Godfrey de Courcelles Chevalier | |
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| Born | (1889-03-07)March 7, 1889 |
| Died | November 14, 1922(1922-11-14) (aged 33) |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1907-1922 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Commands | Naval Air StationDunkerque,France |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Croix de Guerre |
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Lieutenant CommanderGodfrey de Courcelles Chevalier, USN (7 March 1889 – 14 November 1922) was a pioneeringnaval aviator of theUnited States Navy ofWorld War I and the early 1920s.
Born inProvidence,Rhode Island on 7 March 1889, Chevalier graduated from theUnited States Naval Academy in June 1910. He was appointed a Naval Air Pilot on 7 November 1915 and a Naval Aviator on 7 November 1918.
On 8 May 1913,ensign Chevalier was the passenger in a long-distance flight of 169 miles, flown in a Curtiss flying boat piloted by LieutenantJohn Henry Towers, Naval Aviator No. 3, from theWashington Navy Yard inWashington, D.C. down thePotomac River and then up theChesapeake Bay to the U.S. Naval Academy atAnnapolis,Maryland. The flight took three hours and five minutes.[1]
On 12 July 1916 he participated in the installation of the first realaircraft catapult used in the U.S. Navy and piloted the first plane to be launched by catapult, from thearmored cruiserUSS North Carolina. In November 1917 he commanded the firstnaval air station inFrance, atDunkerque, and forWorld War I service was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal. On 9 March 1919 he was also awarded theCroix de Guerre.[2]
In 1922 he was attached toUSS Langley (CV-1), the first Americanaircraft carrier, in connection with fitting her out. On 26 October 1922 Lieutenant Commander Chevalier made the first landing onLangley's deck, flyingAeromarine 39B No. 606.
A distinguished pioneer of naval aviation, Chevalier died at the Norfolk Naval Hospital atNaval Station Norfolk inNorfolk,Virginia, on 14 November 1922 as a result of injuries sustained in the 12 November 1922 crash nearLockhaven, Virginia, of aVought VE-7 he was flying from Naval Air Station Norfolk toYorktown, Virginia.[3]
Two U.S. Navydestroyers have been namedUSS Chevalier in his honor, as wasChevalier Field, an airfield atNaval Air Station Pensacola inPensacola,Florida. The Chevalier Theatre in Medford, Massachusetts is also named for him.
 Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
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