December 2012

Published on December 21, 2012 “During the last year or so great strides have been made in Germany in the development of the aeroplane, although the progress has been by no means easy, owing to the way in which the dirigible has captivated the mind of the public. While the aeroplane was developing from the [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: An all-metal concept using riveted duralumin sheets. Look Ma!  No bottom wing! The tail is a giveaway of the manufacturer’s marque. Testing in the snow — in what country did they do that? Severe vibrational problems plagued the plane to the end. So do you know what this [...]

Published on December 30, 2012 The Martin PBM-5 Mariner code-named G1 (or George One, in radio parlance at the time) made a long take off run, assisted by four JATO bottles to rise from the freezing waters off the coast of Antarctica.  Lifting off into a heavy snowstorm for the second mission of the day, [...]

Published on December 29, 2012 With the Battle of the Bulge in full swing, the Luftwaffe rose in large numbers to challenge Allied air power over front.  Every element of Allied air power was thrown into the battle and the 2nd Tactical Air Force, which was (with the USAAF’s 9th Air Force) a dedicated ground [...]

Published on December 28, 2012 At 20:37 on December 28, 1968, a flight of six Aerospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon helicopters  loaded with special forces commandos with seven escorting Bell helicopters as escort took off from the Israeli airfield at Ramat David, located southeast of Haifa and made their way northward.  Earlier, two Israeli Navy torpedo [...]

Published on December 27, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare The Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii erupted on November 21, 1935.  At first, the eruption was watched with concern, but then the lava flows stabilized.  Some weeks passed before the situation grew acute when a dangerous lava flow began rapidly advancing toward the city of Hilo [...]

Published on December 26, 2012 The Lavochkin La-176 was a competitive Soviet jet fighter prototype that competed against the MiG-15 for selection as the Soviet Union’s premiere jet fighter of the upcoming 1950s.  Yet while the MiG-15 was easier and cheaper to build, the La-176 was actually a more sophisticated bit of engineering.  As a [...]

Published on December 25, 2012 On December 24, 1968 — 44 years ago + one day — while orbiting the Moon, the three man crew of Apollo 8 took a rare step and broadcast a religious message from space back to Earth.  Although there were those who stated that the crew violated the principles of [...]

Published on December 25, 2012 Many of us know very well the yearly fun brought to old and young alike by NORAD and their tracking mission each year to watch over Santa as he flies around the world delivering presents.  It has been a tradition, in fact, since 1955 — and thus, this year is [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: Unique truly applies — there was only one. A late experiment in bird-like designs — nearly to World War I. Aerodynamically ahead of its time — but did it fly? Note the advanced tricycle landing gear. So do you know what this aircraft is?       Post [...]

Published on December 23, 2012 “We found Mr. Jezzi quite alone in overalls, with a scarf round his neck and carpet slippers on his feet, busy in his shed.  He was hard at it, fitting wind deflectors between the two V-set rows of cylinders of his J.A.P. engine so that it would keep cooler when [...]

Published on December 22, 2012 Cecil Stanley Grace was an Irish-American who hailed from a wealthy, elite American family.  His father, John William Grace, was a businessman and his uncle, W.R. Grace, was the former mayor of New York and the founder of the famous firm, W.R. Grace and Company.  In his youth, he emigrated [...]

Published on December 21, 2012 Hélène Dutrieu was a professional bicycle racer from Belgium.  Known as “La Flèche Humaine” (“The Human Arrow”), she was famous throughout Europe for her speed and stamina, having won the women’s speed track world championship in both 1897 and 1898 and then also the Grand Prix d’Europe in 1898.  By [...]

Published on December 20, 2012 Nguyen Van Coc rose rapidly to become North Vietnam’s leading ace in a combat career that lasted from 1965 to 1968.  Yet before he shot down a single American plane, he would fall victim to American fighter planes first when he was shot down during Operation Bolo.  Though he ejected [...]

Published on December 19, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare In 1917, Arthur “Pappy” Chalk began a small charter airline called the Red Arrow Flying Service in Florida.  Shortly afterwards when the US entered World War I, he suspended the airline’s operations and joined the US Army to fly.  After returning from the war, in February [...]

Published on December 18, 2012 The first weeks of the war in the Pacific were desperate.  Pearl Harbor was struck on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, and within hours, the Philippines was also under attack.  The US Army Air Corps had a large fleet of aircraft based at Clark Airfield on Luzon, including 72 P-40 [...]

Published on December 17, 2012 On this date in aviation history, 109 years ago, the Wright Brothers made their first successful flights of the Wright Flyer I at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  In doing so, they achieved a truly extraordinary feat, becoming the first to fly a heavier-than-air powered airplane under full control.  On their [...]

Published on December 16, 2012 Today’s date in aviation history marks the passing of America’s first truly “All-American” Ace, Douglas Campbell who died in 1990.  A patriot and an upper class member of the east coast elite, Douglas Campbell was enrolled in Harvard University when the war broke out.  Like most Americans and including his [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: An all-metal aircraft in a time of fabric and wire. The designer invented the world’s first flying wing — in 1910! An little known influence of the USAAF’s B-17 Flying Fortress. Destroyed by the RAF during World War II. So do you know what this aircraft is?   [...]

Published on December 15, 2012 In 1942, Glenn Miller was at the peak of his career, performing in sold out concerts across the United States. His record albums were fast sellers. Nonetheless, it had been only two years since his swing band and unique sound had grown popular. As musical stars went, he was a [...]

Published on December 14, 2012 Sitting together over lunch, the three discussed how a plane could be designed and built with one purpose in mind — to fly around the world, non-stop, with no aerial refueling.  It was a daunting task — many said it was the last great aviation achievement yet to be made [...]

Published on December 13, 2012 “This interesting hydro-biplane, which has been flying almost daily through the past year over Lake Windermere, may be said to have originated at Blackpool way back in 1909.  This, perhaps, seems rather curious, since as far as our mind takes us back, power-driven flying machines to rise from water were [...]

Published on December 12, 2012 On this date in aviation history in 1937, in the midst of Japan’s ongoing attacks against Nanking, China (now Nanjing), Japanese Navy aircraft again appeared in the skies over the Yangtze River.  Observing the ongoing air attacks against Chinese civilians in Nanking was the USS Panay, an American Navy gunboat [...]

Published on December 11, 2012 Captain Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Elrod was 36 years old and had been serving in the US Marine Corps since 1927.  He was commissioned as an officer in 1931 and in February 1935, Elrod became a Marine pilot after having served eight years in the Corps as an infantryman.  On December [...]

Published on December 10, 2012 As Navy Lieutenant Clarence E. Dickinson nosed his plane over, the submarine he had spotted northeast of Oahu threw up a hail of defensive anti-aircraft fire.  Ill-aimed, the tracer fire flashed close by as Dickinson focused on his bombing run.  He pulled the release and the SBD Dauntless dropped its [...]

Published on December 9, 2012 Kanichi Kashimura was a Pilot Officer Third Class with the Japanese Navy.  Sent to China in October 1937 and assigned to fly with the 13th Air Group, he soon entered combat flying a Type 97 “Claude”.  On November 22, 1937, he scored two kills against the Chinese over Nanjing.  Then, [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: This is definitely an American design. Your answer must include information about the nose. Flying over the USA in tests — but what’s the purpose? The engines killed the plane, but not due to engine troubles. So do you know what this aircraft is — and what is [...]

Published on December 6, 2012 “Pan American Flight 214 departed San Juan, Puerto Rico at 16:10 EST for a flight to Philadelphia with an intermediate stop at Baltimore.  The aircraft, named ‘Clipper Tradewind’ arrived at Baltimore at 19:35 and took off again after refueling at 20:24.  After contacting Philadelphia Approach Control the crew elected to [...]

Published on December 2012 As dawn broke, the twelve pilots of Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) finished their briefing for the morning search grid.  As usual, they proceeded to the aircraft carrier’s deck and boarded their planes.  Their flight was to take off at 0615, form up over the ship, the USS Enterprise (CV-6), and then [...]

Published on December 6, 2012 Fifteen years after Germany’s defeat in World War II, in July 1960, the West German Luftwaffe had reformed into a modern, capable jet force.  As an integral part of NATO, the new Luftwaffe transitioned from F-84 and F-86 fighter jets and reequipped with the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.  The Germans committed [...]

Published on December 5, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare It was mid-afternoon on December 5, 1945, just five months after the end of World War II, when a routine training mission of five aircraft took off and headed east from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for navigation training.  Over the next few hours, the planes would make [...]

Published on December 4, 2012 At the end of World War II, Dr. Brunholf Baade had emerged as one of Germany’s most advanced aeronautical engineers and theorists.  His greatest project was the Junkers Ju 287, an advanced jet aircraft that used the same proven Jumo jet engine that powered the Messerschmidt Me 262.  The Ju [...]

Published on December 3, 2012 At this time 100 years ago in England, the Royal Aero Club newsletter, Flight, was arriving in mailboxes across the country.  It carried much news of interest, ranging from an in-depth front page editorial about Britain’s rising position in aircraft manufacturing — delayed, but finally advancing as compared with ventures [...]

This Week’s Hints to help you along: That isn’t from France, Britain or Germany. Are those single engine bombers or something else. The tail flash is still a tricolor, but whose? Frankly, the uniforms are your best clue. So do you know what this aircraft is — and in whose service it flew?     [...]

Published December 2, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare The Luftwaffe’s evening raid on the Italian harbor of Bari caught the Allies by surprise. The planes, 105 in number. were Junkers Ju 88 A-4 bombers of Luftflotte 2. They struck from the north, an unexpected direction. Further, German air attacks had all but ceased in Italy [...]

Published on December 1, 2012 With a single signature on “Administrative Order 9″, on this date in aviation history in 1941, the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, who was also President Roosevelt’s appointed Director of the Civilian Defense, started a three month experiment called the Civil Air Patrol.  While America was still [...]