Eugene Ely, a civilian pilot takes off from a wooden platform built over the bow of the light cruiser, USS Birmingham, while it is at anchor in Hampton Roads, Va. He was flying a 50-hp Curtiss biplane and landed on Willoughby Spit.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 billion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…