2 July 1926

Aviation, , ,
Insignia of the United States Army Air Corps

2 July 1926: The Air Service, United States Army, becomes the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Assistant Secretary of War for Air, Frederick Trubee Davison, at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., 16 July 1926. (Library of Congress)

The first Assistant Secretary of War for Air was Frederick Trubee Davison. Major General Mason Mathews Patrick was appointed Chief of the Army Air Corps.

Major General Mason Mathews Patrick, circa 1923. (Library of Congress)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

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3 thoughts on “2 July 1926”

  1. The final picture is captioned “circa 1923” but the writing under the cockpit of the aircraft begins “MAJ. GEN. M.M.PATRICK-CHIEF O” with the rest of the text outside the frame of the photograph. Surely that would date it to some time between his appointment as Chief of the Army Air Corps in 1926 and his retirement in December 1927, unless he previously held some other position with a similar “Chief Of” title?

    1. Thank you, Andrew. General Patrick was appointed Chief of the Air Service in 1921, and continued in that position as it transitioned to the Air Corps. He retired in 1927. According to Wikipedia, the i,age was created “before 1923”, and dates it as 1922.

  2. Even in those days, the generals were staying current to get their flight pay 🙂

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