Bureau of Aeronautics

The USN's first attempt for naval aviation began in 1908 when it conducted observations of the Wright Brothers aircraft at Fort Myer.

[1] Congress established BuAer in 1921 in order to create a single organizational home for naval aviation.

The first Chief of BuAer was Rear Admiral William A. Moffett (1869–1933), a Medal of Honor recipient and battleship commander who had long supported the development of naval aviation.

Working closely with RADM Moffett, CAPT Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923) served as BuAer's first Assistant Chief helping lead naval aviation to the forefront of American military strength.

A talented administrator, Moffett ensured the continued independence of naval aviation during the 1920s, when Army Brig.

[citation needed] To fix the problem, in 1959 the Navy merged BuAer and BuOrd to create the Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps).

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command.