Herbert C. Rodd

{{Infobox military person

|name= Herbert C. Rodd

|image= Herbert C. Rodd (1).jpg

|caption= Ensign Herbert Rodd in 1919

|birth_date= {{birth date|1894|9|4|df=yes}}

|birth_place=Cleveland, Ohio

|death_date= {{death date and age|1932|6|15|1894|9|4|df=yes}}

|death_place=Hampton Roads, Virginia

|nickname=

|allegiance= {{flag|USA|1912}}

|branch= United States Navy

|serviceyears= 1917–1932

|rank= Lieutenant Commander

|unit=

|commands=

|battles=

|awards= Navy Cross

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

Herbert Charles Rodd (4 September 1894 – 15 June 1932) was a United States Naval Aviator. He served as the radio officer on the first successful transatlantic flight by the Curtiss NC-4 in May 1919{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1BRAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Ensign+Herbert+C.+Rodd%2C+radio+officer%22&pg=PA488|title=The Start of the Trans-Atlantic Flight|author=Wardrop, G. Douglas|date=19 May 1919|newspaper=Aerial Age Weekly|page=488|access-date=2018-04-21}} and later helped set additional world records for flight payload, duration and speed.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/08/17/96665514.pdf|title=Naval Aviators Set Three World Records|date=17 August 1927|newspaper=The New York Times|page=4|access-date=2018-04-21}}

Rodd was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 4 September 1894.{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0o_AQAAMAAJ&q=Charles+Rodd+Cleveland+1894&pg=RA1-PA13|title=The Men Who Showed Their Skill and Courage|date=24 May 1919|magazine=Aircraft Journal|page=13|access-date=2018-04-22}} He joined the U.S. Navy on 9 April 1917{{cite web|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4221078|title=Rodd Herbert Charles|website=National Archives Catalog|access-date=2018-04-21}} as an enlisted seaman but was granted a provisional ensign's commission on 20 August 1918.

After World War I, the U.S. Navy planned a transatlantic crossing by a division of four Curtiss NC seaplanes. Navy Ensign Rodd helped to develop the radio compass for these aircraft. Three seaplanes began the journey on 8 May 1919, but only the NC-4 completed the trip successfully. In the aftermath, he was made a knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword by the Portuguese government on 2 June 1919.{{cite web|url=http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154&list=1|title=Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas|trans-title=Portuguese Honorary Orders|website=Presidency of the Portuguese Republic|language=pt|access-date=2018-04-21}} As a member of the NC-4 crew, he was awarded the Navy Cross{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajZHAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Rodd%2C+Herbert+C.%2C+ensign%22&pg=PA415 |title=Annual Reports of the Navy Department for the Fiscal Year 1920|date=1921|publisher=Government Printing Office|page=415|access-date=2018-04-21}} and later received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1929.

On 15–16 August 1927, Navy Lieutenants Rodd and Byron James Connell (12 August 1894{{cite news|title=Lieut. Byron J. Connell|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=31 August 1925|page=2}} – 30 January 1972{{cite news|title=Connell, Byron James|newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|date=1 February 1972|page=52}}) flew a PN-10 seaplane for 20 hours, 45 minutes and 40 seconds on a 25-km triangular course until their fuel tanks ran dry. Their flight with Aviation Machinist's Mate Comar Vincent and a cargo of 500 kg of sand covered 2,525.3 km (about 1,568 miles). Lt. Connell had previously been the pilot on Cmdr. John Rodgers' 1925 attempt to fly from California to Hawaii in a PN-9 seaplane.{{cite web|url=http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/history-up-close/from-the-cockpit-stories-of-naval-aviation/successful-failure/|title=Successful Failure?|date=14 September 2012|website=National Naval Aviation Museum|access-date=2018-04-21|archive-date=2018-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204001337/http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/history-up-close/from-the-cockpit-stories-of-naval-aviation/successful-failure/|url-status=dead}} The 1927 flight by Lts. Rodd and Connell set a new world record for average speed over a 2,000-km distance by a seaplane of 126.56 km/h (78.56 miles/hr).

Lt. Cmdr. Rodd died in the crash of a Vought O2U Corsair seaplane near Hampton Roads, Virginia on 15 June 1932.{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/casualties-usnavy-marinecorps-personnel-killed-injured-selected-accidents-other-incidents-notdirectly-result-enemy-action.html|title=Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action|website=Naval History and Heritage Command|access-date=2018-04-21}} He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.{{cite web|url=https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/|title=Rodd, Herbert C|website=Arlington National Cemetery|access-date=2018-04-21}}