Two of aviation's pioneers, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Eugene Burton Ely, not only deserve the credit of establishing this State's air arm but as a result established the first National Guard (heavier-than-air) aviation unit in the country.  Ely's demonstrations for the military not only sparked the imagination of Major General E. A. Forbes, Adjutant General (California), who foresaw the possibilities of the aeroplane as a weapon, but would lead 1st Lieut. John McHenry, Jr., to form the first Aeronautical Detachment and the enlistment of Eugene B. Ely on 13 February 1911 as a private in the California National Guard.  This historic event makes Eugene Burton Ely the National Guard's first enlisted aviator in history.

The Aeronautical Detachment, Coast Artillery Corps, National Guard of California was formally organized on 20 February  1911, with headquarters at the San Francisco Armory.  Through Glenn H. Curtiss the National Guard acquired its first Curtiss aeroplane, and Eugene B. Ely offered his services to train two officers and carry on experiments in aerial scouting, photography and bomb dropping.  Following these National Guard flying activities in March, 1911, Eugene Ely was appointed Aviation Aid to the Governor of California. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on 6 July 1911.

But this story actually begins with Curtiss in Los Angeles, California, at America's First International Air Meet held in January 1910 and a legal controversy with two brothers --Wilbur and Orville Wright.

A California Moment

. . . The Prelude to the State's Air Arm

Glenn H. Curtiss and Eugene B. Ely over North Island, San Diego.

(c) Copyright 1997 (Rev. 2007)

All Rights Reserved

Mark J. Denger

California Center for Military History

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