Chambers
In the early 1900's the world's Navy's were taking heed from the doctirnes preached by Alfred T. Mahan in his revolutionary book, The Influence of Seapower upon History. Mahan a firm advocate of naval power, stated that the presence of a strong navy was paramount to the preservation of national security. The U.S. Navy responded by building fleets that centered upon the battleship. Battleships were sleek and capable of delivering a devastating blow of firepower. With the invention of the airplane, however, this doctirne was about to change.In September of 1909, following the Rheims Aviation Meet, U.S. Naval commander F.L. Chapin was intrigued by the unlimited possibilities of naval aviation. "The airplane would have present usefulness in naval warfare, and the limits of the field will be extended in the near future." Chapin then went on to suggest the usage of a catapult or floor to launch and recover airplanes. On October 13, 1910, George von L Meyer, the Secretary of the Navy, charged Captain W.I. Chambers to investigate aviation and gain a technical knowledge of airplanes.
November 14, 1910, civilian pilot Eugene Ely landed and took off from a wood platform aboard the USS Birmingham while anchored in Hampton Roads, Virginia. During these experimental years aviation design and navigation were beginning to wean from infancy into childhood.
Four years latter, the upper echelons of the navy were beginning to realize the awesome potential aviation offered in a bold statement issued by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. "The science of aerial navigation has reached the point where aircraft must form a large part of our naval force for offensive and defensive operation."
The first major usage of the airplane as a naval offensive and defensive weapon was in the implementation of the USS Langley (CV-1). Converted from the collier known as the USS Jupiter, the Langley was commissioned on March 20, 1920 in Norfolk, Virginia.