Pliny G. Holt

HOLT Capt. PLINY G. HOLT, USN (Ret.) (Age 99) Died Monday January 4, 2010 peacefully at his home after a short illness. At the time of his death he was believed to be the oldest living Naval aviator. Pliny was born to the late Pliny E. Holt and Florence Guernsey Holt on September 8, 1910 in Stockton, CA. His father and grandfather patented the "caterpillar'' tread and founded the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Both taught Pliny from earliest childhood the skills of a master machinist. As a teenager he excelled at golf and worked as a caddy at local courses. He was educated at public and private schools in southern California and entered Stanford University in 1928 to study mechanical engineering. While at Stanford he captained the varsity golf team and developed a passion for aviation. He obtained his private pilots license and in 1931 he transferred to the Boeing School of Aeronautics and in 1933 graduated as a certified instrument and structural mechanic. For the 2 years after graduation he he worked as an instrument mechanic for National Air Transport (later United Airlines) and served as an instructor in the engineering department of the Boeing School. In September of 1935, Pliny joined the Navy as an Aviation Cadet and together with his brother Frank became the first siblings to complete flight training together at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Although Pliny and his fellow students were lowly Aviation Cadets at Pensacola, other famous members of his class were CAPT William F. "Bull" Halsey and CAPT John S. McCain (grandfather of the current US senator from Arizona), who were attending an accelerated pilot program for senior officers. After graduation in December 1936 he served in various flying posts along the east coast and the Panama Canal Zone. His reputation as a scratch golfer followed him into the Navy. One day, while still an Aviation Cadet, Pliny was playing the Naval Air Station North Island course and heard loud cursing coming from a copse of trees just off one of the fairways. When he went to investigate, he found Admiral Ernest J. King, by himself, looking for his lost ball. He asked himself: "What does an Aviation Cadet do under these circumstances?" and answering, "He goes and helps the admiral!" Thereafter Pliny gave Admiral King pointers on his golf game. He nearly caused his commanding officer, a Navy commander, a heart attack the first time Admiral King called Pliny to come play golf with him. It was uncommon, to say the least, for a full admiral to call an aviation cadet to invite him to, well . . . anything! In 1938 he became the deputy director and later director of the Instrument Development Section, Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadelphia, PA. During the period 1938 to 1944 he became one of the Navy''s foremost experts in advanced navigation systems and pioneered the development of gyroscopic autopilots, being granted 12 patents for his original work as well as the Navy Commendation Medal. After the start of World War II he was seconded to the Royal Air Force where he was involved at the highest levels in developing reliable night bombing navigation systems over Nazi-occupied Europe. In 1945 he was awarded membership in the Order of the British Empire by King George VI to recognize his crucial contributions to the air campaign in the European theatre. In 1944, Pliny was reassigned as the air officer in USS Antietam (CV-36) and served in combat in the final stages of the Pacific campaign against the Empire of Japan. During and after the war he flew over 100 aircraft types, including every aircraft in the US Navy''s inventory and many foreign types, including most of the captured German aircraft. He always maintained that his favorite bird, by far, was the Mosquito, a twin engined RAF light bomber built largely from plywood!. He treasured a large photo showing him at the controls of a "Mossie'' high above US farmland, and it occupied a place of honor in his home for decades. In 1946 his unique background and experience brought his assignment as the Head, Advanced Project Section, Guided Missile Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, US Navy, Washington DC where he became a pioneer in the evolving technology of guided missiles. In early 1947 Pliny was ordered by Admiral Dan Gallery (famous for his capture of the U-505) to plan and conduct the launch of a captured German V-2 rocket from the deck of the USS Midway, the Navy''s first steel-deck carrier. The launch on 6 Sep 47 was successful, although the missile''s flight was somewhat shorter than expected (to say the least!). He also invented the first airborne inertial navigation system and manufactured the pilot model with his own hands. He served in various research and development positions until 1958 when he became the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Experimental Laboratory, Philadelphia PA. During the period between 1946 ad 1961 he was granted another 12 patents. The final seven years of his Naval career from 1961 to 1968 were spent assigned to the Bureau of Naval Weapons, Washington DC where he served as Special Assistant for Research and Development to the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command where he had oversight of all Navy avionics and missile development. Upon his retirement in May of 1968 he received the Legion of Merit for his 33 year span of major contributions to the Navy and the national defense. After his Navy retirement he continued as a consultant to the IBM Corporation for avionics and aviation systems. He settled in Potomac where his home was built to his specifications to house a large and very well equipped machine shop. He continued his longstanding interests in golfing and working with his hands. At the time of his death he was the oldest active member of the Burning Tree Club in Washington DC where until his final months he could be found in the club dining room having lunch and playing (and largely winning!) gin rummy. He was also a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, St. Andrews Scotland and other very famous and exclusive clubs around the world. He was a frequent golfing partner of Presidents Eisenhower and Ford and numerous other Washington DC personalities. Although a Naval Aviator, Pliny''s scale modeling tastes ran to trains and wooden sailing ships. A master modeler and inventor of modeling tools, Pliny built a huge model railroad layout portraying the Southern Pacific Railroad in his basement. This layout was featured in every major model-railroading magazine around the world. His collection of the wooden model ships he built amazed everyone who ever viewed them, especially master modelers from around the world, who could truly appreciate the fine detail and workmanship. He was a life member of the Washington Ship Model Society, the oldest ship model club in the US. He built models right up to the last six months of his life when his final illness incapacited him You could drop by Pliny''s place any day and find him in his basement workshop, dressed in a cardigan and khakis, smoking his pipe, and working away on his latest creation. He loved to talk about aviation and naval history, modeling, and model tool design. Perhaps one of Pliny''s most remarkable traits was his total recall of every event in his life. He could recall, with total clarity, events in 1928 as well as two weeks ago. With his variety of talents and the people he knew, Pliny was always good for an "insider" story-and he had so many interesting experiences that you didn''t often hear the same story twice. Pliny was predeceased by his wife Elyse Law Holt. He is survived by several nephews and nieces. In lieu of flowers please make contributions to the Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society (http:// www.nmcrs.org ). Funeral services will be at Arlington National Cemetary with Full Military Honors at a