Navy·Institutional politics·In Memoriam
Naval Aviation Pilot
NAP / APFlying Chiefs
Served: 1919–1981
Enlisted men trained as full naval aviators — chiefs and warrants in the cockpit instead of officers. Roughly 5,000 of them served over 62 years.
The Story
NAP No. 1 was Chief Quartermaster Harold "Kiddy" Karr, trained before the program formally existed. The Navy then spent 62 years quietly proving and then suppressing the idea that you didn't need a commission to fly fleet aircraft.
Epitaph
“5,000 chiefs in the cockpit. 62 years. The cockpit door closed behind them.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — Naval Aviatoren.wikipedia.org
- Hampton Roads Naval Museumhamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com