The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (i.e., responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and related systems. Aerial weapons, however, were under the cognizance of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd).
Origins
The USN's first attempt for naval aviation began in 1908 when it conducted observations of the Wright Brothers aircraft at Fort Myer.
First tests and Naval Aviation Corps
The first test of an aircraft from naval vessel was in 1910 when a Curtiss Model D flown by Eugene Burton Ely took off from USS Birmingham (CL-2) and again on USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4) in early 1911. These tests were enough for the USN to establish naval aviation units in the summer of 1911. and passage of naval appropriations act in August 1916 lead to the establishment of the Naval Reserve Flying Corps, which would train and deploy air corps for World War I.