(Recent Trends in Biotechnology) Johanna Brewer-Forensic Science - New Developments, Perspectives and Advanced Technologies-Nova Science Pub Inc (2015) PDF
Department of the Navy would hire outside commercial photographers to fulfill its photographic and motion picture needs.
At the same time, in the Navy ranks, there
were sailors who pursued photography as a hobby and would unofficially provide their shipmates and commands with a steady supply of pictures. There were no official photographic jobs in the Navy.
In January 1914, the fledgling naval air arm
was ordered to transfer from their base at Annapolis, Maryland. At the time, this unit was the entirety of naval aviation.
It consisted of nine officers, 23 enlisted men,
seven seaplanes, some portable hangars and other assorted equipment with Navy Lt. John Henry Towers as officer-in-charge A Moment of Fate
The unit boarded the USS Mississippi with
orders to proceed to Pensacola, Florida, and establish a permanent aeronautic station on the site of the old naval station, which had closed in 1911.
When the unit arrived they found the beaches
covered with logs, bridge timbers, broken houses, shattered boats and other debris…the victims of numerous Gulf storms.
Lt. Towers needed to send word back to
Washington, DC, of the base’s condition.
He decided to supplement his report with
photographs to highlight the gravity of the situation. Talent Discovered
One of the enlisted men working with the unit
as an aeronautic mechanic was Walter “Dick” Leroy Richardson, a Ship’s Cook, 4th Class, on loan from the USS Mississippi.
He was also a photo hobbyist and the ship’s
unofficial photographer. Towers quickly put him to work on the photos. Richardson used his personal Kodak camera.
The lieutenant was so impressed with the
young photographer’s work, he had him start to photograph all aspects of flight operations and training, that is, when he wasn’t working on plane engines or serving meals, of course. Partnering with Industry
Late in 1914, Lt. Towers got Richardson
permanently assigned to naval aviation, made a machinist’s mate (aviation) and designated the Pensacola Aeronautic Station’s “official photographer.” This was the birth of Naval photography.
After experimenting with a number of
cameras in flight, it became obvious that a proper aerial camera was essential for the Navy’s specific needs.
In August 1915, the Naval Observatory
requested the Eastman Kodak Company develop an aerial camera to Richardson’s specifications.
Soon they produced the Kodak Aero Camera,
the company’s first. After proper testing and tweaking, it was a huge success, with the Navy ordering 20 “aero cameras and accessories.” Leveraging Technology
In December 1915, Richardson and pilot Lt.
E.F. Johnson performed the first recorded aerial photography mission from the Naval Aeronautical Station Pensacola, Florida. Soon after, Richardson created the Navy’s first oblique photo mosaic map.
He continued to experiment and rapidly
increased his knowledge and skill. Richardson’s Accomplishments did not go unnoticed by Washington.
When the United States entered World War I
in April 1917, the military requirements for photography increased dramatically on and over the battlefield.
The Army and Navy needed to organize their
own photographic divisions. As far as the Navy was concerned, Walter Richardson was their man. Pioneering Spirit
In November of 1917, he was promoted to
chief machinist’s mate (aviation) and attended the first class of the Army’s School of Aerial Photography at Langley Field, Virginia, which was taught by a combat experienced British instructor.
On January 2, 1918, he was commissioned an
ensign in the Naval Reserve Flying Corps becoming the Navy’s first photographic officer.
He immediately started to organize the
Photographic Section and at the same time, created plans for a Naval School of Aerial Photography at Naval Air Station Miami, Florida, and for the construction and outfitting of photo labs at naval air stations in the U.S., the Canal Zone and Hawaii. Establishing Vision
One of Richardson’s first challenges was to
find a staff for the new school. He selected four experienced commercial photographers from among the Navy’s wartime volunteers and enlisted them as petty officers in the new rating of Printer (aviation). They would serve as the first instructors. Shortly after that, Richardson went through Navy flight school to be able to fly his students on aerial assignments. The rating of Navy Photographer was established in 1921.
Recognized to be more valuable to the Navy
as a civilian, Richardson was honorably discharged in 1926 and took a position as the head of the Photographic Section, where he remained until 1932. At that time, the former ship’s cook was then designated Senior Scientist and Photographic Inspector for the Bureau of Aeronautics, a position he held until his death on June 14, 1945. Birth of Legacy
Due to his endeavors in establishing
photography as a viable Navy tool, his research in aerial photography and cameras, creating schools that trained thousands, documenting history and generally being the cornerstone of establishing all aspects of the rating, Walter L. Richardson will always be considered the “Father of Naval Photography.” Future Naval Forces
Today, Navy and Marine Corps storytellers
serve the U.S. military’s 21st century needs through a variety of digital products; they continue a tradition of documenting the history and missions of the Department of the Navy that began at the hands of a ship’s cook more than 100 years ago.
(Recent Trends in Biotechnology) Johanna Brewer-Forensic Science - New Developments, Perspectives and Advanced Technologies-Nova Science Pub Inc (2015) PDF