A few years before the United States entered World War I, the Navy started playing with the idea of planes. Marine 1st Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham was one of the first pilots to attend training in Maryland and helped design a Marine aviation program. Marines who followed in his footsteps developed or perfected many tactics still used today. We start the episode in 1911 and talk about how aviation contributed to World War I, the Banana Wars, and the start of WWII.
The Marine Corps Gazette - Volume V. No3.
Pitcairn OP-1
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References:
Asprey, R.B., USMC. "Close Air Support” Army, v. 12, no. 4 (Nov 1961)
Board to Reexamine the Adequacy of Present Concept of Mission and Functions of the Marine Corps. An Evaluation of Air Operations Affecting the U. S. Marine Corps in World War II. Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Schools, 1945.
Chant, D. C. J. (1947). Devilbirds: The Story of United States Marine Corps Aviation in World War II (1st ed.). Harper.
Fisher, E. F., & Weinert, R. P. (1963). Combat Data Concerning the Effectiveness of Close Air Support. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY (ARMY) WASHINGTON DC.
Keller, R. P. (1954). Trained for Support. Marine Corps Gazette, 38(5), 28–31.
Marine Aviation -- It Provides Air Support for the Corps Ground Forces. (1964). Navy, The Magazine of Sea Power, 7(6), 20–23.
Marine aviation in the Philippines. (1951). Historical Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
McClure, G. C. (1962). Take Cover in the Air. Marine Corps Gazette, 46(4), 52–53.
Miller, J., & Heinl, R. D. (1965). Soldiers of the Sea: The United States Marine Corps, 1775–1962. Military Affairs, 29(2), 96. https://doi.org/10.2307/1983968
MajGenCmdt, Annual Report, 1913.
Order from MajGenCmdt to lstLt A . A. Cunningham, dtd 10 May 1912, Cunningham Bio File .
Pixton, A. G. (1953). Close Air Support in Amphibious Operations. Military Review, 23(5), 27–34.
Rowell, "Nicaragua Report, 1928" p. 254; Schilt 's Flight Log, (Collections Unit, Marine Corps Museum).
Sherrod, R. (2022). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II (1st ed.). Combat Forces Press.
The Chambers Board's findings are summarized in Turnbull & Lord, History of US Naval Aviation, pp. 33-34.
Tutton, M. R. (1961). Marine Corps Aviation. United States Naval Institute Proceedings, 87(5), 48–53.