[3] In November 1915, the GAC hired 24-year-old Alfred V. Verville, an experienced airplane designer who would be a part of Detroit's aviation activities for years to come.

[4][5] With U.S. involvement in World War One imminent, Verville began designing a military airplane, the Gamma.

By November 1916, the prototype, a "pusher" type plane with the engine and propeller behind the crew, was fitted with seaplane floats and test flown from its base on the Detroit River.

In the meantime, the leading industry magazine Aviation gave the GAC plane a boost by running a two-page story about the as yet unproved craft.

On its maiden flight from frozen Lake St. Clair, a wind blew the Gamma into a snow bank, and it crashed.