The R.G. Smith Award for “excellence in naval aviation art” is awarded annually to a single artist at the

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...

during its annual May symposium in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. The Museum’s Foundation selects the recipient. The award is a career honor, similar to a lifetime achievement award.

Recipients

*1994: Robert G. Smith *1995: Ted Wilbur *1996: William S. Phillips *1997: James Dietz *1998: Bob Rasmussen *1999: Roy Grinnell *2000: Stan Stokes *2001: Craig Kodera *2002: Keith Ferris *2003: Merv Corning *2004: Jack Fellows *2005: Jim Laurier *2006: Andrew Whyte *2007: Steven Tack *2008: Marc Stewart *2009: Morgan I. Wilbur *2010: John Shaw *2011: Don Feight *2012 Bob Fiacco *2013 Steve Anderson *2014 LtCol Alex Durr Jr *2015 Commander Alex "Rattler" Rucker, USN (Ret.) *2016 Bryan David Snuffer

Namesake

Robert Grant or R.G. Smith contributed immeasurably to the preservation of the heritage and history of U.S. naval aviation through his 50-plus year career as an aeronautical engineer and as an accomplished artist. The R.G. Smith Award for “excellence in naval aviation art” is bestowed by the

National Museum of Naval Aviation The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its curr ...

in his honor. R.G. Smith graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic College of Engineering in Oakland in 1934. He was hired in 1936 as an engineer by Northrop Aircraft, then a subsidiary of

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

, where he helped design naval aircraft such as the

SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive ...

AD Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

F4D Skyray The Douglas F4D Skyray (later redesignated F-6 Skyray) is an American carrier-based fighter/interceptor built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Although it was in service for a relatively short time (1956–1964) and never entered combat, it ...

A-3 Skywarrior The Douglas A-3 Skywarrior is a jet-powered strategic bomber that was developed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed by Douglas on behalf of the United States Navy, which sought a carrier-capable strategic bomber. Duri ...

, and the

A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...

. Later, he became the Douglas Company's full-time artist, spent time as a combat artist in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and was one of the five original founders of the American Society of Aviation Artists. More than a million of his lithographs of commercial and military aircraft have been printed. R.G. Smith died at his home in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

on May 29, 2001 at the age of 87. A selection of over 120 of his paintings and drawings, as well as a complete biography can be found in "R.G. Smith - The Man and his Art: An Autobiography". Hardcover: 112 pages, Schiffer Publishing (February 1999), , . R.G. Smith was designated Honorary

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

Number 11 on May 8, 1973 by VADM William D. Houser, Deputy

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

for Air Warfare.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20080813200217/http://www.users.bigpond.com/pacificwar/R_G_Smith.html * http://rgsmithart.com/

References

American painters Military art American visual arts awards Awards established in 1994 1994 establishments in Florida Aviation artists {{Award-stub