Hero of the Angry Sky: The World War I Diary and Letters of David S. Ingalls, America’s First Naval Ace
edited by Geoffrey L. Rossano, Ohio University Press, Athens, 2013, $28.95
Among the cornerstones of U.S. Navy aviation during World War I was the “Millionaires’ Unit,” a group of Yale University students. They volunteered to train at Palm Beach, Fla., earned naval commissions and served over the Western Front. Most of them rotated through a variety of roles in the course of 1918, piloting British flying boats over the North Sea, Hanriot HD-2 floatplane fighters out of St. Pol-sur-Mer, de Havilland D.H.4 or D.H.9 bombers in RAF squadrons, Spad XIIIs with French naval escadrilles or Sopwith Camels with British units. Among them was David Sinton Ingalls, who during a stint with No. 213 Squadron, RAF, between August and October 1918, was credited with six victories, becoming the only U.S. Navy ace of the war. It would prove to be but one distinction that “Crock” Ingalls aquired in his lifetime.
While no books have been devoted to any members of the “Yale Unit,” these literate airmen left behind a wealth of letters filled with wry candor, offering glimpses into the attitudes of their time and the development of naval aviation. In 1991 Geoffrey L. Rossano edited The Price of Honor from the correspondence of Kenneth MacLeish, who replaced Ingalls in 213 Squadron. MacLeish had hoped to emulate his friend’s combat exploits, but he was killed in action on October 14, 1918. In Hero of the Angry Sky, editor Geoffrey Rossano presents Ingalls’ letters from the front with a wealth of insights, including an account of his anguish on learning of MacLeish’s disappearance.
Although Ingalls’ eventful life is certainly worthy material for a future biographer (after WWI he went on to a long, distinguished career in the Navy, law and politics), Hero of the Angry Sky offers an invaluable starting point, covering a short but vital period in the pioneering airman’s own words.
Originally published in the May 2014 issue of Aviation History. To subscribe, click here.
