United States
On January 18, 1911, U.S. naval aviator Eugene B. Ely piloted a Curtiss biplane and landed it on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania (anchored in San Francisco Bay), marking the first successful aircraft landing on a ship. The feat demonstrated the potential of ship-based aviation and foreshadowed the development of aircraft carriers. Ely’s experiment helped shift naval strategy toward integrating air power with seagoing vessels. Though primitive compared to later standards, the landing suggested new flexibility in projecting force from sea. The event is often cited in aviation histories as a turning point in naval aviation.
