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| Trubee Davison. |
Most of us don't realize when we join Yale
Aviation that it has such a rich history and holds such an
illustrious place in the world of aviation.
Yale Aviation has roots as far back as 1915,
when the First Yale Unit was started by then-Yale-sophomore
Trubee Davison. The First Yale Unit is considered to be the
first naval air reserve unit. Davison and 11 other Yale students
were fascinated with the possibilities of aviation in general
and of naval aviation specifically. After meeting with Admiral
Robert Peary to gain authorization for the unit, Trubee Davison
acquired a Curtiss Model "F" seaplane and members of the First
Yale Unit were trained as pilots during the summer of 1916.
They were used as the first aerial coastal patrol unit.
Through they were still civilians and volunteers,
the Yale students now had an official mission. On August 29,
1916, Congress passed the Naval Reserve Appropriations Act
and established a Naval Reserve Flying Corp. In March 1917,
13 days before the United States entered World War I, the
First Yale Unit volunteers enlisted en masse.
From this small group of 29 emerged an assistant
secretary of war, an undersecretary of the Navy and a secretary
of defense. Lt. David Ingalls, a member of the First Yale
Unit, flying a Sopwith Camel with the RAF, was the first naval
aviator to become an ace. He later served as assistant secretary
of the Navy. Trubee Davison was injured in a crash during
training and never saw combat. However, he went on to become
the director of the Civil Aeronautics Board. First Yale Unit
members Robert Lovett and Artemus Gates became commandants
of the Army and Navy air corps, respectively.
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Members of the First Yale Unit
in August 1916.
Davison is third from right rear. |
Another Yale Flyer, Juan Trippe, went on
to found Pan American Airlines, the first airline to introduce
trans-oceanic flights and beautiful flying clipper ships.
Frederick W. Smith, who revived Yale Aviation in 1964 while
an undergraduate, went on to found Federal Express.
So when you climb aboard one of the Yale
Trainers next time, stop and think about some of the people
who have preceded you. The possibilities that await you as
you soar skyward are endless.
Read more about Yale Aviation and the Yale First Unit:
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