Hero of the Air: Glenn Curtiss and the Birth of Naval Aviation

by William F Trimble

This book focuses on the role of Glenn H. Curtiss in the origins of aviation in the United States Navy. A self-taught mechanic and inventor, Curtiss was a key figure in the development of the airplane during the early part of the century. His contributions are generally well known, among them a control system using the aileron instead of the Wrights' wing-warping, the first successful hydro-airplane and flying boat, among other developments. Curtiss's links to the Navy came as result of advocates of aviation in the Navy, chief among them Captain Washington I. Chambers, who recognized that the navy had special requirements for airplanes and their operations, and for aviators and their training. In a partnership with the navy, Curtiss helped meet the special requirements of the service for aircraft, particularly those with the potential for operating with naval vessels at sea or in conducting long-distance flights over water. He also was instrumental in training the first naval aviators. Curtiss and the navy continued their collaboration through World War I, reaching a climax in 1919 with the first transatlantic flight by the famed Navy-Curtiss NC flying boats. The book addresses the broader implications of the Curtiss-Navy collaboration in the context of the long-standing trend of government-private cooperation in the introduction and development of new technologies. It also explores the interactive dynamics of weapons procurement and technological change within a large and entrenched bureaucracy and helps lay to rest the persistent myth that the navy resisted the introduction of aviation. The pioneering work of Curtiss and his close ties with Chambers and others helped the navy to define the role of aviation in the years up to and through World War I. The book will relies heavily on primary source materials from a variety of archival collections, including the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Air and Space Museum, and the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum.

Genres: History, Aviation, American History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2010

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Trimble has had a rather brisk career writing about aviation and (generally) the United States Navy, this being one nine such books he's authored.

As for this work, it slots in quite well, in as much as Glenn Curtiss found himself becoming the chosen instrument of the USN's early experiments in ship-borne aviation (the Wright Brothers having previously declined the opportunity), and beginning a personal relationship that lasted into the 1920s.

Before that though, there is what Curtiss experienced to get to that point, as another minister's boy who became fascinated by bicycles, and then motorcycles, and whose work with engines drew him into the nascent business of powered flight, particularly once Curtiss became a technical associate of Alexander Graham Bell. From there, Curtiss never looked back, with his early zenith being success at the great 1909 air meet at Reims.

Inevitably, much of story that Trimble is telling involves the great patent fight between the Wright Brothers and Curtiss, which looks very unseemly in retrospect, but reflects the drive of Wilbur & Orville to maintain priority after years of secrecy; to the point that maintaining their patents probably stunted the Wrights' own chances for technical advancement. Be that as it may, this fight wasn't ultimately resolved until the Wright and the Curtiss companies were merged in the late 1920s.

As for Curtiss himself, what he probably best illustrates is just how short the period of heroic workshop tinkerers really was in aviation. By the time that Curtiss was creating his "America" flying boat in 1914, the aircraft were already too complicated for the trial-and-error techniques of a self-taught mechanic, and an academic engineering education was mandatory.

This book is all good stuff, though I do think that Trimble is working just a little too hard into making Curtiss into an exemplary figure. Also, to get the other side of the hill in the conflict between the Wrights and Curtiss, I recommend hunting down "The Wright Company" by Edward Roach (ca. 2014).

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know about the lawsuits between Wright brothers and Curtiss. The Wrights wanted to control and be paid for all subsequent airplane design in manufacturing. Curtiss was more collaborative with his peers, entered many competitions, and helped bring about progress in aviation. The Wrights were more secretive. I recommend the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY.

[Dan Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hero of the air? Dr. William Trimble’s exhaustive biography of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss certainly drives the reader to that conclusion. The author offers a thorough study of the aviation pioneer’s flying life and his predominant role in the early days of naval aviation. The book is more than the subtitle implies, pointing out that although the Wright brothers were the first to fly, “Curtiss was instrumental in [flight’s] development or innovation phase” (p. xiv). As is his practice, Trimble has extensively researched the personal papers of the key players of aviation, official naval documents, period newspaper accounts, and a myriad of secondary sources.
Accompanying the central theme of Curtiss’s overall contribution to aviation are several secondary themes, one of which examines the strong partnership between Curtiss and the US Navy: “Early on, advocates of aviation in the Navy, chief among them Capt. Washington I. Chambers, recognized that the Navy had special requirements for airplanes and their operations, and for aviators and their training” (p. xv). Trimble affirms the well-supported position that Chambers utilized Curtiss’s unique ability to “design and develop” aircraft along with his experience in experimentation to “meet the Navy’s special requirements” (p. xv).
This partnership leads to another secondary theme—that the Navy didn’t resist aviation; rather, “the Navy’s leadership and bureaucracy adjusted well to aviation and other changes” (p. xv). To support this point, the book discusses at length the Navy’s efforts to embrace new technologies, such as long-distance flying, and highlights its desire to conduct the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, which did in fact occur in 1919. Clearly, the Curtiss-Navy partnership helped add aviation to the Navy’s capabilities.
Professor Trimble tells Curtiss’s story chronologically, beginning with his family’s move to western New York and ending with the death of the aviation pioneer at the age of 52. He portrays Curtiss as an innovative and enterprising man who used a “cut and try” approach rather than a scientific or engineering-based method with everything from bicycles to motorcycles to airplanes. His detailed, almost weekly, accounting effectively relates Curtiss’s activities and numerous aviation firsts. Understanding the importance of the often-hostile relationship between Curtiss and the Wright brothers, Trimble includes the substory of their legal battles over aviation patents and their desire to protect their respective business interests.
The author does not place his subject on a throne as the infallible creator of naval aircraft. Rather, he notes that Curtiss’s “slack and inefficient ‘shop’ organization had been a source of frustration” to the Navy (p. 189). Throughout, Trimble clearly articulates the negative effect of the cut-and-try approach to aircraft design and Curtiss’s lack of an engineering background. Readers learn that after the Navy’s successful flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the Curtiss-built NC-4, Curtiss had the “good sense to walk away” from an aviation industry that had outgrown his aeronautical abilities (p. 214). Rather than offer a whitewashed, glossy characterization, this inclusion of the man’s shortfalls helps the reader assess his effect on aviation.
As with Trimble’s book Admiral William A. Moffett: Architect of Naval Aviation (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994), readers who seek insight into the subject’s family life will be disappointed. This is no “there I was” study. Instead, Hero of the Air gives us an in-depth look at a key aviation pioneer who had an immense impact on aviation in general and naval aviation in particular. Although Glenn Curtiss was not the first to fly, one cannot deny his critical role in the early days of flight. William Trimble’s biography is a must-read for both aviation and naval historians.

[M.T. Bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the Wright Brothers certainly deserve the laurels for being "first in flight," Glenn Curtiss was one of the real movers and shakers behind taking aviation from an invention to an industry -- and all the while fighting the Wright Brother's war on him over their patents.  A comprehensive and even-handed biography of a sometimes over-looked American pioneer.

[Rosann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at a fascinating time in history...with upstate New York locales to boot! Chock full of well researched and written information which makes me want to read more all about this exciting era.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenn Hammond Curtiss; Glenn Hammond Curtiss; Glenn Hammond Curtiss. Make that your mantra and chant it for several years--you owe him that much.