loneers of Flight

LLHAUSER

Compliments of Disabled American Veterans

Pioneers of Flight

by Henry T. Wallhauser Illustrations by Jack Woodson

HAfflOHD INCORPORATED Acknowledgments

Picture credits — The Boeing Company: 90. Brown Brothers: 18 (Cayley design), 25, 29, 31 (H. Quimby), 58, 73, 75, 77. Culver Pictures, Inc.: 18 (Lilienthal glider), 81, 89. Douglas Co., Inc.: 90. C. H. Gibbs-Smith: 15 (Da Vinci sketch & Da Vinci ornithopter), 18 (Penaud design). National Cash Register Co.: 20 (Wright motor). The Times: 87. North American Rock- well Corp.: 91. Scientific American Supplement, 1910: 18 (Maxim steam plane). Smithsonian In- stitution, National Air and Space Museum: 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 (Da Vinci portrait), 16, 17 (Baldwin photo), 18 (Cayley portrait), 20 (Wright plane), 22, 27, 30, 31 (White on street before White House), 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 45. 47, 48, 51, 52, 56 (Patrick & Mitchell), 59 60, 61, 64, 65, 67, 71, 80, 82, 85, 86. U.S. Air Force: 90 (Bell X-1). U.S. Army Air Force National Archives: 23, 32, 56 (pilots, 11th Bomb. Sq.) U.S. Signal Corps National Archives 17 (Baldwin dirigible), 26, 38. U.S. War Dept. General Staff National Archives: 41.

Text credits — Quotation on page 51 from Ricken- backer, by Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker. Prentice Hall, Inc. Quotation on page 55 from Memoirs of

World War 1, by William Mitchell. Random House, Inc. Quotation on page 80 from The Airmail — Jennies to Jets, by Benjamin P. Lipsner. Wilcox and Follett.

ENTIRE CONTENTS ©COPYRIGHT 1969 BY HAMMOND INCORPORATED

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

LmRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 72-83276 PRINTED IN THE UNTTED STATES OF AMERICA Contents

Chapter

1 1903 — THE PIVOTAL YEAR 8 Professor Langley, The

2 THE BEGINNINGS 15 Historical Background, Omithopters, Balloons, Dirigibles, Helicopters, Gliders

3 THE CHALLENGERS 21 , Aerial Experiment Association, The Wright Army Contract and Exhibition

4 THE DAREDEVILS 27 Races and Competitions, Cal Rodgers and Lincoln Beachey

5 GROWING PAINS 33 Naval Aviation Begins, Glenn L. Martin

6 TASTE OF BATTLE 38 Beginning of Army Air Service, Mexican Campaigns

7 LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE 43 Formation of Squadron, Colorful Flyers

8 AMERICA JOINS THE FIGHT 50 The Air Service in , The Aces, Mitchell's Bombing Tactics

9 TOO LITTLE TOO LATE 56 U.S. Wartime Production Goals, The Liberty Engine, Jenny and DH-4 Production, Martin Bomber

10 ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 62 The NC-4 Flight, Alcock and Brown

11 RECORD MAKERS 68 New York to San Diego, U.S. Army Round-the-World Flyers

12 BARNSTORMING 74 Gypsy Flyers, Stuntmen and Film Making

13 IN THE ASCENDANCY 79 U.S. Airmail Service, Commercial Aviation Begins

14 FLIGHT OF FLIGHTS 84 Lindbergh's New York-Paris Flight, Its Impact on Aviation

15 UNLIMITED HORIZONS 88 Aviation After 1927, Wartime Developments, Jets and Rocket Engines, Supersonic Flight, The Space Age

Index 93 1903-Tlie Pivotal Year

"God didn't intend man to fly," the saying though, serious and dedicated men were went. "If He had, He would have given him trying to prove flight was possible. Europe a set of wings." Such was the sober judgment was the scene of numerous experiments, of the man in the street on the record of several of which stand as landmarks along flying attempts as the 20th century began. the path toward sustained flight. True, men had been drifting through the At the dawn of the 20th century attention skies in balloons for more than a hxmdred suddenly shifted to America. There, three years. Small and primitive model aircraft had men prepared to challenge the skies for the floated for brief distances before they sput- prize that had so long eluded humanity. Two tered out and died. Gliders also had been of them were obscure bicycle builders from built that could sail off hilltops and alight the Midwest. The third was an eminent sci- safely upon the earth. And there had even entist whose work in astronomy and the study been reports during the 1890's of fixed-wmg of the sun had already gained him an inter- flying machines leaving the ground under national reputation. Ironically, it was the their own power for short hops of a few Wright brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who

feet. But none of these efforts added up to were to triumph. And it was the scientist. the age-old dream of flying — the ability of Professor Samuel P. Langley, who was to man to take off and keep himself in the air fail. The year of their great attempts was with such controlling factors as wings and 1903. It marked the beginning of modem motive power. aviation history. Nineteenth century aerial experiment was Samuel Pierpont Langley was well into littered with crackpots and cranks. Devices middle age when he tackled the problem of which seemed as weird then as they seem flight in earnest. Behind him were many now flapped, fluttered, clanked and coughed years of scientific achievement as a first- their way to utter failure. At the same time, rate contributor in the field of astronomical

8 Opposite Below Langley's steam-operated model A erodrome White-bearded Prof. Langley and his assistant and pilot, Charles Manly

research. In the year 1886, when he was 52 years old, Prof. Langley listened intently to a speech in Buffalo, N.Y., on the flight of soaring birds. As a boy in Massachusetts he had been fascinated by the motion of winged creatures in the skies. The talk, given at a meeting of professional scientists, reawakened that old interest. Now this somewhat stiff and formal man with intelligent eyes and stout figure embarked upon a painstaking study of the possibility of man's flight. Building a revolving table equipped with 30- foot arms and a 10-horsepower steam engine he attempted to gauge the effects of aero- dynamic lift upon swiftly moving surfaces. Although his results varied, Langley could conclude by 1891 that flight at high speeds

"... is not only possible but within the reach of mechanical means which we now possess." The white-bearded scientist next moved on to come. After his model Aerodrome experi- to more sophisticated tests by first using a ments he had written of the military poten- rubber-band-powered model and then building tial of flying machines, predicting that their steam-powered models as large as 16 feet in use as mobile observation posts could change length. Langley called these models "Aero- the whole nature of warfare. Two years after dromes" (a combination of Greek words he had called his aerial work finished, Amer- meaning air runner) and catapulted them ica went to war with Spain. Langley soon from a houseboat anchored in the Potomac received a request from President William River near Washington, D.C. With his Aero- McKinley asking him to resume his experi- drome No. 6 he achieved a miniature triumph ments, as well as a promise from the War in November 1896 when the machine shot Department of $50,000 to help carry them off the houseboat and traveled three-quarters out. At first the ex-professor of astronomy of a mile before it ran out of fuel. The hesitated. By now he was the head of the world took little notice, however, and Langley famed Smithsonian Institution in Washington seemed to be satisfied with his accomplish- and very busy with his duties there. But he ment. He wrote soon after, "I have brought finally agreed, believing that the building of to a close the portion of the work which a man-carrying plane would be of great seemed specially mine — the demonstration aid to his nation. of the practicability of mechanical flight — The craft he produced after five years of and for the next stage, which is the com- research was an outsized Aerodrome 55 feet mercial and practical development of the long, 48 feet wide and with a wing area of idea, it is probable that the world may look 1,040 square feet. Although it hewed closely to others." to the design of its smaller predecessors, it

Though he did not realize it at the tune, differed radically in the power it used. Steam

Langley's most ambitious projects were still had propelled the model Aerodromes, but

9 The Manly engine, a radial design

well in advance of its time, put out

52.4 hp for its 124-pound weight

Bottom of page Langley's Aerodrome was launched twice

from its houseboat catapult only to plunge each time into the Potomac River

Langley knew that steam could not give him and were deeply cambered (curved) from the lightweight power he would need for this leading edge to trailing edge. The only con- larger machine. And so he turned to the trollable element of the plane was the tail, internal combustion engine, already being which could be moved up and down but used widely as the power plant for the newly not horizontally. Not only was the plane un- introduced automobile. With a bespectacled precedented in appearance, but it was un- assistant named Charles M. Manly, Langley precedented in cost. More than $70,000 was began searching for an engine which would spent on the project, including the War De- weigh about 100 pounds and develop at partment's $50,000 and an additional sum of least 12 horsepower. A New York manufac- at least $20,000 from the Smithsonian. turer, S.M. Balzer, promised to make such an After some preliminary tests with his old engine but was unable to deliver. Other models, Langley had the A erodrome mounted companies both in America and Europe said aboard a specially built catapult houseboat it was impossible. Manly was convinced from and readied for a flight on the Potomac about the engines he had studied, however, that he 40 miles south of Washmgton. The weather could make what Langley wanted. Working was not too good for the first trial on Oct. 7, with the original Balzer engine, Manly first 1903, but both money and the patience of produced an engine weighing 108 pounds official sponsors were running out. Manly and delivering 18.5 horsepower, then made gave the signal for a line to be cut, and an improved version with a weight of 124 with engine* resounding, the craft rushed pounds and developmg a fantastic — for forward. As soon as it had left the catapult that time — 52.4 horsepower. Water-cooled, it plunged straight into the river. Manly, still with five cylinders placed in radial fashion, dripping wet, was besieged by newspaper the Manly engine was far ahead of its time. reporters. Why had the Aerodrome failed, And as Langley and his devoted assistant they wanted to know. The imnerved pilot were soon to find out, it was far ahead also could only guess it was due to the airplane's of the craft it was supposed to power. lack of balance and stability. But the next By the standards of any age Langley's day Langley said a snag in the catapult 1903 Aerodrome was an awkward spectacle. system had caused the crash. He would re-

It had monoplane wings set in tandem with build it, he said, and try agam. By December one pair forward and the other aft, and with 8 the Aerodrome was ready again, and once a four-vaned tail bringing up the rear. Wings more Manly sat at the controls with engine were placed at a severe dihedral (angle) wide open ready to give the signal. Once

10 Wilbur and Orville Wright

again the line was cut and this time the scientifically in their own way as Langley plane nosed almost straight up as soon as it had in his. The youngest of five children of cleared the houseboat deck, falling back with a United Brethren Church bishop, they a sickening splash into the water. This time learned early in life of the importance of Manly barely escaped from the wreckage. frugality and hard work. Together they pub- That spelled the end of Langley's experi- lished a weekly newspaper and took on ments in aeronautics. No one knew exactly printing jobs. In 1882, when Wilbur was 25 why the Aerodrome had failed the second and Orville 21, they opened a bicycle shop time — it could have been the catapult mech- where in the period of a few years they anism or some structural weakness of the were building their own custom-made bicycles. plane itself. It mattered little to the War The Wrights' interest in flying developed Department, however, which now withdrew during their bicycle-building days in the its support of further trials. With the nation's 1890's, when they read about Lilienthal's press hurling broadsides of sarcasm and insult flights m Germany. As young boys they had at him, the sensitive and aging secretary of tinkered with a toy, rubber-band-powered the Smithsonian turned away from his work helicopter. Now, stimulated by the soaring in the aerial field, embittered and hurt. He achievements of the "father of gliding flights," died three years later. they scoured libraries and wrote letters trying At the very moment Langley's Aerodrome to find fresh material on the problem of toppled for the last time into the Potomac, flight. In 1899 they built their first aerial the Wright brothers were approaching their device, a biplane kite. This very first effort own encounter with destiny. Orville was in applied a principle of great importance to Dayton, where he had returned briefly to their later success — a "wing-warping" system help turn out a replacement part for the by which they controlled the kite's balance

Wright Flyer. Wilbur was waiting at their with four strings from the ground. It worked windswept campsite on the beach at Kitty by twisting the edges of the wings down or Hawk, N.C., fidgeting over the craft the two up against the airflow, thus dropping or lifting had patiently assembled there. Just nine days the wings in flight as desired. after the Langley fiasco, on Dec. 17, 1903, These bachelor brothers, always neat as a

Orville flew the frail biplane a distance of pin in stiff collars and neckties, were just 120 feet — a tiny jump by present-day stan- getting started. Now they wrote to Octave dards but a giant step into aerial history Chanute, author of one of the best flying for the Wrights. "This flight lasted only histories of the period, and explained their

12 seconds," Orville later wrote, "but it was experiments. That began a valuable friend- nevertheless the first in the history of the ship during which Chanute provided them world in which a machine carrying a man with much assistance and encouragement. had raised itself by its own power into the They also wrote to the Weather air in full flight, had sailed forward without Bureau in order to find out where in this reduction of speed, and had finally landed at country the steadiest, strongest winds pre- a point as high as that from which it started." vailed. The Bureau listed Kitty Hawk as one The Wrights may have lacked formal ed- such site, and in an exchange of letters with ucation — neither ever received a high school the Kitty Hawk Weather Station they became diploma — but they prepared for their great convinced that it had the kind of breezes aerial breakthrough as thoroughly and as they would need to test their theories of

11 The success of the Wright's 1902 ghder (below) paved the way for the historic powered flight on December 17, 1903

locating their camp a few miles south of Kitty Hawk. There they assembled a bigger glider than the 1900 model. Unfortunately,

it didn't live up to the promise of their earlier craft. Orville and WUbur were baffled by

its erratic behavior and lack of steadiness. In addition, much of the technical information they had obtained through researching pre- vious flyers seemed wrong. They went home discouraged; Wilbur commented that he didn't think man would fly in a thousand years. But by September, in a speech at , he was vigorously attacking the calculations of previous experimenters. And when they returned to the bicycle shop the brothers rigged a six-foot-long wind tunnel to find out where they were going awry. Their wind tunnel tests proved tedious and difficult, but they paid off in much added knowledge. The Wrights went back to Kitty Hawk with new confidence. Their 1902 glider was refined in many ways over their previous

one, with an added tail, improved wing design with less curvature, and a wing warpmg change requiring the operator to move his hips on a cradle to keep lateral balance instead of using foot controls. The new craft

lift and control. flew beautifully except for a fresh problem

Arriving at the remote coastal sand strip caused by the new tail. About once in every in October 1900, Wilbur and Orville went 50 flights the glider went into a puzzling

about building a glider that included not tailspin (the brothers called it "well-digging") only their wing-warping system but a movable and Orville decided after a sleepless night horizontal elevator in front for additional that movable rudders should be installed

control. At first there were a few disappoint- instead of their fixed tail. The next morning ments. Winds didn't blow as hard and steady Wilbur added the suggestion that the rudder as they expected, and the wings they had and wing warping controls should be inter- constructed on the basis of Lilienthal's designs connected so that the spin could be auto-

didn't provide the lift they wanted. But the matically corrected by manipulating only one number of short successful glides they made control mechanism. With these important showed that at least their front elevator and modifications, the 1902 glider made more wing-warping systems were working well. The than 1,000 flights from the Kitty Hawk sands. problem of control seemed solveable. The Wrights returned to Dayton certain that The next summer, 1901, the Ohio brothers the next year they would attempt powered returned to the Carolina coast, this time flight with a new and even larger machine.

12 Although the Wrights had by now con- The Wrights also found an unexpected quered such obstacles as lift and control, one problem which they proceeded to study in major problem remained — power. Their their patient way and solve. This was the investigations so far had shown them that in design of propellers, which had been in ma- order to achieve powered flight they would rine use for a century but which, they dis- need an engine producing at least eight horse- covered, had never been given a set of formal power and weighing no more than 20 pounds specifications. After some heated arguments, per horsepower. Such an engine was simply Wilbur and Orville finally built a propeller not available on the commercial market, so far more efficient than the ones Prof. Langley they decided to build their own. What they and others had designed. Their plan was to turned out that winter was "a very pleasant mount two of them in pusher fashion behind surprise" in Orville's words — a square the engine, which would drive them with a engine employing four in-line, water-cooled bicycle chain. cylmders set horizontally, producing 1 2 horse- Now the Wrights faced the most critical power and weighing, before installation, 152 period of their experiments. Both physically pounds. The engine turned over at slighUy and mentally they could not have been better over 1000 revolutions per minute. prepared. Both in excellent shape, Wilbur,

13 then 36 years old, weighed about 140 pounds, The Wrights made three more flights the and Orville, 32, was 145 pounds. Mentally same day, with Wilbur's final one covering they were confident and ready for the task 852 feet in a time of 59 seconds. "Success ahead. All of their tough German-Swiss an- four flights Thursday morning," Orville wired cestral stock and all their own mechanical home to their father, "all against 21 -mile skill, imagination and determination would wind started from level with engine power be brought into play that fall of 1903. alone average speed through air 31 -miles Troubles began to multiply soon after longest 59 seconds inform press home Christ- their arrival at Kitty Hawk. The weather mas. Orville Wright." started out stormy and then turned cold, Just as the press had trumpeted Langley's delaying the assembly of their new Flyer. In failure, it ignored the Wrights' achievement. its first mounted test, the engme backfired On a tip from the telegraph operator who and badly twisted a tubular propeller shaft; had sent OrvUle's message, one newspaper, the brothers sent back to Dayton for strength- the Virginia-Pilot, picked up the story and ened shafts. Sprockets on the new shafts ran it — full of errors — across the top of kept coming loose; repairs were made with page one. Another, the Cincinnati Enquirer, bicycle tire cement. Then one of the repaired put a modest account on its front page. But shafts cracked and Orville rushed back to the man who could have told the world about

Ohio for new solid steel ones. When he re- it, a telegraph editor and AP correspondent turned on Dec. 11, he brought with him not in Dayton named Frank Tunison, shrugged only the replacement parts but the news of it off. If the flight had been 59 minutes Langley's second failure on the Potomac. instead of 59 seconds, he is reputed to have On Dec. 14 Wilbur made an unsuccessful said, it would be newsworthy. attempt. The Flyer slid along the wooden Not until the followmg March did the rail the Wrights had devised for launching, flight receive its first mention in a scientific climbed sharply a few feet, then stalled and publication, A.I. Root's Gleanings In Bee skittered onto the sand. Some repairs were Culture. And not until December 1906 — necessary, but by the 17th Orville was ready three years after Kitty Hawk — did the to make his try. prestigious Scientific American get around A more forlorn setting could hardly be to acknowledging the importance of the imagined for that historical occasion. It was Wrights' achievement. cold on the desolate beach and winds were By that time the word was out in the really too high for what the Wrights believed fraternity of aerial enthusiasts that the was a sensible attempt. But the brothers, Wrights had flown and were constantly im- with only four men and a boy looking on, proving their machine. Soon others were in were determined. Orville clunbed aboard, the field, most actively in France and the positioned himself prone on the lower wing United States. Some of them had new ideas, and revved the engine. Head up, he released while others patterned their aircraft after the the wire that held the machine to the track. brothers' designs. Their efforts added to those air- It moved forward with Wilbur runnmg along- of the Wrights would nurture the infant side. At the end of a 40-foot run it rose into plane through a decade of undreamed ad- the air and moved unsteadily forward into the vancement. However, 1903 remains as the

wind. It came back to earth 120 feet from pivotal year — the year when Man fashioned time. the point where it had taken off. his own wings and flew for the first

14 2 The Beginnings r^

The Wright brothers' flight, pioneering tempts to turn these fantasies into reality

achievement though it was, could not have were made by men who hitched wing-like been made without the attempts at flight contrivances to their bodies and jumped off during the centuries before them. Much as medieval towers or the ramparts of city walls. their Kitty Hawk Flyer was the unique prod- The consequences for these eccentric "tower uct of their own determined efforts and in- jumpers" were predictably disastrous. Yet, a ventive minds, the Wrights did have some number of learned men earnestly believed guidelines to follow in the writings and prac- that the true path to flight was in direct tical experiments of others. As avid readers imitation of birds. Among these believers were of flying history they knew what had already the early English scientist Roger Bacon been accomplished, and what could not be (1214-92) and the Italian genius Leonardo done, as they set out to build their own da Vinci (1452-1519). Leonardo's interest aircraft. And even though they were forced in flight led him to draw prophetic designs to discard some of the data of their precur- for a parachute and helicopter, but he re- sors, as they were in the case of glider- served his greatest enthusiasm for wing- builder , they drew inspiration flapping. He sketched both prone-type and from the work of those earlier men. Let us standing ornithopters, supposing that the flap- look back at some of those early experi- ping power could be provided by human ments in flight and see how men groped for muscles. After Leonardo's death, it was some means to raise themselves from the earth shown both in real-life attempts and in a and soar through the skies like birds. Some book by the Italian scholar Borelli that the of their findings pointed the way toward the muscles of men were not up to the job of

Wrights; much of it came to nothing. Some beating wings, and enthusiasm cooled for of it presaged entirely different forms of further experiments on bird-like ornithopters. flight, each with its own colorful history. Artist da Vinci was intrigued with the idea of flight Thousands of flying devices were imagined or attempted over the millennia, but most may be placed into four categories: 1. Ornithopters, or wing-flapping craft. 2. Helicopters, or craft capable of rising vertically through use of rotating wings. 3. Lighter-than-air craft, which include both balloons and dirigibles. 4. Fixed-wing aircraft including gliders and power-driven .

Of all the flying concepts, "wing-flapping" is probably the oldest. It goes back to the earliest yearnings of Man to imitate birds, and crops up repeatedly in the myths and legends of antiquity. The most famous of these concerns Daedalus and Icarus and how the latter lost his wings of wax and feathers by flying too close to the sun, but it is only one of many such stories. Eventually, at-

15 Balloonist Jean Blanchard made the first free flight in America in 1794

as participants. The helicopter, like the ornithopter, had

its origins in antiquity. As early as the 4th century B.C., the Chinese amused themselves with "flying tops" which mounted bird feathers in propeller fashion atop a spinning

stick. It is doubtful that anyone could have recognized the potential of this plaything at the time, however, for a working helicopter

needed power then undreamed of to lift and

sustain it aloft. Later, the great Da Vinci

saw its possibilities in rough designs which incorporated Archimedes' principle of the rotating screw as a rotor blade. And in 1783, when Launoy and Bienvenu demonstrated a Chinese flying top before the French Acad- emy of Sciences, the imaginations of Euro- pean scientists were fired with new visions

of vertical flight. Interest in the wing-flappers was revived Several interesting approaches were made

briefly in the 19th century when a number to the helicopter idea during the 1 9th century. of attempts were made to give them a me- One was by Sir George Cayley in England chanical source of power. Models by the who found a solution for the problem of Frenchmen Jobert and Penaud made meager torque, or twist, in a rapidly turning rotor flights using the power of twisted rubber by designing two sets of blades turning in bands. Trouve of France used blank cart- opposite directions. A few years later the ridges firing into a tube to flap the wings famed American inventor Thomas A. Edison of his model, and the Australian Hargrave tinkered with a model vertical craft but gave

employed rubber bands, compressed air and up his work on it after concluding that he even clockwork to propel his hybrid fixed- needed a much more powerful engine than

wing and ornithopter models. was available in the 1 880's. The best-known American to be attracted Not long after the Wrights flew, two to wing-flapping was John P. Holland, who French inventors produced primitive helicop- was already famous as a builder of sub- ters which gave better promise of things to marines when, in 1907, he published the come than actual performance. Louis Bre- views he had formed from experiments made guet took his four-rotor craft to a height of nearly 50 years earlier. Holland declared about two feet in 1907 for a period of one that an operator could attach two transverse minute. Later the same year Paul Cornu wing arms to his body and treadle himself whirled six feet off the ground for only a through the air, and predicted that a "new third of a minute. Both used infant versions order of existence" would stem from such of the internal combustion engine, the power contraptions. His "new order" would surely plant of aviation's future. come as aviation boomed in the 20th century, America entered the helicopter picture in but the wing-flappers would not be included 1909 when Emile Berliner and J. Newton

16 Baldwin (photo left) made America's first parachute jump at San Francisco in 1887

Flight trial of Capt. Thomas Baldwin's balloon dirigible at Fort Myer, 1908

Williams got a two-rotor machine to rise a after their introduction in France in 1783. few feet off the ground. Berliner, a reputable But appearances are often deceptive; balloons scientist who had invented the gramophone, and the powered dirigibles which derived decided this arrangement was too dangerous from them carried the seeds of their own to develop further, although he and his son destruction in their pleasing lines. Balloons Henry built improved machines which they in free flight were at the mercy of air currents marketed during the 1920's. and winds and thus lacked the control es- Frustrations were also encountered by a sential to true flight (this was a condition young Russian, Igor Sikorsky, but he over- which plagued even dirigibles driven by came early setbacks to become one of the powerful engines). Most lighter-than-air ships most respected names in the field of heli- also used hydrogen, a gas so highly inflam- copters. In 1909 Sikorsky constructed a 25- mable that it could turn its carrier into an horsepower helicopter in his native Kiev after inferno in an instant. By the time a non- examining- Cornu's machine in France. The flammable substitute was found in helium, first Sikorsky shook so much it nearly flew dirigibles were being abandoned in favor of apart, but the following year the inventor airplanes which were safer. produced a lighter, sturdier model which rose Within a few years after the Montgolfier a few feet off the ground — so long as no brothers lofted their first balloon in France, one was aboard. Sikorsky then dropped work all of Europe and America were agog over on helicopters to concentrate on airplanes. these gaudy gas bags which defied gravity. Thirty years later, by then a prominent air- Although the first American ascension is plane manufacturer in America, Sikorsky reputed to have been made by a 13-year- returned to experiments in vertical flight and old boy in 1784, the first real balloon trip in built the first practical helicopter in the United the United States was made 10 years later States. In so doing he fathered a whole new by a Frenchman, Jean Pierre Blanchard, branch of the aviation industry. from PhOadelphia to Deptford Township in No spinning rotors or flapping wings were New Jersey. Ballooning became a favorite necessary to send lighter-than-air balloons spectator sport. Crowds thrilled to exhibi- soaring skyward. They rose chemically, not tions at carnivals and fairs; a throng of 20,000 mechanically, and with a graceful ease that watched Charles F. Durant make the first awed the populace of Europe and America ascent from in 1 830. 17 Right Sir George Cayley, father of British aviation

Below top to bottom Cayley design belies the soundness of his ideas Advanced design by A. Penaud was never built Multiplane of Sir Hiram Maxim was uncontrollable Otto Lilienthal made over 2,000 glider flights Octave Chanute's glider experiments inspired the Wright brothers

glish baronet who, during his long lifetime, dealt with an amazing array of problems connected with flight. Not only did Cayley set forth the basic principles of heavier-than- air flight, but his aerodynamic research af- forded a new understanding of the whole mystery of flight. He even proposed a light wheel for airplane undercarriages and sug-

gested internal combustion engines and jet propulsion. Not the least of his contributions was a full-size glider buih in 1852 or 1853 which, he wrote, could "sail majestically

from the top of a hill to any given point of

the plain below it with perfect steadiness and safety." For his many discoveries in the

field of flying Cayley is aptly called "The Father of Aerial Navigation."

New advances were made in fixed-wing airplanes during the 19th century by William going trials at Fort Myer when Orville Wrigiit Henson, John Stringfellow and Horatio Phillips arrived to begin tests of tiie Wriglit biplane. in England and by Jean-Marie le Bris, Felix A seesaw chronicle of fame and ill-fortune du Temple and Alphonse Penaud in France. marked the following years of dirigible Around 1890 Sir Hiram Maxim, already activity. Refined in design and driven by famed for the Maxim machinegun built a improved engines, the glistening giants of the strange three-ton, multi-wing craft that almost sky made many valuable exploratory flights took off through sheer uncontrollable power. as well as opening what seemed to be a Toward the close of the century, in 1 893, comfortable new mode of commercial travel. the German Otto Lilienthal started his experi- But one after another of the great dirigibles ments with gliders which were to have a met a disastrous end. One early failure came profound effect on aerial progress. Convinced in 1910 when journalist Walter Wellman tried that actual flying experience was the best to cross the Atlantic in his airship America teacher, Lilienthal built numerous bird-like but, with his crew, had to abandon ship after gliders in which he soared off hills or drifting helplessly for over a thousand miles. huge man-made mounds. In Scotland, Percy

After a series of dirigible ac- Pilcher constructed several promising gliders, cidents shocked the world, until the explosion and was working toward powered flight when of the German Hindenburg in 1937 put an a crash ended his career. In America, the end to their story. engineer and aerial enthusiast Octave Chanute Fixed-wing aircraft did not come first in built single and multi-wing gliders and flew the long history of flying, but ultimately they them from the shores of Lake Michigan. worked the best and led to the development The work of these glider-builders soon led of the modern airplane. Intensive work on to the Wrights' own labors on gliders at Kitty the theory and behavior of fixed-wing air- Hawk and then on to the construction of their craft begins with Sir George Cayley, an En- first powered airplane.

19 The Wright Flyer of 1903 and the Wright engine. Opposite

The combination of lifting surfaces, controls Red Wing, the first airplane and power that made possible human flight of the Aerial Experimental Association, was designed by Thomas E. Selfridge

Gliders gave to flight the progress it needed Internal combustion engines made their in design and control, but automobiles gave aerial debut in dirigibles. Paul Haenlein

it the development of power. Almost as much drove his airship in Germany with a Lenoir- as the airplane, the "horseless carriage" type engine in 1872, using coal gas for fuel. needed a light, reliable and powerful engine In 1879 a Daimler-made, benzine-burning

to drive it. And when automobile manufac- engine powered another German airship

turers strove constantly to build a better which was wrecked, however, before it could gasoline internal combustion engine, they fly. Later dirigibles could use the vastly were making what the airplane needed, too. improved automobile engines of the turn-of- Certainly the airplane engine had to be even the-century period with only minor changes. lighter than its automobile counterpart, but The world's first practical dirigible built by that could be engineered by early airmen the Lebaudy brothers in France in 1902 had like Manly and the Wrights, most of whom a 40-horsepower Daimler which was virtually had a knowledge of auto mechanics. a large edition of the Daimler car engine. Until the arrival of the gasoline engine, It remained for the Wrights to devise an experimenters tried every method of power engine which would meet the even greater they could lay their hands on, from rubber weight requirements of heavier-than-air flight, bands to electricity to compressed air. Steam and combine it with a workable aircraft. was sometimes used — as in Ader's bat- Now the long years of tentative experiments, winged machines, Maxim's big biplane and of searching in the dark for the answers to Langley's early aerodrome models — but the the mysteries of flight, were at last ending. steam engine's great weight in proportion to Now was to begin a new age of development the power it produced made it apparent that and determination, of hard work and heart- it could not be used to propel into the air aches which would change the course of the the fragile gliders of that day. history of the whole world.

20 Tlie Cliallengers

On an icy afternoon early in 1908, Glenn The date was March 12, 1908, and the H. Curtiss, a serious young man known pri- place, Keuka Lake, New York. The plane marily as a manufacturer of motorcycles, was Red Wing, named after the bright red bent to the task of adjusting eight separate silk that covered her biplane wings. There carburetors on a flying machine resting on a was cause for celebration, for this was the frozen lake in upstate New York. Curtiss first successful powered flight made by a listened closely as the engine idled, adjusting newly formed group called the Aerial Ex- one carburetor, then another. Seemingly sat- periment Association. Red Wing would isfied, he straightened up and jumped off. become the first of four biplanes built by the One of the small group gathered around the A.E.A. within the coming year. The short— craft raised his arm and, after a few tense hop it made that cold, overcast Sunday ice — seconds, lowered it. There was a growing never more than eight feet above the roar from the engine, and the frail machine marked the first real challenge to the aerial slid over the ice until it became airborne. supremacy of the Wright brothers on the

The watching men let out a whoop and then American continent. It also would mark the fell silent as the plane beat its way into the emergence of a new leader in American gray sky. Moments later, still plainly in aviation, Glenn Hammond Curtiss. view, the little craft settled back to the ice In some ways, the story of Curtiss' rise and the men ran toward it. Jubilant, they parallels that of the Wrights. Like the Ohio pounded the pilot on the back. Then they brothers he came from a family of modest remembered the business at hand and un- means, and as a youngster he liked tinkering furled a measuring tape. They made it 318 with mechanical things. While still in his feet and 11 inches. Not a bad distance, they teens he worked up a trade in bicycles and congratulated themselves, for a fledgling ef- bike repairing. But unlike the Wrights, who fort in the new science of aeronautics. were fascinated by problems of aerodynamics,

21 The Aerial Experiment Association organized in 1907 (from left) "Casey" Baldwin, Lt. Selfridge. Curtiss, Dr. Bell. John McCurdy and visitor, of the

the experience — except that the Arrow went too slowly to suit his taste. One day in 1906, inventor paused before the display of a new V-8 engine at a New York Aero Show. Impressed, the distinguished scientist struck up a conversation with the young man behind the booth. He was the engine's manufacturer, Glenn Curtiss, and soon Bell was saying they must get together for a long talk. Al- though Bell's greatest achievement was the invention of the telephone, he had long been the lean, strong fellow from Hammondsport, interested in aviation. He had been a cham- N.Y., was drawn to engines. He built his pion of Langley's experiments and a witness

first in 1900 using a small tomato can for a to the 1903 disaster of the Aerodrome on the carburetor. At first he installed his primitive Potomac. Then nearly 60, Bell was workmg engines on bicycles, but by 1903 he had on his own dream of flight: a tetrahedral started his own company for manufacturing kite whose main feature was a screen-like motorcycles. He not only built them, he raced surface composed of more than 1,000 four- them well enough to give him local fame as sided, triangular-plane cells. Searching for a daredevil on wheels. His reputation spread reliable power for the kite, he suddenly saw

nationally in the spring of 1906 when he Curtiss as the man who could provide it.

cracked the world speed record by driving a After a new discussion, it was agreed that custom-built motorcycle an astonishing 136.47 Curtiss would build two lightweight four- miles an hour over the sands of Ormond cylinder engines. The first was delivered in Beach, Florida. It established a record that 1907 but did not perform as expected. The stood on the ground until 1911 and in the expert hand of the manufacturer clearly was

air until nearly the end of World War I. needed, and so Bell asked Curtiss to join Curtiss' reputation as an engine builder him — with a handsome money offer as an soon landed him in aviation. A veteran Cal- inducement. ifornia balloonist and self-styled aerial "cap- Gathered that summer at Bell's ramblmg tain," Thomas S. Baldwin, persuaded the house on Lake Bras d'Or in Baddeck, Nova young manufacturer to adapt one of his two- Scotia, besides Curtiss were two young Ca- cylinder motorcycle engines to propel a diri- nadian engineers, John A.D. McCurdy and gible he was building. The transfer worked. Frederick W. (Casey) Baldwin (no relation On Aug. 4, 1904, Baldwin made a short and to Capt. Baldwin), and a young U.S. Army slightly unsteady flight in the new California lieutenant, Thomas E. Selfridge, who was Arrow from Oakland, Calif., with the air- detached from duty with the new Aeronau- cooled Curtiss providing power. For a while tical Division of the Signal Corps to study

Curtiss mixed motorcycle-making with the flying with Bell. The men hit it off imme- further development of California Arrow. diately. Talking late into the night in the

It was in this airship that the Hammonds- quiet comfort of Bell's home, they agreed to porter himself flew for the first time. He form the Aerial Experiment Association, a told Baldwin afterward that he had enjoyed loose artangement under which each would

22 Glenn H. Curtiss

help the other in advancing his own aviation provide stability. But it had an important

ideas. Except for their mutual recognition of variation in that it had improved Bell as leader, they would all pull together that reduced both the drag of White Wing to "get into the air," as their charter said. and that plane's bothersome tendency to

The first order of business was the com- turn while in level flight. It proved a winner pletion of a new tetrahedral kite to be known in a widely publicized distance trophy event as Cygnet. Larger than any previous device held at Stony Brook Farm Racetrack in Bell had built (it had 3,000 cells), Cygnet Hammondsport sponsored by Scientific

never had a chance to show it could fly with American magazine. Taking off in a cloud of

its Curtiss engine. On a test glide it went smoke with Curtiss aboard, June Bug trav- down in the lake and was severely damaged eled well beyond the required distance of one while being towed to recovery. kilometer by covering 5,090 feet in one min-

Although Cygnet's disablement was a bitter ute and 42 1 /5 seconds. This was later haUed disappointment to Bell, he quickly agreed as the first "public flight" in America — that the A.E.A. should proceed with the more an injustice to the Wrights who by 1908 had

conventional ideas of its members. Transfer- flown many times in full view of the public. ring their operations to Hammondsport to be A controversy now arose over the A.E.A.'s closer to the facilities of Curtiss' factory, the ailerons which dogged Curtiss throughout his

A.E.A. turned out the first of their biplanes, airplane-making years. The Wright brothers

Red Wing. Despite the hopes it encouraged brought suit, claiming they were stolen from by its short flight off Keuka Lake, Red their patented wing-warping system. The Ohio

Wing's career was brief. On its second flight brothers were upheld in court, but it was the a few days later the little airplane, designed concept which was sustained by his- by Selfridge and powered by a 25-horse- tory. Ailerons became the basic lateral control power engine, landed hard on the ice. "Casey" feature of future airplanes. (It should be

Baldwin, at the controls, was only slightly noted that it was neither the Wrights nor injured but the plane was crippled beyond Curtiss who finally was recognized as the in- reasonable repair. ventor of ailerons. That honor went to Dr. White Wing — so named because white William W. Christmas of Washington, D.C., muslin covered its wings — became the who flew a plane of his own design a few days second A.E.A. creation, built according to before the Red Wing flight, and who was Baldwin's blueprints. In place of runners awarded a patent for his aileron system by carried by Red Wing three landing wheels the U.S. Government.) were installed, and controls in the form of On Sept. 17, 1908, the A.E.A. received a crude ailerons were added where its pre- blow that disrupted its progress and eventually decessor had none. White Wing made four spelled its end. Lt. Selfridge had been recalled successful flights that included one of 1,017 to Washington to witness Army tests of the feet, but it had to be scrapped after a fifth new Wright biplane at Fort Myer, Va. Orville ended in a crash with McCurdy aboard. began the trials early in September, impressing June Bug was the third and most promising the military observers on solo and passenger

aircraft yet built by the A.E.A. It was similar flights. The 17th was scheduled for the final to earlier designs in that it carried distinctive test, and Selfridge, a little nervous, settled "concavo-convex" wings — wings that bowed himself into the seat alongside Orville. The toward each other near the tips in an effort to Wright Flyer catapulted off its launching

23 Bell's tetrahedral kite

track, rose into the air and circled the field In the meantime, the Wrights were busier three times. On the fourth circle a crowd of than ever. By March 1909 — when the about 2,000 saw a puff of smoke. Aboard A.E.A. was breaking up — WUbur was in the plane, Orville said later, there was a France winding up a triumphal series of tapping sound and then two thumps. The exhibitions before the awed greats of Euro- plane nosed down, vibrating violently, and pean aviation. Soon he would be joined by crashed in a cloud of dust. Orville spent Orville, who had recovered from the Fort seven weeks in the hospital recovering from Myer crash, for a series of new demon- hip, leg and rib fractures. Selfridge, muttering, strations in Italy. "Take this damn thing off my back," was Behind the brothers lay years of labor that hauled from the wreckage and died a few finally had given them recognition as the hours later. A crack in the propeller, newly leaders of international aviation. After their installed for the final test, was determined history-making flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, as the cause of the accident. The mishap cut the Wrights had moved their operations to a short a career of great promise for the 26- cow pasture outside Dayton. There they flew year-old lieutenant. a slightly more powerful Flyer about 100 The stunned A.E.A. decided to push times. But many of those 1904 flights caused ahead with its experiments. Bell built a new disappointment, either because they didn't and even larger Cygnet but it never became reach the Kitty Hawk distance record, or successfully airborne. A fourth airplane, because of a persistent problem with the Silver Dart, was designed and Qpwn mostly plane's lateral control. by McCurdy; it logged 1.000 miles over With their 1905 machine, however, the many flights, and became the first airplane Wrights made a comeback. This was dubbed to fly in Canada. Curtiss began a project of Flyer III and, although it employed the 1904 his own by fitting the old June Bug with engine, it had improved wing design and two pontoons and rechristening her Loon. controls. Several long distances were achieved Feeble though this effort proved to be (Loon that year, but they passed unnoticed by all refused to become unglued from the waters of except a few. This was despite the fact that a

Keuka Lake), it represented the first of Cur- trolley line passed near Huffman pasture in tiss' many contributions toward the develop- plain view of the brothers' experiments. The ment of naval aviation. Wrights later became secretive about their Demoralized by Selfridge's death and work, but in those days they welcomed wit- lacking money for new projects, the A.E.A. nesses. Once that year they invited a con- was dissolved by mutual agreement. Members tingent of newspapermen, but as fate would went their separate ways. Bell's further work have it engine trouble prevented them from with tetrahedral kites proved an aviation getting off the ground that day. dead end. "Casey" Baldwin soon gave up The Wrights were first-rate scientists but active flying. McCurdy gained headlines in they were hard-headed businessmen too. After the next few years as a stunt flyer, and their 1905 season they called a halt to fur- made an overwater hop from Florida to , ther flights in order to concentrate on the ditching in sight of the Cuban coast. But he sale of their product. First they turned to the too eventually gave up flying actively. Curtiss U.S. Government in the belief that it would alone went on to make an imprint in Amer- be interested in Flyer III for reconnaissance

ican and world aviation. purposes. Twice they offered it to the War

24 Curtiss Gold Bug of 1909

Department and were refused each time. brass. Said Major George O. Squier who had Their second offer made clear they would been Orville's second passenger: "Of course provide a finished product without govern- we deplore the accident, but no one who ment financial aid — "practical flying- saw the flights . . . could doubt for an instant machines suitable for scouting purposes," that the problem of aerial navigation was they wrote. Incredibly, the government re- solved."

plied that it wasn't interested "until a ma- If the Wrights hadn't exactly conquered

chine is produced which by actual operation the problem of flight, they understood the

is shown to be able to produce horizontal solutions to it. Early they had realized that flight and carry an operator." no aircraft could be built, with the materials

Just 19 days earlier, on Oct. 5, 1905, and data then available, that could fly itself. the Wrights had set a world's distance record French designers and flyers believed in- of 24 miles. herent stability must be built into an airplane

Now the brothers turned to British and so it could be "chauffeured" through the air, French interests, both of which had made a concept that delayed the development of personal contact with them. But negotiations aviation in Europe. The Wrights knew they

fell through. Then late in 1907, spurred by had to have extraordinary ability to manage the personal interest of President Theodore heavier-than-air flights, and set out to acquire

Roosevelt, the War Department called for it. Just as important, the brothers knew their

bids on a military airplane it specified was to airplane must have good mechanical controls fly nonstop for "about one hour" at a speed that would respond to a pilot's touch. By of 40 miles an hour. Forty-one bids were 1908 they had perfected their wing-warping

submitted but only three met specifications. system as far as it would go. The combination And of these only the Wrights' bid — at of controls and human skill worked wonders. $25,000 with delivery in 200 days — turned Orville literally ran rings around the Fort

out to be substantial. The government ac- Myer parade ground, circling it 57 times one

cepted it on Feb. 8, 1908, and Wilbur and day in as many minutes. Wilbur held aviators Orville once again journeyed to their old and the press spellbound with his delicate haunt at Kitty Hawk to regain their flying maneuvering at Le Mans. skill (neither had flown since the end of the One innovation in the 1908 model was the '05 season). By late spring they left North pilot-passenger arrangement. Instead of the Carolina with their expert flying touch and a neck-wrenching, prone position dictated by

plan of action. Orville would demonstrate the their earlier planes, it placed pilot and rider Flyer for the U.S. Army, while Wilbur would in a seated position. The '08 Flyer also had go to France at the invitation of a syn- an improved engine employing vertical instead dicate forming to manufacture Wright planes. of the previously favored horizontal cylinders

Now came the Wrights' finest hour. Wil- and producing about 35 horsepower. It used

bur, sober-faced and calm in his tie, starched the Wrights' derrick catapult for takeoff, a collar and workingman's cap, won the hearts weight-and-pulley rig invented in 1904 to get of the French with flights of 12 miles and them into the air faster. more at Le Mans. Orville's tests at Fort The 1908 Flyer was carried over into the Myer included at least four hops of over next year's Wright Model A, which after an hour's duration. And although these ended new tests became the Army's first airplane.

in tragedy, they clearly impressed the Army Repaired and much traveled, it remained the

25 Orville Wright demonstrates the Flyer for the U.S. Army at Fort Myer, 1908

Curtiss, the lone American in the field, shunned altitude and distance contests to concentrate on speed events. The grand prize was the Gordon Bennett trophy, which Curtiss won doing an average 47 miles an hour over 20 kilometers. His victory, witnessed by a stupendous Saturday crowd estimated at 100,000, was an especially sweet one in that he bested Bleriot and the Frenchman's vaunted monoplane by over five seconds. Curtiss' Rheims machine, sometimes called Golden Flyer, was a souped-up version of the earlier Gold Bug, housing a V-8, water-cooled engine that delivered 50 horse-

power. It used the Wright concept of an

elevator forward and rudder aft (as did all

the A.E.A.'s planes), but it was equipped with interplane ailerons set between the wings and had three landing wheels. Army's only airplane until 1911 when "Aero- The following year, Curtiss flew a similar plane No. 2" was purchased. Ironically, this plane from Albany to New York, winning a biplane, a pusher-type like the Wright plane, $10,000 prize offered by the New York was built by the Wright brothers' chief rival World, plus permanent possession of the — Glenn Curtiss. Scientific American trophy. A special train By now Curtiss had himself become a raced below Curtiss during the 142-mile major name in aviation. Forming a new flight down the Hudson River. In New York company with Augustus M. Herring, a former City thousands swarmed in streets, parks and

Wright assistant, he built a new airplane. on rooftops to see the climax. For once it was Gold Bug, which won the second Scientific an aerial feat for all New York to see; neither American trophy on July 17, 1909, in New his previous Scientific American wins nor his York City. A month later the stern-faced Rheims victory had made such an impact. upstate New Yorker rushed to France to The flight established Curtiss as an American participate in a much-ballyhooed aviation air hero as well as airplane designer. meet outside Rheims. Ahead of Curtiss lay new triumphs. Out of The greats of European aviation gathered his work in marine aviation grew the U.S. for the Rheims meet. Among the participating Navy Air Wing. He figured importantly, too, pilots were Louis Bleriot, who had made the in the early years of Army aviation by first English Channel crossing by air; the manufacturing the famous "Jenny" biplanes suave sportsman Hubert Latham, flying a that trained thousands of U.S. flyers. He also graceful Antoinette monoplane; the daring played a part in the next chapter of Amer-

Eugene Lefebvre, pilotmg a Wright biplane; ican aviation —• the era of stunting, aerial and the French national air hero Henri Far- exhibitions and international races that be- man, who had entered a biplane of his and mused a thrill-seeking populace before it was his brothers' manufacture. enveloped by World War I.

26 4 The Daredevils

The public had read about those daring crashes during his flying days), the second young men in their flying machines, and of which occurred on the last day of the suddenly they could see them in a whole competition. His airplane, an improved ver- series of races and competitions, fairs and sion of his Channel crosser, burst into flames exhibitions which blossomed in the carefree during the final speed race but the dauntless

years before World War I. The international Frenchman exited from his cockpit with aviation meet at Rheims, France, was the nothing more than a badly burned hand. first of the great exhibitions, drawing a crowd America, not to be outdone by the smash- of an estimated quarter million to see such ing success of the Rheims meet, staged three aerial pioneers as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Bleriot, big competitions the next year. Held in Los Leon Delagrange, and Henri Farman put Angeles, Boston, and at in their frail machines through their paces. Long Island, N.Y., they agam drew inter- Rheims was the lone notable aviation com- national rosters of aviators, large and cele- petition in 1909 but the following year nu- brity-studded audiences and the usual number merous competitions burst forth in America of thriUs and spills. and Europe. Nineteen-ten also saw the for- Stunt flyer. Lincoln Beachey, at Niagara Falls mation of several traveling aerial troupes that held audiences spellbound with their assortment of stunts. All too often the lure of the early aerial sideshows was the possibility of an accident — the chance that blood would be spilled in a new and bizarre way. Sometimes, spectators staring into the sky got what they came for. When the Rheims meet was held there had been only four heavier-than-air fatalities, in- cluding three gliding deaths and that of Lt. Selfridge in a powered aircraft. But the death toU quickly mounted. By July 1, 1912, 155 men and three women had been killed in airplane accidents.

Rheims itself had its share of chilling spills, although none resulted in deaths. The Frenchman Henry Fournier, racing in a "America's First Aviation Meet," held in speed event, was caught by a gust of wind Los Angeles from Jan. 10 to 20, 1910, which forced his Voisin biplane to the ground turned into a contest between two nations in front of horrified spectators. Fournier got when entries boiled down to flyers from up, mounted a gendarme's horse and rode France and the United States. , back to his hangar. Another French flyer, star of the French team, won the altitude Henri Rougier, plunked his Voisin into the prize by taking his Farman biplane to 4,165 crowd, miraculously injuring no one. Bleriot feet, a new world's record. Curtiss headed himself, the master of an English Channel the American team comprising Clifford B. crossing the previous month, had two crack- Harmon, Charles K. , Charles F. ups (Bleriot reputedly had more than 50 Willard and Frank Johnson. He remained

27 on the victory trail he had established at $10,000 prize. Curtiss, although he flew with Rheims by winning the quick-starting contest distinction at this meet, found himself second (off the ground in six and two-fifths seconds) best in his favorite speed event: Grahame- and the speed-with-passenger record (clocking White beat him with a time of six minutes 55 miles an hour). over the five and a quarter mile course. In September the Harvard Aeronautical Interest was high for the final meet of the Society held an international meet at Squan- year at Belmont Park, L.I., held from Oct. tum on Boston Harbor which attracted the 22 to 3 1 . Besides the second annual presenta- cream of society and offered $100,000 in tion of the Gordon Bennett contest it featured prizes for the winning pilots. Curtiss again a race from the Park to the Statue of Liberty was on the scene with his own flying teams, and back, with a $10,000 prize as incentive as were members of the recentiy formed for the winner. Again the colorful Grahame- exhibition team under contract to the Wright White was the victor. He won both of the brothers. A Curtiss performer, Ralph John- featured events — though not before several stone, captured the duration record by flying hair-raising crackups had marred one event three hours, five minutes and 40 seconds. and a wrangle among officials delayed the And a Wright protege, , set prize-giving in the other. a new altitude record of 4,732 feet. Boston's The Gordon Bennett, held on a sparkling most sensational event, however, was a race clear Saturday morning, had two favorites around Boston Light which was won by one in Grahame-White with a 14-cylmder, 100- of the international greats of early aviation, horsepower Bleriot, and Walter Brookins at Claude Grahame-White of England. Flying the controls of a new Wright "Baby" racer a Bleriot monoplane, he made the overwater that was supposed to have tested at over trip of 33 miles in 34 minutes, 11/5 seconds, 80 miles an hour. But Brookins was out of for which he was awarded the Boston Globe's the running ahnost before he started when he

28 The 1910 Belmont Park air meet featured the most distinguished airinen of the time — the winner in a Bleriot monoplane was Grahame-White (photo right)

crashed into the turf and somersaulted the T.O.M. ("Tom") Sopwith of Great Britain. powerful new plane in front of the grand- Beachey dominated the speed events by stand. Thrown clear, he picked himself up taking five firsts, two seconds and three thu-d and walked away. Another contestant, sports- place awards in addition to setting a new man Hubert Latham, spun his lOO-horsepower altitude record of 11,642 feet. Sopwith took Antoinette into a horse paddock and like home $10,000 by winning several "daily du- Brookins emerged from the wreckage on foot. ration" contests and other events. A relative A third crash involved the Frenchman Alfred unknown, Calbraith P. Rodgers, won the total Le Blanc, who was making better time than duration contest by staying aloft — in daily Grahame-White over the 62.1 mile course installments — 27 hours and 16 seconds. when he ran out of gas and slammed into a Rodgers, as we shall soon see, later hit head- telephone pole on the last lap. His plane lines as the first airman to cross the American was completely wrecked but Le Blanc lived continent. to fly again: he suffered nothing much more Two fatalities marred the Chicago meet, than bad cuts of the face. one involving young St. Croix Johnstone The 1910 Gordon Bennett race was fol- who dove his Moisant monoplane into Lake lowed by several years of official dispute. Michigan, and the other killing William R. The wealthy Chicagoan John B. Moisant Badger, who died attempting a Beachey stunt made the best time in a hastily purchased that required dipping into a hollow m Grant Bleriot, but he had begun his flight past the Park. Badger's biplane collapsed under the

4 p.m. deadline under rules of the event. strain and sent its pilot to his death. The Frenchman Comte de Lesseps also had Much of the aviation action during 1911 support as the winner, for although he was took place in Europe, where grueling cross- beaten by Grahame-White, it was claimed country races gripped the interest of a fas- that the Englishman had clipped the "initial cinated world. But the United States had a pylon" — the statue itself — and thus should moment of pride when the third annual be disqualified. It was several years before Gordon Bennett speed race held in England an international committee declared was won by the only American entered,

Grahame-White the winner, awarding him Charles T. Weymann. The little airman, who $10,000 plus $600 interest. Grahame-White looked more like a banker than a flyer in had a profitable year in America even though his natty suits and pince-nez glasses, roared he didn't pocket the Statue of Liberty prize around the 94-mile course at Eastchurch in immediately. Scientific American magazine his 14-cylinder Nieuport at 78.77 miles an reported that he had made $100,000 in hour, beating the Englishman Alec Ogilvie American flying meets. and Frenchmen Nieuport and Le Blanc. Chicago recorded a moment of early As interest in aviation mounted, promoters aviation history in August 1911 with a meet and businessmen dreamed up a variety of sponsored by the Aero Club of . It aerial spectacles they hoped would catch the included such star exhibition flyers as Lincoln public's fancy. Newspaper publishers often Beachey, Eugene B. Ely, Frank Coffyn, Phil held out handsome rewards to flyers who O. Parmalee, J.C. Mars, Earle R. Ovmgton, would make some new record, such as the Hugh Robinson and Brookms, as well as an first New York to Philadelphia trip for which aviator who in a few years would become and Philadelphia even more famous as an airplane builder, Ledger were prepared to pay $10,000. Charles

29 The first transcontinental flight — a test of endurance

for man and plane. Cal Rodgers did it in a Wright

"Baby" racer but it took 69 stops and 49 days

MEXICO

K. Hamilton, a member of the Curtiss ex- drink manufactured by the airman's sponsors,

hibition team, won the money in June 1910 was practically another airplane when it by making the trip — and back — in three wound up in Pasadena, Calif., so many parts hours and 27 minutes. He made the flight had been replaced. in a Cuiliss biplane. Fame rather than a quick fortune was the Another newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, objective of a 27-year-oId aviator named put up $5,000 in 1910 for the first airman Harry N. Atwood when, in 1911, he deter- willing to risk his neck flying over the city. mined to make what the newspapers called Stretches of water and open country had been "the greatest cross-country flight in the managed before, but no one had purposely history of American aviation" — Boston to set out to cross the center of a large city Washington. The nation's capital was an early

because it was believed the air above was too center of aviation. The Wright airplane tests turbulent. Hubert Latham, the cool, cigarette- had taken place in Ft. Myer across the smoking aviator who had failed in two Potomac, and in 1910 the much-headlined attempts to fly the English Channel, took up Grahame-White landed a Farman biplane on the Sun offer and succeeded, guiding his the street between the White House and the Antoinette 2,500 feet above a watching pop- old War and Navy Building in order, he told ulace estimated at more than 500,000. reporters, to pay a return visit to President Much more was at stake the following Taft who had seen the Englishman fly in the year when publisher William Randolph Boston meet. But nothing generated the Hearst offered $50,000 for the first coast- excitement of the capital as the Atwood trip

to-coast flight. Cal Rodgers, his pockets still did. Washingtonians followed his progress lined with the money he had won in the step by step from his takeoff June 30 in Chicago air meet, made the trip in a grinding Boston, to a stop in New , Conn., course that included 69 stops and 19 crashes. to another stop in New York City where he And although he endured phenomenal hard- was delayed several days. When he was ready ship, the flight was 19 days too long to to go again all of Washington — from the qualify for the money. Rodgers' Vin Fiz, a United States Congress to the Chamber of Wright "Baby" racer named after the soft Commerce — prepared to welcome him. 30 Below Grahame-White lands his Farman biplane on a street next to the White House

Right , America's first licensed woman pilot flew the English Channel in 1912

Finally a plane appeared in the sky and A sharp promoter could line up sizable crowds when it reached the city it circled and came to see the flying fools risk their necks. The down low along the broad streets. Instead of air above, though, was not the only hazard. landing, however, it climbed back into the sky The crowd on the ground sometimes got and disappeared. Reaction was puzzled and carried away with excitement and after a angry: what kind of a joke was this? The good show would happily tear off souvenir next morning newspapers had the answer. pieces of fabric from the airplanes. If the The plane was flown by a young Army lieu- audience didn't like the show — or if they tenant who thought he'd give the capital a thought there wasn't going to be one held — show by flying down from the Signal Corps they often weren't so happy. Ticket holders training field at College Park, Md. The joke- could work up an ugly mood if high winds ster's name was Henry H. Arnold, later a or rain threatened to cancel. Even the early five-star general in the Army Air Force. exhibition flyers had little stomach for foul Atwood did appear a few days later, after weather flying. unscheduled stops in Atlantic City and Flyer Beckwith Havens was hauled out to Baltimore, and received the personal con- his plane on a sheriff's buckboard after an gratulations of President Taft. The next angry crowd demanded he stop stalling for month Harry Atwood flew for the money time. Havens feared stiff winds that day, but

($10,000 put up by Victor J. Evans, a Wash- he flew anyway. Art Smith, the daring ington, D.C., patent attorney) and set a new "Smashup Kid" of countless exhibitions, got long distance record of 1,155 miles from out of a Texas town one rainy day in 1912 St. Louis to New York. The mark was wiped just in time to escape a furious crowd which off the books four months later by Cal thought it had been swindled. It seems the Rodgers' transcontinental flight. crate for Smith's airplane had Honeybug

Good money was to be had, too, in ex- stenciled on it, the craft's name, and the hibitions that began to crop up all over the citizenry had mistaken the word for "humbug." nation at country fairs, racetracks and cow They thought it was the flyer's way of pastures. This was barnstorming in its infancy, mocking them for a show he never intended when the stunts and aerial maneuvers weren't to give. so complicated as they later became, but The biggest names in exhibition aviation when a pilot could produce gasps of wonder belonged to the traveling teams organized by by merely getting his plane off the ground. Curtiss, the Wrights, and . Curtiss' team boasted the great Beachey, Eugene Ely, Mars and Charles Willard. The Wrights' company starred Brookins, Arch Hoxsey, Coffyn and Ralph Johnstone. Moisant had an international team that included , the Frenchman who later became the

first Allied "ace" of World War I. Skilled though they were, aviators some- times met their deaths flying fragile craft that were pushed beyond the limits of their capabilities. Ralph Johnstone had performed his famed "spiral glide" many times before

31 Left Lincoln Beachey at the controls of a Curtiss pusher

Opposite Glenn L. Martin in his first airplane, a pusher strongly modeled after Curtiss planes

thousands, but on Nov. 20, 1910, in Denver, the loop with his hands outstretched like a Colo., the trick didn't work. His Wright bi- bird. In 1911 he flew under the Suspension plane crumpled in its descent and crashed, Bridge at Niagara Falls and his races with killing Johnstone instantly. The Wrights lost racecar driver Barney Oldfield were the sen- another valued team member a month later sation of the day. "Line" Beachey's most when Arch Hoxsey, who once had taken famous stunt was his "dive of death," in ex-President Theodore Roosevelt up as a which he would make a vertical descent passenger, died in a crash at Dominguez from 6,000 feet with his engine shut off, and

Field, Los Angeles. The same day, Dec. 31, land on a dime. Performing it, he learned 1910, Moisant cracked up in how to conquer the dreaded tailspin by diving while landing in gusty winds. Moisant was more steeply instead of trying to nose up. well known for his pioneer Paris-to-London Even though he had his share of mishaps

flight. His brother Alfred carried on the fly- Beachey seemed to lead a charmed life. He

ing team but it was all over for the 35-year-old cracked up several times while racing Old- Chicagoan. He died on his way to the hospital. field but walked away each time. Once while Another shocker was the death of Harriet flying through a huge exhibition hall he Quimby, a pretty, dark-haired magazine hooked his wing tip on the exit door; the writer who became the "first woman to fly plane was a shambles but once more Beachey the English Channel" in April 1912. Back in walked away. Another time, while buzzing America a few weeks later she met her death a hangar his wing struck and killed a young while flying in a meet at Boston. woman standing on the roof. Death did not come to the most colorful On March 14, 1915, Beachey's luck ran

of them all, the "incomparable" Lincoln out. For the San Francisco Exposition that Beachey, until 1915, but into his compar- year he had built a monoplane of his own atively few years of flying this short, stocky design, powered by an 80-horsepower Gnome Califomian with the jutting jaw packed a rotary engine and named the "Lincoln lifetime of fantastic feats. Beachey became a Beachey Special." The fu-st time he took up name in dirigible flying before he learned to the sleek litfle ship he thrilled the crowd with fly airplanes. He had piloted Thomas Bald- all the tricks he knew. The second time he win's airship at St. Louis in 1904 shortly went into his show stopper, the death dive.

after it made its first flight in Oakland, and This time he didn't recover. Perhaps unused he had established something of a record in to the new plane's controls or its higher speed

1 906 by making the first airship flight around he plunged straight into San Francisco Bay. the Washington Monument. When he did get His body was found in 60 feet of water, around to learning about airplanes in 1910 trapped in the wreckage of the sUver and

it looked for a while as if it would be a yellow plane. lost cause. Curtiss, at whose school he Commenting on the tragedy, Howard learned, had to turn away when Beachey Huntington, an American Aero Club official, left the ground. His early landings were best predicted that Beachey's death would put described as a series of controlled crashes. "an end to daredevil flying." He was only But he quickly learned, and soon became half right. It lapsed for a few years, but the star of the Curtiss exhibition team. came back stronger than ever during the Beachey flew through hangars, picked up 1920s and '30s. Beachey's spectacular dive

handkerchiefs with his wing tips, and looped was an end, all right, but only of an era.

32 Growing Pains

What was an airplane for? Was it just an such as the 1912 trip pilot Frank Coffyn exhibition gimmick, a sportsman's pleasure? made down New York Bay to put a tardy it the vehicle of Or was the future, opening passenger aboard a transatlantic liner. But it a new path of navigation through the skies? was not until 1914 that the first scheduled Those were questions many were asking airline was established anywhere in the world, as the first decade of flight wore on. In and then the venture was short-lived. P.E. warfare a clear role for the airplane was Fansler's airline used a Benoist flying boat to foreseen by some in reconnaissance and ob- cover the 22-mile route between St. Peters- servation; a few early prophets also saw its burg and Tampa, Florida, with Tony Jannus use as the deadly bomb and gun carrier it as the pilot. A few others picked up the idea, would later become. Several European but commercial aviation would have to wait nations, most notably France, were beginning until the 1920's to come to life. to develop airplanes for military use before Progress in air mail was almost as feeble. the outbreak of World War I. Yet top brass The first recorded delivery of mail by air in the United States refused to follow suit; in the United States was made in 1911 during they scorned the airplane as a freak, or else an international aviation tournament in feared it would upset their traditional warfare. Garden City, Long Island, New York. Army Ten years after Kitty Hawk even less pro- Capt. Paul W. Beck, accompanied by the gress was being made toward commercial Postmaster General of the United States in a aviation. Passenger-carrying stunts abounded, Curtiss biplane, and stimt flyer Earle R. 33 The 1912 Gallaudet Bullet showed aerodynamic sophistication and great speed

Ovington piloting a Queen monoplane (an several years and lined up powerful financial American copy of a Bleriot), flew to Mineola interests on each side: J.P. Morgan, backing some 10 miles away and dropped small mail the Wrights and a combmation of Bell, Henry pouches. But from that event until the estab- Ford and the old Langley supporters at the lishment of regular airmail service in May Smithsonian behind Curtiss. The woolly le- 1918 the delivery of letters by air was largely galisms at issue, plus the prospect of a in the hands of the exhibition flyers. Aviation fight with powerful financiers, discouraged meets often featured short airmail hops au- some of the nation's most imaginative minds. thorized by the Post Office Department, or There were some bright spots, to be sure. staged mail-dropping contests for accuracy. Easily the most outstanding of the early Amer- Octave Chanute, the engineer, glider ican workers, other than the Wrights and builder and friend of the Wrights, had once Curtiss, was Gleim L. Martin. This ramrod predicted that airplanes would "make all straight, bespectacled dynamo of a man was parts of the globe accessible, bring men mto talented as a flyer, engineer and business- closer relation with each other, advance civ- man. Bom ia Iowa in 1886, he followed the ilization, and hasten the promised era in classic route to aviation through work with which there shall be nothing but peace and bicycles and automobiles. He built his first good will among all men." Chanute's words airplane in 1908, a pusher biplane that looked were far from being realized 10 years after and operated much like Curtiss' craft of the practical flight had been achieved. same period. But he soon forged his own What was delaying progress? For one thing, path, gathering around him some of the best there was the refusal of military seniors al- engineering talent in the country. In 1913 he ready mentioned to accept the airplane in- built a "Model T" tractor-propeller biplane novation. For another there was no organized which in its modified version ("TT") became effort in the United States — military or what has been called the Army's first really otherwise — to research and develop air- safe and satisfactory training plane. The TT craft. France, Germany, Great Britain and had a 90-horsepower Curtiss OX-2 engine Italy had aeronautical research operations as and interplane ailerons favored by Curtiss. early as 1909, but the United States had A later type, the Model S, was powered by a nothing similar until 1913 when the Smith- 125-horsepower Hall-Scott engine, had upper sonian Institution briefly reopened Samuel wing ailerons, and was fitted with floats. Langley's old laboratory. Courses in aero- Martin made airplanes for private use, too, dynamics could be taken at two or three among them a rotary-engine biplane for Lin- universities, but whatever continuing encour- coln Beachey's use, and a four-passenger sea- agement there was for aviation came from the plane built for ferrying passengers in Oregon. private-member Aero Club of America, not Prominent as a manufacturer of early mil- from government sources. itary planes was the Burgess Company of Also hindering aviation advances was the Marblehead, Mass., which liked to use Wright bitter patent fight that broke out over the or Curtiss features in its products. The com- Wrights' claim that their wing-warping device pany's model H, a biplane with wing-warping was the basic control system and that other controls and a 70-horsepower Renault engine, methods, specifically the aileron rig used by was purchased by the Army in 1912 and

Curtiss, were merely extensions of their became its first tractor design. A Burgess invention. The court battle stretched over seaplane, the Flying Fish, sported twin floats

34 The Navy's first airplane, a Curtiss "Triad," with Curtiss at the controls and Navy Lt. Ellyson as a passenger

and a 30-horsepower engine spinning a pusher prop, and was used by the Army in 1915 in the Philippines. The Navy bought several Burgess-Dunne tailless biplanes in 1913. Rad- ical in appearance, they were among the first "swept wing" airplanes and although without taU assembly, they achieved longitudinal stability by placement of elevators well aft of the center of gravity. They were driven by a 200-horsepower Canton-Unne water- cooled radial engine and pusher prop. Other pre-war manufacturers included the Sturtevant Aeroplane Co. of Boston, which after two of them crashed, with the result made trainers and observation biplanes; the that a temporary ban was placed on this Sloan Aircraft Co., Inc., later becoming the type in France and England. Attention re- Standard Aero Corp., maker of reconnais- turned to the biplane which, with materials sance biplanes; the L.W.F. Engineering Co., and knowledge then available, was the more Inc., of College Point, Long Island, an- reliable type. other observation-trainer manufacturer; Tom The most glowing chapter in American Benoist, whose company in St. Louis, Mo., aviation just prior to World War I concerns turned out the world's first scheduled air- Glenn Curtiss' development of seaplanes. As liners; and Frank E. Boland, whose own we have seen, Curtiss had experimented on flying boat took its builder to his death. Keuka Lake with Loon, which was nothing An adventurous design turned out by the more than a pontoon-carrying June Bug. By Gallaudet Engineering Co. was the Bullet, 1910 his mind turned toward two separate a streamlined monoplane with engine enclosed possibilities, each of which became the seed in the nose and pusher propeller in the tail. for two great branches of naval aviation. It was supposedly tested at 100 miles an hour. One led to the birth of aircraft carriers, the European aviation showed greater will- other to the development of flying boats and ingness to experiment during the pre-war their smaller seaplane sisters. period. The French distinguished themselves The carrier concept was born when Navy especially in the monoplane field with ma- Capt. Washington I. Chambers, the first Navy chines built by Bleriot, Lavavasseur, Esnault- aviation chief, arranged for an 83-foot, Pelterie, Nieuport, Morane, Hanriot, and forward-sloping flight deck to be built on the Deperdussin. In 1912 the monocoque cruiser U.S.S. Birmingham. Curtiss supplied (single shell) fuselage was introduced in the the plane as well as the civilian pilot, Eugene

Deperdussin monoplane, giving it a clean, Ely, a graduate of the Curtiss flying school modern appearance well ahead of any other and one of the most famous of the aerial design of the period. In this plane, powered daredevils. Ely took off from the deck on by a 140-horsepower Gnome rotary, Jules Nov. 14, 1910, as the ship was anchored Vedrines won the 1912 Gordon Bennett in at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. The bi- Chicago with a new world's speed record. plane's wheels appeared to touch water

But the promising development of mono- briefly, but it recovered and went on to land planes was interrupted at about this time near Norfolk, Virginia.

35 Curtiss pUot, Eugene Ely, lands his plane on an improvised deck aboard the U.S.S.

Two months later Curtiss, Ely and the U.S. Navy went a step further. This time a 125- foot flight platform was installed on the stem of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. As thousands of sailors cheered from a fleet of ships in San Francisco Bay, Ely soared in for another "first" — this time a landing. Fifty-seven minutes later he took off again and Navy flattops were bom. Working in another direction, Curtiss equipped one of his standard biplanes with -:srh. pontoons and flew it from his flying school at North Island, San Diego, Calif., out to the

anchored Pennsylvania where it was hauled aboard, then lowered again for a retum flight to land. The brief operation satisfied the Secretary of the Navy's suggestion that a seaplane should be able to light on the water and be hoisted aboard a warship, but im- t^^^Ai provements would have to be made before Curtiss' "hydroaeroplane," as it was called, was a practical aircraft. A particularly knotty problem was the shape of the hull or pon-

toons. Curtiss' first flat bottomed designs clung maddeningly to the water before they

became unstuck — if they lifted at all. After numerous experiments a step was built to break the water's suction and takeoffs became easier.

Meantime, the Navy was forming its own aerial unit. Three aviators were trained, Lt. Theodore G. EUyson, who received the per- manent designation of Naval Aviator No. 1;

Lt. John Rodgers, and Lt. (jg) John H. Towers. On May 8, 1911, Capt. Chambers took steps to buy the Navy's first airplane, a Curtiss designated A-1 but popularly called the "Triad." Specifications were for a speed of 45 m.p.h., a 75-horsepower engine and two seats side by side with controls at both positions. Curtiss had tested a prototype in February but tested the Navy's plane himself

m July, taking it up only 25 feet. He went a litde higher with Ellyson as passenger, and 36 The America, another Curtiss achievement, ushered in a long era of graceful flying boats

then the Navy's first aviator flew solo. Navy aviation was in business.

The Triad handled clumsily but it sparked a number of experimental "firsts." Equipped with wheels as well as floats, it made avi- ation's first amphibious trip, with Curtiss taking off from land, lifting its wheels in flight and landing on water. It also was flown by Ellyson for the first night flight made by a naval aviator. And on Sept. 7 it got off a crude kind of catapult by sliding down a wire grooved along the hull bottom, wobbling into the air. discrediting the brothers' claim they were The next year saw more intensive work on first to fly), and the other, the flying boat the catapult idea. Ellyson got a dunking but America which was to make the first trans- was uninjured when he tried to catapult off atlantic flight. The revival of the old Aero- a battleship in a Curtiss AH-3. Toward the drome was a sorry episode in the Hammonds- end of 1912 a number of successful launch- porter's life, for although it rose off Keuka ings had been made with a compressed air Lake it was later found that many mod- catapult devised by Capt. Chambers, Naval ifications had been made. Constructor Holden C. Richardson and Lt. Curtiss' America, financed by the Phila- St. Clair Smith of the Naval Gun Factory. delphian Rodman Wanamaker and to be Curtiss pushed his seaplane refinements piloted by the Englishman J.C. Porte, was further ahead during 1912 by building his an enclosed cabin biplane that mounted twin first real flying boat. Cleanly designed for OX engines and wore the sturdy look of a its day with a highly pohshed wooden veneer trans-ocean winner. But the fuel needed for hull, the Curtiss boat was sold mainly to the long trip weighed more than the craft private sportsmen although the Army and could manage. Before a solution could be

Navy also made purchases. It had pilots found World War I broke out, precluding an seated side by side in a cockpit built in the Atlantic attempt until another Curtiss boat hull — an innovation for Curtiss whose pre- spanned the ocean five years later. vious designs had their airmen taking the In spite of the contributions of Curtiss and full blast of the wind. A Curtiss V-8 engme a handful of brilliant engineers and dedicated rated at about 80 horsepower spun the pusher manufacturers, Army and Navy aerial pro- prop, and interplane ailerons were employed. gress was moving at a snail's pace. When Variations of the flying boat followed in Germany marched against France in August 1913-14, one of them a monoplane, another 1914 the United States had on hand a total a four-passenger model bearing such unheard of 23 airplanes for naval or military use. of luxuries as a tachometer, air speed in- France had 1,400, Germany 1,000, Russia dicator, barometer and clock. 800 and Great Britain 400.

Curtiss' 1914 work centered on two pro- Ironically, it was the nation weakest in air- jects, one an attempt to hit back at the craft — the United States — which was the Wrights' legal offensive by proving the old first to experiment with the airplane as a Langley Aerodrome could fly after all (thus practical miUtary instrument

37 6 Taste of Battle

On March 3, 1911, a Wright B biplane took off from a bumpy dirt field in Laredo, Texas, with two men aboard. At the controls was Philip O. Parmalee, a civilian pilot trained by the Wright brothers, and serving as observer was Lt. Benjamin D. Foulois, one of the 's first airplane pilots. Parmalee and Foulois climbed to about 1,200 feet and headed northwest toward Eagle Pass, 106 miles away. They were making the first military reconnaissance by airplane in history — a fact that probably concerned them less than the hazards at hand. As they peered below looking for "enemy" troops in the Army maneuvers being staged along the border of , they pinning its human cargo under it. Faced for a shuddered at the rugged, rocky terrain along few moments with the prospect of drowning, the Rio Grande River passing beneath them. Foulois and Parmalee managed to wriggle Each time their chugging engine backfired out — wet, angry and reasonably unharmed. they wondered what landing on that treach- Just as they were preparing for a long, hot erous surface would be like. walk back to Eagle Pass a Texas cowboy hailed Once on the ground at Eagle Pass they them. He was dispatched back to camp where took stock. They had completed one leg of he notified the commander of the flyers' their mission, an accomplishment in itself predicament. Men and machine were hauled considering their machine and the conditions ingloriously back in a horse and wagon. in which they were operating. They had Army aviation was stUl an infant less than failed to spot the "enemy," but on the other two years old when Foulois and Parmalee hand this knowledge alone was of strategic made that Texas flight. The Army had pur- value to their side in the war "games" they chased its first airplane on Aug. 3, 1909, were playing. They also had chalked up an- after a series of tests at Fort Myer, Va. other "first" on the trip by makmg military As part of the same purchase contract, the use of an airborne radio. Foulois had had a Wrights trained two men as the first Army small radio installed in the plane by which pilots, Lt. Frederic E. Humphreys and Lt. he communicated his findings to Signal Corps Frank P. Lahm. But within a few months stations along the border. each was ordered back to previous duties; On their return trip to Fort Mcintosh in Humphreys with the Corps of Engineers Laredo, the two flyers weren't so fortunate. and Lahm with the Cavalry. Benny Foulois be- About 25 miles out of Eagle Pass, Parmalee, came the lone "pilot" in the Army's aviation acting this time as observer, saw some ducks arm (then under the Signal Corps). Benny and in a frolicsome mood pretended to take had flown with the Wrights as a passenger but a shotgun bead on them. In lifting his arms had never actually taken over the controls. he accidentally tripped the engine cutout; Foulois almost immediately was ordered to the Wright biplane abruptly nosed down and move Aeroplane No. 1 and nine mechanics crashed into the Rio Grande, temporarily from College Park, Md., where they had

38 Reconnaissance flight over the Rio Grande. Observer on that flight was Lt. Benjamin Foulois (photo opposite), who became chief of the Air Corps in the 1930's

^^^

established themselves, to the warmer climate been allotted only $150 for such purposes. of Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Brig. Gen. He also was given added duties of setting up James Allen, the Chief Signal Officer, ordered a complicated electrical buzzer system on a Foulois to "take plenty of spare parts, and firing range 25 miles away, but managed, teach yourself to fly." nevertheless, to rig a tricycle landing gear Foulois, with a determination that was to and make other improvements on the Army's land him the job of Air Corps Chief during only airplane despite the extra work. Foulois the 1930's, did teach himself to fly—although had encountered severe bucking in the Wright strictly along trial and error lines. All in one Model A, and had to devise a seat belt to hold day he made his first solo, takeoff, landmg himself down. He wrote the Wrights about the and crash, luckily without injury. On another plane's instability problems, with the result occasion a Texas wind gust slapped his that the brothers eliminated their forward ele- Wright biplane to the ground, inflicting on vator system in their next model. the little pilot a severe cut of the left leg. It was in this modified Wright B, loaned It left the only visible scar Foulois carried in to the Army by the wealthy magazine pub- his long and active aviation career. lisher Robert F. Collier, that Foulois and Foulois had other concerns besides his own Parmalee made their reconnaissance flight education as a flyer. He soon found himself from Laredo to Eagle Pass. It was a red- contributing his own money to maintain the letter day for Army aviation, for on the much-damaged Aeroplane No. 1, as he had same date Congress appropriated $125,000

39 The Army's first tractor-prop plane was a Burgess biplane acquired in 1912

for aeronautics — the first such appropriation sance flight of 1911, but it was the Navy ever — and Gen. Allen promptly ordered whose aviators were to experience the first five new airplanes, three of them Wrights enemy gunfire (though not in history; Italian and Two Curtiss biplane pushers. airplane pilots had heard the whine of bullets

The arrival of the first Curtiss, designated late in 1911 and early the next year in the Aeroplane No. 2, did not exactly herald a Italo-Turkish War). In the spring of 1914 a new era for Army aviation. It created an new government in Mexico arrested U.S. unforeseen problem in that it had a different sailors in Vera Cruz, and U.S. Naval and control system from the Wright, and accom- Marine forces prepared to move into the city modation for only one pilot at the controls in retaliation. Sailing with the assault force

(the Wrights sat its flyers side by side at on the cruiser Mississippi were a Curtiss dual controls). This meant that pilots trained hydroaeroplane and a Curtiss flying boat to on the Wright could not easily switch to the be manned for observation purposes by Lt. Curtiss and so there developed a rivalry (jg) Patrick N.L. Bellinger and three student between the Wright pilots — Foulois and, by pilots. Another cruiser, the Birmingham, had now, civilian Frank Coffyn — and the Curtiss three aircraft aboard commanded by Lt. flyers, Lt. Paul W. Beck, Lt. G.E.M. Kelly John H. Towers, but it was Bellinger and his and Lt. John C. Walker. Kelly was later observer, Lt. (jg) Dick Saufley, who got a killed in No. 2 and Walker quit flying after taste of battle. Flying over the outskirts of nearly crashing. the city on May 6 in search of enemy gun Nevertheless Army aviation moved ahead, emplacements, the Navy flyers were startled albeit slowly. In September 1911 Army Lt. to see rifle slugs ripping through the plane's Thomas Milling won distinction at a Boston fabric. They were unhurt and the plane was air meet by flying at night. A year and a easily patched after it had been thoroughly half later he set a new American two-man examined by curious sailors. duration and distance record with Lt. William Army airmen, itching to get into action C. Sherman by flying 200 miles over Texas during the Vera Cruz incident, had to wait in four hours and 22 minutes. Paul Beck had until 1916 to get their baptism of fire. Again invented a crude bombsight which was dem- Mexico was involved, except that this time onstrated at the Los Angeles air meet in tension between the two nations was touched 1910, and the following year Riley E. Scott, a off by the bandit activities of the revolu- former Coast Artillery officer, showed Army tionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa along the brass at College Park, Md., an improved border. When Villa and his band of revolu- bombsight which zeroed in 18-pound bombs tionaries struck the town of Columbus, New within 10 feet of a target. Other firsts in- Mexico, on March 9, 1916, killing 17 Amer- cluded the establishment by the Army of the icans, President Woodrow Wilson ordered first overseas air base in the spring of 1912, American troops under Brig. Gen. John J. in the Philippines, and the testing of the Pershing in hot pursuit of the bandit. newly invented Lewis machine gun on a Even before Villa's raid into American Wright biplane at College Park. The first territory. Army airmen had come close to Army tractor-prop plane (a Burgess) also being called on for reconnaissance chores as was acquired in 1912. the Mexican's operations along the border Army aviation carried out the first military were getting too close for comfort. But the mission with its Foulois-Parmalee reconnais- aviators were stymied by the diplomatic limits

40 Curtiss "Jennies," with engines covered against sandstorms at Ojo Federico, Mexico

imposed on them, and found that the grueling a number of reconnaissance and message- or weather conditions along the border made mail-carrying flights but all against the getting planes aloft difficult. greatest of odds. The "Jennies" weren't de- Eight Curtiss JN-2's (early "Jenny" types) signed for flights much beyond 50 miles from received by the First Aero Squadron in 1915 base; wind and sandstorms were a constant were an improvement over the Burgesses, impediment to engines and controls; the Wrights and open-frame Curtiss biplanes op- planes often couldn't rise above high hills; erating untQ then, but in spite of high hopes propellers warped and cracked in the arid held for their performance, they proved un- climate; hostile villagers turned flights for equal to the task of flying regularly in the supplies into life-risking ventures. hot, dry Southwest. Modifications were made Foulois and Lt. Herb A. Dargue had a to replace rudder controls (ailerons were narrow escape on one supply-seeking trip to operated with a shouider-yoke) and various Chihuahua when crowds surrounded their faulty parts. Six of the modified types (now plane on landing, took Foulois hostage and designated JN-3) winged their way from Fort threw hun in jail. Dargue took off again and

Sill, Okla., to a new base at Fort Sam Hous- escaped, only to see his plane slashed with ton, Texas, a distance of 439 miles. The knives by angry citizens when he landed laboriously made journey pointed up the de- again a few miles away. The American con- ficiencies of the "Jennies", but they were the sul came to the hapless flyers' rescue, and best the Army had. A few months later Villa after they had spent a night at the consulate struck Columbus and the First Aero Squadron building, they left the next morning in their was ordered to entrain for New Mexico to hastily patched airplane. Another harrowing join Pershing's Punitive Expedition. tale to come out of the Punitive Expedition

The Army's tiny aerial force — it consisted involved the crash of two pilots while on a at the outset of the expedition of eight reconnaissance mission, and their forced hike "Jennies" and 10 pilots under the command back to San Antonio, Mexico, a span of 65 of Foulois — operated under severe hard- miles. When they reached the base, one of ship during the Mexican expedition and the airmen, Lt. R. H. Willis, was told by scored few real accomplishments. The actual doctors he had hobbled all the way on a period of practical operations lasted no more broken ankle. He replied that must have been than six weeks. Yet the force won admiration why he felt so much better sitting than stand- for its determination and bravery, and the ing on his feet. difficulty it encountered alerted Army top At Foulois' insistence, the Army sent four brass to the neglect aviation had endured. new Curtiss N-8's to the First Squadron. Du- The Squadron made at least one effective plicates of the JN-4's which were then being reconnaissance mission from its first base at delivered as trainers to Allied forces over-

Columbus, but a few days after it was estab- seas, the 8's had 90-horsepower engines — lished there the group was ordered to Casas slightly more powerful than the Squadron's Grandes south of the border to be closer to tired JN-3's. However, Foulois found them as Pershing's fast-moving cavalry columns. The inadequate as the 3's and told Gen. Pershing flight from Columbus to the new camp al- so. More powerful Curtiss R-2's, fitted with most turned into disaster when planes strayed the Curtiss VX 150-horsepower engine, were off course, turned back or crashed. When shipped next, but they too failed to meet they finally regrouped they managed to make rigorous tests under prevailing conditions.

41 The Curtiss JN-4, popularly called "Jenny,"

was used to train pilots in World War I. The "Jenny" had an extended career lasting until the 1930's

Mechanical bugs constantly cropped up and infantry or cavalry — could operate. It ran propellers remained a problem in their failure messages and it carried mail. It logged 346 to endure the extremes of heat and aridity. hours of flying time on 540 missions and An improved version, the R-4 equipped with covered more than 19,533 miles doing so. a 200-horsepower Curtiss V-2 engine, was Its performance emphasized certain glaring then sent, and one twin-engine Curtiss, ten- weaknesses which obviously needed correc- tatively designated the JN-5, was employed tion. And it spurred some new thinking in for a time by the Squadron. But by summer the isolation-minded United States about avi- operations began to peter out as Pershing's ation's role in warfare: By December 1916 forces failed to locate the elusive Villa. The seven Army air squadrons were active or in Punitive Expedition ended II months after the process of being organized, with six ad- it started without catching the bandit. ditional reserve squadrons under recommen- Although aviation played a minor role in dation for coastal defense. Congress that same the Punitive Expedition, its supporters could year made its first important appropriation point to several genuine contributions. In for military aviation — $13,281,666. several instances, it had made observations The awakening was slowly coming if in- across territory where no one else — not deed it was not already too late. 42 Lafayette Escadrille

Every war has its heroes, those figures of the propeller so that bullets would avoid the bravery and courage who give the bloody blades. By this time airplanes had already business of killing some redeeming quality. proven their value as flying observation posts.

World War I had its own large collection of Now they became deadly gun platforms as

heroes, for not only was it a long war, lasting well. A new method of warfare, with its own more than four years, but it was an especially tactics and weapons, had been bom. brutal one. For the first time in history Equally as impressive to all those who peoples from every part of the globe were read and heard about the air war were the

involved, and new, mechanized weapons men fighting it. Pilots were dubbed with such changed the whole character of warfare. fanciful titles as the "Knights of the Blue"; When hostilities started in 1914, horse cav- the names of individual aces were known to alry galloped to meet the foe; French soldiers every romantic young man who read about trooped to the front dressed in proud red and them. They gave a dash of glamour to an blue uniforms, and officers brandished swords otherwise strange and ugly war. On the ground in the face of the enemy. At war's end in men were mere parts in the huge war machine November 1918 such dashing vestiges of the that rolled back and forth across the trenches past had given way to the grim realities of of northern France. Up in the skies, men modem warfare. The cavalry had been re- fought as men — with a touch of skill and placed by tanks, uniforms were a dreary chivalry that reminded the world of the brown or gray, and soldiers huddled in deep clashes between the armored knights of old. trenches amidst the terrifying sounds of America hastened to proclaim its neutrality

bombs, shells and machine guns. at the outbreak of the war in 1914 but its High above the battle another new weapon melting pot population, with strong ties to

made its debut. It was the airplane, a mere Europe, could not very well stay indifferent ten years old, but soon to make an indelible to the struggle overseas. Although sentiment impression on the conduct of warfare. At first in some areas favored the Central Powers, an

it was limited to observation use, and neither influential majority of the American people

side interfered much with the other as it went supported the Allies' cause. Even as the war

about its business. This rapidly changed. broke out, volunteers rushed to enlist in Pistols, rifles, pieces of metal dangled on Allied units like the Foreign Legion which strings into the propellers of the enemy below did not require them to give up U.S. citizen- — all were used in the first stages of the ship. A few young men, entranced with the war to thwart an opponent's mission. By 1915 stories they had heard about flying, signed the game was turning deadly. Machine guns up with Britain's or, when were mounted in observers' cockpits by the openings occurred, the French Army's air Germans, and the French aerial daredevil service. From these French aerial units would

Roland Garros, now flying for his nation's come the first ail-American fighting outfit in A viation Militaire, had a propeller of his plane the war — the Lafayette Escadrille. fitted with steel deflection plates so that he From the moment the Lafayette Escadrille

could fire his machine gun through the went into action it was a living legend. As a

whirling blades. The Germans did him one pursuit or "chasse" squadron it turned in a

better by employing the Dutch aerial engineer creditable record of 39 victories, but it was

Anthony Fokker to design an interrupter gear not the number of enemy kills that made it which synchronized machine gun-fire with so fascinating to the folks at home. What

43 Indian head emblem of a Seminole chief was used on planes of the Lafayette Escadrille

stirred interest was a natural desire to see American Ambulance Service. It turned out tiie first American outfit acquit itself well. that Gros also had dreamed of forming an The off-duty escapades of this hard-drinking, American squadron, and together Gros and hard-playing band of adventurers who kept a Prince worked to convince French authorities couple of lion cubs as mascots also thrilled of the value of their idea. The French con- newspaper readers at home. It is questionable sented but let months go by without taking if the Lafayette Escadrille influenced the action. Then in February 1916 the Germans United States to enter the war, as the French launched their attack on Verdun. On March hoped it would, but there is no doubt that it 21, 1916, the Escadrille Americaine — as it inspired large numbers of individual young was initially called — came into being. One Americans to enlist in air service. And equally month later, on April 20, the squadron went as important, the Lafayette EscadrUle and its into combat. sister organization which included all the Seven pilots made up the charter group. American flyers in other French squadrons, Prince was joined by Elliott Cowdin and the , became the nu- , two other Harvardians, cleus of experienced leadership for the fledg- and by William Thaw II, the son of a wealthy ling American Air Service when it was family who three years earlier had girding for action late in the war. quit his studies at Yale to concentrate on For a while after the outbreak of the war flying. Kiffen Rockwell had fought with the it seemed to those interested in forming an Foreign Legion before becoming a pilot, and American flying squadron that such a group so had W. Bert Hall. James McConnell had would never get off the ground. A number of traded driving ambulances for piloting a war- Yank flyers were sprinkled through French bird. The same mixture of backgrounds, with escadrilles, but the French showed no en- a strong dash of wealthy ex-collegians, pre- thusiasm for placing them in a single unit, vailed as new members were added. All had chiefly because there were more volunteers a love of adventure, all had the desire to for the air service than it needed. Two devel- fight the hated "Hun" from the cockpit of an opments helped change the French author- airplane. ities' minds, however. One was the deter- The vanguard group was soon joined by mination of a few American flying enthusiasts others whose names are prominent in Lafay- to see the creation of their own squadron. ette Escadrille history: , Clyde The other was a massive German offensive Balsley, Dudley Hill, and against Verdun. The French, battling for Courtney Campbell. Still later the Lafayette survival, were persuaded that an American roster added Edwin "Ted" Parsons, Kenneth aerial unit could help bring the United States Marr, Harold Willis and to the aid of the Allies. (no relation to Bert Hall) to mention a few The Lafayette Escadrille was inspired by of the 43 men who flew with the squadron. a wealthy Harvard law graduate, Norman A French officer, Capt. Georges Then- Prince, who had lived in France with his ault, had the unenviable task of commanding family and knew some influential French the Escadrille. The Americans had little in- officials. Prince gained help from a few of terest in rules and regulations right from the his well-to-do friends as well as from Dr. start. They were given the same training Edmund Gros, a Paris-based American phy- French aviators received, breaking in on sician who was one of the leaders of the clipped- wing Bleriots (dubbed "Penguins") 44 's, shown here on the flight line, were popular with American pilots

and advancing to aging Caudron G-3's. But trenches, escorting bombers and observation the Yank flyers had their own way of doing flights, and flying balloon-busting or low-level things once they had their own squadron. bombing missions. The Americans received special treatment The encounters of Lafayette pilots with the through a French policy which made them enemy provide some of the best air stories exempt from the normal disciplinary rules of to come out of World War L One of them the French air service. So Lafayette pilots stems from the squadron's participation in a could, and sometimes did, ignore Thenault's big bombing raid in on the carefully worked out plans and fly off on their Mauser rifle works in Germany and involves own with guns blazing, confident that they Didier Masson, a crackerjack pilot, who had would not receive punishment for it. been flying seven years when he joined the The Lafayette flyers enjoyed favored treat- squadron. Masson was one of four Lafayette ment in a number of other ways. Uniforms members escorting the mission together with a were given only passing attention, and pocket swarm of British Sopwith "IVi Strutter" two- money was never scarce because an Amer- seaters. The Lafayette's little Nieuports, more ican committee backed by multi-millionaire limited in range than the other planes, went William K. Vanderbilt Sr. and his wife saw to a point inside Germany and then swung to it that each pilot received a hundred back to refuel. The Americans rejoined the francs a month plus a reward of 500 francs flight on its return from Germany, and for a for each aerial victory. At one point the while the trip home looked as if it would be Escadrille employed a cook from a fancy uneventful. Suddenly a swarm of Fokker

New York hotel to prepare meals which made monoplanes swooped in, pouring bullets at the squadron's mess the most popular on the the lumbering bombers. The Allied fighters Western Front with visiting brass and pilots paired off with the German attackers and from other squadrons. The Lafayette's first soon the sky was fOled with fierce dogfights. base was in Luxeuil-les-Bains, a plush resort By this time, however, the Nieuports' fuel 40 miles from the front, where they lived in supplies were again running low. Masson was a villa and ate sumptuous meals at a nearby on the tail of a Fokker when his engine hotel. Kiffen Rockwell wrote his mother soon sputtered and quit. The dismayed airman put after that the men "live like princes." the plane into a long glide toward French

The lives of the Lafayette airmen weren't lines and sat tight, praying. Now it was the always as glamourous as they seemed, how- Fokker's turn as it ripped machine-gun slugs ever. American reporters, eager to infuse through the American's windshield and in- their dispatches home with excitement and strument panel. Miraculously, Masson was adventure, often exaggerated the Lafayette's unscathed. Then, unexpectedly, it was his own exploits. The Escadrille never again enjoyed turn to attack as the German overshot the the luxury of their first base at Luxeuil. Nieuport and came within range of its guns. Soon after going into combat the squadron Masson squeezed off 20 rounds and the Ger- was thrown into heavy fighting over Verdun. man plunged to earth. The American came

And when it was not involved in bitter plane- down in French territory, jumped out and to-plane combat with German Jagdstaffeln, the raced for a trench where wide-eyed poilus re-

Lafayette spent much of its duty time just warded him with a drink. like other squadrons in the French air service One of the most hair-raising escapes in making dreary routine patrols, strafing Lafayette annals involved James Norman

45 The Fokker type E monoplane was the first aircraft to carry forward-firing machine guns synchronized to shoot through the propeller arc. The French Nieuport 17's met the challenge with over-wing guns

46 Hall, who later gained literary fame as co- Rockwell was next, the victim of a German author of Mutiny on the Bounty. Hall was a Aviatik's rear-seat gunner. Then Norman newcomer to the squadron when he climbed Prince died in an emergency landing on an into his Spad to join a showcase patrol for unfamiliar field. McConnell followed him to visiting brass. As the rest of the flight taxied the grave after a vicious duel with enemy into position, Hall worked frantically to start two-seaters. And Edmond Genet, who swore his Spad, a hand-me-down machine of the he would avenge McConnell's death, crashed variety usually assigned to fledglings. Patrol- from a shrapnel hit or sheer exhaustion — the leader Bill Thaw had anticipated engine cause was never officially determined. Soon trouble in Hall's plane, and had ordered him after young Ronald Hoskier was gunned down to hang back and cruise in the sky if he while flying an ancient Morane parasol couldn't catch his comrades. But Hall had monoplane, a squadron favorite which the air other ideas. After finally starting his reluctant service had ordered to be retired. Hoskier machine, he winged off toward German lines had insisted on taking it up one more time. looking for a fight. Spotting some specks in the distance, he rushed to join what he be- lieved to be his own patrol. Once he slid into

the formation he looked around —• he was in the middle of a flight of enemy Albatros fighters! He went into frantic acrobatics but they proved of no use. The Germans poured streams of bullets at the hapless American. One slug grazed his head, another his groin and a third slammed into his left shoulder.

The Spad spun down from 12,000 feet, its dazed pilot only dimly aware of what was happening. Then, near the ground. Hall's mind cleared and he hauled back on the stick. Lafayette pilots relaxing with mascot

The riddled Spad, strained to the limits of its endurance, leveled off and glided gently into Fortunately for Lafayette pilots, their stan- a first-line trench. In a streak of good fortune, dard flying mounts were more up-to-date the plane's wings caught the ridges of the than the obsolete Morane. They went into trench, breaking its impact. Hall was dragged combat equipped with 's, tiny from his cockpit and rushed to a French maneuverable biplanes that helped end the hospital. Back at the Lafayette airdrome, his Fokker E-III monoplane "scourge" of 1915- comrades heard of the accident and raced 16. By the fall of 1916 the squadron was to the hospital where they expected to see flying Nieuport 17's, a larger, more powerful

Hall dead or dying. Instead they found the version of the 1 1 which could be fitted with jaunty airman propped up in bed, reading a a Vickers machine gun synchronized to fire book of poetry. through the prop (the earlier Nieuports had Fatalities began cutting into the Lafayette only a machine gun mounted above the top two months after it entered combat. Victor wing). In 1917 the Lafayette was given the

Chapman was first to go, shot down as he Spad 7, the first version of the famed pursuit flew a gift to a hospitalized friend. Kiffen plane used by American Army squadrons 47 Raoul Lufbery and Didier Masson

toward the end of the war. The early Spad had a Hispano-Suiza engine developing up to 200 h.p. and was immediately liked by pilots for its speed and sturdiness. All the Lafayette airplanes had one characteristic in common, the "Whooping Indian" insignia retained by the squadron even after it trans- >i^ ferred to the American Air Service. The greatest individual star in the Escadrille was Raoul Lufbery, whose 17 official vic- tories made him by far the squadron's highest 9 scorer. (The two next highest, credited with three kills each, were Norman Prince and Lt. Alfred de Meux de Laage, assistant to squad- ron commander Thenault.) Short, muscular and quiet in manner, Lufbery epitomized the kind of tough, adventurous airmen who so captivated youngsters reading about them at home. A vagabond before the war who claimed Wallingford, Conn., as his home, Luf- bery had soldiered with the Americans in the Philippines and had been a mechanic for an exhibition pilot named Marc Pourpe in the Orient. As a pilot himself, Lufbery had been slow to learn, but his zeal for flying and the care he took with his airplane soon made him one of the most respected aviators on the Western Front. On the ground "Luf" babied his planes and armament, inspecting every round of ammunition to insure against his guns jamming in action. In the air he often played a "loner" role and had a favorite trick of hiding in clouds and pouncing on stray enemy planes. But Lufbery was a good team pilot who saved his comrades from death on more than one occasion. Courageous though he was, Lufbery had a strong fear of fire in an airplane. German pilots could bail out with parachutes; Allied airmen other than balloon observers were not so equipped. A burning airplane meant one of two hideous alternatives for its pilot — jump, or stick with the plane in hopes of avoiding the flames long enough to bring the Air casualty over the Moselle River

the tail of the falling plane in an effort to

dodge the fire. Then, they say, he jumped from a height of over 5,000 feet. His body landed in the backyard of a shoemaker's house in Maron, not far from the Moselle. The end of the Lafayette Escadrille as a French unit became inevitable after America

entered the war. On February 18, 1918, it became the 103rd Pursuit Squadron in the U.S. Air Service. Technically the transition was smooth, but many of the squadron's members didn't find the change easy. The commissions some expected became snarled in red tape, and the stiff regulations of Amer-

ican units didn't sit well with pilots accus- tomed to the more casual ways of the French. American flyers who had served in other French squadrons, those who composed the Lafayette Flying Corps, experienced similar problems. Together with Lafayette Escadrille members, few qualified under the rigid phy- sical requirements of the U.S.A.S. Lufbery at 32 was technically too old and Bill Thaw had impaired vision in one eye, plus bad hearing and a knee injury. Others had flat feet, chronic tonsilitis or various ailments that normally would disqualify them. Waivers finally had to be obtained from the man at the top. Gen. John J. Pershing. Many of the Lafayette flyers, both from the Escadrille and the Flymg Corps, went on to serve with distinction in new roles. Several became leaders of American squadrons, whUe others like Thaw and Dudley Hill of the Escadrille and Charles Biddle of the Flying Corps were made commanders of larger American pursuit groups. Frank Baylies and David Putnam, both former Flying Corps flyers, chalked up 12 victories each in Amer- ican uniform before dying in combat. Com- bined, the Lafayette veterans made up a valuable pool of experienced airmen who helped guide newly arrived American pilots into the final phase of the war.

49 — 8 America Joins the Fight

America entered World War I on April 6, Peterson and Lieutenants Reed Chambers 1917, but one year passed before the Army's and Edward Rickenbacker. They were among first air squadrons went into action. The the best airmen in the 94th but they were Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, the up against the worst flying weather. Shortiy Army's air arm, had only a handful of after they took off Peterson turned back officers and men when the United States because of the thick fog, but Chambers and entered the war. Time was consumed Rickenbacker continued on, beUeving Peter- training thousands of flyers, building training son had run into engine trouble. They soon fields and organizing out of the old Signal became hopelessly lost and found their way Corps setup a United States Air Service which back to the airdrome only with great dif- could cope with combat conditions in France. ficulty. Soon after their return, an alarm was Delays also resulted from a bitter rivalry given that two enemy planes were approach- among top brass, and equipment was slow in ing the squadron's base, and two officers coming to squadrons. assigned to backstop roles that morning, Lieu- In spite of frustrations, the U.S. Air Ser- tenants Douglas Campbell and Alan Wins- vice fought on the Western Front for seven low, took off in their Nieuport 28's. Within months and became a first-class combat out- minutes both had nailed the German planes fit by the time the Armistice was signed on a double victory on the Air Service's first November 11, 1918. The Air Service re- day in combat! Winslow was credited with presented about 10 percent of Allied air the first victory and Campbell the second. strength at war's end and fielded 45 squad- If American airmen thought the enemy rons at the front in which there were 767 would be a pushover, they were quickly dis- pUots, 481 observers and 23 aerial gunners. illusioned by the tough fighting that followed. In addition, nearly 100 Americans flew Cap- By the spring of 1918 the war had reached roni bombers on the Italian front. Official a critical turning point. Both sides were weary records show that Americans claimed a three- to the point of exhaustion after three and a to-one ratio of victories over their German half years of stalemate. The Allies had at- opponents, accounting for 781 enemy air- tempted to break the German grip on north- craft and 73 balloons. On the debit side 289 em France in 1917 with massive attacks. In

American planes and 48 balloons were re- 1918 it became the turn of the Germans to ported downed. make a big push in the knowledge that Amer- The Air Service officially went into action ica's entry into the war would make victory on AprU 14, 1918, the honor falling to the impossible in another year. In March they 94th Pursuit Squadron. The flyers assigned drove deep into the British Army positions to that inaugural flight were perhaps a little along the Somme, and in April they pene- more nervous than they might otherwise have trated the British lines again at Ypres, their been when the day dawned miserably cold and advance being stopped both times with great dangerously foggy. Visibility on the ground human sacrifice. Worried Allied leaders hur- was limited to a few feet and was probably riedly met to choose a single commander to even worse upstairs. But the orders had been coordinate their beleaguered forces, naming issued: a patrol would start at 6 a.m., climb Marshal Commander-in- to 16,000 feet and intercept any enemy air- Chief of Allied Forces in France. In May craft that ventured across the front lines. the Germans concentrated new attacks on the Three pilots were assigned — Capt. David French Armies in the southern sector of the

50 Capt. Edward Rickenbacker became the leading U.S. air ace with 26 victories

front. Driving south between Soissons and gamut of beginner's emotions. He was ap- Rheims, the Germans penetrated to the Marne palled by the devastation below; anti-aircraft and turned toward Paris. At this crucial hour bursts frightened him; he thought he was the American ground troops were thrown into going to be sick. But by the time his patrol the breech, helping stem the German advance headed for home he was confident that com-

at Chateau-Thierry. bat flying wouldn't be so difficult after all.

American aero squadrons assigned to the It took Major Raoul Lufbery, the veteran relatively quiet Toul sector of the front Lafayette Escadrille pilot who had led the found their breaking-in period suddenly cur- patrol, to set Rick straight. On landing, tailed. Taking to the air over heavy ground- Lufbery asked Rickenbacker and the third fighting, they were pitted against some of the member of the patrol. Captain Doug Camp- best squadrons the Germans had, including bell, if they had observed any other planes the famous Jagdstaffel 1, the red-nosed during the flight. pursuit group formerly commanded by Baron "No," said the rookies as nonchalantly as von Richthofen. It was midsummer before possible, "not a one." American strength began to build up suffi- "Listen," said Lufbery, shaking his head. ciently to become a match for the veteran "One formation of five Spads crossed under Boche squadrons. The 94th was joined in us before we passed the lines. Another flight

April by the 95th Pursuit Squadron and to- of five Spads went by about 1 5 minutes later, gether the two comprised a hard-hitting First five hundred yards away. Damn good thing Pursuit Group. The old First Aero Squadron they weren't Boches. And there were four of Mexican border fame, now commanded by German Albatroses ahead of us when we Major Ralph Royce, also went into action in turned back and another enemy two-seater April. In May three more pursuit squadrons, closer to us than that. You must learn to two observation and one bombing squadron look around." began operations. In June five more squad- Rickenbacker would have better days rons entered combat. ahead than that one. A well-known auto- By midsummer, too, American pursuit racing driver before the war, he began his squadrons were beginning to receive the Spad Army service as a chauffeur to top brass. 13, the fast, chunky, Hispano-Suiza powered What Rick really wanted, though, was avi- biplane that could do 130 m.p.h. American ation. Wangling entry into the flying center pursuit units were originally equipped with at Tours, he emerged after 25 hours of flight the Nieuport 28, a graceful, quick-climbing time with his wings and a first lieutenancy. plane which had one unfortunate character- Superiors were more impressed with his me- istic: it tended to shed its wing fabric if chanical ability, however, and sent him to dived too fast. The new Spads were not as the American air base and replacement maneuverable but they were preferred by depot at Issoudun as an engineering officer. most Yank aviators for their speed. Rickenbacker managed to get into active The inexperience of the Americans when flying in the 94th by faking an illness to they entered the fray is illustrated by an show he wasn't indispensible at Issoudun. incident involving Eddie Rickenbacker, the Rickenbacker was a methodical flyer who U.S. "ace of aces" at the end of the war. took few chances and more than two weeks

Flying an unarmed practice flight over Ger- passed before he downed his first German. man lines in March, "Rick" experienced the Flying with James Norman Hall, like Luf-

51 Frank Luke, one of the hottest American pilots, downed four planes and fourteen balloons in seventeen days

bery a veteran of the Lafayette Escadrille, Rickenbacker met a German Pfalz fighter. The Americans zeroed in with Rick making the first pass, and then Hall. While the enemy tried to dodge his teammate, Rickenbacker caught the Pfalz with a burst of bullets. Before the Armistice Rickenbacker added 25 more victories to his score to register the top Amer- ican tally. What made "Captain Eddie's" record particularly remarkable was the fact that he made it in only about two months of actual flying time at the front. Through much of the summer he was hospitalized with an ear infection and couldn't get back into action untU September. By the time the war ended, though, he was the commander of the 94th and a hero to Americans back home. He was eventually awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery, although it took Congress twelve years to do so. American participation in the air war pro- duced a number of heroes besides Ricken- backer. The most flamboyant of them was Frank Luke, the "balloon buster" from Ar- izona who died a storybook death holding off surrounding Germans with his pistol. Luke's record was as fully remarkable in its way as Rickenbacker's was in his, but where Rickenbacker was disciplined and patient, Luke was an aerial wild man who took tremendous risks. On the ground he had a long AWOL record and in the air he drew a reputation as a headstrong individualist who deserted patrols to go after the enemy. Sometime during his brief career with the 27th Aero Squadron, to which he was as- signed, he became obsessed with the idea of knocking observation balloons out of the sky, always a risky business because of the cal- culated crossfire ground batteries could send up around them. Within just a few weeks at the front — or about 30 total hours of flymg time — Luke downed fourteen balloons and four airplanes. On his last flight, when he 52 53 Right Members of the U.S. 11th Bombardment Squadron at base in France

Below Famous Allied and German fighter planes of the 1917-18 period

was under open arrest for refusing to obey orders grounding him, Luke blasted three of the enemy drachen from the sky before being nailed himself by a formation of German fighters. Wounded, he managed to set his Spad down in a meadow behind German graveyard. lines and stumbled into a church SE-5 (British) There he died, refusing to surrender to Ger- man infantrymen. Luke would surely have been court-martialled had he returned. In- stead he received a Congressional Medal for his courageous act, the only American air- man to have that distinction while the war was in progress. Besides the men in the U.S.A.S., several hundred Americans served with foreign squadrons even after America entered the war. A contingent of Yanks under the com- mand of Major Fiorello LaGuardia flew Caproni bombers on the Italian front. An- other group served with the R.A.F. until American squadrons could be equipped to accommodate them. Two of the top Amer- ican aces, Elliot White Springs and George Spad 13 (French) Vaughn, both flew with British squadrons, winding up the war with 12 and 13 victories respectively. Springs landed in fast company in the R.A.F.'s No. 85 Squadron which boasted such aces as Mickey Mannock and Billy Bishop. He eventually rejoined the Americans as a member of the 148th Squad- ron and later wrote several books about his colorful flying career. Vaughn was assigned Fokker D-VII (German) to the British 84th Squadron, with which he downed seven of the enemy before being transferred to the American 17th, where he added six more victories. Another high scorer who served with the R.A.F. was Field Kind- ley, a one-time Arkansas farmboy who once attacked German infantry and rail transports, shot down an enemy two-seater, forced down a balloon and frightened two Fokkers away from a lone comrade after his ammunition Sopwith Camel (British) had run out — all within two hours. Kindley

54 first served with the British 65th Squadron, received posthumous Congressional Medals then with the American 148th where both for their attempts to aid the stray unit. he and Springs were flight leaders. Kindley Another remarkable observation flight was scored 12 victories before being killed in performed by the combat commander of combat. Kindley, Vaughn and Springs main- Air Service himself. Colonel William "Billy" tained their British ways in at least one re- Mitchell. During July 1918 the French and spect after leaving the R.A.F. With the Brit- Americans knew a big new German attack ish they had flown the highly respected SE-5 would be launched along the Marne but fighter, and with the American units they could not determine at which points the flew another British-made plane, the Sop- enemy would cross the river. Mitchell, with- with Camel, tricky to control but also re- out waiting for a second-hand report, took up

spected for its great maneuverability. a Spad himself and followed the Marne up- Fighter pilots grabbed most of the glory stream. He passed several Fokkers as he during the First World War but they were by peered below, but they either did not see him no means the only airmen to make an im- or paid no attention to him. Then, near Dor- portant contribution. American observation mans, he spotted large concentrations of squadrons, for instance, performed yeoman enemy troops crossing the river on pontoon

work, taking 1 8,000 photographs and logging bridges. They were without air support and 35,000 hours over the front, in spite of being apparently oblivious to his Spad's presence. hampered by inferior equipment. Many of Mitchell banked for home to order an im- the observation units flew obsolescent air- mediate air strike. planes like the Sopwith IVi Strutter, the in- "Looking down on the men, marching so ferior Avion Renault, or the Spad 1 1 , a two- splendidly," he wrote later, "I thought to seat version of the famous Spad pursuit ship myself, what a shame to spoil such fine but a dud as a reconnaissance plane. Event- infantry." ually most of the Air Service's observation American bombing squadrons worked cou- squadrons were standardized with an airplane rageously but, like observation units, they worthy of their efforts: the Salmson 2A2, lacked first-class airplanes. Vaunted Handley- a French-built two-seater equipped with self- Page bombers from Britain never material- sealing gas tanks and introducmg the radial ized. French Breguet bombers were prefer- engine to combat. red by the American units but the Yank One of the great moments in American Gen. "Billy" Mitchell (right) and Gen. Mason Patrick observation work came, however, in another airplane — the controversial DH-4, British- ^— ^ designed but made in quantity in American factories. A DH-4-equipped observation squadron. No. 50, flew repeatedly into a low ravme during the bitter Argonne battle in search of Major Charles Whitdesey's "Lost Battalion." So deep did the Yank pilots fly that German machine guns were actually directing a withering fire at them from the heights above. Two of the 50th Squadron's airmen, Harold Goettler and Erwin Bleckley,

55 Bombing on a massive scale came late in the war. The U.S. squadrons usually flew British DH-4's

flyers often had to make do with Salmsons and DH-4's improvised as bombers. Neither was capable of carrying more than a few light bombs. Bomber flying could be extremely hazard- ous work, especially when fighter escorts were missing. One such unaccompanied flight of 18 bombing planes returned from a mission during the American squeeze on the St. Mihiel salient in September with only five of its planes left. One squadron, the 11th, was nearly knocked permanently out of action on its second day of operations when only one riddled airplane out of a flight of six returned from a melee with a large swarm of enemy fighters. The 11th was temporarOy with- drawn from action until it could be re- equipped with new Breguets.

World War I bombing raids were dwarf- sized by comparison with some of the huge raids of World War II. The figures rolled up strikes but their views were not put into in the First War's biggest bombing raid on practice for nearly 25 years. October 9, 1918, however, look reasonably The role of the fighter airplane emerged impressive even beside the standards of the more clearly. Without control of the skies, it later conflict. Participating were American, was learned, control of the ground was im- French and British airmen, who combined in possible — and such control could only an attempt to smash German troop concen- be achieved with the pursuit plane. For the trations and supplies during the Batde of the fighter there evolved a sophisticated set of Argonne. Allied ground troops were awed to tactics and a variety of different duties, which look up and see 322 au-planes fill the skies included not only the celebrated dogfight but above; together the planes dumped 39 tons strafing, escort work and even light bombing of bombs. That same night British flyers raids. Yet advancing technology kept re- dropped 41 tons more on supply points, writing the rules in fighter flying. Today's making a total of 80 tons unloaded in one day. hot new plane could become tomorrow's cast- Really effective bombardment — the con- off; armaments changed and some tactics cept of strategic bombing — had to wait taught during the war were discarded as until a new era in military thinking. Ground weaponry and aircraft progressed. generals still dominated the Air Service and The air war of 1914-1918 was unique. It its Allied counterparts during World War I, was a starting point and it established the and infantry leaders wanted air action that first rules. But it was never again duplicated. would directly benefit their foot soldiers, The air war remains a vivid moment in history nothing more. Men like Billy Mitchell and because it was a pioneering effort, charted British General Sir Hugh ("Boom") Tren- with bravery and skill by the airmen who chard advocated long-range strategic air participated in it.

56 9 Too Little and Too Late

While the U.S. Air Service strove to become to the front in 1917, but already obsolescent an effective fighting instrument on the Western when the Armistice was signed. Front, American industry was having its own Why did industry fail? As the answers struggles at home. Renowned for its role in emerged in congressional hearings and public revolutionizing the automobile industry, Amer- statements after the war, they drew a picture ican manufacturing seemed the potential sav- of confusion and indecision coupled with a ior to the supply problems that had plagued number of genuine handicaps to production. Allied air services. Prophecies that the United There was some evidence, for instance, that States would "darken the skies of Europe" British and French manufacturers had made were heard across the land. A joint Army- their technological information hard to obtain Navy technical team mapped a starry-eyed early in the war out of their fear of American program calling for 22,625 planes and 45,000 competition. Once the United States entered engines. Congress proved itself eager to pro- the war, air leaders vacillated over the best vide the means for a huge air program by designs; the public would take pride in a appropriating $640 million for aircraft pro- home-grown product, but many technicians duction and training three months after the recognized their Allies' lead in aircraft design nation entered the war — the largest sum and production and decided to concentrate ever approved for a single purpose up to that on proven foreign models. time. Moreover, military aviation in America The performance, unfortunately, never was in such a pitiful state of unpreparedness lived up to the promise. Massive waves of in April 1917, that even an industrial complex airplanes boasted by some authorities well-oiled and ready to go would have had a in the United States never materialized. After hard time living up to expectations in the months of delay, deliveries did begin in sub- short period allotted to it. What steps had stantial quantities, but not all the aircraft been taken to organize an aerial force were delivered could be flown immediately. Of largely the result of the Army's experience on 1,200 combat aircraft which had reached the Mexican border the year before, when the France by November 11, 1918, only 196 Signal Corps had suffered through lack of found their way into American squadrons. funds, too few men and Curtiss Jennies ill- The remainder were in various stages of pre- equipped for the rigors of the American south- paration for combat, in training use, or were west. Congress had awakened after that with unfit for combat duty. Even more disappoint- an appropriation of $13 million for aviation ing to the mightiest industrial nation in the purposes, but military brass hats still seemed world was the fact that, except for a small curiously blind to the importance of putting number of Curtiss flying boats in service off muscle into its air arm. When America en- coastal waters, not one American design had listed in the European war not one combat entered the fight. American flyers manned plane was owned by the United States Army.

Spads, Camels. Nieuports and other foreign It had only two flying fields and a small models while engineers at home still labored number of training planes, none of which was to turn their designs from blueprint to reality. up to date. The Army — and the industrial

The one combat airplane produced in quantity complex behind it — was practically startmg in America was not even a native design; it from scratch in building an air force. was the British De Havilland 4, an effective Within weeks after its entry in the war, the two-seat observation plane when introduced United States learned the scope of the air- 57 Production line for Curtiss "Jenny" basic flight trainers

craft problem when French Premier Alex- the big Liberty could not be adapted to the andre Ribot cabled President Wilson that Spad's snub-nosed frame. Cables from the thousands of planes, pilots and mechanics U.S. Air Service in France, meanwhile, indi- would be needed at the front by the following cated that the production of spring. (Ribot's actual figures were 4,500 might best be left to the Allies, and so con- planes, 5,000 pilots and 50,000 mechanics, tracts with the Curtiss company for 3,000 Spads with enough additional manpower and sup- were cancelled. Five months later, American plies to "enable the Allies to win supremacy Expeditionary Force leaders on the battle of the air.") As a result a team of Army and scene witnessed a growing shortage of single- Navy air officials under Major Benjamin seat fighters and advised the immediate pro- Foulois (the former Mexican border air com- duction of this type in America. This time the mander was by this time senior flying officer Curtiss factory received a contract for SE-5's in Washington) drew up an ambitious pro- and went through the complex process of gram calling for a combat force of 12,000 air- planning and tooling up for mass production craft, 45,000 engines and, in addition, thou- of the British-designed fighter. The results sands more of training craft. Congress made were not surprising. Of 1,000 SE-5's con- the money available during July but a de- tracted for, only one was produced before cision had yet to be made on the kind of the Armistice — and that one was equipped

planes to be produced. Out of a welter of con- with a 1 80-horsepower engine — while the fusion in Washington came the appointment British were by this time installing engines of of a special commission to select aircraft 210 horsepower in their own SE-5's. headed by Major Raynal C. Boiling, a long- Attempts to produce the Bristol F2B, a time aviation enthusiast and former general British two-seater of sterling qualities, proved counsel to the United States Steel Corporation. even more inept. A fast, high-flying airplane

By midsummer, the Boiling Commission re- which was so good it remained in active RAF ported back that aircraft were needed primar- service until 1932, the Bristol was fitted with ily for { 1 ) training, (2) close support or tacti- a Liberty engine in America and prepared cal cooperation with ground troops, and (3) for tests. Each one taken up crashed. In July strategic or offensive missions against the 1918, the contract with Curtiss for 2,000 enemy. More specifically, it chose four air- Bristols was cancelled after the expenditure craft as suitable for production in the United of more than $6 million. States: the DH-4 and Bristol F2B, both The production of bombers ran into the British designs; the French Spad 13 pursuit same obstacles of delay, indecision and con- ship, and the Italian Caproni bomber. fusion as those faced in making pursuit types. Of the Boiling Commission's four recom- The Boiling mission had chosen the Caproni mended designs, only the DH-4 would ever bomber as desirable, but others in America reach the front. Indecision and delay clouded leaned toward the Handley-Page 0/400 twin- planning for other types, the example of the engine bomber, a British design on which Spad being typical. A sample of the fighter, rested hopes for massive bombing of Germany. among the most highly touted of all Allied When production of the Caproni became "chasse" planes, was shipped to America in bogged down in the confusion of converting

September 1917, where it was intended for Italian-language plans to English and meeting conversion to the new American-built Liberty stiff Italian design specifications, American

engine. It was soon apparent, however, that military authorities turned to the Handley- 58 U.S. aircraft production program was built around the famous Liberty engine. The Liberty "Twelve" proved to be a fine motor but too heavy for light, fast combat planes needed in Europe

Page. But production of the British plane also Brindley, one of the nation's top test pilots dragged. By war's end not one aircraft of who died putting the plane and its new engine either model had been readied for front- through rigorous trials over Dayton, Ohio. line duty. When it went into combat, the DH-4 remained

The record of the DH-4's was more im- controversial even among those who flew it. pressive in terms of numbers of airplanes Because its gas tank was placed in a vulner- produced but it was riddled with arguments able position between pilot and observer, it over the merits of the model. The De Havil- was dubbed the "Flaming Coffin," although land's top speed of 11 7 m.p.h., its ceiling of its loss rate was not greater than other two-

16,000 feet and its general effectiveness as an seaters at the close of the war. Some pilots observation aircraft and day bomber were complained that poor visibility from the rapidly being outclassed by similar enemy cockpit made close formation flying impos- types as the war entered its final phases. sible, others that the distance between pilot Nevertheless, American manufacturers went and observer made communication difficult. ahead with mass production of the model and Still others, though, praised it as the best two- by the Armistice had turned out nearly 5,000 seater at the front. Captain Daniel P. Morse, machines, 1,200 of which were shipped over- commander of the 50th Aero Squadron, said seas. Those that crossed the Atlantic even- it was especially effective at low altitudes tually equipped five bombing and seven ob- where the American squadrons did most of servation squadrons of the U.S. Air Service. their flying, and that it could outdistance and The significant number of DH-4's produced outclimb anything the Germans had. in a comparatively short period of time (they Criticism of the DH-4 did not stop with the were ordered into production on October 18, end of the war. Some engineers insisted that a 1917) was offset by their performance in the modified version of the 4, the DH-9, was a air. The 400-plus horsepower Liberty engine better airplane but that American industry adapted to its frame as a replacement for its had built the 4 out of expedience. The DH-9 original Rolls-Royce power plant was sub- was actually as controversial a plane in stituted at the cost of the life of Major Oscar Britain as the DH-4 was in America, owing

59 Martin twin-engine bomber designed in 1918 came too late for combat

Liberty, an eight-cylinder model, was tested; during August a more powerful 12-cylinder version underwent tests. By the end of the year seven automobile manufacturers were turning out the new engine. By the time the war had ended almost a year later more than 13,500 Libertys had been produced.

The Liberty was both powerful for its time

and, after its shakedown period, solidly re- liable. The basic 12-cylinder model, a V-type, developed 400 horsepower and had a weight of 1.8 pounds per horsepower, a full pound lighter than rival power plants. The Liberty mainly to the unreliability of its BHP (Beard- also proved itself easily adaptable to change. more-Halford-Pullinger) engine. Eventually The first model developed 330 horsepower

14,000 American-built 9's were ordered but but as revamped in later models it could turn only a dozen of the planes were completed out 440 horsepower. In fact, the Liberty was before the war ended. such a good engine it has been accused of

Despite its failure to turn out the waves of holding back the development of aircraft combat airplanes expected of it, American after the war, for thousands of surplus industry scored significant successes in two Libertys went on being used in various civil other facets of aircraft production. One was aircraft during the 1920's. the development of an outstanding engine, the In the production of airframes, American

Liberty, and the other was the mass produc- industry made its greatest contribution with tion of that durable trainer, the Curtiss JN-4. training planes. Taking its cue from the

In one other area, too, it made a significant Boiling Mission's emphasis on the importance contribution with a flying boat which set of such airplanes, it launched right into full- design standards for years following. scale production of the Curtiss JN-4. By the The Liberty engine was one of the first end of the war more than 5,500 of the popular problems tackled by wartime industry. Amer- "Jennies" had been produced. Industry had, ican air leaders, determining that the pro- with this ubiquitous two-seater, a thoroughly fusion of Allied engine types were creating tested design which continually underwent an enormous parts and replacements head- refinements as the war progressed. A variety ache, decided to make a fresh start by build- of Jennies were made, including the primary ing their own engine. Such an engine would trainer-type powered with the OX-5, a 90- have to be considerably more powerful than horsepower engine; an advanced trainer existing models in order to stay ahead of rapid equipped with a 1 50-horsepower Hispano- technical advances, yet be simple enough for Suiza; and a seaplane version, the N-9, pack- mass production. Two engine experts, Elbert ing a slightly more powerful OX-6 engine J. Hall and Jesse G. Vincent, went to work rated at 100 horsepower. So durable were behind closed doors in a Washington hotel Jennies that they stayed around for many suite and within 48 hours emerged with the years after the war, becoming the standard basic design of the Liberty. A little over a barnstorming plane during the 1920's and month later, on July 3, 1917, the first continuing in use by the Air Corps until 1927.

60 The single-seat Thomas Morse MB-3 became the standard Army fighter in the 1920's

Still another home-grown product scored a engine capable of 143.5 miles an hour. Like miniature triumph in May 1917 by knocking the Packard-Le Pere it was scheduled for out a German U-boat and a Zeppelin within mass producton but the war's end halted the period of a week. The plane was the orders. Early in 1919 another American Curtiss H-12, a twin-engine flying boat whose fighter, the single-seat Thomas-Morse MB-3, prototype was the America flying boat made its first flight. The "Tommy Morse" which Glenn Curtiss had hoped would be the could do 152 miles an hour and became the first to fly across the Aflantic. The outbreak standard Army fighter during the early 1920's. of the war had spoiled that plan, but the It carried a 300-horsepower Wright H engine British saw practical possibilities in the plane and in late versions fitted a belly fuel tank and purchased more than 50 during 1914 and which extended its range to 400 miles. 1915. Near duplicates of the America, they Other native designs to make their appear- were designated Curtiss H-4. Later versions ance just after the war ended included the added both size and power, and it was in one Orenco D single engine fighter, a Spad-like of these so-called "Large Americas" that model designed by Army engineers, and the British flyers gunned down a German dirigible Curtiss 18 "Kirkham" two-seater which was over the North Sea on May 14, 1917. Six available in either triplane or biplane models. days later another British-flown H-12 became The "tripe" version set a new U.S. altitude the first plane to sink a U-boat. The H-12's record of 32,450 feet in August 1919. acquired an unfortunate reputation for unsea- A serviceable American bomber would have worthiness and were succeeded by the H-16, been ready for combat, too, if the war had an improved model with a redesigned hull lasted into 1919. It was the Martin MB-1, a and either Rolls-Royce or Liberty engines. four-place, twin-engine biplane for which U.S. Navy patrols flew them in 1918 and al- Glenn Martin received an Army contract though they never managed to sink a sub- early in 1918. The MB-1 was officially des- marine, they kept the German undersea ignated as a reconnaissance plane, but it raiders on the run. could carry 1 ,040 pounds of bombs and bris- If the war had gone into 1919 the United tled with five .30 caliber machine guns. Only

States would have had a number of its ovra nine planes were built before the Armistice. airplanes in action. As the war ended at least Peace quickly took the thrust out of the four combat-worthy models were in the mak- development of military airplanes. The Army, ing. One of these, the Packard-Le Pere rather than planning on new and better air- LUSAC-11, was shipped to France and was craft, was faced with the big task of dumping undergoing tests when the war came to an thousands of useless airplanes as war surplus. abrupt end. Trials showed that this sturdy Besides, hadn't the fight just fought been "the two-seater was maneuverable and fast, with war to end wars"? With this in mind, advances a top speed of 133 miles an hour. It also was in aerial warfare would seem absurd in a war- the first American production airplane to be less world. equipped with a supercharged engine (a 425- So went the thinking of a joyous America horsepower Liberty), which gave it a service welcoming its boys back home. The time had ceiling of over 20,000 feet. Another two- come to renew peaceful pursuits; the war was seater to begin tests late m 1918 was the over and ahead lay a whole world to conquer. Loening M-8, a high-wing monoplane equip- Aviation now made ready to meet new ped with a 300-horsepower Wright-Hispano challenges unrelated to war.

61 lO Across the Atlantic

In the spring of 1919, a war-weary world tions for the attempt. Of nine separate possi- turned away from the horrors of conflict and bilities in Great Britain, three teams of airmen, looked toward more constructive deeds. The each of them led by seasoned pilots, emerged world of aviation was astir with new hopes as the leading contenders to make the first and new challenges. During the war, airplanes Atlantic crossing. had made enormous strides under the rigorous In America, the U.S. Navy was eyeing the demands of aerial combat. Speeds had Atlantic as a prize that would surely win glory reached nearly 150 miles per hour in fast for its own name and for the nation. The pursuit planes being built as the Armistice Navy's fledgling aviation arm was certain it was announced in November 1918. The had the aircraft that could do the job in its British had developed a huge four-engine recently designed NC flying boat, built as a

Handley-Page bomber designed to drop its joint venture with Glenn Curtiss' plant in bombs on and return to Allied territory. Buffalo, N.Y. ("NC" stood for "Navy-

Although it never saw action, this and other Curtiss"). This unwieldy looking plane, con- aircraft like it opened the eyes of aviation men ceived near the end of the war to fly the to the new possibilities for long-range flight. Atlantic and hunt submarines off the British

Of all the high hurdles still to be jumped, coast, was powered by four 400-horsepower the Atlantic Ocean offered the greatest im- Liberty engines mounted between biplane mediate rewards. Not only would its great wings. The "Nancies," as the NC's were soon distance and fierce weather conditions prove called, were among the largest planes of their a true test of men and machines, but its day, with a 126-foot wingspread and a weight conquest would surely pave the way for a of more than 28,000 pounds fully loaded. regular transatlantic air route that would Navy and Curtiss engineers under the super- bring two continents within hours of each vision of G. C. Westervelt had worked hard other. Airmen had long dreamed of con- to get the right hull, light yet durable enough quering the Atlantic. The American Prof. to withstand the pounding of seas in case of a Thaddeus Lowe, as early as 1860, had dunking. They settled on a 45-foot, pod-like started out in a balloon from Ohio but never hull with the tail extending aft on three got near the water. The journalist, Walter hollow wooden booms and engines riding Wellman, attempted an Atlantic crossing in between the two wings in a maze of struts 1910 in his dirigible America but came down and wires. Glenn Curtiss, himself a master 400 miles out at sea, drifting helplessly with designer, had doubts about the NC blueprints. the wind after an engine failed. Although they both aimed to be first across

The end of World War I came as a signal the ocean, the Americans and the British had for aviators to try their hand at an Adantic somewhat different objectives. The three con- crossing. Besides the honor of being first tending British biplanes, equipped only with across, a fresh incentive had been added. In landing gear, had sufficient ranges to make a

1913, Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the nonstop flight over the North Atlantic if the London Daily Mail, had offered a prize of most advantageous route was charted. The $50,000 to the first airmen to fly nonstop Americans, despite the ability of the NC's to across the Atlantic. Early in 1919 the news- land on water and the power generated by paper renewed the offer. With this substantial their big Liberty engines, had found during reward in the offing, several British aircraft tests that the great weight of "Nancies" pre- companies and flyers began making prepara- vented them from carrying enough fuel to

62 One of the largest planes of its day, the four- engined Navy Curtiss seaplane was designed for possible Atlantic crossing

^rv''*^.

MM

make a nonstop trip. The Navy therefore west-to-east attempt would be the most prac- mapped a multi-legged trip, picking the tical; the bleak island of Newfoundland, jut- Azores in mid-ocean as a refueling point that ting into the Atlantic toward Europe, became could carry them on to the continent. Thus the logical jumping-off point. ineligible for the $50,000 non-stop prize, the The three NC's groomed for the American

Navy declared it would send three NC's flight were placed under the overall command across purely for scientific purposes. of one of the Navy's most illustrious flyers. A watching world knew better. The break- Commander John H. Towers. A former pupil ing of the transatlantic barrier — money or of Curtiss, Towers had earned his aviator's no money — would be a giant feather in the license in 1911 and a year later had set the cap of the nation and the airmen who world's endurance record for hydroplanes. accomplished it. As May 1919 approached, Towers was to man the flagship NC-3 while the British and the Americans began con- Lieutenant Commander Patrick N. L. ("Pat") verging on Newfoundland for the assault on Bellinger was at the helm of the NC-1. the Atlantic. Prevailing winds dictated that a Lieutenant Commander Albert C. Read, less 63 Crew of the NC-4 with Commander Read at the far right

well known in aviation circles than Towers chafed, sailors taunted them with jibes about or Bellinger, was to command the third flying their "hoodoo" plane, and their "lame duck." boat, the NC-4. The NC-2 was missing from The next day the NC-4 resumed its flight to the roster since it had been dismantled to Newfoundland, desperately fighting against provide parts for the other three flying boats. time. Would Towers decide to leave without

Of all the airmen preparing that spring to him, thereby completely eliminating him from pioneer an Atlantic hop, "Putty" Read seemed the race? As an anguished Read approached the least likely to succeed. He had received the Newfoundland base through breaking his Navy wings only four years earlier, and clouds, Bellinger's "One" and Towers' "Three" had sat out America's part in World War I were plowing through the water in a sprint by directing routine flights off Long Island for takeoff. Read's dismay turned to joy shores. A quiet, reserved New Englander moments later as he saw his sister boats refuse who rarely smiled. Read had acquired his to lift. As Read landed, the two discouraged nickname because of the immobility of his commanders steered their planes back to a features. Only five-foot-four, he looked more naval supply ship anchored in the bay. like a racehorse jockey than an aviator. Yet, It was determined that by gassing up while within a month Putty Read would be a hero, on the water, the NC's 1 and 3 had taken on making headlines in every daily newspaper in an extra 200 pounds of fuel. Now they drained the United States, and decorated by a Presi- off the excess (and grounded one protesting dent. One popular magazme of the era crew member from Towers' craft to further tagged him with a name that seemed to fit lighten the load), and with an overnight lay-, perfectly: "The Christopher Columbus of over to allow Read time for last-minute pre-

Aviation." parations, all three boats charged up the bay

The start of the great Navy flight was al- and rose slowly into the air. Except for a few most disastrous for Read, his NC-4 and his scary moments as Bellinger struggled for crew of five men. The three flying boats had altitude, the Navy planes were up in good left Rockaway, Long Island, in good order shape. Before them, all the way to the Azores, on May 8, bound for Newfoundland. Off stretched a line of 25 destroyers spaced 50 Cape Cod the NC-4 threw a connecting rod miles apart as guideposts. As night fell the in one engine and developed faulty oil sister planes watched the stars above and the pressure in another. Read had to bring her bursting star shells from the destroyers below. down 80 miles from the coast arid taxi Read, settled in his open cockpit forward, his through the night to reach the Chatham, charts and navigation instruments nearby Mass., Naval Station. Six days passed before within the hull, listened with satisfaction to the repairs could be made and weather was clear smoothly purring Libertys. enough for the plane to continue. Neverthe- The "One" and the "Three," however, less, Read was reasonably confident as he left soon had problems. Bellinger's craft was Chatham on May 14th that he could catch fighting a bad right torque, evidently the up with Towers and Bellinger, who were result of a wing replacement back in Long socked in themselves by continuing poor Island. Co-pilot Lou Barin and Pilot Marc weather in Newfoundland. Halfway there. Mitscher — the same Mitscher who was to Read's plane came down again with engine become a World War II Navy hero in the trouble, this time in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Pacific — labored to keep the plane steady. While the little commander and his men Towers' flagship was having radio difficulty.

64 NC-4 taxis in the harbor of Lisbon, Portugal, before making last leg to Plymouth, England

and when darkness closed in he discovered the "Three's" running lights were not working.

At one point it narrowly missed a collision with Bellinger's plane. After that Towers ordered each "Nancy" to fly on alone without trying to maintain contact. Putty Read's "lame duck" flew into the dawn with everything working perfectly, as he later reported. The crew broke out sand- wiches, thermos-bottled coffee and chocolate candy. Ensign Herbert C. Rodd, the radio- man, sent a message to his mother via a coastal station 750 miles away. But soon after dawn a dense fog formed and Read and

his men lost all sense of direction, a problem which was to plague all the early Atlantic flights. Suddenly the commander noticed his Down close, he saw too late that seas were compass rotating crazily before him. The running heavy. The NC-3 bounced off one NC-4 was falling into a steep bank and was comber, topped another and spun into a deep on the verge of going into a fatal nosedive. trough. Water poured into the hull; struts and Read, seated forward, waved wildly at co- wires dangled out of kilter; one engine sagged pilot Elmer Stone at the controls. At first between the wings. Stone didn't see, then realized what was Read flew on alone now, keeping in touch happening. The NC-4 leveled off. with the destroyers with the aid of his radio. Miles away. Towers and Bellinger were Weather was still terrible, but surprisingly he groping through the overcast trying to fix had made better time than the NC-1 and their positions. Before the flight began a NC-3. By midday he peered through a break brilliant young Navy lieutenant commander, in the clouds and spotted a tide rip in the Richard E. Byrd, had given each of the NC's water, an almost sure sign that land was two instruments he had recently invented to near. Two minutes later he and the crew made aid aerial navigation: a wind-and-drift indi- out a TQpky shoreline — the tip of Flores cator and an aerial sextant. Under nearly Island, westernmost of the Azores. "It was blind-flying conditions, they became practi- the most welcome sight we had even seen," cally useless. Almost simultaneously, without the commander of the "Four" later wrote.

realizing it. Towers and Bellinger decided to Keeping low in the murk, the NC-4 headed make ocean landings to get their bearings. It for the near port of Horta in the Azores. It was a costly mistake for both of them. The actually put down first in a deserted bay and NC-1 tore into a huge wavecrest and emerged had to take off again. Six minutes later it with sagging wings, a broken tail and a badly touched down off Horta and taxied toward the leaking hull. Bellinger calculated his position destroyer Columbia. at about 100 miles west of the Azores and Meanwhile, Towers and his men, drenched began sending out a weak SOS. Towers, like and fearful that the NC-3 would capsize, re- Bellinger, looked at the ocean below and ceived the news of Read's landing at Horta believed a landing would not be too risky. but were unable to reply due to a damaged

65 Route map of the first transatlantic flights shows the advantage of a Newfoundland jump-off

UNITED ATLANTIC KINGDOM '

Clilden. "-

CANADA 3RQVi!i- .LCOgS; Plymoulh, Newfoundland OCEAN

El Ferrol^

PORTUGAL/ .1 SPAIN "^^''^ Azores STATES READ {NC-4) f I J

MOROCCO ••

transmitter. They also heard an all-out search way. It showed that the sea could be a safety was being made for them — 100 miles away. cushion for overseas flights provided they And they heard that Bellinger and his NC-1 used the right planes and equipment. crew had been picked up by a Greek freighter, Back in Newfoundland, the Englishmen Ionia, that had wandered into their view. The heard of Read's arrival in the Azores and freighter, it turned out, couldn't have heard knew they had to take off immediately to

Bellinger's SOS in any event: it had no radio. capture the Atlantic glory. With Read delayed That left the NC-3 on the water alone, in anew by weather in the Azores, they knew grave danger. A gale with winds up to 60 that their faster planes still could beat the miles per hour whipped up big waves that Americans to the other side. rolled the plane threateningly. Some of the First off was a team manned by the colorful crew were seasick. A wing pontoon tore off, Harry G. Hawker and his co-pilot K. Mac- requiring one crewman to sit on the opposite kenzie Grieve. Although the weather was foul wingtip to keep the plane from flipping over. over the North Atlantic that May 16th, they Food was soaked; the only water they were hoisted their Sopwith biplane Atlantic off the able to drink came from engine radiators. runway and headed out over storm-tossed

On the second day adrift Towers and his seas. Everything went well at first, until men sighted land. A destroyer steamed out to Hawker noticed the temperature gauge rising. rescue them but Towers insisted on making Its engine ready to quit at any moment, the their way in alone. Half drifting and half with Atlantic ditched near a Danish freighter, the help of battered engines they made their which went to the flyers' rescue. way slowly into harbor. It was Ponta Delgada, Shortly after the departure of Hawker and the Azores port to which they had orig- Grieve, another two-man team made up of inally intended to fly. The ordeal of the NC-3 the veteran airman Frederick P. Raynham was destined to have nearly as much impact and his navigator Capt. WUliam Morgan on world opinion as Read's successful flight. strapped themselves into the cockpit of their Towers' flying boat had traveled 205 mUes Martynside biplane Raymor (a combination in 60 hours, drifting backwards most of the of the airmen's names) and rumbled over

66 British flyers, John Alcock and Arthur Brown, made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic

their primitive runway. A crosswind caught then went on to London for a tumuhuous

the heavily loaded plane and dumped it head reception in the British capital. The Prince of

first into the turf. Damage was too great for Wales greeted the airmen, as did Winston another immediate attempt. Churchill. A new ovation was given to them in The failure of the first two British flights Paris, where President Wilson decorated the took the pressure off Read and his NC-4 pint-sized NC-4 leader with the Distinguished

crew for the time being. They still had a Flying Medal.

crucial lap to Portugal before them, but it Two weeks after the Americans arrived in was reported that the third British plane, to be England, Alcock and Brown took off from flown by John Alcock and his navigator, Newfoundland in their converted twin-engine Arthur W. Brown, would not be ready for Vickers "Vimy" bomber. After 16 hours and another month. By May 27th the weather had 28 minutes of flight they landed safely — brightened in the Azores and the "Four" although a little embarrassingly — in an Irish roared off toward the continent. Nine hours bog. Alcock and Brown went on to receive

and 43 minutes later it landed in Lisbon, the accolades of their countrymen and the

where the populace went wild. Daily Mail's $50,000 for the first nonstop "U.S. Airmen First To Cross Atlantic," Atlantic crossing. said banner headlines in the New York The NC-4's epic flight faded into obscurity Herald. "NC-4 Wins First Ocean Flight For in the next few years as new names challenged America," said The New York Times. Presi- the Atlantic. Two months after Read's achieve- dent Woodrow Wilson, who was then in Paris ment the British dirigible R-34 created a for peace talks, wired Read: "We are heartily sensation by crossing the ocean both ways. proud of you. You have won the distinction Soon after the turn of the 1920's airmen of adding further laurels to our country." began shooting for new nonstop records. One more leg was left, a final jump to A number of tragedies and a few glittering Plymouth, England, which was chosen as the successes were the result. Among the heart- last stop because its American namesake had breaking failures was the France-to-America meant a safe landing for a band of Atlantic attempt of the French war hero Charles pioneers nearly 300 years earlier. Now in a Nungesser and his partner Francois Coli. jaunty mood, Putty Read delighted newsreel Among those who were successful were men who had missed his Lisbon arrival by Charles A. Lindbergh, and later in 1927, repeating the historic landing for the benefit Richard E. Byrd and Clarence Chamberlin. of their grinding cameras. Then he soared It was many years before attention returned off again bound for England. Minor engine to Read and the NC-4 flight. After World War trouble forced the NC-4 down again briefly II, the National Air Museum of the Smith-

along the Spanish coast, but on May 31st it sonian Institution collected parts from the appeared in the gray skies over Plymouth, "Four," gathering dust in obscure shops and where it thrilled a large crowd assembled on flying fields along the East Coast, and as- the shore by banking, circling and sailing in sembled them for display in Washington, D.C. for a landing. For a long time Commander Read lived in The English had been robbed of a con- retirement across the Potomac not far from quest of the Atlantic themselves but now his NC-4. He died in relative obscurity in gave their hearts to the Americans. Read was October 1967. His place in aviation history, hoisted above shoulders in Plymouth streets, however, is secure.

67 11 Record Makers

The first Atlantic crossing whetted flyers' ageable proportions. appetites for new record-making flights. Air- By 1922 two American airmen were ready men were a naturally adventurous breed, but to take on another big one — a transcon- coupled with their venturesome spirit was the tinental, nonstop trip across America. A sincere desire of many to advance the cause of flight across the continent posed as many

aviation. Aware that public interest in air problems in its own way as an Atlantic cross-

progress had slackened after World War I, ing, for across this vast stretch of land lay they knew also that the public was thrilled both the imposing mountains of the Ap- by the news of a daring flight. The benefits palachian range, and the more formidable of such an event were quickly apparent. The heights of the Rockies. A hop across Amer- individual airman could reap the reward of ica would push an aviator both far and high.

prize money, or if that were lacking, cash in Supporting the project from the start was Brig- later on his new fame. For the nation's adier General William Mitchell, the redoubt- military air arms, a stirring flight could mean able air combat commander of war fame who sorely needed appropriations from Congress. now dominated the peacetime U.S. Air Ser- Airmen yearned to make new records and vice. Endowed with a shrewd eye for public- cross new distances even when material gains ity, Mitchell knew a crosscountry flight could were not in the offing. Like the explorers give the Air Service enormous prestige. Eager before them who had dared to venture into to make the attempt were two tough, ex- uncharted regions, and the spacemen after perienced Air Service test pUots, Lieutenants

them who hurtled beyond the earth's at- Oakley Kelly, who had suggested the flight mosphere, the aviators of the Twenties were in the first place, and John Macready, a driven by Man's indomitable desire to find former boxer, cattleman and lawyer who had new paths into the unknown ... to conquer established a world's altitude record of more the unconquerable. than 40,000 feet in 1921. A series of dis- A succession of long-range hops followed appointments and near disasters lay ahead of the first transaflantic flights. In addition to this hardy pair of flyers, but in the end they the Navy's Atlantic crossing, and that of won the victory they sought. Alcock and Brown, the year 1919 saw two A transcontinental nonstop flight would other long-distance jumps, one by the Aus- have been impossible with the equipment the tralians, Ross and Keith Smith, along an Air Service had on hand early in 1922. In

1 1 , 000-mile route from England to Australia, June of that year, though, it purchased two and the other by four U.S. Army flyers who large monoplanes from the Dutch aerial took a Martin bomber "Round the Rim" of genius, Anthony Fokker. One of them was the United States, covering 9,823 miles in given exhaustive tests under the scrutiny of 78 days. The same year, the British dirigible Kelly and a crack engineer. Lieutenant Ernest R-34 floated across the Atlantic — and back Dichman, and was determined capable of

—- with an ease that made lighter-than-air making the long journey. Fokker's T-2, as it craft look like an ideal aerial vehicle for was designated, wasn't a very graceful bird long-range flights. In 1920 another U.S. Army even by 1922 standards. Its boxy fuselage team flew from New York to Alaska, and in began with a fat, squatty nose and ended with 1921 a new transcontinental airmail relay a shriveled fin atop the fuselage. Close to the record of 33 hours began to shrink the nose was placed a wide wing with a span of

breadth of the American continent to man- 79 feet 6 inches, built more for the lift it

68 The first nonstop flight across the United States was made by Army service pilots in a Fokker T-2 monoplane

could provide than for beauty. Power was supplied by a 420-horsepower Liberty engine, and fuel was stored in two wing tanks plus a smaller tank installed within the fuselage. The placement of the pilot was awkward to say the least: he sat up front in an open cock- pit with the big Liberty as his right-hand companion and the leading edge of the wing as his headrest. Tricky timing was required for a switch of positions between pilot and relief pilot. On receiving a signal from the man at the controls, the airman inside the fuselage took over on a set of duplicate controls placed in an interior position having only limited visibility through side windows and no view forward. While the plane was thus being flown nearly blind, the pilot slipped back and took over the interior controls, after which his replacement crawled forward and squeezed into the cockpit.

Early on October 5, 1922, Kelly and Macready climbed aboard the glistening dark blue T-2 at Rockwell Field in San Diego and revved the Liberty. Having decided on a west-to-east flight to take advantage of pre- vailing tailwinds, the pilots knew at the same time that they would be faced with hurdling the Rockies before enough fuel had burned off to make the heavily loaded plane signi- ficantly lighter. Inside the T-2 sandwiches, coffee and soup were stowed away to sustain the pilots over their grueling course. Outside, a small crowd of well-wishers shouted and waved as the plane rolled down the field. With Kelly at the controls, the T-2 rose heavily from the ground and struggled to gain altitude, dipping dangerously close to the Pacific Ocean before banking toward the east. Fifty miles from the field the plane had risen only 1,700 feet and ahead lay the foothills of

its first mountain range. Instead of trying to

jump the hills, however, Kelly and Macready turned away, faced with an impenetrable shroud of fog. Macready later admitted that

69 the two flyers not only felt it would be Liberty, a sign that the damage spotted earlier suicide to attempt passing over the mountains, was worsening. With Macready once again at but that the course they were now about to the helm, Kelly poured every liquid available, follow would save them a lot of embarrass- including their remaining soup and coffee,

ment back in San Diego where a crowd had into the engine to keep it from seizing with just given them a royal sendoff. Rather than heat. They set the T-2 down on the parade return immediately to the field, they decided ground of an Army base near Indianapolis to attempt a new endurance record, and just as the Liberty stopped dead. plotted a course up and down the West The pilots' discouragement at the thought Coast. After 35 hours and 18 minutes of this of making a third attempt lasted just 48 hours. monotony, they landed. Their time easUy Macready and Kelly decided to try again,

broke the existing record, but it could not be but with one important difference from the

officially recorded because the required sealed first two efforts. This time they would fly an barograph was not aboard the Fokker. east-to-west route to take advantage of a Undeterred, Kelly and Macready made lightened fuel load over the Rockies. Accord- ready for another continental crossing, and on ingly, on May 2, 1923, the Fokker, fitted November 3 the weather looked good from now with a new engine but loaded as before

San Diego clear across the nation. Kelly to nearly 11,000 pounds, began its slow roll again took the controls and once more the down Roosevelt Field in Long Island. They overloaded T-2 heaved reluctantly into the covered seven hundred and fifty yards and

air. This time skies were crystal clear and the then a mile, but the plane refused to lift.

airplane negotiated its previous obstacles Kelly slammed the T-2 to a stop, wheeled her with Htde difficulty. But harrowing moments around to another position, shoved the throttle lay ahead. Some 400 miles out of San Diego all the way forward and hoped the heavy

Kelly spied water seeping from a hairline plane would lift above a row of hangars at crack in the Liberty but he decided that it the far end of the field. Tense watchers saw wasn't serious enough to keep them from the T-2 groan across the roofs of the hangars reaching New York. Then, over high peaks and disappear from view. Aboard the plane, near Tucson, Arizona, the air became ex- Kelly fought to clear the low buildings and tremely turbulent, and Kelly and Macready telephone poles that dotted Long Island, as held their breath as they headed for what he set a westward course across New Jersey. appeared certain collision with the mountains. Still flying at only 300 feet, Kelly suddenly However, they were swept clear by updrafts signaled for Macready to take over inside. just before the moment of impact. Past the Macready, cursing, struggled with the interior

peaks, the T-2 flew on over salt flats, still controls to keep the plane aloft, without quite

bucking the rough air. As night fell the plane knowing where he was going. Up front, Kelly

climbed higher, its fuel load decreasing with had spied trouble with the voltage regulator every mile. Now new turbulence struck as and patiently took the mechanism off the

the T-2 winged its way along the fringes of a engine alongside him to readjust it to working midwest tornado. Macready fought to control condition. Macready's own efforts had been the plane, finally allowing Kelly to take over well worthwhile, for without the repairs made as the big Fokker approached St. Louis. Just by his partner the T-2's batteries would never when the weather was clearing, Kelly noticed have held up for this third — and as both men water streaming from both sides of the knew, last—attempt to conquer the continent.

70 Lt. John A. Macready (left) and Lt. Oakley G. Kelly

telegram from President Harding. Waiting also was an offer of $5,000 made to them by an old Air Service officer who had won the cash in a bet. Kelly and Macready, both of whom had drained their own meager bank accounts to make the third trip, accepted thankfully. Their time for the 2,700-mile trip looks snail-like compared to present-day

coast-to-coast flights. It was 26 hours, 50 minutes and 3 seconds. The following year the Air Service geared for another long-range epic — this one an around-the-world attempt. Five other nations

also had their eyes on a globe-girdling trip, but the United States was the only country to

bring its team through to completion of the longest aerial voyage yet attempted.

No space shot of the 1 960's — allowing for the technological differences of nearly a half century — ever had more work or planning

put into one of its launchings than the Air Service's world-circling flight of 1924. The Hour after hour the big monoplane droned project was nine months in the making, on, passing into the scary darkness over the during which every detail of the long course Appalachians and then cutting through a was considered. Four airplanes, called World heavy drizzle past St. Louis. Over Arizona, Cruisers, were built specially for the flight by flying now in sparkling clear daylight, the the Douglas Aircraft Company. The Cruisers flyers encountered a mountain range whose carried either pontoons or wheels, a 400- altitude obviously belied the maps they were horsepower Liberty engine, and enough fuel using. Their instruments said they were at to fly 2,200 miles. The manufacturer's aim in 10,000 feet, and the maps indicated the high- building them was not speed (their best was est ground was 8,000 feet — yet dead ahead 103 miles an hour) but endurance, and in of them was a barrier they couldn't possibly this quality the Cruisers succeeded admirably. surmount. For nearly an hour they looked for The eight aviators who volunteered for the an opening and finally found a pass, only to flight — four pilots with a hand-picked me- discover more ridges ahead. Back they chanic for each — underwent a period of turned, this time choosing another path. Past six-weeks of intensive training to sharpen up this lay the welcome sight of flat desert, with mentally and physically for the flight. Over their target city of San Diego only 300 miles 70 way-stations were established at which the ahead. team could stop for rest or refitting of their Over San Diego Kelly put the T-2's nose craft. Parts and supplies scattered along the down and passed directly over the main street route were meticulously crated so that the of the city. They landed to the acclaim of the aviators could put their hands on any of the populace and were handed a congratulatory 480 items even within total blackness.

71 Crew members replacing pontoons with regular wheels on Round- the-World flight plane New Orleans

Despite all its painstaking preparations, the from hindrance to help by towing the Chicago project nearly foundered at a number of upriver to the city with three sampans lead- points along the 26,000-mile route. Major ing the way. Frederick Martin, overall commander of the Across lower Asia the three Cruisers con- flight and pilot of the flagplane Seattle, met tinued to Calcutta, where they substituted new misfortune along the cold, snowy and fog- wings and engines and switched from pon- swept coast of Alaska. Martin and his me- toons to landing wheels. Then they flew chanic, Sergeant Alva Harvey, had started across the Mideast to Constantinople and on with the others well enough, but on April 16, to Bucharest, Vienna and Paris. In London nine days out of their departing point in the six aviators braced for a difficult series of Seatde, Washington, the flagplane was forced flight legs across the North Atlantic by spend- down at sea by engine trouble. Picked up by ing two weeks in the British capital while a destroyer, Martin and Harvey waited for re- their weary airplanes were completely over- pairs to be made and then resumed their hauled. On July 30 the Cruisers landed at planned series of hops along the Alaskan Kirkwall in the Orkneys and plotted their

coast. On April 30, with its sister ships wait- next hop to Iceland. Leaving the Scottish

ing for it to join them at Dutch Harbor, the islands, however, they ran into thick fog. The Seattle slammed mto the side of a mountain New Orleans, manned by Lieutenant Erik in dense fog. Luckily, neither Martin nor Nelson and his companion Lieutenant John Harvey was seriously injured, but the men Harding, fought on to Iceland but the two stayed in the plane wreckage for two days other planes turned back to the Orkneys to before they could see well enough to descend try again the next morning. This time the the mountain. After nearly a week of wander- weather was favorable, but soon after the ing they stumbled into a trapper's cabin second start the Boston, under command stocked with firewood and food. There the of pilot Lieutenant Leigh Wade and mechanic flyers recuperated while a blizzard raged Staff Sergeant Henry Ogden, was forced down outside, and when they set out once more for in the sea with a broken oil pump. The civilization they were picked up by a fishmg Chicago had seen the Boston's predicament launch which observed them tramping along and winged off for aid. In a few hours a Navy

the shore. cruiser arrived but as it attempted to raise the

Lieutenant Lowell Smith, flying the Chicago stricken Douglas its boom broke; the Boston with Lieutenant Leslie Arnold as his me- dropped back into the sea with a force that chanic, now took command of the expedition broke the pontoons. Watching helplessly from

and together with the flying Cruisers New the ship's rail. Wade and Ogden saw the plane Orleans and Boston battled persistently bad they had flown 19,000 miles through every weather to reach Tokyo on May 24. Wmging conceivable kind of travail sink beneath the through the warmer climes of southeast Asia, waves. Their spirits rose again, however, when the Chicago came down with a cracked they received news that a new Douglas Cruiser cylinder in a lagoon in Indochina. While would be waiting for them in Nova Scotia so natives clambered over the crippled plane. that they could complete the trip. There,

Smith and Arnold waited nervously for her furnished with the new Boston II, they took sister ships to fetch help. Finally word came off with the Chicago and the New Orleans on that a new engine was being rushed by de- September 5 for the final series of hops stroyer to Hue and this time the natives turned across the American continent.

72 Round-the-World flyers who completed the trip (from left to right) Lts. Lowell Smith, Henry Ogden, Erik Nelson, Leigh Wade, Jack Harding and Leslie Arnold 12 Barnstorming

The day is hot, but a crowd has already bit for the crowd by raising one leg into the gathered at the airport to see the show. The air as he races by at nearly 100 miles per

time is the I920's, era of bootleg whiskey, hour. Suddenly the plane veers up sharply, the "flaming youth," and barnstorming airmen. start of a loop. A cry goes up from the spec-

The local airport, buzzing with activity this tators, but the Jenny is already at the top of midsummer's day, consists of a windsock, a its maneuver and is heading toward earth stubbly strip of flat field and, across the again, its human cargo still glued, bolt upright,

field, a corrugated metal hangar. to the wing. The crowd applauds as the plane Out on the field four airplanes are lined touches down for a landing. up: two Curtiss Jennies, an old two-seater No one leaves yet, for a man on the field

Army Standard trainer, and another Army shouts through a megaphone that the show is castoff DH-4. The planes are aging but just beginning. The Standard two-seater takes bright patterns of paint mask their years, the off and over the field swings a figure from a gaudy markings of a "flying circus" primed for narrow rope ladder attached to its landing another of its spectacular aerial exhibitions. gear; the aerial acrobat ends his stint by hang-

Lining one side of the field is a representa- ing from his teeth as the plane roars past the tion from the local citizenry that includes grandstand. Next a Jenny goes into a com- cotton-frocked women, restless youngsters plicated series of acrobatics, and finally two darting in and out of the crowd ajid shirt- planes maneuver close to one another while a sleeved men, their straw hats forming shields wing-walker changes planes in midair. against the sun. Some stand, some perch on At last it is the public's turn to play aviator, black, boxy automobiles and others sit in a and a small line forms as the planes take on tiny grandstand which faces the field. Before passengers. The fumes are overpowering, the them two airmen, chinstraps dangling from seats uncomfortable and the risks much their soft leather helmets, stand talking to one greater than they realize, but most folks think another beside an idling Jenny. Abruptly they that the $2.50 they pay for a short haul and break off their conversation and climb aboard. the $5.00 they put down for a long one is well

The engine noise rises and the biplane moves worth it. rockily forward until it reaches the far end Such was the scene repeated, with varia- of the field. Now it wheels around with its tions, at hundreds of county fairs, carnivals, engine blasting, picks up speed past the cow pastures, and summer resorts in America grandstand, and rises into the air to a chorus during the Twenties. The big money and the of kids' shouts. headlines were collected by the racers and the Up, up the Jenny goes, all eyes following record-makers, the discoverers and the dis- as it climbs. Far above the field, but not tance flyers. But for most airmen of the too far for spectators to see, a figure emerges decade, making a living in aviation meant from the front cockpit and climbs slowly barnstorming. Barely making a living were the through the struts and wires to the top wing. "gypsies" who flew alone or with a com-

The watchers below gasp as he stands upright, panion from town to town all over America, remains in the same position for a moment stunting first to attract a crowd and then tak- and then walks daringly toward the wingtip. ing on the paying customers as passengers.

The Jenny swoops low past the grandstand, The gypsies had little use for conventional its wing-walker braced against the plane's ways. They ate when they could, drank more wires. He smiles, waves, and even clowns a than they should and slept under the wing of 74 The basic stunt of barnstorming airmen was wing-walking

-Ky

their plane when lodgings could not be found. wackiest. Slats Rodgers, a lean Texas veteran

They had little use, moreover, for elementary of the barnstorming circuit from the time he safety rules, often packing passengers three buih his own plane in 1912, devised a stunt abreast in a single cockpit. Members of flying he figured would give the audience in Wichita

troupes such as the flying circuses led a more Falls the thrill of its life. Slats dressed a organized existence and practiced a more dummy to resemble an aviator — goggles,

elaborate set of tricks. But, in general, they helmet and boots included — and took it too were part of the barnstorming fraternity, aloft. Below, the crowd saw Slats' plane go the carefree but skilled band of aviators who into a loop and, from the forward cockpit, a flourished during the decade after the First figure fall out and hurtle to the earth. The

World War. object fell in the middle of the field before Most plane-watchers in the Twenties were the spectators, who watched in horror as an more sophisticated than their pre-war counter- ambulance raced to the scene of the disaster, parts. Dutch rolls, falling leaves, loop the picked up the "body" and wheeled off to the loops — these were already old hat to the nearest hospital with a police escort showing many hometown Americans. The air-show the way. When Slats landed, he was hauled off audiences demanded new thrills and the barn- for an interview with the sheriff who, it turned stormers often went hungry if customers out, had liked the show so much he couldn't weren't kept happy. One innovation was wing- think of any charges to press. walking, a particularly perilous art. Some of Another zany stunt, touched with the same the wing-walkers feigned slips and near falls, dash of the morbid, was dreamed up by a to the crowd's delight. One trick was the barnstormer named William (Wild Bill) "breakaway" in which the wing-walker sud- Kopia. Kopia donned the fancy clothes of a denly "lost" his grip on wing- or landing-gear female "opera star" and purchased a ticket and started a sickening plunge toward earth, for a ride. Once safely ensconced in the until a concealed cable caught his fall. One plane's cockpit, the pilot pretended to have of the star wing-walkers of the Gates Flying forgotten something, and climbed down. Circus, Wesley May, once roller-skated off Meantime, its engine idling, the plane burst the top wing of a Jenny, and parachuted to forward to the accompanying screeches of the earth. Seeking to perform even more astonish- "singer." Up it went into the sky, running ing tricks, he then attempted to ride a bicycle through a series of outlandish stunts, but along the wing before again hitting the silk. manning the dual controls all the time was It was the same Wesley May, flying with a Bill Kopia. barnstormer named Earl Dougherty, who. in Accidents were bound to happen to the

1921 pulled off the world's first in-flight re- barnstormers, and they often did. Nearly all fueling demonstration. Flying in a Standard the planes in use were of wartime vintage and SJ-1, piloted by Frank Hawks, May, with a they were weary from hard flying and hap- five-gallon can of gasoline strapped to his hazard maintenance. Planes were given re- back, climbed from the Standard's top wing placement parts from whatever make was to a Jenny above. Aboard his new mount, he available, and the only fuel used was the unstrapped the gas can and poured its con- only one available, automobile gasoline. They tents into the Jenny's tank. The crowd at rarely had shelter; accident reports listing

Long Beach, California, loved it. rotten fabric or structural failure were com- Some of the best crowd-pleasers were the mon during the heyday of the gypsy flyers.

75 Barnstormers and gypsy flyers followed the circuit of state fairs performing dazzling feats of acrobatic flying and dangerous mid-air transfers

76 Stuntmen flying before Hollywood cameras were called upon to help make low-budget thrillers as well as feature films such as Hell's Angels

On the other hand, the wood and fabric con- struction of surplus aircraft saved many a

barnstormer's life in a crash. When they cracked up they crumpled in a mass of wires, broken wood and shredded cloth which ab- sorbed much of the shock of impact. More than one barnstormer walked away from such V a junkheap that bore no resemblance to the original airplane.

One who lived to fly again after several barnstorming crashes was Charles A. Lind- ^. bergh, nicknamed "The Flying Fool" during his brief barnstorming career. Lindbergh was a rawboned youngster when he and a com- ing off the next morning they met another

panion decided to make a transcontinental obstacle, this time in the form of a tall cactus. tour in 1923 in a Canadian Jenny. This plane, Soon after this the trouble-plagued pair known as a "Canuck," featured slightly more abandoned their crosscountry journey. Lind- zip than the Jenny plus a pair of clipped bergh was to have better luck heading in the wings. The pilots' first mishap occurred when opposite direction four years later. they collided with a sand hillock near Pen- Lindbergh was one of several airmen nur- sacola, Florida, rendering the plane battered tured in barnstorming but destined for bigger but repairable. In Texas Lindbergh and his and better things. Another was Wiley Post, companion had trouble getting off the ground the round-the-world aviator of the early because in order to increase range they had 1930's who was dubbed "The Flying Redskin" strapped bulky fuel tanks aboard the fuselage, in his wing-walking days. Frank Hawks, who adding both weight and drag to the plane. participated in the first in-flight refuelmg The plane ran out of fuel over the town of demonstration, became known as a speed Camp Wood, Texas, and the Canuck had to flyer a decade later. Ben O. Howard was a be set down in the town square. The landing noted racing pilot and designer after an early was made without a hitch, but the takeoff career as an aerial bootlegger. Mort Bach presented a problem. The square wasn't wide was one of several daredevil flyers who be- enough for a good takeoff run. so Lindbergh came airline or airplane-manufacturing ex- started well back on a side street in order to ecutives. And then there was Frank Clarke, build up speed. He and the Canuck negoti- a virtuoso stunter, who went on to a colorful ated the narrow street all right, but when he career as a Hollywood stunt flyer. tried to squeeze between two telephone poles "Spooks" Clarke got his start .in 1918 at his wing tip caught one, spinning the ship Venice Field near Los Angeles where he through the window of a local hardware performed everything from wing-walking to store. Lindbergh climbed out, expecting a fat plane-,changing to the bizarre act of leaping bill from the merchant. Instead, the hardware from the tail of a plane into its cockpit. Soon man seemed delighted. The publicity would the dapper, mustachioed Clarke was trying be great for business, he told the astonished more difficult stunts like grabbing a rope young flyer. Farther west they set the Canuck trailing from a plane overhead as he ran down on the desert for the night, but on tak- along the ground, or climbing back to the

77 tail of a plane and manipulating its controls grip and started falling — minus parachute — by rope. toward the earth 5,000 feet below. Clarke

His very first Hollywood assignment in put his plane into a violent dive, maneuvered

1920 had Clarke's stamp of derring-do on it. under the plummeting Wilson and snared him Dressed as a policeman, he chased stunter head first in one wing. That's the way Wilson Mark Campbell in convict's stripes from stayed until they reached the ground. cockpit to wing, through the undercarriage In 1927 Clarke led a crew of some 40 and back up the other side. The plane flew stunt pilots in several months of aerial dog-

on during the chase with its controls lashed fighting filming Hell's Angels. The Howard in neutral. In a stunt concocted for a film Hughes epic spared no expense to record called Stranger than Fiction he easily some of the greatest aerial dogfights ever topped his premiere performance. Perching a filmed, with an assortment of decade-old Jenny atop the thirteen-story Railroad Build- SE-5"s, Fokker D-VII's, Curtiss Canucks. Sop- ing in downtown Los Angeles, Clarke revved with Camels and other war-surplus crates the plane across a narrow wooden runway taking part. Three flyers died in the filming, as camera crews cranked away to record the not from mock machine guns mounted aboard feat. At the end of the track the Jenny jumped the planes but from the frantic maneuvers off a slight incline and then dipped perilously they were called upon to make in the name of toward the street below. But Clarke had the realism. Clarke, who played Baron von plane quickly under control and merrily Richthofen, completed the filming unscathed waggled his wings at the open-mouthed crowd but sobered by the experience. as he soared away. The famed Hollywood stunter continued Some of Qarke's aerial maneuvers verged active until his own sense of humor caught on insanity. There is the story about his up with him one day in 1948. Buzzing an old passion for a nightclub singer in Tucson, friend, he rolled his ship over at low altitude Arizona, and how he flew his plane up to her with the intention of dropping a sack of apartment window, rolled its wheels alongside manure on his buddy's land. Clarke's war- the building and tossed in a love letter. And surplus Vultee Valiant went into its roll but there was the time he decided to climb out of suddenly plunged into the ground with a the cockpit, along the fuselage and out on the terrific explosion. When the bodies of Clarke wings, hands tied together. Clarke slipped and that of a companion were removed, the sometimes, but this time it was not planned. manure sack was found wedged behind the As he was swept back he was snagged in a control stick — a joke turned tragically sour. wire, which saved him from certain death. The Hollywood aerial fraternity to which

Clarke's consummate flying skill saved the Clarke belonged also included such renowned life of a fellow-flyer on more than one stunters as Dick Grace, Art Goebel, Hank occasion, but none of his rescues was more Coffin and Paul Mantz, to name but a few. spectacular than the time he caught a falling The millions who watched them perform in body with his plane, like an outfielder gather- early newsreels or in such later films as ing in a fly ball. Stunter Al Wilson was to Wings, Lilac Time, and Dawn Patrol never make a plane change from a ship manned by knew the genuine dangers the stunters faced Wally Timm above to Clarke's which was when flying before the cameras. For the coming up from below and behind. As Clarke movie-goer, relaxing in his theater seat, they made his approach, though, Wilson lost his made it look easy.

78 13 Airplane In Ascendancy

The United States found itself trailing the an air-subsidy program. The French and the nations of Europe in an important new avia- Dutch, notable among the European nations, tion development after World War I. The land had recognized that some form of financial of the Wright brothers' seminal flight relin- nourishment would be needed to sustain quished the head start it had gained in 1903 their infant airlines. Americans resisted the to European air progress during the latter idea; theirs was a land of free enterprise where part of the decade, then fell markedly behind government subsidy was likely to be looked Europe during the war. As the world settled upon more as meddling than assistance. A few back to peace America could boast of a few commercial operations did crop up after war's brilliant record-making flights which ranged end but they were aerial ferries from cities to across the Atlantic, over the American con- resorts, short distanced and short lived. Small tinent and around the world. But they were flying boats took vacationers from New York seen as individual triumphs, pointmg the way to Atlantic City, for instance, and from Los to the distant future perhaps, but having little Angeles to Catalina Island. They soon ceased connection with the lives of average citizens. to operate from lack of profit. Only when After the Armistice, several European na- business had joined hands with government tions moved quickly into a major new field: in a subsidy program of sorts — involving a commercial aviation. Airlines began operating healthy return of airmail revenues to private in four countries within a year after the guns carriers — did commercial aviation begin to fell silent. In freshly defeated Germany an air grow. By then more than half the decade service sprang up in February 1919 linking had passed. Berlin, Leipzig and Weimar. France's Henri The real seeds of commercial aviation were Farman inaugurated a passenger service from sown in another part of the aviation domain

Paris to London a few days later, serving a — the U.S. Aerial Mail Service. It was the champagne luncheon to passengers as they brave pUots of the Air Mail, flying outmoded gazed down at the English Channel. Three machines under the worst conditions, who British airlines followed suit with daily sched- blazed a trail across the nation for the airlines ules between the capitals, and late in the year to follow. Air Mail planes carried the first the Dutch launched their Royal Dutch Air- few passengers across the country's vital lines (KLM) under government auspices. routes. The Air Mail made it economically America's failure to foUow the same course possible for private business to enter the could be laid to several factors. For one, the aviation picture, ushering in a new era. immense distances between key cities simply The official opening of Air Mail service was couldn't be negotiated with equipment avail- anything but encouraging. The date was May able. For another, running a passenger or 15, 1918, hardly a favorable moment in the freight airline meant making a profit, and the history of the nation for starting the project. number of passengers, or the quantity of cargo The war was on, and considerable criticism which could be put aboard one of the flying had been voiced over launching an experiment crates of the post-war era (there y/ere a few in airmail. But time was running out on the persons willing to risk their necks) did not summer deadline Congress had set when it begin to pay the costs of running such a appropriated $100,000 to see if the airmail service. Still another factor relating directly idea would work. And so, on that fine spring to costs of operation was the reluctance of the morning Army aviators readied their Curtiss United States government to involve itself in Jennies at three separate points along the

79 Final briefing before first airmail flight from Washington's Potomac Park, May 15, 1918. President Wilson attended ceremonies

"Boyle was overhead and turning as he climbed," Lipsner recalled later. "I watched him for some minutes, trying to figure out what he was doing. Finally I realized that he was taking a course that was almost opposite

to the one he had been instructed to fly. The first scheduled air mail was in the air — but

it was flying in the wrong direction." Apparently the only one who noticed Boyle's error, Lipsner sat down in his office

and waited in misery for the next news. It wasn't long in coming. "Captain Lipsner?" said a voice over the phone. It was Boyle. "My compass got a litfle mixed up. I just landed a while ago here at Waldorf, Maryland."

East Coast. The plan was to fly the mail in "What about the mail?" Lipsner asked. opposite directions from Washington and New "It's being loaded into a car now," Boyle York, with a midpoint relay in Philadelphia said. "It's going to be driven back to Wash- for each flight. In New York Lieutenant ington." Torrey Webb took off in fine style. In Wash- To everyone's surprise, the Army soon ington Lieutenant George L. Boyle climbed built a record of steady service between New aboard his plane, adjusted his helmet, and York and Washington. Its role, however, was shouted "Contact!" Mechanics swung the designed to give the Air Mail a start; after wooden prop — and nothing happened. Again three months it turned over operations to the they tried, and again, until their arms grew Post Office Department. Lipsner resigned weary. Not far from the plane President from the service to become the first Air Mail Woodrow Wilson fidgeted, obviously annoyed Superintendent, and immediately began put- at the delay. The captain in charge conferred ting the service on a civilian footing. Among nervously with the chief mechanic. Someone his first steps was the hiring of civilian pilots checked the gas tank; it was empty. Men and the purchase of six new Standard biplanes scurried to correct the oversight, and. when the to supplement the surplus warplanes then plane was fueled, it burst into life and taxied available. Together with Jennies and DH-4's, across the field for takeoff. Boyle took her the Standards comprised the backbone of the up low over a line of trees at the end of the early Air Mail fleet. field, giving everyone in attendance a moment The Air Mail made its first long haul in of fright. But at last the Jenny was airborne September 1918 when pilots Max Miller and and gaining altitude. The President and his Ed Gardner maimed separate planes across wife headed toward their car and the crowd the feared "hell stretch" of the Allegheny began to disperse. Capt. Benjamin Lipsner Mountains. Miller and Gardner carried 400 breathed a sigh of relief now that the first pounds of mail apiece on the New York to worrisome moments of his project were over, Chicago flight, arriving safely at their destina- and was heading for the hangar when he tion after suffering engine breakdowns, missed turned back for a last look at the mail plane. landmarks and numerous forced landings. 80 Impatient with old-line thinking, Gen. "Billy" Mitchell brought about his own court-martial by denouncing the country's military and civil aviation policies

A more ambitious span was planned in tions like these were only stopgap measures. 1921, when two flights each, out of New New designs were needed, yet the Air Mail York and San Francisco, were to travel cross- Service, operating at a loss with scarcely country in a series of continuous relays to the enough funds to keep running, was in no opposite coasts. The westbound flights ran position to support a technological develop- into heavy snow and only one reached ment program. Time and the course of events

Chicago where it was forced to stop. The were to change that. Before the decade was eastbound team out of San Francisco lost a over, American aviation received an infusion pilot when he dived to his death in Nevada. of ideas and money which created new fer-

But the other flight kept going until it relayed ment in the industry and led directiy to the

its way to New York in 33 hours and 20 birth of the airlines.

minutes. It was this flight which provided the Helping pave the way to commercial avia- occasion for one of aviation's greatest mo- tion in the United States was — unexpectedly ments, when Jack Knight flew through night — the court martial of one of America's most and snow across unfamiliar ground, from famous airmen, Billy Mitchell. The outspoken North Platte, Nebraska, to Chicago. In so Mitchell, long a thorn in the side of tradition- doing "Skinny" Knight, who had refused to minded officers because of his advocacy of halt his flight even though a relief pilot did air power, had stunned the defenders of naval not show up along the route, gave the Air superiority in 1921 with his bombing demon- Mail Service a much needed publicity boost strations off the Virginia capes. Using the

in its effort to extract a new appropriation former German battleship Ostjriesland as a from Congress. target, Mitchell's Martin bombers polished off The transcontinental mail relay showed that the big ship in two brief installments. Four regular coast-to-coast service would some day years later, in 1925, Mitchell dropped a verbal

be practical, but it also illustrated some blockbuster on the military establishment with fundamental weaknesses in the state of avia- a slashing attack on the Navy's handling of tion at the time. Landing fields were too an attempt by three flying boats to reach

scarce, and aids to night flying almost non- Hawaii from California. None made it; in the

existent. As a result, the Post Office Depart- worst mishap one lost its bearings, ditched ment laid out a network of emergency land- in the sea and drifted helplessly for 10 days ing fields along the routes. It also asked the before being picked up. "These accidents are Sperry Gyroscope Company to develop pow- the direct results of incompetency, criminal erful revolving beacons that were to become negligence and almost treasonable administra- "lighthouses of the sky" across the country. tion of the National Defense by the Navy and Even more pressing was the aircraft prob- War Departments," said Mitchell in a long lem. The war types in use were no substitute and bitterly worded statement. Few were sur- for the kind of planes needed to perform prised when a court martial resulted. The across long distances, through the black of trial lasted two months and ended in Mitchell's night and in foul weather. DH-4's were im- suspension from the military service. Con- proved by shifting the pilot away from the ducted in the glare of press coverage, the biplane's notorious gas tank to the rear cock- trial fixed national attention on the officer's pit (the DH-4 never shook its "Flaming charges. Was there "criminal negligence" of

Coffin" nickname), adding night lights and military aviation? Was it so, as Mitchell had strengthening the landing gear. But modifica- said, that "our pilots know they are going 81 Right Boeing 40 biplane could carry 1,600 pounds of mail and two passengers

Below Ford tri-motor, mail-passenger planes earned more carrying mail than in passenger operations

to be killed if they stay in the service, on account of the methods employed, in the

old floating coffins that we are still flying?" Even before the trial was over an Aircraft Inquiry Board was looking at military and

civil aviation practices. The Morrow Board

(called after its chairman, ) did not agree with Mitchell's longtime ad- vocacy of a separate air force; this had to wait until after World War II to become a

reality. But it did make recommendations to improve military and civil aviation, among them a recommendation that the Department of Commerce take a hand in the development of commercial aviation. As a result Congress passed an act the following year establishing a Bureau of Aeronautics in the Department and setting up regulations that played an im- portant part in commercial aviation's future. The real turning point toward creating the airlines came from a slightly earlier piece of legislation, the Air Mail Act of 1925. Called

the Kelly Act after its sponsor. Representative Clyde Kelly of Pennsylvania, this measure gave the Postmaster General the authority to contract for airmail service with private air operators. The practice of parceling out airmail work to private lines was not exactly new. William Boeing, a wealthy young sports- man with an interest in flying, had run the first private airmail project in 1919 with his partner Eddie Hubbard, carrying mail be- tween ocean liners and Seattle. At least two other private carriers also worked out-of-the- way routes. But the Kelly Act took the whole airmail operation out of the hands of

the Post Office Department and turned it over to private business. The Department first set up short "feeder" routes between various cities and scheduled the start of a transcon- tinental "Columbia" route once the short lines were working satisfactorily. Business- men, lured by the Kelly Act's allowance of 80 percent of airmail revenue to the con-

82 Airmail feeder routes were contracted to private operators in 1926. The transcontinental express sections were set up in 1927 and commercial air travel across the United States became a reality

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tractor who carried it, flooded the Post Office between New York and Boston, was the Department with more than 5,000 bids. From predecessor of American Airlines. Western these the Department chose the operators of Express, operator of CAM-4 from Los 12 feeder or CAM (Contract Air Mail) routes Angeles to Salt Lake, eventually became part linking cities throughout the nation. of TWA. Northwest Airlines picked up CAM- The opening of the Columbia route in 9 from Chicago to Minneapolis after its ori-

1927 provided further stimulus to commercial ginal contractor gave it up. In addition to aviation. Boeing won the western segment National Air Transport, United absorbed the from the West Coast to Chicago, and eventu- operators of two western routes, Vamey Lines ally joined hands with the engine-makers which had won CAM-5, and Pacific Air Pratt and Whitney to form United Aircraft; Transport, operator of CAM-8. And in the United soon won controlling interest in the midwest, the biggest name in automobiles, carrier along the eastern segment of the Henry Ford, emerged as a major force on the transcontinental route. National Air Trans- aviation scene by winning the contracts for port. Boeing's advent into commercial avia- CAM-6 and CAM-7 between Detroit, Chi- tion had other far-reaching effects. To hurdle cago and Cleveland. Ford's advent into avia- the high Rockies he produced a new airplane, tion gave a skeptical public new confidence the Boeing 40, powered by the new "Wasp" in air transport — if the astute auto manu- radial engine and equipped to carry two facturer was willing to get into the business passengers in addition to its mail cargo. The there must be something to it. B-40 pointed the way to even bigger and Even greater public faith was inspired by faster planes — the Fokker and Ford tri- an event in 1927. That year an obscure air- motors of the late Twenties. mail pilot, who had been making the CAM-2 The Air Mail contracts provided the genesis run between St. Louis and Chicago, flew alone for several of the modern airlines. Colonial across the Atlantic Ocean. His flight was to

Air Lines, which won CAM Route No. 1 open a new phase in aviation history.

83 Flight of Flights

Nature seemed to conspire against Charles flying. Ever since he had been bitten by the A. Lindbergh as he warmed up his Ryan transatlantic bug while transporting the mail monoplane that gray morning of May 20, between St. Louis and Chicago the year be- 1927. Rain had soaked Roosevelt Field in fore, one obstacle after another seemed to Long Island during the night, turning the stand in his way. Determined to make the sandy clay of its runway into a soft and flight, he had surmounted each one. It wasn't springless surface. Minutes before, a slight Raymond Orteig's prize offer of $25,000 that headwind favorable for takeoff had changed made the long hop so attractive. Lindbergh to a tailwind. And to make matters worse, the had a love of flying, a desire to excel in his Spirit of St. Louis' radial engine was register- art, and a profound faith in the future of ing 30 revolutions too low on the instrument aviation. He was sure a nonstop ocean cross- panel before Lindbergh's eyes. His mechanic ing from New York to Paris would advance reminded him that the Wright Whirlwind was aviation as no other flight ever had. merely protesting the wet weather, but that From the start Lindbergh decided he was little satisfaction for a pilot about to take would make the crossing in a single-engine off with an overload of fuel on a trip across plane. Wouldn't a multi-engine craft, say a the vast Atlantic Ocean. Fokker trimotor, be more certain to get

Bad breaks were nothing new for the lanky across? His St. Louis backers had asked the young flyer from the midwest. As a barn- young pilot some rather penetrating questions stormer and later as an Army airman serving on that account. No, said Lindbergh, multi- a brief hitch in Texas, Lindbergh had learned engine planes were more complicated and to withstand — and survive — the perils of expensive. They handled harder in rough 84 As the Spirit of St. Louis lifted slowly above Roosevelt Field a drama began which did not end until "Lone Eagle," Charles A. Lindbergh, touched down in Paris 33 hours later

weather and besides, the loss of an engine fatalities but sustaining enough damage to over the middle of the ocean would probably set back departure plans. The Nungesser prevent him from reaching land anyway. flight disappeared over the Atlantic and was

Still, Lindbergh had asked the Fokker com- never seen again. In the Chamberlin camp pany for a price on their airplane and had bickering broke out over the choice of crew. been given one he couldn't possible meet — At the Ryan ' plant Lindbergh and Hall $90,000. He had tried hard to buy a Bellanca worked steadily on. There would be no feuding monoplane, but the deal had fallen through on this project. Not only had the businessmen after the owner demanded the right to pick the putting up their money given Lindbergh a free crew. The eager flyer had also received a hand in all details, but the sober-faced young quick turndown from a midwest manufac- flyer from Minnesota would have no crew turer, Travel Air. And so he had turned to problems. He wanted to make the trip alone, a small west coast concern that made mail he told Hall, when the designer asked him planes, Ryan Airlines. Ryan said it could where he wanted cockpits for himself and the build the plane Lindbergh wanted in two navigator. "I only want one cockpit," Lind- months for $6,000 plus engine. The young bergh had replied. "I'll do the navigating airman figured total costs at something over myself." In place of the extra man he pre- $10,000. With a $15,000 check from his St. ferred more fuel. He needed that as insurance Louis backers in his pocket, Lindbergh told for the long crossing. the Ryan company to go. ahead. The Spirit of St. Louis was a custom-made While Lindbergh pored over details of airplane from start to finish. Lindbergh design with Ryan's chief engineer, Donald wanted no frills in the cockpit, just a wicker Hall, a number of other flyers set their sights seat, his instruments, windows on either side on an Atlantic venture. Each was nearer and a skylight overhead. Because he didn't readiness than Lindbergh. One expedition was want to be sandwiched between engine and led by Lieutenant Commander Noel Davis, gas tanks in a crackup, a fuel tank rode who was to fly a Keystone trimotor, the ahead of the pilot, just where the windshield American Legion. Richard Byrd, aerial con- should be. This gave the plane a blind spot querer of the North Pole, was readying a directly ahead, but Lindbergh said he could Fokker trimotor named America for the trip, get what forward view he needed from the while a third flight boasting the Bellanca side windows. The plane could carry 450 Lindbergh had sought, now named Columbia, gallons of gas and do 120 miles per hour was being prepared by onetime barnstormer with its 237-horsepower Whirlwind wide

Clarence Chamberlin. A fourth flight involved open. It was graceful in appearance, but un- the French war ace who stable in flight — a factor that helped keep planned to fly in the opposite direction, from its pilot awake when he was trying to ward Paris to New York. off sleep on the long trip to Europe. The Lindbergh kept following reports of their Spirit of St. Louis was not a novice's airplane, progress, figuring that if any of them made' the but that didn't matter. No one but Lindbergh crossing he would change his plans and fly ever flew it. across the Pacific. In April 1927 the Amer- Lindbergh had plenty of practice with his

ican Legion cracked up on its final test flight, plane by the time he was ready to depart;

killing Davis and his navigator. Byrd's Fokker he'd flown it cross-country in two headline- also crashed on a test flight, causing no making segments from the west coast to St.

85 Richard E. Byrd Charles Nungesser

Louis and from that city to New York. But it stopped functioning. Past the clouds, though, was strange to his touch that momentous waves of sleep returned. Groggy, he flew on spring morning of May 20th. "The Spirit of through the night, telling himself over and

St. Louis feels more like an overloaded truck over that if he didn't stay awake, "there's no than an airplane," he thought to himself as alternative but death and failure." Once the he headed down the runway on Roosevelt plane began falling out of control and the

Field. An eternity seemed to pass before the pilot brought it level with a jolt. A little later airplane's wheels lifted off the soggy ground the desire to sleep became so overpowering

. . . until it cleared a row of telephone wires that Lindbergh stuck his head out a side at the end of the field. Once aloft, Lindbergh window and let the slipstream's blast of air found surprisingly good response in controls wash over his face. That seemed to turn the in spite of the fact that the Ryan's wing was trick; awareness began to return. supporting 5,000 pounds of airplane, fuel Still over the ocean 26 hours out of New- and pilot. He pointed its nose northeast along York Lindbergh spotted a small fleet of fish- the great circle route to Paris and passed over ing boats and circled down to shout, "Which the American coastline under clearing skies. way to Ireland?" One head appeared from a By noon Lindbergh was over Nova Scotia, cabin and seemed to stare dumbly back. Non- wondering if anyone had spotted his plane, plussed, Lindbergh resumed his course. He and a few hours later he winged over the passed over Ireland with a sense of elation rugged coastline of Newfoundland. Beyond and a growing feeling of confidence. If Paris was open sea — that lonely expanse from were socked in, he mused, he might even fly which there could be no turning back. He on to Rome. What a surprise that would be noted for the first time that he already had a to the people back home! powerful desire to sleep. There had been It was just past 10 p.m. in Paris when the precious little chance for that the night before. sound of the Spirit of St. Louis was heard Friends had taken him to see the Broadway above the city. Lindbergh hunted for signs show Rio Rita but before the party arrived at of Le Bourget Aerodrome, which he had been the theater someone had remembered to check told he couldn't miss if he flew northeast the weather. After weeks of storms, the from the city. He puzzled at the rows of lights weather bureau now reported, the forecast radiating from the field, then concentrated his was for clearing across the Atlantic with local dulled senses on the job of landing at night storms only. Acutely aware that both Byrd on an unfamiliar runway. The Spirit of St. and Chamberlin also were waiting for the Louis had touched down and had begun weather to break, Lindbergh hurried back taxiing toward a hangar when it was sur- to Roosevelt Field. He had lain down for a rounded by a wave of humanity. A massive couple of hours but sleep wouldn't come. crowd had gathered at the airport to welcome Now, over the trackless seas, when the steady him. The traffic jam that ensued explained the drone of his engine was the only sound he lights seen by Lindbergh. The pilot cut the heard, Lindbergh yearned for rest. For a switch and looked out on a sea of faces time the combination of flying and threatening shouting in accents strange to his ears. Be- weather kept mind and body alert. He hind him he heard the sounds of ripping climbed over a thick fog, then ran into cold fabric and cracking wood — the souvenir masses of clouds. Ice formed on the wing and hunters had already gone to work. He opened for awhile he feared his instruments had the door and stepped out, but was caught up

86 "All the Nevis Thai's Fit to Print." Sljje J^eta il^rk ^xmt0.

VOL LXXVI NEW YOIIK. aUNDi - FJVKCESTS„ LINDBERGH DOES IT! TO PARIS IN 33% HOURS; FLIES 1,000 MILES THROUGH SNOWAND SLEET; CHEERING FRENCH CARRY HIM OFF FIELD

W COi 500 lll[S FilfiTIIEB [1=

Gasoline for at Least That Much More Breaks Through Lines of Soldiers and

flow at Times From 1 Feet to Police aniJ Surging to Plane Lifts

i 0.000 Feet Above Water. Weary Flier from His Cockpit

HI ONiy ONf IKH Ittlf Of HIS K SWOWMS mm NE m m mfi moe of i^m

Paris Boulevards Ring Witli Celebration Alter Day

aniJ Night Watch—American Flag Is Called

For and Wildly Acclaimed

immediately by the crowd and carried off. flight. In June, two weeks after the Spirit of His flight was over almost 33Vi hours after St. Louis' crossing, Clarence Chamberlin flew he had left New York. from New York to Germany aboard the same The honors, more fittingly the worship, Bellanca Lindbergh had turned down during accorded Lindbergh must be recorded as his search for a plane to make the trip. A few unique in the history of man. Although offi- days later Richard Byrd and his crew of three cially ineligible for the (the attempted a New York to Paris flight in their required 60 days between entry and flight had Fokker trimotor, but had to settle for a forced not elapsed), he was awarded the check landing in heavy fog off the French coast. without hesitation by the prize committee. That June of 1927 also saw another Fokker Home again with his plane, which was blaze a trail from the California coast to shipped back aboard the cruiser Memphis, the Hawaii. The demanding journey, requiring young hero embarked on a flying tour of the pinpoint navigation, was made by two Army nation which covered 22,350 miles and stops flyers. Lieutenants Lester G. Maitland and

in 82 cities. He spoke about aviation and its Albert F. Hegenberger. future importance; and wherever he went Lindbergh's own journey touched off a new crowds hailed and officials honored him. boom in commercial aviation as well. The Cities groomed airports to greet him and those year after his crossing, mail loads trebled and without facilities built them. The flight of the the number of passengers flying American "Lone Eagle" stirred the nation to greater lines quadrupled. Investors hurried to put enthusiasm for aviation than ever before. their money into the budding airlines. Sudden- A burst of activity followed the Lindbergh ly, aviation was becoming big business.

87 15 Unlimltecl Horizons

The value of long distance flights dimin- raise money to develop the idea, without much ished after made his epic success. Adding to his frustration was the crossing of the Atlantic. Ocean crossings be- British government's official indifference. came frequent, and far-flung trips across iso- "Scientific investigation into the possibilities lated parts of the world became commonplace. has given no indication that this method can

It took a flight like Wiley Post's round-the- be a serious competitor to the airscrew-engine world trip in 1933, made in his Lockheed combination," said the British Under Secretary Vega "Winnie Mae," to capture the public of State for Air in 1934. By 1937, however, imagination. Four years later a freckle-faced Whittle had put together enough financial aviatrix named gave the backing to run a test on his newly constmcted world a moment of heartbreak when she and jet. During several trials, the flaming monster her navigator were lost in the Pacific during ran out of control while its inventor stood by a globe-circling attempt. paralyzed with fright. The engine held enough

But increasingly, it was the engmeer with promise for the government to become in- a slide rule, rather than the pUot in the skies, terested, and in 1939 a new test series was who assumed importance as the decade of launched with official support. A year and a the Thirties dawned. Airplane speeds were half after Britain went to war with Germany becoming greater, ranges more distant and a Whittle engine first powered an airplane in altitudes higher. The public still thrilled to the flight. The date was May 15, 1941. daring achievements of individual airmen and A few forward-looking Germans also were airwomen, but aircraft progress now depended interested in jet propulsion. In 1936 the upon scientific advances in such areas as Heinkel aircraft company hired a young engine technology, aerodynamics and metal- physicist named Hans von Ohain to develop lurgy. The rapid progress made in those fields his own newly patented jet. Like Whittle, von since the Twenties has wrought a revolution Ohain was disappointed with his initial tests. in aircraft which has pushed our goals from But by 1939 the company had produced a the air above to the trackless space beyond satisfactory turbojet engine and installed it in the earth's atmosphere. a Heinkel He- 178 fighter. The plane was Even as Lindbergh flew the Atlantic, the demonstrated before a skeptical contingent foundations of two momentous developments of German officers in August of 1939 were being laid in remote comers of the but failed to make much of an impression. aviation world. One of them was the gas- The beginning of World War II five days later turbine jet engine, a concept which eliminated gave Nazi leaders second thoughts, however. the propeller and relied on the thrust of ex- By 1942, Germany had produced a new jet haust gases for propulsion. Another was the engine and installed it in the prototype of rocket engine, which is the conversion of an its first operational jet fighter, the Me-262A. age-old explosive device mto a powerful The application of rocket power to con- aerial motor. trolled flight also goes back to the Twenties. The modem jet engine stems from the tur- The use of rockets for aerial displays dates bine theories of a British engineer, Dr. A. A. back at least to the 13th century; a form of Griffith, in 1926 and from the jet engine rocket was used in warfare by the Arabs patent of a young officer, as early as the 7th century. Early in this Frank Whittle, in 1930. For several years century, theories on the use of rockets for after receiving his patent, Whittle tried to space flight were advanced by the German,

88 The first flight of Whittle jet engine installed in a Gloster aircraft took place at Cranwell, England, on May 15, 1941

Hermann Oberth, and the Russian, K. E. to keep pace with rival nations. Increasing Tsiolkovsky, who wrote in 1903 that rockets numbers of private citizens bought their own fueled by liquid propellants must be the light airplanes, emphasizing the need for means for space travel. safe design and construction. And the gaudy

It was an American, Dr. Robert H. God- air races of the Twenties and Thirties served dard, who put theory into practice by firing both as a proving ground for innovations and the world's first liquid-propellant rocket in an incentive for better airplanes. 1926. The flight, which was made in Auburn, The big racing contests of the era were the Massachusetts, traveled 184 feet in two and Schneider Trophy Race and the National a half seconds. In 1929 the modest professor Air Races, and they were unmatched by any of physics started a new series of tests in sport for excitement. At worst, they were which one flight climbed to 2,000 feet at a Roman carnivals of thrills and spills. Three rate of 500 miles an hour. Dr. Goddard's most pilots and a spectator were killed and a important contributions were made in the dozen onlookers injured in the 1930 National field of flight control rather than in speed or Air Races in Chicago. At best, though, they distance. He is credited with the first use of fielded some superb airplanes which foretold gyroscopically controlled guide vanes in the things to come. Two of the sleekest designs exhaust stream, later used by the Germans in of the period, the American Curtiss biplane their V-2 guided missile of World War II. racer and the British Supermarines S-5 and Like the development of jet engines and S-6 monoplanes, were winners of Schneider modem rocketry, the major steps toward the races. The Curtiss, whose 1925 victory was improvement of conventional aircraft took achieved with Army Lieutenant James Doo- place in the relative obscurity of scientific little at the controls, gave birth to the famous laboratories and engineering workshops. The line of Hawk fighters. The Supermarines were monoplane replaced the biplane after 1930 father to the legendary British Spitfire fighter by virtue of the unbraced-cantilever wing whose speed and all-around capabilities (first used in the German Junkers fighter of checked the German Luftwaffe's London

1915) and an understanding of the effects of blitz during World War II. After taking per- drag. Progress in metallurgy resulted in the manent possession of the Schneider cup, the replacement of wood and fabric by all-metal, pontoon-equipped Supermarine S-6B cracked stressed-skin construction. Improved liquid- the world's speed record in 1931 by racing a cooled engines were tailored to the lines of then fantastic 407.5 m.p.h. streamlined fuselages; radial engines were The National Air Races inspired a number covered by low-drag cowlings. Retractable of flying freaks, such as the Granville landing gear were widely introduced in the Brothers' Gee Bee, a barrel-shaped "flying mid-Thirties. Improvements in propellers were silo" which won the 1932 Thompson speed underlined by the introduction of variable- trophy under Doolittle's skilled command. pitch and constant-speed mechanisms. Built around a powerful radial Wasp engine, Unlike jet and rocket research, however, the Gee Bee design proved to be too hot to conventional piston-engine aircraft were con- handle; every one ever built crashed. Better stantly in the public view. Often the very uses designs gained equal fame, such as Roscoe to which airplanes were put helped hasten Turner's Wedell-Williams racer, winner of the new developments. Military aircraft had to 1933 Bendix cross-country trophy and the be built to meet the demands of warfare and 1934 Thompson trophy, and the all-metal

89 Commercial airliners 1933-1969 (top to bottom) Boeing 247, Douglas DC-3, Boeing 314 Clipper, Boeing 707 Jetliner, Boeing 747 Superjet

Seversky P-35 pursuit plane, victor in the Bendix in 1937, '38 and 39.

Although it never actually entered a Na- tional Air Race, the H-1 single engine speed- ster of millionaire Howard Hughes set a high standard for contestants to match. The H-1,

as cleanly designed as it was beautiful, made a dash of over 352 m.p.h. in 1935 to break

the 3 km speed record, but its pilot-owner

mercifully withdrew it from the Thompson the following year when some entrants protested

its clear superiority. The H-1, which also set a cross-country record in 1937, was loaded with innovations which included a flush

riveted metal fuselage and jet thrust exhaust. Commercial aircraft reflected the advancing technology of the times in two notable de- signs. One was the Boeing 247, a 10-passen- ger low wing monoplane capable of cruising at

about 1 85 m.p.h. The other was the Douglas DC-2, a 14-passenger plane of similar con- figuration which cruised at about 190 m.p.h. These all-metal transports, both equipped with retractable landing gear, represented a marked improvement over earlier airliners and started a new phase in air travel. The DC-3, which succeeded the DC-2 in 1935, became the workhorse of airlines all over the world. It went on to chalk up a distinguished military

record during World War II, and continued in the service of many small airlines as late as the 1960's. Flying boats wrote a significant chapter in aircraft development before the war. Models built by the Sikorsky, Martin and Boeing companies in the United States, by the Short Brothers in Britain, and by the Dornier and Blohm und Voss concerns in Germany paved commercial aviation's way across the oceans. Boeing's giant B-314 Yankee Clipper, in- troduced in 1938, provided an escape route for hundreds of European refugees as World

War 11 broke out. But for all its promise, the flying boat became a casualty of the war.

90 Right The North American X-15 rocket plane climbed to altitudes of over 354,200 feet- about 67 miles — and reached speeds of over 4,500 miles per hour

Opposite The Bell X-1, first aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound &':

When peace resumed, its intercontinental role jet plunge in 1952 by putting into service the was taken over by new long-range landplanes. graceful De Havilland Comet. Two years later World War II gave a great boost to aircraft the plane had to be withdrawal after a series development, not only in the refinement of of tragic accidents which were caused by conventional types but in. the first practical metal fatigue in the cabin. The commercial use of helicopters and the emergence of jet jet lead was assumed by the United States, airplanes. Fighters entered the war with top where in 1958 the Boeing 707 was placed in speeds of around 350 m.p.h. At the close of service. A little over a year later nearly two hostilities in 1945 planes like the late version and a half million passengers had flown them. of the Spitfire, Germany's Me- 109 and Focke- The jet age had arrived.

Wulf FW-190, and the United States' North Aviation's future is not tied to speed alone. American Mustang P-51 were doing approx- The demand for short-distance, fast air trans- imately 450 m.p.h. Bomber design improved port to and from crowded airports has led too. By war's end, America's Boeing B-29, to a profusion of STOL (Short Take Off and with a range of 4,100 miles and speed of 350 Landing) and VTOL (Vertical Take Off and m.p.h., was dumping bomb loads of 20,000 Landing) designs. The need for greater pay- pounds on German and Japanese cities. New loads has produced still another new breed, uses were found for existing aircraft which the giant or "jumbo" jet, with a seating had far-reaching effects. The old biplane capacity for more than 500 passengers. The found a role as trainer, and the DC-3 and its first of the new generation to go into sched- successor, the DC-4, as troop and cargo uled airline service was the Boeing 747 in transports. The glider made a comeback as a the fall of 1969. troop carrier under the tow of bombers or Travel at supersonic speeds promises to transports. The helicopter began its career of come next. A rocket-driven experimental diverse duties. plane, the Bell X-1, broke the sound barrier Most important to the future of aviation, (approximately 760 m.p.h. at sea level and however, was the advent of the jet. During 650 m.p.h. in the stratosphere) in 1947 by the war, propeller-driven planes reached the reaching Mach 1.07 (700 m.p.h.). The X-15 limit of their capabilities; beyond speeds of research airplane has since flown over 4,500 450 m.p.h., engineers knew, their efficiency m.p.h. — more than six times the speed of was sharply reduced. Before the war was over sound. Since the 1950's, military jets pro- their successors — the jets — were in the skies. duced by the leading nations routinely fly at Britain's entry was the twin-jet Gloster supersonic speeds, pointing the way to a new Meteor, and Germany's, the twin-engine Me- future for commercial aviation. Already 262 as well as the V-1 flying bomb, driven by scheduled for commercial operation by 1971 the pulse-jet engine, a variation of the turbo- is the joint French-British Concorde super- jet. Intense work on military jet designs sonic transport (SST), a Mach 2.2 design continued after the war, but because of high which made its first successful test hops early costs of converting from piston-engine air- in "1969. The Soviet Union's entry in the craft already on hand, commercial aviation SST field is the TU-144, which by the middle was slow to introduce them. An economical of 1969 was reported to have broken the interim engine was the turbo-prop, a hybrid sound barrier several times during test flights. prop jet that survives in short haul air trans- The TU-144 was designed by Andrei Tupo- ports. Finally, the British took the "pure" lev, the Soviet's leading aircraft designer.

91 The United States Supersonic Transport (SST) when built will travel at speeds of 1.800 miles per hour and have a 300 to 350 passenger capacity

A larger and even faster SST is planned complex array of rocket-propelled missiles in the United States. This plane, the Boeing which could be applied to peaceful or mili-

733, is designed for speeds of Mach 2.7 tary purposes. The most ambitious of their (1,800 m.p.h.) with accommodations for projects involved man's efforts to probe the 300 passengers. One of supersonic flight's vast expanse beyond the earth. many complex problems is achieving low The Space Race between the United States takeoff and landing speeds in and out of air- and the U.S.S.R. opened with the Soviet's ports. Other major problems are seen in such 1957 launching of Sputnik I, the first space phenomena as supersonic boom and in high vehicle to achieve orbit. A series of more altitude, clear air turbulence (CAT). But SST sophisticated satellites followed, and in 1961 engineers contend that like other seemingly the U.S.S.R. put the first man, Major Yuri insolvable problems throughout aviation his- Gagarin, into orbit around the earth. The tory, these too will be overcome. following year .America had an astronaut of

As an age of supersonic transports begins, a its own. Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, different kind of flight, this time to land man on circling the globe. By 1969 the landing of another celestial body, has taken place. Man's men on the Moon, the climactic event in first ventures into space have opened a new America's Apollo series, had become a reality. epoch of flight. The first tentative steps taken As Neil Armstrong placed the first human along these paths are the realization of our foot on the surface of the Moon, he was ancient yearning to know and understand the heard to say, "That's one small step for man, universe. Efforts toward this end began after one giant leap for mankind." But the Moon

World War II, when American and Soviet is only the first step toward outer space. The scientists, expanding upon the Germans' war- planets lie beyond, and some day man seems time rocket research, were able to devise a destined to visit them too.

92 Index

Ader, Clement, 20 Farman, Henri, 27, 79 Miller, Max, 80 Aerial Experiment Association Farman biplane, 27, 30 Mitchell, William, 55, 56, 68, 81 (A.E.A.), 21, 23, 24, 26 Focke-Wulf Fw-190, 91 Mitscher, Marc, 64 Albatros (airplane), 47, 51 Fokker, Anthony, 43, 45, 68 Moisant, John B., 29, 31, 32 Alcock, John, 66, 68 Fokker E-3, 47; T-2, 69, 71; Montgolfier brothers, 17 America (airplane), 85 Trimotor, 83 Nieuport, 28, 29, 35, 45, 47. 48 America (airship), 19, 37 Ford Trimotor, 83, 84 50, 51, 57 /l/»eric'a( flying boat), 60 Foulois, Benjamin D., 38, 39 Nungesser, Charles, 67, 85 Antoinette (airplane), 29, 30 41, 57 Oberth, Hermann, 89 Arnold, Henry H., 31 Gagarin, Yuri, 92 Ohain, Hans von, 88 Atwood, Harry N., 30 Gardner, Ed, 80 Badger, William R., 29 Garros, Roland, 31, 43 Parmalee, Philip, 29, 38, 39 Baldwin, Frederick W., 22, 24 Gee Bee, 89 Parsons, Edward "Ted," 44 Baldwin, Thomas S., 18, 21, 32 Genet, Edmond, 44, 47 Penaud, Alphonse, 16, 19 Barin, Lou, 64 Giffard, Henri, 18 Phillips, Horatio, 19 Beachey, Lincoln, 29, 31, 32, 34 Glenn, John H., 92 Pilcher, Percy, 19 Beck, Captain Paul W., 33, 40 Gloster Meteor, 91 Post, Wiley, 77, 88 Bell X-1 (experimental plane), 91 Goddard, Dr. Robert H., 89 Prince, Norman, 44, 47, 48 Bell X-15, 91 Gold Bug, 26 Quimby, Harriet, 32 Bell, Alexander Graham, 22 Gordon Bennett trophv, 26, 28, Raynam, Frederick P., 66 Bellanca, 84; Columbia, 85 29, 35 Read, Albert C, 63, 66, 67 Bellinger, Patrick, 40, 62, 64, Grahame-White, Claude, 28, 29, 30 65 Red Wing, 21, 23 Berliner, Emile, 16 Grieve, K. Mackenzie, 66 Rickenbacker. Edward, 50, 51, 52 Bleriot, Louis, 35 Gros, Dr. Edmund, 44 27, Rockwell, Kiffen, 44, 45, 47 Boeing B-314 (Yankee Clipper), 90 Haenlein, Paul, 20 Rodgers, Calbraith P., 29. 30, 31 Boeing 247, 90 Hall, James Norman, 44, 45, 51 Rodgers, Slats, 75 Boeing, 707, 91 Hall, W. Bert, 44 Boeing, 747, 91 Salmson 2A2, 55 Hamilton. Charles K.. 27. 30 Boeing, William, 82 SE-5, 54 Handley-Page, 55, 58, 62 Boiling Commission. 58. Santos-Dumont, Alberto, 18 60 Hargrave, Lawrence. 16 Selfridge, Thomas E., 22, 23, 27 Boyle, George L., 80 Hawker, Harry G., 66 Seversky, P-35, 89 Breguet (airplane), 55 Hawks, Frank, 77 Bristol F2B, 58 Sikorsky, Igor, 17 Hegenberger, Albert F., 87 Sdver Dart, lA Brookins, Walter, 28,29, 31 Heinkel HE-178, 88 Brown, Arthur W., 66 Smithsonian Institution, 9, 10, Hill, Dudley. 44. 49 11, 34 Byrd, Richard E., 65, 67, 73, 85 Hindenburg, 19 Spad, 47, 48, 51, 52, 55, 57 Campbell, Courtney, 44 Holland. John P.. 16 Spirit of St. Louis, 84, 85, 86, 87 Campbell, Douglas, Hoxsey, Arch. 31 50, 51 Springs, Elliot White, 54 Caproni bombers, 54, 58 Johnstone, Ralph, 28, 29, 31, 32 Stone. Elmer. 65 Cayley, Sir George, 16, 19 June Bug, 23, 24, 35 Supermarines S5 and S6. 89 Chamberlin, Clarence. 67, 85, 87 Chambers, Reed, 50 Kelly, G. E. M., 39, 68 Thaw, William H, 44, 47, 49 Chanute, Octave, 11, 19. 34 Kelly Act (Air Mail Act Thenaull, Capt. Georges, 44, 48 Chapman, Victor, 44 of 1925), 82 Thomas-Morse MB-3, 61 Clarke, Frank, 77, 78 Keystone (airplane). 85 Towers, John H., 36, 40, 62, 65 Coffyn, Frank, 29, 31, 33, 39 Kindley, Field, 54 Trenchard, Sir Hugh, 56 Concorde, 91 Knight, Jack, 81 Triad (A-1), 36 Tsiolkovsky, K. E., 89 Cornu, Paul, 16 Lafayette Escadrille, 43, 44, 48, Tupolev, Andrei, 91 Curtiss, Glenn H., 18, 21. 22, 23, 49, 51 24, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, Lahm, Frank P., 38 Vaughn, George, 54 37, 41, 60, 62 Langley, Samuel P., 8, 9, 11, 14, Vickers "Vimy," 67 Curtiss 18 "Kirkham", 61 20, 22, 34, 37 Villa, Francisco "Pancho," 40 Curtiss AH-3, 37 Latham, Hubert, 29, 30 Vin Fiz. 30 Curtiss H-12, 60 Liberty (engine), 58, 60, 68, 69 Von Richthofen, Baron, 51, 78 Curtiss JN-2, 41 Lilienthal, 19 Otto, 11, 12, 15, Wellman, Walter, 19 Curtiss JN-3, 41, 57 Lindbergh, Charles A., 67, 75, 84 Weymann, Charles T., 29 Curtiss JN-4, 4, 41, 60, 79 85, 86, 87, 88 White Wing, 23 Curtiss N-8, 41 Lipsner, Benjamin, Capt. 80 Whittle, Frank, 88 Curtiss R-2, 41 Loening M-8, 61 Willard, Charles, F., 27, 31 Lowe, Thaddeus S. C, 18, 62 Dargue. Lt. Herb A., 41 Williams, J. Newton, 17 Da Vinci, Leonardo, 15, 16 Lufbery, Raoul, 44, 48, 49, 51 Winslow, Alan, 50 61 De Havilland-4 (DH-4), 55, 57, LUSAC-11, Wise, John, 18 58, 80, 81 Macready, John, 68, 69 Wright Model A, 25 De Havilland-9 (DH-9), 59 Maitland, Lester G., 87 Wright. B, 38. 39 De Havilland Comet, 91 Manly, Charles M.. 10, 11, 20 Wright "Baby" racer, 28 Deperdussin, 35 Martin, Glenn L., 34, 61 Wright Fiver, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24 Doolittle. James, 89 Martin MB-1, 61 Wright Flyer III, 24, 25 Douglas DC-2, 90 Masson, Didier, 45 Wright brothers, 8, II, 12, 14, Douglas DC-3, 90, 91 Maxim, Sir Hiram, 19, 20 16. 19. 20. 21, 23, 24, 25, 31, Durant, Charles F., 15 McConnell, James, 44, 47 34. 38. 39, 41, 79 Earhart, Amelia, 88 McCurdy, John A. D., 22, 24 Wright, Orville, U, 12, 13, 14, Ellyson, Theodore G., 36 Messerschmidtt Me-109, 91 19. 23. 24. 25 Ely, Eugene, B.. 29, 31, 35 Messerschmidtt Me-262A, 88, 91 Wright, WUbur, 11, 12, 13, 25, 26 93

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