Philip Van Horn Weems (March 29, 1889 – June 2, 1979) was a United States Navy officer, inventor of navigational instruments and methods, including the Weems Plotter and the Second Setting Watch,[1] and author of navigational textbooks.
[6] In 1927, Weems was sent to the Aircraft Squadron Battle Fleet, before being assigned to the tanker USS Cuyama as its executive officer from 1928 to 1930.
Weems returned to active service in 1942, serving in World War II as a convoy commander, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star.
After Charles Lindbergh completed his celebrated solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the Navy assigned Weems to teach him celestial navigation for a month in 1928.
[7] After his first retirement, Weems wrote several books; Air Navigation (1931) was particularly well received,[8] and was awarded a gold medal by the Aero Club of France.
But according to the Institute of Navigation, "his proudest achievement" was the Star Altitude Curves, which simplified finding one's position; it was adopted by the Army Air Corps prior to World War II.
[5] In 1953, Weems was awarded the Magellanic Premium, an honor given for contributions to navigation, astronomy or natural philosophy.