Herbert Charles Rodd (4 September 1894 – 15 June 1932) was a United States Naval Aviator. He served as the radio officer on the first successful transatlantic flight by the Curtiss NC-4 in May 1919[1] and later helped set additional world records for flight payload, duration and speed.[2]
Rodd was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 4 September 1894.[3] He joined the U.S. Navy on 9 April 1917[4] as an enlisted seaman but was granted a provisional ensign's commission on 20 August 1918.[3]
After World War I, the U.S. Navy planned a transatlantic crossing by a division of four Curtiss NC seaplanes. Navy Ensign Rodd helped to develop the radio compass for these aircraft.[1] Three seaplanes began the journey on 8 May 1919, but only the NC-4 completed the trip successfully. In the aftermath, he was made a knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword by the Portuguese government on 2 June 1919.[5] As a member of the NC-4 crew, he was awarded the Navy Cross[6] and later received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1929.
On 15–16 August 1927, Navy Lieutenants Rodd and Byron James Connell (12 August 1894[7] – 30 January 1972[8]) flew a PN-10 seaplane for 20 hours, 45 minutes and 40 seconds on a 25-km triangular course until their fuel tanks ran dry. Their flight with Aviation Machinist's Mate Comar Vincent and a cargo of 500 kg of sand covered 2,525.3 km (about 1,568 miles).[2] Lt. Connell had previously been the pilot on Cmdr. John Rodgers' 1925 attempt to fly from California to Hawaii in a PN-9 seaplane.[9] The 1927 flight by Lts. Rodd and Connell set a new world record for average speed over a 2,000-km distance by a seaplane of 126.56 km/h (78.56 miles/hr).[2]
The former Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Rodd Field near Corpus Christi, Texas was named in honor of Lt. Cmdr. Rodd. This naval airfield operated from 7 June 1941 through the late 1950s.[12]Rodd Field Road still exists in Corpus Christi.
USA
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