Centennial of Naval Aviation

Grumman FF-1 FiFi

Naval Aviation Nicknames From Fifi to Rhino, and everything in between

Scooter, Spad, Ford, FiFi, and Willy Fudd are among the many nicknames given to U.S. Navy aircraft over the past 100 years. Like family pet names, some are endearing, some …

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Marine 1st Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham

Marine Corps Aviation Centennial: A Century of Innovation

First Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham became the first Marine to enter the world of aeronautics when he arrived at the aviation camp at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., …

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Convair F2Y-1 Sea Dart Test

XF2Y-1 Sea Dart: A Jet Fighter on Water Skis Convair's Sea Dart waterborne jet fighter was a brilliant mistake whose time never came

“From the sea…” was a strategic doctrine that might have included jet fighters if the Convair F2Y Sea Dart had succeeded.

The Sea Dart began as Convair’s entry to a …

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Stone Elmer NC4 crew

The Coast Guard’s Role in Naval Aviation Wings of America’s fifth service

The U.S. Coast Guard has been a part – indeed, a leading innovator – in maritime aviation from early in the history of flight at sea. Although the official Coast …

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P6M SeaMaster

The Martin P6M SeaMaster – What Might Have Been Big, fast, beautiful, and doomed

In the 1950s, the U. S. Navy saw itself being left out of all-important strategic bombing duties while the Air Force seemingly monopolized the mission with 2,000 long-range bombers ready …

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Douglas A2D-1 In Flight 1954

The U.S. Navy’s Douglas A2D Skyshark Turboprop Heavy Attack Aircraft The Skyshark was planned as a turboprop heavy attack aircraft for Navy carrier decks

In the 1950s, some in naval aviation believed that pure jet aircraft weren’t ready to operate from ships at sea. Some naval aviators and aero engineers wanted the Navy’s carrier …

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Lockheed XFV-1 Flight Test

The Convair XFY-1 Pogo and the Lockheed XFV-1 Brilliant Mistakes: The tail-sitters tried for a different kind of VTOL

Today, the U.S. Marine Corps has the leading role in developing and fielding short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) warplanes like the AV-8B Harrier II and F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. …

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The Blue Angels

The Blue Angels: A 65 Year History 65 Years of Angels Over America

At the end of World War II, the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team “to keep the public interested …

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MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters

Challenge in Transition Four leaders articulate the future of Naval Aviation

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Of all the presentations at the 2011 Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition in Washington, D.C., perhaps the most interesting was the professional development seminar: “Naval Aviation Centennial: What is the Future …

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MH-60S Knighthawks

Responsive, Relevant, Rotary-wing A history and appreciation of the helicopter in Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aviation

Eighty years ago, the U.S. Navy bought three XOP-1 autogyros for testing. After three historic landings on the carrier Langley and five months with Marines in Nicaragua, the pioneering rotorcraft …

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