Federal law required carrier, seaplane-tender, and shore aviation commanders to qualify as naval aviators or observers. King therefore reported to Pensacola as the only captain in a class dominated by ensigns and lieutenants, a rank imbalance that made the classroom unusually awkward. He qualified and then maintained about 150 flight hours a year until age fifty, often flying solo to visit his family. The Navy interrupted this aviation track only to recall its experienced salvage officer after the loss of S-4, again combining new specialization with an older technical responsibility.
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Aviator-qualification law reshaped naval command careers
A legal qualification rule sent the senior captain through Pensacola flight training before the Navy again borrowed him for submarine salvage.