The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) was a civilian office of the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) initially reported to the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depa ...

and later to the

Under Secretary of the Navy Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet * Under (restaurant) ...

With the emergence of

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

as a major new military technique, the Navy had increasingly large organizations to oversee it. From 1910, there was an Officer in Charge of Aviation, then a Director of Naval Aeronautics, then in 1916 a Director of Naval Aviation. In 1921, Congress replaced those positions with a distinct Bureau of Aeronautics. Finally, on June 24, 1926, Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics to oversee the United States' naval aviation forces. The position was vacant from 1932 until 1941, and upon being re-occupied, the position was re-titled Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR) on September 11, 1941. On February 6, 1959, the office was redesignated Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development). In April 1977, the name was changed to Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems). The office was disestablished in 1990, when the office was merged with the office of

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Shipbuilding and Logistics) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Shipbuilding and Logistics) was a civilian office in the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Shipbuilding and Logistics) oversaw the building of ships for the United States ...

to create the new office of

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy for Aeronautics, 1926—1932

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (AIR), 1941—1959

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (Research and Development), 1959—1977

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems), 1977—1990

References

{{US Marine Corps navbox Office of the Secretary of the Navy United States naval aviation