Navy·Institutional politics·In Memoriam
Naval Aviation Cadet
NavCad / V-5
Served: 1935–1993
Commissioning pipeline for enlisted sailors and civilians with two years of college to become Naval Aviators without a four-year degree — produced 61,658 pilots between 1942 and 1945 alone.
The Story
John Glenn entered the first V-5 class at Iowa. The program also touched Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Ted Williams, and Ed McMahon as Pre-Flight School attendees. Every one of them got commissioned without a bachelor's. Try that today.
Epitaph
“Made Glenn, Ford, Bush, and Ted Williams into aviators. Then closed the door.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — USN Aviation Cadet Programen.wikipedia.org
- NHHC — WWII Naval Aviationwww.history.navy.mil