Breeds in the Sporting Group were bred to assist hunters in the capture and retrieval of feathered game. Retrievers, built for swimming, specialize on waterfowl, while the hunting grounds of setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds are grasslands where quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest. Many Sporting Group breeds possess thick, water-repellant coats resistant to harsh hunting conditions. Of this group, Spaniel type dogs seem to be the most popular with the aviators.

This unidentified man and “Laddie,” a spaniel type dog, are at the back end of a 1925 Chevrolet car, from the Ryan School of Aeronautics at Lindbergh Field, January 1935. Ryan Album Collection.

WWI German aviator with 36 victories, Obit. Karl Bolle poses with spaniel type dog next to a Fokker D.VII in 1918.

Written on back of photograph: “John Zernosky and Tobacco Joe with a black lab. Joe was the truck driver who usually took the ‘Liberty Run’ into Grantham, England, 1944.” Carl Gwartney Special Collection.

Unidentified man at window with cocker spaniel, Achiet, France, 1945. Carl Gwartney Special Collection.

Written on back of photograph: “Dennison [holding a spaniel type dog], Holland, Hoffmaster, Payne, and Kraiser, Folkingham, England, 1944.” Carl Gwartney Special Collection.

Actor Paul Dickey and instructor with English Setter type dog at the Miami Curtiss Flying School, Brights Ranch, Miami (Hialeah), Florida. Harold Kantner Special Collection. After World War I, pioneer aviator, Harold Kantner, worked as designer and test pilot for Continental motors, Aeromarine, Fairchild and Convair. He retired from Convair in 1961.

German WWI Ace with 62 victories, Ernst Udet, is seated center without hat, and with a German Shorthair dog.

Two members of USN Patrol Squadron, VP-106, are with an English Springer Spaniel and a parrot. VP-106 Special Collection.

This photograph is titled “The Ole Sea Dogs.” They look like they should go into the Sporting Group!

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