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.
Members of the First Yale Unit in August 1916.
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.