When the United States entered WWI, the Marine Corps had six Marine officers classified as naval aviators although none were identified as reservists. “The DH-4 and the Marines in World War I,” a watercolor by aviation artist Jason Breidenbach, shows the aircraft that Marines successfully flew in WWI.īringing on the Marine Corps Reserve Flying Corps for War 4 He was a driving force in all early Marine aviation activities and particularly in readying the MCRFC for duty in the war. 3 Cunningham became known as the “Father of Marine Corps Aviation,” but not simply because he was the first aviator. 2 By August 1912, he was the first qualified Marine naval aviator. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, as the “Only Marine Officer Present” in May 1912. He appeared on the rolls of the Naval Aviation School, U.S. In its youth at the beginning of World War I (WWI), Marine aviation can be traced back to the first Marine naval aviator, First Lieutenant Alfred A. Oversight of Marine aviation came through a section at Headquarters Marine Corps, and little is known of the organization and administration of the budding MCRFC.

At that time, aviation in the Marine Corps was still in its infancy, and the early leaders in Marine Corps aviation were fighting hard to gain men, equipment, and flying fields, working closely with the U.S. The Marine Corps Reserve Flying Corps (MCRFC) did not get off the ground rapidly after Congress authorized the Naval Appropriations Act of August 1916.

Virtual sailor 7 new york 1912