Oral History and the History of Technology

Recollections of the Early History of Naval Aviation: A Session in Oral History ARRANGED, EDITED, AND INTRODUCED BY DOYCE B. NUNIS, JR. FOREWORD At the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Society for the History of Technology in Washington, D. C., in December 1961, a program com­ memorating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of naval aviation was presented. The two speakers, Garland Fulton and Charles J. McCarthy, who had been active participants in developing the United States Navy’s aviation arm, did not present formal papers but gave informal personal recollections of several phases of the early history of naval aviation. Their presentations, the introductory remarks of the session’s chairman, and the remarks of the program’s commentator were tape-recorded, transcribed, edited, and annotated where neces­ sary, in order to serve as a demonstration of the use and value of Oral History as a research tool for the historian. Dr. Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., Assistant Professor of Education and His­ tory, and Head of the Office of Oral History, University of Cali­ fornia at Los Angeles, arranged the program, served as chairman, and edited the proceedings. Professor John B. Rae of Harvey Mudd College was commentator. In his research on the history of the areronautics industry, Dr. Rae is using Oral History as part of a program recently undertaken at the Claremont Graduate School to record material of significance in the technological history of Southern California. ORAL HISTORY AND THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY DOYCE B. NUNIS, JR. It is fitting that the two presentations which follow should deal with a segment of the history of aviation in America, for 1961 marked the fiftieth anniversary of naval aviation. A commemorative stamp was issued, even though there was a lively Congressional dispute over 149 150 Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. exactly where, and precisely when, naval aviation was born. There is, however, no doubt as to the year—1911. To honor this anniversary, the Society for the History of Technology asked two men who have spent the major part of their adult careers building and creating in the field of naval aviation to relate their recollections. Their memories are a living treasure chest for the history of naval aviation. And let the historian take heed: their recollections are an untapped reservoir for enriching the history of aviation technology. Not dusty books that say just so much, but leave much unsaid; not faded documents where one is left, in many instances, to read between the lines, but living history—knowing, perceptive, vital history—the memory of men who have lived and labored to make that history. Few historians fully appreciate the potential of this living historical reservoir. Certainly the historians of technology should take note, for here is perhaps one of their most useful research tools: the collection of historical data from the active participant. What follows is a demonstration of what can be achieved by tapping this source of living history.1 For want of a better name, the tapping of that source has been labelled Oral History. What is Oral History? Oral History can be succinctly defined: “ Historical research among the living.” The idea is simple: to accu­ mulate through personal interviews a collection of intimate memoirs that would not otherwise exist. The guiding spirit behind this recently begun movement was Allan Nevins, DeWitt Clinton Professor of His­ tory, now emeritus, of Columbia University. (At present, Mr. Nevins is Senior Research Associate, Huntington Library.) As early as 1935 Nevins discussed the idea af Oral History with the late Dean Edwin F. Gay of Harvard and others. In the preface of his Gateway to History, published in 1938, Professor Nevins wrote: Once historical study in America was tremendously alive. If it were as alive today as it should be, we would have in this country . . . some organization which made a systematic attempt to obtain, from the lips and papers of living Americans who have led signifi­ cant lives, a fuller record of their participation in the political, economic, and cultural life of the last sixty years. . . . One might add, contributions to America’s technological achievement. The means to that end is the tape recorder: it is the application of modern technology...