REVIEW 4 QUESTIONS
All questions in this review concern WWI.
Q1. Before WW I, the Navy built surface ships and
submarines. What other development occurred
then that is still a big part of todays naval
arsenal?
Q2. What was one reason why the U.S. Navy was
deployed?
Q3. Describe the role of Navy destroyers.
Q4. Describe the role of the air forces.
Q5. What was the role of Navy women?
THE NAVY FROM 1920 TO 1950
Learning Objective: When you finish this chapter, you
will be able to
Recognize the roles and responsibilities of the
Navy from 1920 through 1950 to include World
War II and the post-war years.
The world was changing rapidly from the end of
WWI to 1950. During the 1920s, the world economy
boomed, then fell. In the 1930s, there was the Great
Depression. In 1939, World War II began. In this
section, you will learn about some of the developments
made by the U.S. Navy.
1920 TO 1940
Between 1920 and 1940, the U.S. Navy was
developing its aviation arm to include aircraft carriers
and airships and airplanes. Also, it was building up its
destroyer strength.
Aviation
Great strides in aviation had been made during World
War I, and the end of the war did not slow the pace of
progress. On May 8, 1919, three Navy Curtiss (NC)
flying boats taxied into the bay of Far Rockaway, New
York, and took off for Europe. Plagued by mechanical
difficulties, two NCs failed to make it. The NC-4, piloted
by Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read, became the
first airplane to fly the Atlantic. LCDR Reads message
from Lisbon, Portugal, to the President read, We are
safely across the pond. The job is finished. The NC-4 is
now located at the National Museum of Naval Aviation,
Pensacola, Florida.
With transoceanic aircraft a reality, the Navy
continued to research the use of rigid airships in its air
arm. In 1923, Shenandoah was launched. During a severe
squall in 1925, the Shenandoah broke in half and killed
14 men. At that time, some authorities questioned the
safety of the airship since it was fueled with highly
flammable hydrogen. In spite of some opposition, the
Navy continued to test rigid airships throughout the next
decade. In 1931, USS Akron was launched. The Akron
crashed in 1933 during a thunderstorm, killing the entire
crew.
In November 1929 a Ford trimotor aircraft, named
the Floyd Bennett, carried Commander Richard E. Byrd
and his crew on the first flight over the South Pole.
Commander Byrd thereby became the first man to fly
over both poles.
In 1933, Macon was commissioned. Two years later
the Macon also crashed into the sea. The Navy then
abandoned research and construction of rigid airships.
Aircraft Carriers
In 1934, the USS Ranger, the first carrier designed
from the keel up, joined the fleet. Also in the 1930s and
prewar 1940s, the large aircraft carriers USS
Enterprise, USS Wasp, USS Hornet, and USS Yorktown
were commissioned.
5-15
Student Notes: