me make some rotten ones and I got the—pretty well.
Well, Dad, I’ve got to go to dinner. Sorry I didn’t write you before about what I was doing, but I wanted to fly alone first. Lots of Love, Dave
Ingalls Memoir re: Palm Beach
The first crew I was on was in charge of “Di” Gates, with “Ken” MacLeish, “Ken” Smith, and “Pat” Ireland. The competition was keen between crews. Each wanted to have the best machines and the most flying. So we went at it hard when anything needed fixing. To work one had to have tools, and to keep a machine in good shape you tried to find the best motor cover. “Di” would tell us to get something and leave us to go and get it. As burglars we were good. We became very clever at picking up good motor covers that were lying about. When we had wangled something we wished to keep we painted a big number on it. And friends were base enough to call us crooks!
There was never a thought about how much or how little we were working. The more we did the more we flew, and that was the mark we were shooting at. But it did come as a slight shock, after we had been there almost two months and had lugged gas and oil daily to the machines, to have Lotta Lawrence come wandering along with two empty cans and ask where a guy could procure some petrol.34
According to Harry Davison:
One day Crock [Ingalls] and I certainly slipped it over the rest of the outfit. We got up long before it was light and went down to the machines. We got old Number 3 out just as dawn was breaking. Then we had one of the prettiest flights that ever happened, for about an hour. We went up about 3,000 feet and watched the sun rise. Everybody was terribly snotty about it when we came down. They all tried to work this same stunt, but Lieutenant McDonnell forbade it after that.35
U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps Detachment36
Huntington, Long Island, July 1917
Dear Mother and Dad,
Sorry not to have been able to write you before but we have had a busy time taking a test on a book by a man named Loening. Isn’t it just the luck, since you left we have had wonderful flying weather and have been flying a lot. For instance yesterday I had two hours and my time is very short because they are giving extra to a lot such as Ireland, etc., to make them catch up. (I had been sick.) Thursday the two N-9 machines arrived and are now in commission. They are pontoon machines and pretty handy good machines. Also Monday we received a Wright Martin pontoon machine, a wonder.37 More machines are coming soon. In a little more than a week we are going to take our tests for Naval air pilots, which I hope will not be hard. Saturday we had quite a time, first in the afternoon several of us including little me flew over to the Davisons,38 circled around the polo field a bit on which thousands had aggregated, and then landed, watched a base ball game between our team and one from Mineola, our side winning, then flew back. There was a lot of trick flying by the Mineola land machines, and at one time there were at least 25 or 30 machines up. It must have been quite a sight. Saturday night I had dinner at the Davisons and then went to a dance at H. P. Whitney’s. Had a great time Sunday and came back that night on the yacht with all the wireless girls to accompany us.39 Am feeling rather sleepy now as I went out to dinner Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday after you left, also last night, so have now sworn off parties with Harry. Must stop, lots of love, Dave
According to William Rockefeller:
We [Rockefeller, Ingalls, and MacLeish] made several flights over submarines operating in the [Long Island] Sound while they tested out various devices by means of which they hoped to be able to detect the presence of aircraft. Submarine officers also took flights with us to observe the visibility of subs while submerged under different conditions. I had my one and only trip in a submarine at this time, as the officers kindly let us go out with them when we were not otherwise occupied. I don’t want another ride. All I remember is a good deal of noise, being told I was under the Sound, seeing the water go through the little glass portholes in the conning tower, or whatever it is called, and coming up again.40
Reginald “Red” Coombe said of flying at Huntington:
The flying got a little smoother as time went on. . . . It was not an uncommon thing to see Ingalls flying upside down or doing tailspins in the largest boat.41
On Board Whileaway,42 July 31, 1917
My Dear Mother,
Awfully sorry not to have had a second to write you before but we’ve been awfully hard worked. Also we’ve had a couple of accidents, about which I hope you won’t worry. Harry had a fall from side slipping then nose dived from about 500 feet, and two days after Truby [Trubee Davison] did the same thing from about 300 feet. Harry was absolutely unhurt, thank goodness, but Truby was not so lucky as he did something to his back. The doctors say he will be alright in about three months.43 So, as a result they have let up on us a lot, as I believe they think the fellows were a bit tired. So today we are spending this afternoon on the boat and this morning I slept all morning. Now I am feeling fine and hope to take my test for naval pilot next Monday. About eight fellows, the ones who flew last summer, passed their tests Saturday, Sunday and Monday and most of them will be going to other places to instruct.44 In about two weeks we’ll probably be separated all over the country instructing. As soon as some decent machines are made, say two months, fifteen of us are probably going abroad first to instruct there. I don’t know who will go. I hope you are having a great time, as good as I had last summer, also Al. Please give my love to all the Tafts. With love, Dave
Reg Coombe recalled:
I remember one day the phone rang up in the house and it was Washington on the wire. The news soon spread around and pretty soon all the Unit that were left were around that room waiting to hear what the news was, and the chief yeoman who was on the wire would repeat the orders as they came along: Landon, France; then a big yell; Ingalls, France, and so on.45
2
Early Days in Europe
September–December 1917
During the summer and early fall of 1917, several members of the Yale Unit received orders to proceed overseas, where the navy had begun creating an extensive system of patrol stations, flight schools, and supply bases from scratch. With aviation officers in very short supply, the Yale gang offered nearly the only available source of additional trained personnel. In fact, the navy had not yet dispatched a single flying officer to Europe for combat duty. A small force of 122 enlisted men, the First Aeronautic Detachment, reached France in early June, their exact training and mission yet to be determined. Four commissioned fliers accompanied them—Kenneth Whiting, Godfrey Chevalier, Virgil Griffin,
