Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October 1895 – 15 November 1947) was a U.S. Navy aviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on early aviation. Following a crippling spinal injury in 1926, Wead was placed on the retired list. In the 1930s, he became a screenwriter, becoming involved in more than 30 movies. He also published several books, short stories and magazine articles. During World War II, he returned to active duty. He initially worked in a planning role, but later undertook sea duty in the Pacific, where he saw action against the Japanese in 1943–44 before being placed on the retired list in mid-1945.
Early life Frank Wilbur Wead was born to Samuel De Forest Wead and Grace (Bestor) Wead on 24 October 1895, in Ward No. 5 of Peoria Township, Peoria, Illinois.Source citation for 1900 United States Federal Census. Home on 16 June 1900: Peoria Ward 5, Peoria, Illinois. Page 38 of 38. Sheet No. 19-B. Frank graduated from Peoria High School.The Daily Review (Decatur, Illinois), May 18, 1912. "Wead Family Papers, 1862–1936 – Sophia Smith Collection". Smith College. Retrieved Aug. 8, 2015.
The Wead family had a strong background of service to the American nation. The Weads of Massachusetts were represented in one of the Committees of Safety established during the American Revolutionary War, and also as patriots in the Colonial Wars, forming part of the General Society of Colonial Wars during 1607–1763. The Connecticut Weads were also patriots of the American Revolutionary War. The Wead families were prominent in Illinois and Vermont in several fields during the 19th and 20th centuries: politics, law, education and as supporters of the Union during the American Civil War,Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2. p. 610 (New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 1953) during which one branch of the Wead lineage became actively involved with the United States Sanitary Commission.
Military career
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.New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 (Oct. 16, 1917) S.S. Zeelandia, p. 46 of 64, Line No. 19. 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.Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897–1957 (National Archives Microfilm Publication, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, National Archives, Washington DC; T715_2548; Year: 1917; lines 12, 19; sheet 83A). Wead reported to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, for sea duty orders.
Wead reported aboard to assist in preparing the vessel for war. USS Shawmut departed New York Harbor in June 1918, and for the remaining months of the war operated in the area of the North Sea Mine Barrage. Following the armistice with Germany, Wead returned stateside aboard Shawmut, arriving at the Hampton Roads Naval Operations Base (NOB), Norfolk, Virginia, on 27 December 1918.The Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Illinois), Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1918, p. 1, column 1.
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."United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995" (PDF). p. 38. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
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.The Sun and New York Herald (New York, New York), Sunday, 6 June 1920 (page 21, column 5: Naval Orders). 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.Margaret Herrick Library, 333 S La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Collection title: Frank "Spig" Wead papers (bulk 1922-1928).
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.
Many changes were occurring within the naval aviation community. In the summer of 1921, Lieutenant Wead took part in the round-trip, long-distance flight operation involving twelve F-5-L flying boats departing from NAS North Island to the Coco Solo Canal Zone and back. Additionally, Wead took part in tests involving dummy torpedoes dropped from F-5-L aircraft. Also, in accordance with an Act of Congress, United States Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby issued orders for the establishment of a Bureau of Aeronautics to begin operations, 1 September 1921, with newly promoted Rear Admiral William A. Moffett in charge. It was President Warren G. Harding who selected then Captain Moffett for nomination as the new Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics.The Grand Island Herald (Grand Island, Nebraska) Sep. 1, 1921. Vol. 42, New Volume 4, p. 1, column 5, Rear Admiral Moffett. This Bureau was authorized by the naval appropriation bill of 12 July 1921. Prior to its creation, the Bureau of Aeronautics was originally identified as the office of Naval Aviation. It was on Wednesday, 02 March 1921, when Captain Moffett relieved Captain Thomas Tingey Craven to become the Director of Naval Aviation.
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.
Naval aviation publicity and development During the period of 1921–23, there was a great interest among state governors and congressional leaders to send Government aeroplanes to all parts of the country to participate in patriotic celebrations, municipal and state functions, conventions, air meets, including international air races. In an era of aeronautic cooperation and coordination with the taxpayers, the two services (United States Army Air Service headed by Major General Mason Patrick and the Bureau of Aeronautics headed by Rear Admiral Moffett) wholeheartedly approved at the 14th Annual Banquet of the Aero Club of America to compete for the Pulitzer Trophy (National Air Races), Mackay Army Trophy (Mackay Trophy), Collier Trophy, Wright Trophy, Larsen Efficiency Trophy, Curtiss Marine Trophy, Detroit Aviation Country Club Trophy, Liberty Engine Builders Trophy, Detroit News Aerial Mail Trophy, Inter-service Championship Meet, including the two foreign races – the Coupe Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe and the Coupe Jacques Schneider for seaplanes and flying boats.
In the spring of 1923, Wead was detached from the aircraft squadron battle fleet and reported to NAS Anacostia, Washington D.C., for assignment to the Flight Division of the Bureau of Aeronautics.The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), Friday, 30 March 1923 (page 32, column 3: Changes in Stations of Army and Navy Officers of Interest to Capital. Navy). 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.Wead, Frank W. (LT, USN). "Naval Aviation Today". U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 50, No. 4 (April 1924): 561–74. Margaret Herrick Library, 333 S La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Collection title: Frank "Spig" Wead papers (bulk 1929-1947).
Seaplane racing and records broken