aircraft will never be any use to a battleship if they need the entire deck for a takeoff platform.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

In the summer of 1911, Chambers had one pilot, two student aviators, Rogers and Towers, and three planes on order. A few months later, he had established a naval aviation camp across the Severn river from the United States Naval Academy. Pilots 2 and 3 on the Navy roll had finished their training and joined Chambers in tackling the next problem.

[Narrator]

Well, there it is, men. There's a piece of almost every type of equipment in the service adapted to some use in that rig. A discarded torpedo tube, a scrapped Air tank and part of the hoisting gear from the old USS Oregon. But it embodies the idea. I think we'll make a catapult.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I'm itching to try it, sir, if you say the word.

[Narrator]

There's a lot of work to be done on it, Ellison. I'm not even sure it'll be tried at all.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I don't believe what the doctors say, Captain. I can be shot from that and remain conscious.

[Narrator]

Am I correct in assuming you're volunteering for a triad?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

You bet I am. Whenever you say, sir. But Lieutenant Ellison was not to have the distinction of being the first human to be propelled from a catapult. A group of sailors who had overheard the conversation between Chambers and Ellison had an idea of their own and at nightfall returned to the dock with a young new friend. So your name's Bill, huh? Yes, sir. I hear you're quite an authority on the weather, Bill. Ain't that what you heard next? Uh huh.

[Narrator]

That's what I heard.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Quite an authority. Gosh, I didn't know I had that reputation. Oh, you have. Yes, sir. What do you reckon the weather will be tomorrow? I guess fair. Here, sit on this, Bill. You can lean back.

[Narrator]

Comfortable?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Thank you, sir, but I just be sitting beside you in just a minute, Bill. I want to have a private word

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

with my friend first, though.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Excuse us. Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir. Reckon we ought to do it? I got a powerful hankering to know he ain't sitting square in the middle of the catapult car.

[Mechanic]

I'll fix that, Bill.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

You can be moving to the center of that thing you're sitting on so we can sit right down. We're through talking if we're going to do it fast. Give me that air, Val.

[Mechanic]

You comfortable, Bill?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Yes, sir, real comfortable. I'm glad. Look at him go. Man, oh man, he went like a bullet. I reckon he was dead when he hit the water. I don't know what in the world happened.

[Mechanic]

Are you all right, Bill? I'm wet.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Wet, but undeniably alive and conscious. The unofficial experimenters paid for their foreknowledge with a hard night of work recovering the catapult car from the bottom and cleaning it. But the following morning they exchanged knowing glances when standing by the hydroplane mounted on the catapult, they overheard Captain Chambers nervous words to Lieutenant Ellison.

[Narrator]

Now the men in the boats will be on hand to help you with the force of the accelerat renders you unconscious, Ellison.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I don't think I'll need the help, sir. After all the work you've put into this catapult. I hope I won't.

[Narrator]

I hope so.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Well, now let's get to work. The engine racing at its top speed. The air compressor tank ready to expend its force. Ellison's hand is lowered. The signal. And a hammer strikes the release valve.

[Mechanic]

He's conscious, sir. He's fighting with the elevator. The crosswind's catching the craft, but he's conscious. The catapult will work.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Scotch is Texas. Uh huh. He sure is surprised. Uh huh. You bet I am. The takeoff from a catapult proved the principle. The last objection to aircraft taking a place on men of war was pushed aside. And the time had come for aviation to take an authorized place in the United States Navy.

[Narrator]

The appointments to the board of aeronautics. Your signature is required, Mr. Roosevelt.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Franklin Roosevelt's signature put a board of aeronautics to work. Drawing up comprehensive plans for the organization of a naval aeronautics service. And the air arm had become an official part of the United States Navy. With the coming of the first World War, the air arm faced a thousand new problems. Some of which were solved in action, some posed for later solution. At the war's end, the Navy's newcomer looked back on a short but important record of advance. Advance. With one alarming failure. A German U boat had surfaced one Sunday morning off Cape Cod and in sight of land started firing shells into a tug drawn group of bodies. A hurried call was made at the nearby naval air station. The flying boat pilots had had many alarms. All had proved to be false reports. This time, as the HS boat swept down along the shore, a U boat was sighted making hasty preparations to dive.

[Narrator]

Good Lord.

[Mechanic]

It is a submarine.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Yeah. And is this gonna be easy? It's up to you. The mechanic worked his way out on the wing to the bomb racks lying flat. He reached under the wing and released the bomb straight for the bow of the sub. 200 pounds of TNT. Oh, dud. I hit a squ square and the bomb was a D. That was the last hit scored by the flying boats. The problem of accuracy in bomb dropping was one that would not be solved until after the war. But it was solved. 1919. Lieutenant. Now Major L.H. sanderson of the United States Marine Corps leads a group of fellow pilots across a flying field in Haiti.

[Eugene Ely]

Hey, what's this all about, Sanderson? Couldn't you just tell us about it?

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

Nope.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

You got to see it. Okay, have a look.

[Narrator]

Look?

[Eugene Ely]

Look at what?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

My ship. Look. Under the fuselage, by the wheels, by the wheel.

[Eugene Ely]

What in the devil is that?

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Now we haven't been able to come within a mile of the thing we

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

aim at with our bombs, the way

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

we're dropping them now. What do you think of this for an idea?

[Eugene Ely]

Well, if hanging a flour sack under your fuselage is an idea, I'm glad I don't produce them.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

I'll wait before you hop on it. Look, I put a bomb in here and I pull this drawstring to keep it in.

[Eugene Ely]

Yeah.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Then I'm up in the air, I spot a target, I dive on it, and on the way down, I yank the drawstring, the sack opens and the

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

bomb goes on down in the direction

[Eugene Ely]

I was diving until it reaches your prop, which time you get yourself blowed to hell.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

One time out of ten I'm gonna try it. One to ten was good odds to a man who pioneered in combat flying technique. The trial was a success and dive bombing was born and a sound was heard that was amplified in the years to come. 1919 was the year of another of the Navy air arms notable firsts. Aviation had reached the stage in which an air crossing of the Atlantic was believed possible. And enthusiasts on both sides of the ocean were eager to be the first to accomplish the feat. Three British teams of flyers were already at St. John's Newfoundland, preparing for transatlantic attempts when the Navy's veteran pilots saw the first of four planes on order, the NC1. The challenge fairly cried for acceptance. Commander Jack Towers breath suspended when he opened and read an order.

[Narrator]

Special duty report to Rockaway beach.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Proposed transatlantic flight. Buddy Reed, now Rear Admiral Reed, received a like order. So did Pat Bellinger. Now Rear Admiral Bellinger and the NC1, NC3 and NC4 were put in readiness for the flight. From the moment of the first takeoff, the NC4 showed signs of a contrary nature. Ill fortune piled up for the ship and only the bad weather that held up the other planes at Cape Pine allowed it to be there when the three planes took the air headed out across the Atlantic. Now the azores lie behind NC4, and Reed, powers and Bellinger pushed their planes on to Lisbon, on to Plymouth, receiving the cheers reserved for the first flyers to cross the Atlantic. 1943 sees Navy flying boats almost daily crossing the Atlantic with dispatches, medical supplies. Perhaps it was one of the things envisioned by Captain Washington Irving Chambers as he sat watching an air meet in Hailthorpe, Maryland. That day in 1910, he had dreamed of navies of the air. But he could not have foreseen all that came about. December 6, 1941. The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise had been on a secret Mission for several months. Weather had delayed it. So instead of arriving on Saturday as had been expected, the planes of Scouting Squadron Six now warming motors on the flight deck will be in Sunday morning. The crews of Squadron Six await the takeoff with eagerness. Gosh, you're as fed up as I am, mister. I can certainly use that nice juicy leave. You can say that again for me, mister. I've got radio cauliflower ears, that's what I got. How much leave you reckon you're gonna get? Long enough. Hope it'll be five months. That don't seem too long to me after a four year tour duty. Say, this may be our last flight together. Hope not though. You're a swell rear seat man. Make it good. You've been real nice about keeping me out of the drink. Got so I'd like keeping dry or your radio checks. Okay, sir. The plane handlers move the sleek ships with precision to the line. Precision was an Enterprise watchword. The nation was at peace. But Scout Squadron 6 carried out each maneuver with battle briskness.

[Narrator]

Section 4 up.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Section 4 pilot looks to his rear seat. Man grins, waits. This is the last one for a while, the wink says. A flash of color. The signal. And a plane 31 years, one month away in time, 6,000 miles away in distance from Ely, is plunged from the Birmingham Stick. This plane rises smoothly, evenly. There's power to spare. Scout Squadron six is making a historic flight. Eighteen of its planes soar into a sky of peace to come down, some of them in flames an hour later as they come into Pearl harbor, as the Japanese Air Force is striking its first treacherous blow. December 7, 1941.

[NBC Announcer]

Standing by in Norfolk, Virginia, is rear Admiral Patrick N.L. bellinger, USN, one of the first naval officers to fly and holder of the official designation Naval Aviator Number Eight. Today, Rear Admiral Bellinger, truly a pioneer in naval aviation, is Commander Air Force Atlantic Fleet and is concerned with anti submarine warfare in the Atlantic.

[Captain Washington Irving Chambers]

Atlantic.

[NBC Announcer]

He speaks to you from Norfolk.

[Lieutenant Theodore G. Ellison]

Back In World War I, it was thought that naval aviation did well if it could get planes out and keep the Kaiser's U boats down temporarily. Now, In World War II, this situation is rather different. We're definitely not satisfied unless we can get this U boat down, not temporarily, but permanently. Thirty odd years ago, in the experimental piano wire and blue stage, Naval aviation got scant attention. But it has grown in that short time to one of the major striking forces in the fleet. Everyone who has contributed to this new and powerful weapon in the factories or in the laboratories, in the air or on the Ground can be proud of what naval planes have done all over the world and what they are doing now in the Pacific. For out there, naval aviation is playing a tremendous part. Fought in the gathering offensive against Japan. The men who fight from the flat tops are proving the wisdom of that American investment of sweat, money and material here in the Atlantic area, which happens to be my bailiwake. Our planes and crews have been assigned a tough job and they're doing it better as each week goes by. I do not minimize the number of enemy submarines still at large, nor the resourcefulness and determination of the enemy. One good month of U boat sinkings does not mean that he is licked. But there has been a huge drop in merchant vessel losses since 1942. The number of U boats permanently berthed on the bottom continues to increase. You have heard recently how planes from an escort carrier call simply carrier B for the time being, scored two sunk and eight probables out of 11 attacks within a few days. There are several other escort carriers which have not come home empty handed. That goes for patrol bombers and blimps as well. There are no parts of the ocean now which are safe for enemy submarines. No places that cannot be reached either by patrol bombers of all types, escort carrier planes or blimps. To a large extent, the planes from our bases encircling the Atlantic have driven the U boats far out to sea and in deep water. Our escort carriers, acting in close cooperation with service ships, are getting convoys through. That is our big job, to get the men and materials across. Naval aviation was a decisive factor in safeguarding the deliveries that made the victories of Tunisia and Sicily possible. And it will be until the challenge of the U boat is permanently licked.

[NBC Announcer]

Thank you, Admiral Bellinger. Next Thursday at this same time, the United States Navy and NBC's Department of Special Events will bring you the fourth and final program in this series, Battle Stations, telling the stirring story of the Navy's air arm in World War II. Next Thursday on Battle Stations. This script was written by Charles Gusman. The music was composed, scored and directed by Leo Kempinski. And the production was under the direction of Joseph Manspeed. This program came to you from Norfolk and New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.

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