Army Aviation Takes Off
World War I showed that the airplane was a viable weapon, and the rapid development of air power made it a threat to conventional defenses. Hawai'i was one of many stages upon
which military aviation advanced rapidly.
Early aviator - July 13, 1913 - Army aviation began in Hawai'i with the arrival of two Signal Corps aeroplanes and a 14-man detachment. They organized a flying school that
disbanded after four months.
- March 1917 - The Sixth Aero Squadron, equipped with improved R-6 and M9C seaplanes arrived at Fort Kamehameha and later moved to Ford Island. They provided aerial
fire direction for the coast Artillery batteries defending Pearl Harbor and Honolulu.
- May 9, 1918 - Major Harold Clark and Sergeant Robert Gray made the first interisland flight between Oahu and Maui in a Curtiss R-6.
- May 1921 - All O'ahu anti-aircraft assets were placed under the control of the Hawaiian Anti-Aircraft Regiment. Redesignated in 1922 as the 64th Coast Artillery (AA)
Regiment, it was the first anti-aircraft regiment organized in the Army.
- 1922 - Aviation elements included observation aeroplanes, balloons, and the 19th Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field.
- 1923 - The first Martin bomber squadron arrived, giving the Army striking power far out to sea, and foreshadowing the demise of Coast Artillery.
- June 29, 1927 - Army aviators accomplished the first Mainland to Hawai'i flight.
Original text for the exhibit pages was provided
by Barbara Mills.
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