gear. Navy flight training moved to NAS Pensacola, Florida, in January 1914.
In 1912, Reina Mercedes, sunk at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, was raised and used as the "brig" ship for the academy.
By 1912, the midshipmen were organized into a brigade, its current structure. The prior organization was named a regiment.
In 1914, the Midshipmen Drum and Bugle corps was formed and by 1922 it went defunct. They were revived in 1926.
The brigade and faculty tripled during WWI. The 3rd and 4th wings of Bancroft Hall were built.
In 1918, the great flu pandemic of 1918 infected about half the brigade (1,000 out of 2,000 men); ten midshipmen died.
==== World War I and interwar period ====
With the advent of the automobile and improved roads, the academy became a tourist attraction.
At the 1920 summer Olympics men's 8+ rowing competition in Brussels, the Naval Academy rowing men's 8+ (The Wonder Crew) won the gold medal. U.S. collegiate boats won the gold medal in the 8+ competition at the next seven Olympics – a standing …
