In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

2 Progress Report September 1917–March 1918 Hutch Cone’s arrival in Britain in September 1917 initiated a thorough overhaul of naval aviation efforts. He conferred with Sims, Whiting, Conger, and others, reviewed existing correspondence, met repeatedly with the Admiralty, and undertook a forced-draft tour of potential station sites in Ireland and England. Cone then crossed over to France and relieved Whiting October 24, assuming command of United States Naval Aviation Forces in Foreign Service with headquarters in Paris. He first occupied existing offices at 23 Rue de la Paix, but in mid-November secured larger quarters at Hotel d’Iena, 4 Place d’Iena. The Navy took over the entire 90-room structure, with plans to utilize excess space to accommodate the headquarters Marine guard and enlisted staff.1 During the next year Cone shouldered primary responsibility for developing naval aviation in the war zone, notably assisted by gunnery expert Capt. Thomas T. Craven, director of the Operations Division. In London Lt. Paul H. Bastedo of the Material Section temporarily directed aviation matters, replaced in November by Lt. Walter Atlee Edwards. Cone referred to the latter as “young Edwards” brought up from the Queenstown destroyers. A memo prepared by Sims’s chief of staff, Capt. Nathan C. Twining, defined Cone’s role as commander of all naval aviation forces in France and Britain, primarily responsible in areas of policy, operations, personnel, and materiel. Twining noted, “The Admiral desires to give Cdr. Cone a perfectly free hand to carry out his ideas.” The aviation section in London would be Cone’s direct representative, he noted, and urged all officers to maintain the closest contact with the British. Cone set to work enlarging and reorganizing his headquarters and within a few weeks seemed to have matters well in hand. In his first staff plan he decided to “organize the outfit in two distinct parts,” one operational and the other handling business affairs. Cone placed Operations under Cdr. Frank McCrary , a Lighter-than-Air (LTA) expert, leaving Whiting in charge of heavier- 44 Stalking the U-Boat than-air matters.2 Paymaster Conger headed the Material Section. Civil Engineer Ernest Brownell took control of Public Works (Construction), having been rushed to Paris at Cone’s urgent request. Brownell was “well thought of by all the aviation crowd” who had worked with him at Pensacola. Cone described Civil Engineer A. W. K. Billings, Brownell’s assistant, as a man of “very high reputation.” Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Briscoe assumed leadership of the newly established Assembly and Repair section, while Surgeon H. H. Lane directed medical affairs. Cone also secured the services of two junior officers. Lieutenant Harry Guggenheim became business aide, while Lt. Norman Van der Veer came on board as military aide, both to run the details of the office. The new commander called the pair his office youngsters. Van Der Veer was well known in the fleet as editor of the Bluejacket Manual. The presence of these two young officers allowed the commander to “circulate around the French stations and visit England when it becomes necessary.”3 At the end of the year Cone updated his organization, creating a tripartite staff, including a new Intelligence and Planning Division overseen first by Lt. Virgil Griffin and then Cdr. Henry Dinger. Operations Division staff now included director McCrary (soon to be replaced by Craven), assisted by Callan (Schools), Van Der Veer (Personnel), and the as yet unnamed head of the Repair Section, as well as commanders of the various schools and stations. The Administrative Division headed by Guggenheim, included sections for Public Works, Supplies, Repair Base, and Secretariat. Surgeon Lane remained in charge of medical affairs. A new Executive Committee to coordinate office efforts consisted of Cone, the three division heads, and Ensign Fearing.4 Following reorganization, the original First Aeronautic Detachment officers who had served in Europe since June 1917 went on to fill a variety of posts. After a time in Paris, Whiting visited England to study seaplane conditions and then sailed home to organize the great Killingholme-lighter project.5 He returned in May 1918 to command NAS Killingholme, a position he held until the end of the war. Grattan Dichman directed the aviation school at Moutchic, later commanded NAS Brest, and ultimately returned to destroyer service. Godfrey Chevalier became commanding officer at NAS Dunkirk and then the Northern Bombing Group assembly and repair base at Eastleigh. Virgil Griffin served for a while on the Paris staff before spending several...

Share