Elmer "Archie" Fowler Stone (January 22, 1887 – May 20, 1936) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

naval aviator 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-base ...

and a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

Biography

Stone was born in

Livonia, New York Livonia is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 7,809. The town contains a village also named Livonia. The town is on the eastern border of the county. In the 19th century numerou ...

and grew up in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

. He joined the

U.S. Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...

as a cadet at the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction on April 28, 1910.Noble, p 69 Elmer Stone was a

aviation pioneer; in early 1915 Stone and another officer

Norman B. Hall Norman Brierley Hall (1 September 1886 – 26 April 1962) was an engineering officer in the United States Coast Guard who became the first aviation engineer in the Coast Guard in 1916. Hall was born at New York City on 1 September 1886 and gradu ...

, were the first to suggest that the Coast Guard develop an aviation capability. With the encouragement of their commanding officer, Captain

Benjamin M. Chiswell Benjamin Maurice Chiswell (March 7, 1875 – July 26, 1942) was a rear admiral in the United States Coast Guard who served as the first vice commandant from 1929 to 1931.Retired Admiral Dies In Hospital, Newspapers.com Chiswell was born at Dicke ...

of the , Lieutenants Stone and Hall approached the

Curtiss Flying School A Curtiss Jenny on a training flight Curtiss Flying School at North Beach California in 1911 The Curtiss Flying School was started by Glenn Curtiss to compete against the Wright Flying School of the Wright brothers. The first example was locate ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

about using aircraft in air-sea rescue operations, and participated in experimental flights in a

Curtiss Model F The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the United States in the years leading up to World War I. Widely produced, Model Fs saw service with the United States Navy under the designations C-2 through C-5, later ...

flying boat. During the summer of 1915, Stone and Hall performed scouting patrols for ''Onondaga'', assisting in search missions that the cutter was assigned.Evans, p 188 On March 28, 1916, he was assigned as a student aviator at the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

flight facility in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

.Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, July 1, 1916, p 18 The same year he also studied aeronautical engineering at the Curtiss factory. On April 10, 1917, Stone became the Coast Guard's first aviator upon graduating from flight training at Pensacola and was appointed as Coast Guard Aviator No. 1 and Naval Aviator No. 38. On October 12, 1917, Stone was assigned to the U.S. Navy Aeronautic Station at Rockaway, New York.Register of the officers, vessels and stations of the United States Coast Guard, January 1, 1918, p 22 In May 1919 First Lieutenant Elmer F. Stone was one of the two pilots, along with Walter Hinton, on the first successful

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing ai ...

NC-4 The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats ...

with Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read, USN, as the mission commander and navigator. After the historic flight, he was made a knight of the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

by the Portuguese government (June 3, 1919), awarded the British Air Force Cross by the British government (June 9, 1919) and received a promotion to the temporary rank of captain on September 25, 1919. He was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

and Congressional Medal of Achievement for "distinguished service in making the first successful trans-Atlantic flight" on November 11, 1920. For the next six years he worked with the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics where he assisted in the development of the catapults and arresting gear of the new aircraft carriers USS ''Lexington'' and , equipment still used on aircraft carriers to this day. He continued to promote aviation in the U.S. Coast Guard during the 1920s, He collaborated with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company on development of airborne "motor lifeboats" for the explicit purpose of lifesaving missions, and in this is one of the pioneers of modern air-sea rescue. He also commanded a former destroyer that was turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard and used in the enforcement of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. After a tour at sea, Stone became the commanding officer of the Coast Guard Aviation Unit at

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

, where he continued to develop his skill at making open-ocean landings. On April 5, 1933, Stone put his open-ocean landing skills to the test when the Navy

dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

''Akron'' went down off the Atlantic coast in a storm with only three survivors of the 76 aboard, Stone was the only pilot available willing to attempt a landing in the heavy seas. He accomplished this successfully, but was too late to save any more lives.Beard, p 111 On December 20, 1934, he broke the world seaplane speed record, 191 miles per hour over a 3 kilometer test course. Commander Stone's last duty was as the commanding officer of the Air Patrol Detachment in San Diego. He died of a heart attack while on duty on May 20, 1936, in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, while inspecting a new aircraft and was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Legacy

Commander Elmer "Archie" Stone was inducted into the United States Naval Aviation Hall of Honor on May 5, 1983, and is also a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Hall of Fame. Stone was a pivotal figure in the establishment and development of aviation for the Coast Guard and the Navy and was a favorite of many of the famous aviation figures of the day, including

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Anthony Fokker Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur, aircraft designer, and aircraft manufacturer. He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War suc ...

Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (russian: И́горь Ива́нович Сико́рский, p=ˈiɡərʲ ɪˈvanəvitʃ sʲɪˈkorskʲɪj, a=Ru-Igor Sikorsky.ogg, tr. ''Ígor' Ivánovich Sikórskiy''; May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972)Fortie ...

, and Alexander P. de Seversky. The ninth Legend-class National Security cutter USCGC ''Stone'' is named in honor of Commander Stone.

Notes

;Citations * * ;References used * * * * * *

External links

U.S. Coast Guard web site - Aviation History index

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Elmer 1887 births 1936 deaths Aviators from New York (state) United States Coast Guard Aviation United States Coast Guard officers United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Congressional Gold Medal recipients Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American aviation record holders