GEORGE T. CUDDIHY, LT, USN
George Cuddihy '18
Lucky Bag
From the 1918 Lucky Bag:
GEORGE THOMAS CUDDIHY
Alto, Michigan
"George"
IF you want to know anything about Michigan ask George. He is firmly convinced that it is the best place on earth, and delights in boasting of its production of automobiles, furniture, apples and good men. And as for Detroit's ball team—it can't be beat. If Ty Cobb hasn't made more hits than anyone else since Napoleon, no one knows it. A man who is crazy enough to lose his dinner after a morning's work of loading beef on the cruise, in order to see a ball game, wins the cast iron chest protector for certain. With a desire to emulate his hero, George has worked every season on the diamond himself, and is a pretty good pitcher. But he lacked the one almost vital characteristic of a ball-player—it's a well-known axiom of the diamond that big-league calibre sans "crust" is like an armature without hysteresis, and if there's one thing out of phase with George's character, it is any semblance of "crust."
A redder Mike, a more confirmed misogynist, a more inveterate fourth deck hermit on hop nights, 1918 cannot boast. His obvious ruses, his painful strategies to avoid contact with the enemy—the other sex—are amusing in the extreme. Put him with the bunch, though, and George is very different; his habit of going after things with the throttle wide open and eventually "getting there" has won him many friends.
Studies have never called forth more than average crank effort, but he gets better than average marks. That his good qualities have been recognized to some extent at least is evidenced by three well-deserved stripes.
"Only second class rate before dinner. Call the roll, G-nom-e."
Three Stripes; Baseball Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); Expert Rifleman
The Class of 1918 was graduated on June 28, 1917 due to World War I.
GEORGE THOMAS CUDDIHY
Alto, Michigan
"George"
IF you want to know anything about Michigan ask George. He is firmly convinced that it is the best place on earth, and delights in boasting of its production of automobiles, furniture, apples and good men. And as for Detroit's ball team—it can't be beat. If Ty Cobb hasn't made more hits than anyone else since Napoleon, no one knows it. A man who is crazy enough to lose his dinner after a morning's work of loading beef on the cruise, in order to see a ball game, wins the cast iron chest protector for certain. With a desire to emulate his hero, George has worked every season on the diamond himself, and is a pretty good pitcher. But he lacked the one almost vital characteristic of a ball-player—it's a well-known axiom of the diamond that big-league calibre sans "crust" is like an armature without hysteresis, and if there's one thing out of phase with George's character, it is any semblance of "crust."
A redder Mike, a more confirmed misogynist, a more inveterate fourth deck hermit on hop nights, 1918 cannot boast. His obvious ruses, his painful strategies to avoid contact with the enemy—the other sex—are amusing in the extreme. Put him with the bunch, though, and George is very different; his habit of going after things with the throttle wide open and eventually "getting there" has won him many friends.
Studies have never called forth more than average crank effort, but he gets better than average marks. That his good qualities have been recognized to some extent at least is evidenced by three well-deserved stripes.
"Only second class rate before dinner. Call the roll, G-nom-e."
Three Stripes; Baseball Squad (4, 3, 2, 1); Expert Rifleman
The Class of 1918 was graduated on June 28, 1917 due to World War I.
Loss
George was lost on November 25, 1929 when the Bristol Type 105 Bulldog II fighter he was piloting crashed near Anacostia Naval Air Station. He was the Navy's chief test pilot.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
In the fall of 1911 George held a party for his sophomore classmates. From the 1914 yearbook: “Though the mercury was very low and the air frosty we were able to keep comfortable warm in the spacious box of the “Sleighride Bobs,” and the heaps of blankets. Because we had risen to the ranks of Sophs, and because our instructors so fully trusted us to break up the party at eleven we were allowed to make this trip without a chaperon. The result was simply this – we arrived home at three a.m. Other parties were held but this excelled all.”
George graduated from Lowell High School. He played Orlando in the senior play “As You Like It.” George won letters in basketball and baseball. He played the entire basketball game against Greenville with a sprained ankle. George was the pitcher on the baseball team. On June 12, he and his brother John won the game against Sand Lake with a score of 18-12 securing Lowell’s first ever athletic trophy.
In September, 1924, George set a new record on the Philadelphia course of 197 miles per hour.
In October, he and Ralph Ofstie (’19) set a new record for air mail delivery from Philadelphia to Baltimore in 28 minutes with speed average of 193 miles an hour.
Then at races at Bay Shore, George won the three-kilometer straight-away course in 85 seconds at the rate of 188.12 miles an hour. He also set a new world’s seaplane record for the 100 kilometers covering the distance in 21 minutes and four seconds at an average speed of 176.82 miles an hour. He was flying a CR-3 seaplane equipped with a 465-horsepower Curtis motor.
A year later at the Pulitzer Race, George had high compression motors installed in his plane. Unfortunately, both George and Ralph had engine trouble and did not finish the race.
In June, 1925, at the annual air meet of the New York National Guard at Miller Field, Staten Island, George won the landing-to-the-mark contest in front of 35,000 persons.
At the exposition races in Philadelphia in October, 1926, George won the $2,250 Kansas City Rotary silver cup. He attained a speed of 180 miles a hour in a naval pursuit plane. At the Schneider Cup race in November, George suffered fuel problems and was forced to land down wind two minutes before he would have crossed the finish line.
In January, 1927, using the same single seater plane of Lt. James H. Doolittle, George flew over the Andes mountains. He flew from Buenos Aires to the Bosque air station in Santiago. Doolittle had flown the plane from Santiago to Buenos Aires the previous September.
In August, George and Lt. William G. Tomlinson were guests at the Kansas City Rotary Club reception for Lindbergh, and the next day they spoke at the noon luncheon in Missouri. On leaving, they gave an aerial exhibition doing immelman turns, barrel rolls, and loops. They then flew over the new airport before flying to St. Louis.
From Find A Grave:
Lieutenant G. T. Cuddihy, USN was designated Naval Aviator #2956 in 1921. Graduated U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1918 (graduated in 1917 due to the World War). Died as result of an aircraft accident at NAS Anacosita, WDC while testing a foreign-built aircraft.
Cuddihy Field, an outlying auxiliary field as part of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, was named in his honor.
From This Day in Aviation History:
George T. Cuddihy was a 1918 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He was the Navy’s chief test pilot. He was killed while testing a Bristol Type 105 Bulldog II fighter, Bu. No. A8485 (c/n 7358) at Anacostia Naval Air Station, 25 November 1929.
One report is that he "dove the wings off of it"—going too fast and causing the wings to snap off.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Distinguished Flying Cross
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant George Thomas Cuddihy, United States Navy, for extraordinary achievements while participating in aerial flight on 7 August 1929, for the purpose of determining the "flat" spinning characteristics of the type F4B-1 airplanes. During this flight, Lieutenant Cuddihy put the airplane in a tail spin at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It soon assumed the position of a "flat" spin and apparently could not be again brought under control until Lieutenant Cuddihy discovered a method of altering the head resistance which resulted in control being regained and a safe landing effected. This principle of regaining control is one that applies to all types of airplanes and will undoubtedly be the means of preventing many crashes. Lieutenant Cuddihy's entire service in the aeronautical forces of the Navy has been marked by conscientious hard work and crowned by notable achievements, some of which are his services as a test pilot, as a pilot of racing craft and in successfully making a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile, over the Andes Mountains. The interest and efficiency displayed by Lieutenant Cuddihy in the performance of his duty, and his willingness to undertake the most hazardous feats have contributed much towards the advancement of the science of aeronautics, while his modesty, earnestness and courage have been an inspiration to his comrades.
General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 127 (March 29, 1930)
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Photographs
From the 1918 Lucky Bag
"Curtiss Schneider Cup Racer R3C-1, Lt. [G. T.] Cuddihy, Pilot, U.S.N. [Three-quarter right front view of Curtiss R3C-2 Racer (R3C-1 refitted with floats) at rest on the water; pilot Lt. George T. Cuddihy, US Navy, poses standing on the right float."
Marine Corps and Navy Aviators standing by a Curtiss F6C-1 (BuNo. A-6968), probably at Anacostia Naval Air Station, Washington, D.C., circa Summer 1925. They would soon take part in the International Air Races held at Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York on 8, 9, and 10 October 1925 and the Schneider Cup Race held near Baltimore at Bay Shore, Maryland on 24 October 1925. Present are, left to right: Lieutenant George R. Henderson, USN, Pilot in the Liberty Engine Builders Trophy Race, 8 October Lieutenant Frank H. Conant, II '20, USN, Reserve pilot in Schneider Cup Race, 24 October Lieutenant Samuel P. Ginder, USN, Pilot in Detroit News Air Transport Race, 9 October Lieutenant George T. Cuddihy, USN, Pilot in the Schneider Cup Race, 24 October Lieutenant Junior Grade Alford J. Williams, USN, Pilot in the Pulitzer Trophy Race, 10 October. Lieutenant James D. Barner, USN, Pilot in the Detroit News Air Transport Race, 9 October First Lieutenant Ford O. Rogers, USMC, Pilot in the Liberty Engine Builders Race, 8 October Lieutenant Thomas P. Jeter, USN, Pilot in the Liberty Engine Builders Race, 8 October First Lieutenant Christian F. Schilt, USMC, Pilot in the Detroit News Air Transport Race, 9 October, and First Lieutenant Harmon J. Norton, USMC, Pilot in the Pulitzer Trophy Race, 10 October
From The Evening Sun on July 17, 1926
From The Burlington Free Press on September 12, 1924
From The News Palladium on September 9, 1924
From the Evening star on November 15, 1926
From the Miami Daily News Record on November 25, 1929
From The Kansas City Times on August 19, 1927
His high school baseball team, 1914. George is in the bottom row, 2nd from left. His brother Josh is above him.
From his 1914 high school yearbook
His high school basketball team, 1914. George is top row, 2nd from left.
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
March 1918
January 1921
January 1922
May 1923
July 1923
September 1923
November 1923
January 1924
March 1924
May 1924
July 1924
September 1924
November 1924
January 1925
March 1925
May 1925
July 1925
October 1925
January 1926
October 1926
January 1927
April 1927
October 1927
January 1928
April 1928
July 1928
ENS Thelman Lester '25 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Harold Sheehan '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
October 1928
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
January 1929
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Harold Sheehan '27 (USS Lexington)
April 1929
LTjg William Graham, Jr. '25 (USS Lexington)
ENS Hilan Ebert '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Karpe '26 (USS Lexington)
ENS Richard Downer '27 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Potts '27 (USS Lexington)
July 1929
October 1929
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