On 16 July 1912, Frank Wilbur Wead (aged 16) was admitted into the
United States Naval Academy as a member of the Class of 1916. His classmates included
John D. Price,
Ralph Davison and
Calvin T. Durgin. The Class of 1916 graduated on 29 May 1916. Following graduation from the Naval Academy and leave, Wead reported to his first sea-duty assignment, , on 28 June 1916. He was a line officer with a date of rank as an ensign of 3 June 1916 and a precedence of 17 within his group of "running mates." Wead was next assigned to on a cruise from San Francisco, departing 25 April 1917. The ship reached
Rio de Janeiro where, with several other officers, he departed
Pittsburgh on 21 September. Wead was granted a temporary promotion to Lieutenant on 15 October 1917. He was booked for passage to the Port of New York aboard , which departed Rio de Janeiro on 25 September and arrived in New York on 17 October. Wead reported to the
Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, for sea duty orders. In February 1919, a kite-balloon division of six balloons was assigned to
Shawmut and other ships. The ships participated in fleet exercises and, after seven weeks, returned to the United States after demonstrating the capability to operate without land-based support. With the knowledge that the Naval Aviation Division was seeking naval officers with a strong aptitude in naval engineering, having a desire to accept projects with a certain amount of risk, and with the combat-proven ability to lead naval personnel by example, Lieutenant Wead began the process for obtaining endorsements to his application to be nominated for flight training.
Naval aviation Wead received a permanent promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on 3 June 1919 (as of 1 January 1920, he remained in the temporary rank of Lieutenant). In the late summer of 1919, Wead requested naval aviation flight training at
Aeronautic Station Pensacola, Florida. His request was approved and he was assigned to Class 1 (the first class of regular officers sent to Pensacola after the commencement of World War I), on 15 September 1919. Wead reported to Pensacola and was billeted in a two-man room with Lieutenant (j.g.)
Ralph Davison, a classmate at the Naval Academy. Wead was assigned to a training flight team with two other officers and former classmates, Lieutenants (j.g.) Robert Morse Farrar and Calvin Thornton Durgin. In addition to basic and advanced flight and navigation, the students were trained on a catapult installed on a barge at Pensacola. Wead was designated a
United States Naval Aviator on 17 April 1920; his wife, Minnie "Min" Wead, pinned his golden wings to his uniform. On Saturday, 5 June 1920, Lieutenant Wead was appointed a naval aviator, along with Lieutenants
Felix Stump, Robert Morse FarrarHomer Webb Clark, Robert Walton Fleming[https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/ROBERT_W._FLEMING,_CAPT,_USN, Stanton Hall Wooster
Ralph E. Davison, John Dale Price, Calin Thornton Durgin, and Henry James White[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48663507/henry-james-white. Wead was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 July 1920. Wead began to promote Naval Aviation after
World War I through
air racing, speed competitions and several naval aviation articles he submitted for publishing in the
United States Naval Institute Proceedings magazine. This competition, mainly against the
United States Army Air Service (and its leading racer,
Jimmy Doolittle), helped push U.S.
military aviation forward. These competitions would give
naval aviation a much-needed spotlight in the public eye. The public attention that it generated helped push
Congress to fund the advancement of military aviation. After World War I he was a
test pilot for the Navy.
Sea duty On 21 April 1921, a newly promoted Lieutenant Frank Wead reported aboard , homeported at
Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Aboard
Aroostook, Wead was assigned aviation duties involving flying:
Aeromarine 39-B (two-seater seaplane used as a "scout plane") and
Felixstowe F5L (flying boat that carried a crew of four); reporting to Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Air Squadrons Captain Henry Varnum Butler, USN, and Executive Aide Lieutenant Commander
Patrick N. L. Bellinger, USN. The experience gained aboard USS
Aroostook involving F-5-L flying boats was instrumental in Wead being selected as commanding officer of Combat Squadron No. 3 (re-designated,
Fighting Plane Squadron 3, on 17 June 1922), U.S. Pacific Fleet; he served in this capacity for over a year until the spring of 1923. Lieutenant Wead worked closely with the Philadelphia
Naval Aircraft Factory and three contractors (
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company,
Wright Aeronautical,
Glenn L. Martin Company) in the development of seaplane airframes and new engines, and testing the seaplanes in duration flights above the Potomac River. Based upon his experience and technical expertise, Wead submitted several articles for publication that pertained to known issues concerning aircraft design, power plant problems, and future naval aviation.
Seaplane racing and records broken Lieutenant Frank Wead traveled to East Cowes, Isle of Wight, Great Britain, as the American team captain of a small group of U.S. naval aviators. He was also the reserve team member. With Lieutenant Wead were four naval aviators who departed New York Harbor aboard S.S. Leviathan. They were to participate in the Seventh Schneider Trophy Contest (28 September 1923). Unfortunately, on the day of the navigability tests (27 September 1923), Wead had to withdraw because of an engine problem with his TR-3A aircraft- the American reserve seaplane. The TR-3A was a double pontoon seaplane with a Wright E-4 engine of 300 H.P. However, his teammates, Lieutenants David Rittenhouse and Rutledge Irvine, flying their CR-3s finished first and second places, respectively, on 28 September 1923. Their CR-3s were earlier tested at Garden City, Port Washington, Long Island. They were an improved adaptation of the Curtiss Navy Racer- the standard racing design which led the world in performance since the first plane of this type won the Pulitzer Race in 1921. During the period 22–23 June 1924 just off-shore of NAS Anacostia, Wead and Lieutenant John Dale Price, using a
Curtiss CS-2 with a Wright T-3 Tornado engine, set new Class C
seaplane records for distance (963.123 miles), duration (13 hours 23 minutes 15 seconds), and three speed records (73.41 mph for 500 kilometers, 74.27 mph for 1000 km, and 74.17 mph for 1500 km). Lieutenants Wead and Price set a newer record 11–12 July 1924, with new Class C seaplane records for distance (994.19 miles) and duration (14 hours 53 min 44 sec) using a CS-2 with a Wright Tornado engine.
San Francisco to Hawaii flight Following his assignment at NAS Anacostia, Wead was assigned staff duty involving flying at NAS North Island where he served as Flag Lieutenant to the flight project commander at NAS North Island, Captain Stanford Elwood Moses, USN. On 28 October 1924, Wead was assigned to command VT Squadron 2. During 1924 and 1925, Wead was involved with the planning for the San Francisco to Hawaii endurance and navigation tests to comprise two
Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9 flying boats, and one
Boeing PB-1 flying boat.
Medical retirement On 14 April 1926, Wead heard his daughter Marjorie crying. Rushing to her, he accidentally tripped, falling head first down a dark stairway, and fractured his neck. The injury resulted in paralysis. Wead was immediately taken to the U.S. Naval Hospital, Balboa Park (today's
Naval Medical Center San Diego) where the Commandant of the U.S. Naval Hospital, Captain Raymond Spear, Medical Corps, was briefed on Wead's condition and ordered him to be operated on. According to an article written by a
San Diego Union staff writer: On 16 July 1926, while convalescing in the hospital, Wead was promoted to lieutenant commander. At the encouragement of his fellow naval officers, he put his writing skills to work and started sending manuscripts to book and magazine companies. During spring 1927, in the hope that his recovery was imminent and with the strong recommendation from Commander
Marc Mitscher, Rear Admiral Moffett submitted Wead's name to Rear Admiral
Richard H. Leigh, Commander, Bureau of Naval Personnel, recommending Wead to be the new squadron commander of VF-6B (previously, VF-2) with duty aboard USS
Langley. He began his second career,
screenplay writing, which subsequently occupied him throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.
World War II service In the hours immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, from his personal library within his rented estate at 715 North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, Wead listened as bulletins interrupted regularly scheduled radio programs with updated details of the bombing. From his library, Wead also made a long-distance phone call to the Bureau of Aeronautics to speak with Rear Admiral John Henry Towers, requesting a recall to active duty. The phone call was followed up with a
Western Union telegram to Captain
Ralph Davison, USN. It was a chance to serve his country, again. Wead flew from California and arrived at
Naval Air Station Quonset Point where he worked as special aide to Captain
Ralph Davison. Also, at NAS Quonset Point was Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and his naval aide Captain John Madison "Johnny" Hoskins, USN. All these naval aviators communicated closely together in working out the details for the manning and training of
carrier air groups for the newly commissioned aircraft carriers. With the approval from
Ralph Davison, Wead was promoted to the temporary rank of commander in the US Naval Reserve, on 28 September 1942. arriving at Oahu Island on 21 November 1943. From the Port of Honolulu Wead reported to
Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet Headquarters as head of the Plans Division for Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet, (now) Vice Admiral
John Henry Towers. This shore-duty assignment was to await the return of . On the afternoon of 9 December 1943, Wead reported aboard
Yorktown where he met with his old Naval Academy buddy Captain
Joseph J. Clark, USN, skipper of
Yorktown. Representing the Plans Division, Wead's orders aboard
Yorktown were to monitor and report on carrier aviation combat operations, most especially obtaining first-hand knowledge in the ability of consolidated CVs in a task force to readily replace their lost/damaged aircraft with replacements from close-by CVLs. Having completed an earlier successful operation,
Yorktown (assigned to Task Group 58.1, commanded by Rear Admiral
John W. Reeves, Jr., USN) departed Pearl Harbor with Wead aboard on 16 January 1944. Wead took part in the attack on
Kwajalein Atoll during
Operation Flintlock, an operation that involved four carrier groups. USS
Yorktown then steamed to the newly established Pacific Fleet anchorage at
Majuro Atoll, arriving about 4 February 1944. It was during this short eight-day anchorage period amongst the Pacific Fleet that Wead was transferred from
Yorktown to a destroyer, and then to . The commanding officer of
Essex was Captain
Ralph A. Ofstie, USN. While aboard
Essex, Wead saw
action against Truk Island (17–18 February), now called
Chuuk, and against
Saipan,
Tinian, and
Guam (23 February). After these operations,
Essex received orders for overhaul and Wead remained aboard
Essex as it steamed to
San Francisco Bay. The carrier arrived at
Naval Air Station Alameda on or about 16 April 1944 for a much-needed overhaul. It was at NAS Alameda, aboard
Essex (pier-side), that Wead was given an official send-off from active duty just prior to his retirement. Wead was relieved of active duty on 21 July 1944, and was processed through the Personnel Department at NAS Alameda receiving his discharge papers and a train ticket for Los Angeles, California. Wead was placed on the retired list on 11 May 1945 with the rank of commander. == Death ==