Over the Moon

About 100 years ago this week, the Officers of Marine Aviation at Brown Field, Quantico, Virginia, sent an invitation to participate in a “Hop” Over the Moon in what appear to be Boeing O-2s. The costumed dance was scheduled for 22 October 1926. From the Alfred A. Cunningham Collection (COLL/3034) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division In 1926, Marine Corps Aviation operated a modest fleet of roughly 100 aircraft. During this interwar transition period—shortly before active interventions like the Nicaraguan Campaign—the Marine Corps phased out surplus World War I-era biplanes and attempted to modernize its inventory. Marine Corps Boeing O2B-1, 1920s Primary Aircraft Types in Service (1926) Observation & Light Bombardment De Havilland DH-4B / O2B-1 (Boeing/Curtiss): The workhorse of Marine Aviation during the 1920s. Originally a WWI-era biplane, many were modernized around 1925–1926 (redesignated as the O2B-1), with steel-tube fuselages replacing older wood frames. They…