Today, the First Flight Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin remembers the first take-off from the cruiser Birmingham 106 years ago.
An article in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal described the historic event:
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Aviator Eugene B. Ely’s Successful Flight From Deck of Cruiser to Land
Flies from Cruiser Birmingham in Hampton Roads to Willoughby Spit
First Flight of Its Kind in the World
Flight Proves that Aeroplanes Must be Taken Seriously in Naval Warfare of the Future
Fort Monroe, VA, Nov. 14 [1910].
Aerial navigation proved today that it is a factor which must be dealt with in the naval tactics of the world’s future, if the successful flight made by Eugene B. Ely, in a Curtiss biplane, from the deck of the cruiser Birmingham, can be taken as a criterion.
From Hampton Roads the scene forty years ago of another epoch in the history of naval warfare, when an ironclad proved its superiority over the former type of fighting vessel, the aviator today flew across the lower end of Chesapeake Bay landing on the opposite side from this fort.
In weather conditions unfavorable for flying, the daring birdman, shortly after three o’clock this afternoon, glided from the platform erected on the front of the big, black cruiser, swooped down like an immense bird of prey until he touched the water, then rose rapidly into the misty air of the lower bay and was off in the direction of the broad Atlantic.
Five minutes after having taken his sudden farewell of the Birmingham, he was a lost speck on the eastern horizon and had landed safely on Willoughby Spit.
The impact, with which the big machine struck the water after its 37-foot drop from the front cruiser, caused one of the propeller blades to be jagged as though a course saw had gone along its edge and a small piece was split from the blade.
But not for an instant was the speed of the aeroplane lessened and it darted away with express train rapidity on it victorious flight.
Intermittent rains throughout the day, several small hail showers and continuous fog almost compelled the aviator to postpone his flight.
But he was determined to prove, as he said after the flight, that he could accomplish more than had been expected of him.
Furthermore, he did not wait for the Birmingham to get into motion, which would have added to his momentum and have been a great help to him; but seizing an opportune moment between showers, he was off before those who were on the ship with him and on the other vessels stationed at various points nearby to follow and assist him in case of need, were aware that he was ready for his wonderful flight, the first of its kind the world has even seen.
Ely proved today that it is possible to fly safely from a ship, and, after having done this, asserted with emphasis that it would be an easy matter for an aeroplane to alight on a vessel, either while the latter was moving or standing still.
Several experts, who witnessed the flight, expressed their belief that the navies of the world in the future must take the aeroplane into consideration when mapping out plans of action.
Captain Washington I. Chambers, who has been detailed by the navy department as chairman of a board for aeronautical investigation, declared that the flight was more than he had anticipated, and he is confident that the time is near when all scout cruisers will be equipped with a number of aeroplanes.
They would not be for battleship use, he explained, but for scout duty in connection with the work of the scout cruisers of the navy.
“When Mr. Ely flew with such ease from a standing ship,” he said, “it showed beyond doubt that his task would have been much simpler if the Birmingham had been moving.”
Starting out from the Norfolk navy yard at 11:30 o’clock this morning on the Birmingham, closely followed by the two torpedo boat destroyers, Roe and Terry, and by the torpedo boats Bailey and Stringham, it was fully four hours later before Mr. Ely’s machine was working to his full satisfaction.
The machine, in which he flew, was the one which Glenn Curtiss sailed down through the air channels of the Hudson river valley from Albany to New York.
It had seen two previous cross-water flights, one over Lake Erie from Euclid Beach to Cedar Point and back, a distance of seventy miles; the other by Mr. Curtiss himself over the Atlantic ocean off Atlantic City, when it covered a distance of fifty miles.
The distance, which Mr. Ely flew today, was nearly five miles.
The Birmingham was lying in the roads, only a quarter of a mile from the Hotel Chamberlain; but in making his flight to Willoughby Spit he flew in a curve, so that while the exact distance could not be determined, it was believed he covered almost seven miles.
It was 3:16 o’clock when he took to the air; five minutes later he was safe on the solid soil of Virginia, a few miles north of Norfolk.
Mr. Ely, after being brought back on a launch and placed aboard the Roe, said he was not fond of the water; but he had conquered his fears long enough to remain over it in a fog and accomplish his purpose.
When he struck the water on diving off the 83-foot platform erected on the bow of the Birmingham, salt water dashed into his face and goggles, so that he could not see for several minutes in which direction he was flying.
He had planned to take a somewhat different course from that which he actually followed and land a little further to the north.
The greatest height he attained was estimated at about 500 feet.
His striking the water, he said afterwards, was due to a slight miscalculation.
He had planned, before he left the incline on the Birmingham, to drop near the water, so as to get the momentum which he wanted to carry him upwards, but he over-reached the mark slightly.
Mr. Ely went back to Norfolk immediately after the flight; and if weather conditions tomorrow are favorable, will attempt a flight over the city.
The following day hi is away to show his prowess of the air in a flight he will give at Raleigh.
It is understood that Mr. Ely by his flight today has won a $500 prize, offered by John Barry Ryan for the first flight of a mile or more from any ship to land.
Further experiments of a similar nature, it is believed, will be conducted in the near future by the navy department.
The opinion was freely expressed on all sides today that the aeroplane must be taken seriously in naval warfare of the future.
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The reverse of the First Flight Commemorative Silver Dollar Coin shows with an image of Mr. Ely’s take-off from the Birmingham on November 14, 1910.
