History Makers
“Jack Ide – Aviation Spy ” By Suzanne Clary
L ong before NASA (1958) and SpaceX (2002) lofted the human imagination, there was NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The agency was purposefully founded in 1915 to close the ever- widening gap between America’s aviation capabilities and those of its European peers. Despite the gravity-defying accomplishment of Wilbur and Orville Wright in their 1903 aeroplane Flyer, the United States was unable to capitalize on this first discovery of powered flight. The two sons of a bishop from Ohio were the first to realize the mythology of flying that stretched back centuries to Greek and Egyptian civilizations. Yet ten years after their miracle on the dunes at Kitty Hawk, Americans still scoffed at “ birdmen .” Efforts to promote further aviation research were virtually non-existent. While Henry Ford mechanized
employee with the auspicious name of John F. Victory. With modest headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia at a military airfield named for Samuel Pierpont Langley, the Secretary for the Smithsonian, it was this group and their aspiration to promote aviation that drew the attention of a certain young lieutenant. John Jay “Jack” Ide (1890 – 1962) was the son of a US Navy Admiral. His passion for architectural design was honed at Columbia University and the Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Paris. Having travelled extensively with his parents throughout Europe between 1902 and 1915, it is not surprising that this young man with a distinctively patriotic lineage and fascination with aviation would join NACA. Ide’s great-grandfather, John Jay, is perhaps better known for his diplomatic and judicial skills, but in honor of his own covert operations against e ployee ith the auspicious a e of Joh F. ictory. ith odest headquarters i orfolk, irgi ia at a ilitary air el a e for Sa el ier o t a gley, t e Secretary f r t e S it s ia , it as t is gr a t eir as irati t r te aviati t at re t e atte ti f a certai y lie te a t. J Ja “Jac ” I e ( ) as t e s f a ir l. is ssi f r architectural design was honed t l i i rsit t l s rts i ris. Having travelled extensively it is r ts t r t r t , it is t s isi t t t is it i ti ti l t i ti li f i ti it i ti l j i . ’ t f t , J , is perhaps better known f i i l ti j i i l ill , i f i i i
PORTRAIT OF JOHN JAY “JACK” IDE JHC COLLECTION, GIFT OF ALEXANDER BRUEN TREVOR.
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and the French have one aeroplane for the navy. Russia has 116 army aeroplanes, and Germany has 46…Great Britain has about 30, Italy has 25 and the United States about 25.” More sobering was this observation following the strategic French and Italian mobilization of airships in Morocco and Tripoli: “The aeroplane has come to stay as a war agent.” With no dedicated R & D facilities and fewer planes in their arsenal than all their allies and potential enemies, U.S. defense was at a clear disadvantage. The outbreak of World War I made the need for an organization like NACA imperative. Formed under the aegis of the Navy and the Smithsonian, its first iteration was a committee of 12 members and one
production of the automobile, putting literally hundreds of thousands of motorized vehicles on the road, the industry of flying was plagued by relative apathy and inertia. Aeroplanes and their pilots were viewed as passing novelties. This was not the case abroad. The number of U.S. planes in the skies was dwarfed by the number of aircraft built and actively used by other countries. Europeans were captivated by the Wright Brothers’ success and wasted no time in adapting the technology for mail transport and advanced military applications. The Minnesota Sunbeam first reported these embarrassing statistics in 1913. “France leads in the number of aeroplanes. These total more than 265
foreign agents during the Revolutionary War, the CIA has dubbed him the Founding Father of Counterintelligence. One of the Foreign Liaison Meeting Rooms at CIA Headquarters at Langley was named after him in 1997. In 1921, following several years as an automobile and airplane designer, Ide was given a permanent observation post in Paris and instructed to discreetly keep a watchful eye on any scientific breakthroughs that might have ripple effects on national security. One might even say he was a spy. From 1921 to 1946, Ide served NACA in numerous capacities, including serving as head of the Foreign Intelligence branch of the Bureau of Aeronautics. In the ‘20s and , i i ll . .
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