Naval Air Station Kingsville Honored Two Former Navy Pilots

Naval Air Station Kingsville

Naval Air Station Kingsville Commanding Officer Capt. Thomas Korsmo hangs the placard honoring Space Shuttle Challenger pilot Capt. Michel Smith in the air station’s Hall of Heroes Jan. 28.  Smith’s induction into the hall came on the 36th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.

NAS KINGSVILLE (News Release) – Naval Air Station Kingsville honored two former Navy pilots, each of whom earned their wings at NAS Kingsville, were selected for the space program, and who died in tragic accidents involving their respective missions.

Capt. Michael Smith and Lt. Cmdr. Roger Chaffee were posthumously inducted into the air station’s Hall of Heroes in a brief ceremony Jan. 28, which coincided with the 36th anniversary of the Challenger mission that claimed the life of Smith, and a day after the 55th anniversary of Chaffee’s death in the fire that consumed Apollo 1.

Since the air station was established in 1942, thousands of Navy and Marine Corps student pilots have earned their wings in Kingsville before heading to the fleet as strike/fighter pilots. The Hall of Heroes recognizes Kingsville-trained aviators who went on to have illustrious careers, or pilots who made substantive contributions to naval aviation while serving aboard the air station.  

Lt. Cmdr. Roger Chaffee

Roger Chaffee trained at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Kingsville and earned his wings in early 1959. He would go on to become one of the youngest pilots to fly the A3D photo reconnaissance plane. While assigned to Heavy Photographic Squadron (VAP) 62 at NAS Jacksonville, one of his duties included photographing Cape Canaveral, which would become the launch area for the newly created manned space program. He also flew numerous flights to Cuba, including one mission where he took photographs that provided crucial documentation of the Cuban missile buildup.

NASA selected Chaffee in the third group of astronauts in October 1963. In addition to participating in the overall training program, he worked on flight control communications systems, instrument systems and attitude and translation control systems in the Apollo branch.

In March 1966, he was selected as one of the pilots for AS-204, the first 3-man Apollo flight. NASA named Gus Grissom as Commander, Ed White as Senior Pilot, and Chaffee as Pilot.

On January 27, 1967, a fire claimed the lives of Chaffee, Grissom, and White during a simulated launch at Cape Kennedy, Florida. After the disaster, the mission was officially designated Apollo 1.

Capt. Michael J. Smith

Capt. Michael J. Smith completed jet training at NAS Kingsville and received his “wings of gold” in May 1969. He was subsequently assigned to VT-21 as an instructor from May 1969 to March 1971. Following that assignment, Smith flew A-6 Intruders and completed a combat cruise off with to Attack Squadron 52 aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).

He was then selected for and completed Navy Test Pilot School in 1974 and was assigned to the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate at Patuxent River, Md. He returned to the Test Pilot School in 1976 and completed an 18-month tour as an instructor. Michael was then assigned to Attack Squadron 75 where he served as maintenance and operations officer while completing two Mediterranean deployments aboard the USS Saratoga. During his naval career, Smith flew 28 different types of civilian and military aircraft, logging more than 4,867 flight hours.

He was selected as an astronaut candidate in May 1980 and completed his training and evaluation period in August 1981. He served in a number of different assignments before being assigned as pilot on STS 51-L.

He died January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The explosion also took the lives of Spacecraft Commander Francis “Dick” Scobee, Mission Specialists Dr. Ronald McNair, Air Force Lt. Colonel Ellison Onizuka, and Dr. Judith Resnik, and civilian payload specialists Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.