Pensacola Pilots

Clarence K. Bronson

           Clarence King Bronson was born in Bushnell, Illinois on July 21, 1888 and was a member of the Naval Academy Class of 1910. Bronson was also trained in aviation in 1914 at the Curtis Aeroplane Co., Hammondsport, N.Y., and Pensacola, Fla. Lieutenant Bronson died on November 8, 1916 while testing experimental aerial bombs. Camp Bronson, which was located to the north of NAS Pensacola and served as the site for aerial bombing practice, was named in his honor; Camp Bronson was on land leased to the Navy during World War I, and was closed when the lease expired on June 30, 1919. The USS Clarence K. Bronson, a destroyer that saw action during World War II and the Korean War, was also named in his honor.

 

             Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 106.

             http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c9/clarence_k_bronson.htm

 

Edward O. McDonnell

           Edward O. McDonnell designed the first airplane to be built at NAS Pensacola, but he was transferred before its completion; the plane was designated the McDonnell 152 in his honor. On February 14, 1917 Lieutenant McDonnell was the first naval aviator to perform two loops in the air in an N-9; he primarily did this to show that the Navy was better than the Marines, because Marine aviator Francis T. Evans made the first loop in an airplane a day earlier. On March 9, 1919 Lieutenant Commander McDonnell made the first recorded platform take-off from the USS Texas.

 

             Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 58, 63, 134.

 

A. C. Read

           Lieutenant Commander Read is remembered for making the first transatlantic flight in history. Read, along with a crew of six, departed NAS Rockaway, New York on May 8, 1919 in an NC-4 and landed in Lisbon, Portugal on May 27, 1919.

 

             Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 221.

 

Alfred A. Cunningham

           First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham was among a group of Marine Corps aviators who trained at NAS Pensacola; he was Marine Corps Aviator No. 1. On November 8, 1915 First Lieutenant Cunningham attempted the first catapult launch by a Marine aviator on board the USS North Carolina; he crashed during take-off and all catapult launches for both Naval and Marine aviators were halted for several months.

 

             Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 31, 61.

 

Francis T. Evans

           Captain Francis T. Evans was another Marine Corp aviator who trained at NAS Pensacola. Captain Evans. On February 13, 1917 Captain Evans made the first loop and spin recovery technique of an N-9 seaplane; his spin recovery technique was immediately incorporated into the flight-training program, and he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this contribution to the science of aviation.

           Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 61-62.

 

John H. Towers

           John Henry Towers was born on January 30, 1885 in Rome, Georgia. Towers graduated with the Naval Academy class of 1906, was commissioned ensign in 1908, and on March 5, 1913 was designated Naval Aviator No. 3. In 1914 Towers became the executive officer of NAS Pensacola, and on February 2, 1914 Towers, along with Chevalier, made the first naval aviation flight over Pensacola, Florida. Lieutenant Towers commanded the aviation unit that performed scouting missions over Tampico, Mexico during the Mexican Campaign of 1914. In August 1914, one month into World War I, Towers was ordered to London as assistant naval attaché. On 1 June 1939, he was named Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics with the accompanying rank of rear admiral. Promoted to vice admiral on 6 October 1942, Towers became Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet. From this billet, he wisely and effectively supervised the development, organization, training, and supply of the Fleet's growing aviation capability. After chairing the Navy's General Board from March to December 1947, Towers retired on 1 December 1947. Admiral Towers died on April 30, 1955; the destroyer USS Towers, which took part in the Vietnam War, was named in his honor.

 

             Commander Leo F. Murphy, Flying Machines over Pensacola: An Early Aviation History From 1909 to 1929 (Gulf Breeze, Fl: Pensacola Bay Flying Machine Ltd. Co., 2003) 35, 49, 54.

 

             http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t7/towers.htm