The official history of U.S. naval aviation — a history in which San Diego figures prominently — has been released online.
The two-volume “United States Naval Aviation 1910–2010” by Mark L. Evans and Roy A. Grossnick is available from the Government Printing Office for $132 as hardbound books, but is a free PDF online.
The work is the fourth update to the original history, which was initiated in 1960 to celebrate the first 50 years of naval aviation. This latest update divides the history into two volumes: Chronology and Statistics.
Both volumes have greatly increased content over the previous version beyond simply including years not previously covered. According to the Navy, new and expanded research makes these the definitive volumes on U.S. naval aviation’s first century.
For the record, the first entry mentioning San Diego is this for Dec. 23, 1910:
Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson, the first naval officer to undergo flight training, received orders to report to the Curtiss aviation camp at North Island, San Diego, Calif.
