Washington Irving Chambers: Innovation, professionalization, and the new Navy, 1872-1919

The career of Washington Irving Chambers spans a unique and formative period in the development of the United States Navy. He entered the Naval Academy in the doldrum years of obsolete, often rotting ships, and left the Navy after it had a developed a large, world-class fleet of modern battleships and was preparing to build its first aircraft carriers.;This was a critical period in the formation of a professional identity for naval officers who adopted a professional identity at the same time that changing technology forced a complete transformation of the fleet. The officers who embraced new technology were often the same ones who redefined themselves as professionals. The synergy between professionalization and technological innovation accelerated the process that washed away the old Navy and left a new one in its place. Chambers' career demonstrates the process of institutional socialization by naval officers during this period of constant flux and change, and shows an officer struggling to master new technologies while simultaneously using his mastery of technology to further his career and improve the Navy.;Chambers was one of the first officers assigned to the new Office of Naval Intelligence and one of the members of the Naval War College's first permanent faculty. He designed torpedoes and several warships including a prototype Dreadnought-style battleship. At the close of his career, he founded the Navy's air arm. Working with Glenn Curtiss, Chambers guided a coalition of aviation enthusiasts and pioneers, popularized aviation and convinced the Navy of its importance.;Chambers helped bring about the two most momentous transformations the U.S. Navy has undergone in its history. In the first of these, Chambers helped like-minded officers convince Congress and the public of the need to adopt a new naval strategy built around a fleet of battleships. In the second, Chambers laid the groundwork for naval aviation and the eventual dethronement of the battleship by the aircraft carrier.