Assistant Secretary of the Navy (AIR)


The Assistant Secretary of the Navy was a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy initially reported to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later to the Under Secretary of the Navy.
With the emergence of naval aviation as a major new military technique, the Navy had increasingly large organizations to oversee it. From 1910, there was an Officer in Charge of Aviation, then a Director of Naval Aeronautics, then in 1916 a Director of Naval Aviation. In 1921, Congress replaced those with a Bureau of Aeronautics. Finally, on June 24, 1926, Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aeronautics to oversee the United States' naval aviation forces. The position was vacant from 1932 until 1941, and upon being re-occupied, the position was re-titled Assistant Secretary of the Navy on September 11, 1941.
On February 6, 1959, the office was redesignated Assistant Secretary of the Navy . In April 1977, the name was changed to Assistant Secretary of the Navy .
The office was disestablished in 1990, when the office was merged with the office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy to create the new office of Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy for Aeronautics, 1926—1932

NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident appointed bySecretary served under
Edward Pearson WarnerJuly 7, 1926March 15, 1929Calvin CoolidgeCurtis D. Wilbur
David Sinton IngallsMarch 16, 1929June 1, 1932Herbert HooverCharles Francis Adams III

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (AIR), 1941—1959

NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident appointed bySecretary served under
Artemus GatesSeptember 5, 1941June 30, 1945Franklin D. RooseveltFrank Knox, James Forrestal
John L. SullivanJuly 5, 1945June 17, 1946Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal
John N. BrownJanuary 12, 1946March 8, 1949Harry S. TrumanJames Forrestal, John L. Sullivan
Dan A. KimballMarch 9, 1949May 24, 1949Harry S. TrumanJohn L. Sullivan
John F. FlobergDecember 5, 1949July 23, 1953Harry S. TrumanFrancis P. Matthews, Dan A. Kimball, Robert B. Anderson
James H. Smith, Jr.July 23, 1953June 20, 1956Dwight D. EisenhowerRobert B. Anderson, Charles Thomas
Garrison NortonJuly 7, 1956February 5, 1959Dwight D. EisenhowerCharles Thomas, Thomas S. Gates, Jr.

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (Research and Development), 1959—1977

NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident appointed bySecretary served under
James H. Wakelin, Jr.June 5, 1959June 30, 1964Dwight D. EisenhowerWilliam B. Franke, John Connally, Fred Korth, Paul Nitze
Robert W. MorseJuly 1, 1964June 30, 1966Lyndon B. JohnsonPaul Nitze
David S. PotterSeptember 14, 1973August 16, 1974Richard NixonJohn Warner, J. William Middendorf
H. Tyler MarcyOctober 15, 1974April 4, 1977Gerald FordJ. William Middendorf

Assistant Secretaries of the Navy (Research, Engineering and Systems), 1977—1990

NameAssumed officeLeft officePresident appointed bySecretary served under
David E. MannApril 1977January 1981Jimmy CarterW. Graham Claytor, Jr., Edward Hidalgo
Gerald A. CannJanuary 1981December 1981Ronald ReaganJohn Lehman
Melvyn R. PaisleyDecember 1981March 1987Ronald ReaganJohn Lehman