European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1959, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Akers above with Spanish marines at Rota. Right Admiral at Naples Headquarters. Naval air Pioneer supports 6th Fleet in med area the first Blind Landing on a Carrier won dec for rear a do Akers t by Brendan p. Mulready staff writer soft spoken tennessean directs . Naval Airpower in the Mediterranean. He is 57-year-old rear Admiral Frank Akers of Nashville commander Fleet air Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and commander . Naval activities medi  professional record in the development of naval aviation belies the easy-g0ing friendliness with which he greets visitors to his Naples Headquarters. While he manages to give the impression that he is never in a hurry Akers has packed More accomplishments into his 36. Years naval service than most people achieve in a lifetime. Graduating from the . Naval acad Emy in 1922, Akers put in a three year tour As Engineer in the destroyer us Sumner operating with the Pacific Fleet during which his department earned the coveted Navy a for excellence and hews Given a letter of commendation signed by the Secretary of the Navy. In 1925 Akers earned his Navy Pilot s wings and was assigned to flying duty wit the Fleet. Gifted with an inquiring mind and a student by inclination Akers gravitated naturally into the Field which has latterly come to be known As research and development. Recognizing his talents the Navy sent Akers for a course in electronics to the postgraduate school at the naval Academy and he subsequently was granted master s degree in electronics communications from Harvard in 1933, he later was commended by the Secretary of the Navy for his role in the development of instrument flying. The now commonplace procedure of making an instrument Landing on an air Craft Carrier was pioneered by Akers and on july 30, 1935, he put his theories to the test by becoming the first Man in the history of aviation to make a Blind Landing on a  an open cockpit plane with a Canvas Hood Over the top Akers located the Carrier Langley 100 Miles off the Cali fornia coast and set his aircraft Down on the 454-foot flight deck without incident thus making naval aviation history. For his feat he was awarded the distinguished. Flying Cross and the technique he pioneered remained in use in the Navy until radar was developed in world War  the aircraft Branch Bureau of engineering Nuvy department from 1937 to 1939, Akers was responsible for the development of instruments techniques and procedures used in naval aviation in world War ii and which with modifications and improvements Are still in use  navigator of the Carrier Hornet he guided Doolittle s raiders to the take off saturday february 28, 1959 Point for their historic raid on Tokyo in1942. Later Back in Washington with the Navy s Bureau of aeronautics his skill and knowledge were used to improve air Craft communications systems. At sea in the latter part of world War ii he commanded the Saratoga predecessor of the modern super Carrier of the same name. For a time under Akers com Mand the old Sara set a new world record daily because no other Carrier could even approach her record of almost 100,000 landings. Since then Akers commanded Carrier divisions in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and he is the Only naval aviator to Akers set record on Sara seen Here under Jap attack. Have been assistant chief of naval operations for undersea warfare. Following Tours As commander of the naval air technical come and As senior member of the Navy s weapons systems evaluation Board Akers came to his pres ent assignment in june 1958. With up to 10,000 naval personnel under his command in such widely dispersed places As Spain France Italy and locations in the Eastern Mediterranean Akers currently spends As much As 30 per cent of his time on the Road. A firm believer in teamwork Akers has Learned from experience the importance of the command relationship in terms of personal Contact. At Short notice he is Likely to visit an installation in Southern Spain and the next Day drop in at another installation hundreds of Miles away. Doolittle was guided by Akeri to historic Tokyo raid take off Point. The stars and stripes Page 11