7.4 Naval Aviation History and Notable Aircraft
Key Takeaways
- Eugene Ely made the first shipboard aircraft takeoff from USS Birmingham in November 1910 and the first shipboard landing aboard USS Pennsylvania on January 18, 1911, marking the birth of U.S. naval aviation.
- USS Langley (CV-1), converted from the collier USS Jupiter and commissioned in 1922, was the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier.
- The ANIT samples aviation history and notable aircraft; recognizing landmark platforms such as the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet, and T-6 Texan II trainer is expected background knowledge.
- Because history and aircraft identification are pure recall, they are among the most improvable ANIT points for candidates who study.
7.4 Naval Aviation History and Notable Aircraft
The Navy states that the Aviation and Nautical Information Test is largely a test of knowledge rather than aptitude, and it explicitly lists aviation history and notable aircraft among the topics sampled. Unlike the aerodynamics or instrument sections, this material is pure recall — which makes it one of the fastest areas to raise an ANIT score with focused study. A candidate who memorizes a short timeline and a handful of aircraft can reliably bank these points, whereas leaving the topic to chance surrenders questions that require no reasoning at all.
Milestones in Naval Aviation
A compact timeline covers most history items. Learn the dates and the associated ships, because ANIT questions frequently pair a pioneer with the vessel involved:
- November 14, 1910 — First shipboard takeoff. Civilian pilot Eugene Ely flew a Curtiss pusher off a wooden platform built over the bow of the cruiser USS Birmingham, proving that an aircraft could launch from a warship.
- January 18, 1911 — First shipboard landing. Ely landed aboard the USS Pennsylvania using an early tailhook-and-arresting system of ropes weighted with sandbags, then took off again. This round trip is widely cited as the birth of carrier aviation.
- 1911 — First naval aircraft and first naval aviator. The Navy purchased its first airplanes from Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, and Lieutenant Theodore 'Spuds' Ellyson became Naval Aviator No. 1.
- 1922 — First U.S. aircraft carrier. USS Langley (CV-1), converted from the collier USS Jupiter, was commissioned as the Navy's first carrier and served as the seagoing laboratory where launch, recovery, and deck-handling techniques were perfected.
- World War II established the carrier as the centerpiece of naval power. Carrier-versus-carrier actions such as the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942) and the decisive Battle of Midway (June 1942) demonstrated that fast carrier task forces, not battleships, had become the fleet's primary striking arm.
- Jet and supersonic era. After the war, naval aviation transitioned to jet propulsion, angled flight decks, steam catapults, and the optical landing system — innovations that made high-performance jet operations from a moving ship routine.
Notable and Current Aircraft
The ANIT may ask you to identify aircraft by name, role, or silhouette. Focus on landmark platforms and current fleet types, and learn each aircraft's primary mission rather than fine engineering detail:
| Aircraft | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|
| F-14 Tomcat | Carrier fighter/interceptor | Iconic swing-wing fighter, now retired |
| F/A-18 Hornet / Super Hornet | Multirole strike fighter | Backbone of current carrier air wings |
| F-35C Lightning II | Stealth multirole fighter | Carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter |
| E-2 Hawkeye | Airborne early warning | Distinctive rotating radar dome (radome) |
| T-6 Texan II | Primary trainer | Where student naval aviators begin flight training |
| T-45 Goshawk | Advanced jet trainer | Carrier-qualification training aircraft |
| P-8 Poseidon | Maritime patrol | Anti-submarine and surveillance |
| MH-60 Seahawk | Naval helicopter | Anti-submarine, search-and-rescue, utility |
A useful mental shortcut is to group these by mission: fighters/strike (F-14, F/A-18, F-35C), support (E-2 early warning, P-8 patrol), trainers (T-6, T-45), and rotary-wing (MH-60). Knowing which category an aircraft belongs to often lets you eliminate wrong answers even when you cannot recall the exact designation.
The Naval Aviation Training Pipeline
The ANIT may also touch on how naval aviators are produced, because the ASTB-E itself is the entry gate to that pipeline. After commissioning and passing the ASTB-E, candidates attend Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API) in Pensacola, Florida, followed by primary flight training in the T-6 Texan II. Students then select a pipeline — jets, maritime/propeller, or rotary-wing — and proceed to advanced training in the appropriate airframe before earning their Wings of Gold as designated naval aviators. Understanding this progression helps a candidate connect the trainer aircraft in the table above to the career path the exam is screening for.
How to Study This Topic
Because the payoff is high and the effort is low, treat history and aircraft as flashcard material:
- Memorize the Ely → Langley milestones and their dates and ships.
- Learn the name, role, and era of each aircraft in the table above, grouped by mission.
- Skim a general naval-aviation reference for famous battles (Coral Sea, Midway) and pioneers; the ANIT rewards broad familiarity more than deep technical detail.
The Navy specifically advises reviewing encyclopedias, aviation handbooks, and history references to prepare for this portion — a small, deliberate study list converts directly into ANIT points, and because the facts never change, time invested here does not perish the way perishable aptitude skills do.
Who is credited with making the first successful aircraft landing aboard a naval vessel, and on what ship?
Which vessel was the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier?