One of the first professional air navigators, Harold Gatty instructed such aeronautical elites as Anne Morrow Lindbergh in air navigation and invented new equipment. He developed the Gatty drift indicator for use in aircraft. Gatty served as Wiley Post's navigator on his record breaking around the world flight. He had been trained in air navigation by P. V. H. Weems and managed the Weems System of Navigation while Weems was on sea duty during the Depression. Gatty and Lindbergh convinced Pan American Airways to adopt the Weems System. Gatty became the Army Air Corps' chief navigation engineer—a remarkable position for a foreign (Tasmanian) national. There he tutored the cadre of officers who would be decisive in implementing the strategic bombing campaign during World War II, including Curtis LeMay.
Caption:
Developed navigation tools, trained distance fliers in air navigation, and advised the Army Air Corps
Type: Photograph
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Origin: National Air and Space Museum, P. V. H. Weems Collection
