Richardson reenlisted as an Aviation machinist's mate in 1915 and, after attending the Army school of aerial photography at Langley Air Force Base, organized the Navy's photographic section of Bureau of Navigation.

In 1918, Richardson was commissioned as an officer of the Naval Reserve Flying Corps at the first Navy photo school at NAS Miami, Florida.

[2] As World War II unfolded in Europe, a Navy officer was sent to England to observe and adopt British photo interpretation methods.

[3] In 1948, the photographer's mate abbreviation changed from PHOM to PH, and the symbol of the camera on the rating badge was replaced by divergent light rays passing through a lens.

The RF-8 Crusader was replaced by the RA-5 Vigilante aboard Forrestal-class super carriers equipped with a chute from the flight deck to a photo darkroom so film packages detached from the aircraft upon landing could be fed into developing machines to be available for debriefing when the pilot reached his ready room.