Philip Van Horn Weems

P. V. H. Weems, a U.S. naval officer, tutored Charles Lindbergh and other air navigation pioneers in new techniques of celestial navigation. Weems had been inspired while serving in support for the NC-4’s Atlantic crossing in 1919. Often angering his traditional-thinking superiors, he pursued new methods of air navigation. 

Weems improved the processes and equipment for fixing position. He also established programs and schools to educate many of the most influential aviators of the 1930s. His greatest legacy was influencing the air navigation programs of U.S. airlines and the military. His techniques became the standard for long-range navigation for three decades.

Caption:
A leading American innovator in the field of celestial navigation from the 1920s to the 1960s, particularly in the areas of aeronautics and spaceflight.
Type: Photograph
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Origin: National Air and Space Museum, P.V.H. Weems Collection
Navigators & Inventors
Navigation Methods
 

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A leading American innovator in the field of celestial navigation from the 1920s to the 1960s, particularly in the areas of aeronautics and spaceflight.