 Following this successful publicity flight , Streett was appointed assistant to General Billy Mitchell , the deputy chief of the Air Service . When Mitchell formed the 1st Provisional Air Brigade in May 1921 for the purpose of demonstrating that a bomber could sink a battleship , Streett was closely connected . Mitchell sent Streett to Air Corps headquarters to inform his superior Charles T. Menoher that the battleships could not be sunk as planned , with the bombers flying at 10 @,@ 000 feet ( 3 @,@ 000 m ) . Streett informed Menoher that Mitchell intended to break the rules and fly much lower to ensure a newsworthy sinking , but that the Navy should not know of this change . During the June and July bombing demonstrations , Streett flew in the back seat as navigator in Osprey , Mitchell 's personal DH @-@ 4B heavy bomber as they bombed from heights of about 2 @,@ 000 to 3 @,@ 000 feet ( 600 to 900 m ) . Mitchell also planned to sink the target ship with several very close near @-@ miss explosions that would cause severe damage to the ship 's hull below the waterline . The US Navy 's rules for the bombing limited the actual number of direct hits allowed on the target ship . The US Navy had intended to inspect the damage to these ships after the bombings , and US Navy gunfire to learn as much as possible about the effects of shell & bomb hits on battleship armor and structure . The target ship , the former German World War I battleship Ostfriesland was sunk with only a few direct hits , and several intentional very near @-@ misses . The US Navy leadership was shocked and angry over the target 's sinking . In late July after the battleship Ostfriesland had been sunk , Mitchell carried out a 19 @-@ bomber mock raid against Manhattan . About the stunt , Streett wrote an article entitled " 14th Heavy Bombardment Squadron Attacks New York City " for the Army and Navy aviation magazine U.S. Air Service . 
