David Hugh McCulloch | |
|---|---|
 McCulloch: Naval Aviator No. 168 | |
| Born | April 23, 1890 |
| Died | September 20, 1955 New York, NY |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, West Palm Beach, FL |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Helen Wheeler Fair |
| Awards | Navy Cross Order of the Tower and Sword |
| Aviation career | |
| First flight | 1912 Curtiss Aircraft |
| Famous flights | Co-pilot NC-3, First Transatlantic Crossing 1919 |
| Air force | US Navy |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander, USN |
David Hugh McCulloch (April 23, 1890 – September 20, 1955) was an early American aviator who worked with Glenn Curtiss from 1912. Curtiss was a contemporary and competitor to the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, who had made the first flights at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Curtiss won the world's first air race at Reims in France in August 1909, and was now becoming the driving force in American aviation. McCulloch's early work with Curtiss consisted of demonstrating, training and selling Curtiss planes and participating in early developments of flight. He trained the First Yale Unit (using Curtiss flying boats), and in two consecutive days in 1917, he and several of his pupils from the First Yale Unit made flights that convinced the Navy to bring aircraft aboard ships. Later, McCulloch was co-pilot with Holden C. Richardson and flight commander John Henry Towers of the NC-3, the leader of the three Navy flying boats making the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean.