The First aircraft landed on a ship and it happened in San Francisco Bay.
On January 18th, 1911, Ely took off from an airfield and headed out over San Francisco Bay. Below he saw the ship and dropped down to 100 feet. As Ely began his final turn, hundreds of sailors crowded the superstructure of the ship and the betting odds were heavy against him. He made a slight course adjustment just astern as he carefully flew the plane downward at about 40 knots. When he was directly over the end of the platform he cut the engine. The airplane’s wheels touched down and the hooks caught the arresting cables, stopping the plane within 30 feet with hardly a jar. His skill and accuracy of judgment and quickness of response had made the difference between success and failure. A deafening roar of cheers broke out and the ships in the Bay let go with all their sirens and whistles. As he climbed safely out of the airplane, still with his bicycle tube life preserver and padded helmet, the ship’s captain came forward to welcome him aboard. A little later, the airplane was turned around and he took off easily from the ship and flew over the city on his way back to the airfield, completing the final convincing proof of the adaptability of airplanes to sea based operations.