Naval Aviator
On December 3, 1920, Sprague joined 33 other classmates at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida as a student pilot. His first flight was on January 11, 1921, when he piloted a Curtiss N-9 aircraft for twenty minutes. Sprague earned the designation Naval Aviator No. 2934 on August 11, 1921. Due to his great proficiency within two months he was designated as Commanding Officer of Aircraft Squadron 3 at Pensacola.
From March 1922 to November 1923, Sprague was assigned to Aircraft Squadron VS-1 with the Atlantic Fleet based on the seaplane tender Wright. He reported to his next duty station Naval Air Station Anacostia, near Washington, D.C., in November 1923 where he served as a Test Pilot, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer. As a Test Pilot he conducted experimental and research work at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1923, where he contributed to the development of aircraft carrier catapult systems. From March 1926 to February 1928 he assisted inventor Carl Norden in the laboratory and as a Test Pilot at Naval Air Station Hampton Roads, Virginia, with improvements to the Mark-1 aircraft carrier arresting gear system for Lexington (CV-2) and Saratoga (CV-3).
Sprague reported to Lexington in March 1928 where he assumed the duties of Flight Deck Officer and Assistant Air Officer. In January 1929 Lexington along with Langley and Saratoga participated in Fleet Problem IX, a simulated aerial attack on the Panama Canal. Sprague's tour on Lexington ended in April 1929. Returning to the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1929 Sprague served as Executive Officer of VN-8-D5. On June 10, 1930 he was promoted to lieutenant commander. His tour at the Naval Academy ended in November 1931.
Sprague served as Squadron Commander of VP-8 in Panama in December 1931 to April 1934. The squadron was based on the seaplane tender Wright (AV-1) homeported at the Norfolk Navy Yard. In 1933 the squadron was moved to Hawaii where Sprague became the first Navy Pilot to fly a thirteen-hour round-trip from Hawaii to Midway Island in February 1934. From May 1934 to July 1936, Sprague served as Air Operations Officer at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, where his department serviced several aircraft carrier squadrons.
In July 1936, Sprague was assigned to the newly constructed aircraft carrier Yorktown (CV-5) as Air Officer. After her commissioning, he piloted the first two landings ever made on Yorktown. In addition, he was the first pilot to test the catapult system on Yorktown. Sprague was promoted to commander in December 1937. He spent all of 1938 managing the Air Department and aircraft squadrons on Yorktown. In February 1939 Yorktown participated in Fleet Problem XX in the Caribbean. Shortly thereafter Sprague left the carrier in June 1939. Sprague was ordered to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in June 1939 where he spent three months in study before reporting to his first sea command, the 21-year old oil tanker Patoka (AO-9) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. Sprague commanded Patoka until June 1940 when he was sent back to the Naval War College for two more months of study.
Read more about this topic: Clifton Sprague, 1920 To 1940
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