Tag Archives: Curtiss D-12

18 October 1922

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
Brigadier General William Mitchell, Air Service, United States Army, 1879–1936. (United States Air Force)

18 October 1922: At Selfridge Field, near Mount Clemens, Michigan, Assistant Chief of the Air Service Brigadier General William Mitchell set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Absolute Speed Record flying a Curtiss R-6 biplane, Air Service serial number A.S. 68564, over a 1 kilometer course at a speed of 358.84 kilometers per hour (222.973 miles per hour).¹

This was the same airplane with which Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan had won the Pulitzer Trophy just three days earlier.

Brigadier General William Mitchell stands in the cockpit of a Thomas Morse pursuit.

Sources vary as to the speed General Mitchell attained, e.g., 222.96 m.p.h., 222.97 m.p.h., 224.28 m.p.h., and 224.4 m.p.h. A contemporary news magazine listed the officially recognized speed as 224.58 miles per hour (361.43 kilometers per hour):

American World’s Speed Record Homologated

The speed record made by General Mitchell, of the American Air Service, on October 18 last year, when he attained a speed of 224.58 m.p.h., has now been homologated by the International Aeronautical Federation.

— FLIGHT,  The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 733. (No. 2, Vol. XV) January 11, 1923, at Page 26.

Brigadier General Billy Mitchell at Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1922. This airplane may be a Thomas-Morse MB-3 fighter. (U.S. Air Force)
Brigadier General Billy Mitchell at Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1922. This airplane may be a Thomas-Morse MB-3 fighter. (U.S. Air Force)

“Billy” Mitchell had been the senior American air officer in France during World War I. He was a determined advocate for the advancement of military air power and encouraged his officers to compete in air races and attempt to set aviation records to raise the Air Service’ public profile. He gained great notoriety when he bombed and sank several captured German warships to demonstrate the effectiveness of airplanes against ships.

His outspoken advocacy resulted in the famous Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, in which a military court consisting of twelve senior Army officers found Mitchell guilty of insubordination. He was reduced in rank and suspended for five years without pay. Major General Douglas MacArthur (later, General of the Army, a five-star rank) said that the order to serve on the court was “one of the most distasteful orders I ever received.” Mitchell resigned from the Army and continued to advocate for air power. He died in 1936.

After his death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt elevated Billy Mitchell to the rank of Major General on the retired officers list. The North American Aviation B-25 twin-engine medium bomber was named “Mitchell” in recognition of General Mitchell’s efforts to build up the military air capabilities of the United States.

The Curtiss R-6 Racers were single-engine, single seat, fully-braced biplanes with fixed landing gear, developed from the U.S. Navy Curtiss CR. The airplane and its D-12 Conqueror engine were both built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co., Garden City, New York. The fuselage was a stressed-skin monocoque, built with two layers of wood veneer covered by a layer of doped fabric. The wings were also built of wood, with plywood skins and fabric-covered ailerons. Surface radiators were used for engine cooling.

Two R-6 Racers were built of the U.S. Army at a cost of $71,000, plus $5,000 for spare parts.

The Curtiss R-6 was 19 feet, 0 inches (5.791 meters) long with a wing span of 19 feet, 0 inches (5.791 meters). It had an empty weight of 2,121 pounds (962 kilograms).

The R-6 was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated 1,145.11-cubic-inch-displacement (18.765 liter) Curtiss D-12 dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engine, which was developed by  Arthur Nutt, based on the earlier Curtiss K-12 which had been designed by Charles B. Kirkham. The D-12 had four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 5.7:1, and was rated at 415 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m., and 460 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. During testing, it produced a 475 horsepower at 2,320 r.p.m. using a 50/50 mixture of 95-octane gasoline and benzol. The D-12 was a direct-drive engine and it turned a two-bladed, fixed-pitch, forged aluminum propeller designed by Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed. The Curtiss D-12 was 56¾ inches (1.441 meters) long, 28¼ inches (0.718 meters) wide and 34¾ inches (0.882 meters) high. It weighed 678.25 pounds (307.65 kilograms).

The R-6 racer had a maximum speed of 240 miles per hour (386 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 22,000 feet (6,706 meters), and it had a maximum range of 281 miles (452 kilometers).

A.S. 68564 disintegrated in flight at the Pulitzer Trophy Race, 4 October 1924, killing its pilot, Captain Burt E. Skeel.

Curtiss R-6, serial number A.S. 68564, at Selfridge Field, 14 October 1922. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

¹ FAI Record File Number 15252

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

14 October 1922

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan with his record-setting Curtiss R-6 racer, A.S. 68564, 1922. (U.S. Air Force)

14 October 1922: Air races were an extremely popular event in the early days of aviation. An estimated 200,000 spectators watched the opening race at the National Air Races, held at Selfridge Field (now, Selfridge Air National Guard Base) near Mount Clemens, Michigan from 8 to 14 October.

The Pulitzer Trophy Race was Event No. 5 on the afternoon of Saturday, 14 October. It was a “Free-for-All Race for High-Speed Airplanes.” The course consisted of five laps around an approximate 50 kilometer course, starting at Selfridge Field, then south to Gaulkler Point on Lake St. Clair. From there, the course was eastward for ten miles, keeping to the right of a moored observation balloon. The airplanes would then circle an anchored steamship, Dubuque, and return to Selfridge Field.

Russell Maughan’s record-setting Curtiss R-6 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, 14 October 1922. (San Diego Air and Space Museum)

Lieutenant Russell Lowell Maughan, Air Service, United States Army, flying a Curtiss R-6, Air Service serial number A.S. 68564, finished the race in first place with an average speed of 205.386 miles per hour (330.172 kilometers per hour). He also set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed during the race: 330.41 kilometers per hour (205.31 miles per hour) over a distance of 100 kilometers,¹ and 331.46 kilometers per hour (205.96 miles per hour) over a distance of 200 kilometers).²

In addition to the Pulitzer Trophy, the first place finisher was awarded a $1,200.00 prize. Second place was taken by another U.S. Army pilot, Lieutenant Lester James Maitland, who was also flying a Curtiss R-6, serial number A.S. 68563.

Russell Maughan had been a fighter pilot during World War I. He shot down four enemy airplanes with his Spad S.XIII C.I, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery in action. He flew in several air races and set records. He went on to fly the Dawn-to-Dusk transcontinental flight in a Curtiss PW-8, 23 June 1924. In World War II he commanded the 51st Troop Carrier Wing during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa.

Lester Maitland along with Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger, made the first trans-Pacific flight from California to Hawaii in 1927. He was the oldest USAAF pilot to fly combat missions in World War II, flying a Martin B-26 Marauder, the Texas Tarantula, as the commanding officer of the 386th Bombardment Group. He was awarded a Silver Star and retired with the rank of brigadier general.

Curtiss R-6, A.S. 68564, P-278. (FAI)

The Curtiss R-6 Racers were single-engine, single seat, fully-braced single-bay biplanes with fixed landing gear, developed from the U.S. Navy Curtiss CR. The airplane and its D-12 Conqueror engine were both built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co., Garden City, New York. The fuselage was a stressed-skin monocoque, built with two layers of wood veneer covered by a layer of doped fabric. The wings were also built of wood, with plywood skins and fabric-covered ailerons. Surface radiators were used for engine cooling.

The two R-6 Racers were built of the U.S. Army at a cost of $71,000, plus $5,000 for spare parts.

The Curtiss R-6 was 19 feet, 0 inches (5.791 meters) long with a wing span of 19 feet, 0 inches (5.791 meters). It had an empty weight of 2,121 pounds (962 kilograms).

The R-6 was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated 1,145.111-cubic-inch-displacement (18.765 liter) Curtiss D-12 dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engine, which was developed by  Arthur Nutt, based on the earlier Curtiss K-12 which had been designed by Charles B. Kirkham. The D-12 had four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 5.7:1, and was rated at 415 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m., and 460 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. During testing, it produced a 475 horsepower at 2,320 r.p.m. using a 50/50 mixture of 95-octane gasoline and benzol. The D-12 was a direct-drive engine and it turned a two-bladed, fixed-pitch, forged aluminum propeller designed by Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed. The Curtiss D-12 was 56¾ inches (1.441 meters) long, 28¼ inches (0.718 meters) wide and 34¾ inches (0.882 meters) high. It weighed 680 pounds (308 kilograms).

The R-6 racer had a maximum speed of 240 miles per hour (386 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 22,000 feet (6,706 meters), and it had a maximum range of 281 miles (452 kilometers).

A.S. 68564 disintegrated in flight at the Pulitzer Trophy Race, 4 October 1924, killing its pilot, Captain Burt E. Skeel.

The Pulitzer Trophy on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C. (NASM)

¹ FAI Record File Number 15195

² FAI Record File Number 15196

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

28 September 1923

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenant David Rittenhouse with Curtiss CR-3 A-6081, 1923. (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, SI-77- )
Lieutenant David Rittenhouse with Curtiss CR-3 A-6081, 1923. (National Air and Space Museum)

28 September 1923: Lieutenant David Rittenhouse, United States Navy, won the 1923 Coupe d’Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider (the Schneider Cup) race, held at Cowes, England. Lieutenant Rittenhouse’s aircraft was a Curtiss CR-3 seaplane.

The race began at 11:00 a.m. Competitors were required to taxi on the surface across the starting line before becoming airborne. National teams started at 15-minute intervals. The race consisted of five timed laps of a 68.9 kilometer ( 42.8 miles) triangular. The starting teams were: the United States, Great Britain and France. The Italian team had unexpectedly withdrawn a few days before the event. Several mishaps had sidelined airplanes from the remaining teams, and by the 23rd, only four seaplanes were ready for the race.

Curtiss CR-3 A-6080, Lieutenant Irvine, 450-h.p. Curtiss D-12

Curtiss CR-2 A-6081, Lieutenant Rittenhouse, 450-h.p. Curtiss D-12

#7 Supermarine Sea Lion Mark III G-EABH, Captain Biard, 500 h.p. Napier Lion III

Hydroavions C.A.M.S. 38 F-ESFD, Hurel, 380 h.p. Hispano-Suiza 12 Fd

1923 Schneider Cup race course (FLIGHT)
1923 Schneider Cup race course (FLIGHT)

At 11:00 a.m., the two United State Navy Curtiss CR-3 seaplanes started the first lap. 15 Minutes later, the British Supermarine Sea Lion III flying boat followed, and fianally the French Hydroavions C.A.M.S. 38 made its start.

David Rittenhouse’s Curtiss was clearly the fastest airplane. He had nearly completed the first lap by the time the British Sea Lion III was starting, and the second as the French C.A.M.S. 38 began its run. Rittenhouse’s lap times were: (1) 15 minutes, 6-2/5 seconds; (2). 14 minutes, 22-1/5 seconds; (3) 14 minutes, 24-4/5 seconds; (4) 14 minutes, 22-1/5 seconds; and (5) 14 minutes, 11-1/5 seconds. Rittenhouses’ average speed over the final lap was 181.17 miles per hour (291.56 kilometers per hour), and for the race, 177.38 miles per hour (285.47 kilometers per hour).

Rittenhouse also set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over 200 Kilometers with an average speed of 273.41 kilometers per hour (169.89 miles per hour.)¹

Lieutenant David Rittenhouse, U.S. navy, with his Curtiss CR-3. (Unattributed)
Lieutenant David Rittenhouse, U.S. Navy, with his Curtiss CR-3. (Unattributed)

Lieutenant Rutledge Irvine, U.S. Navy, in CR-3 , finished in second place, 1 minute, 39 seconds behind Rittenhouse, with an average speed of 173.35 miles per hour (278.98 kilometers per hour). Captain Henry Biard, Royal Air Force, was third with the Sea Lion III, at 157.07 miles per hour (252.78 kilometers per hour). Hurel and the C.A.M.S. 38 dropped out on the second lap with engine trouble and did not finish the race.

The Curtiss CR-3 was a single-place, single-engine racing biplane with two pontoons for takeoffs and landings on water. It was 24 feet, 8 inches (7.518 meters) long with a wingspan of 22 feet, 8 inches (6.909 meters) and overall height of 10 feet, 9 inches (3.277 meters). Its empty weight was 2,119 pounds (961 kilograms), and gross weight, 2,597 pounds (1,178 kilograms).

The CR-3 was powered by a liquid-cooled, normally aspirated 1,145.1-cubic-inch-displacement (18.765 liter) Curtiss D-12 dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engine with four valves per cylinder and a 5.7:1 compression ratio. It was a direct-drive engine, producing 475 horsepower at 2,320 r.p.m. It turned a two-bladed forged aluminum fixed-pitch propeller designed by Sylvanus Albert Reed, Ph.D. The D-12 was 58¾ inches (1.492 meters) long, 34¾ inches (0.883 meters) high and 28¼ inches (0.718 meters) wide. It weighed 671 pounds (304 kilograms). The engine was fueled by a 50/50 mixture of gasoline and benzol.

U.S. Navy Curtiss CR-3 A-6081. (NASM)

David Rittenhouse was born at St. Paul, Minnesota, 16 June 1894. he was the second child of Charles Edwain Rittenhouse, a banker, and Grace Hubbell Rittenhouse. He was a member of the Class of 1918 at the University of Minnesota, but left before graduating to serve in France during World War I.

Rittenhouse enlisted in the French Army at Paris, 12 March 1917. He served with the 21st Division. He was discharged from the French Army 30 September 1917 and returned to the United States. Shortly after arrive, 5 November 1917, Rittenhouse enlisted in the United States Navy. He underwent aviation ground school at the Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before being sent to Key West, Florida, for flight training. After six weeks there, he received advanced training at Miami and Pensacola.

David Rittenhouse was commissioned an Ensign, United States Navy, 6 September 1918. he was ordered to sea aboard the battleship USS Wyoming (BB-32), and then USS Idaho (BB-42). Ensign Rittenhouse was detached from the Pacific Fleet, 5 May 1922, and transferred to the Naval Air Station, Anacostia, effective 1 June 1922.

Ensign David Rittenhouse married Miss Marie Youngerman, 24 June 1922, at Des Moines, Iowa.

Rittenhouse was promoted to the rank of Commander, 1 August 1938. He retired from the United States Navy in March 1941.

After leaving the Navy, Rittenhouse went to work for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation at Bethpage, New York.

Commander David Rittenhouse, United States Navy (Retired) died at St. Petersburg, Florida, 29 October 1962, at the age of 68 years. He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

¹ FAI Record File Number 11427

© 2018 Bryan R. Swopes

23 June 1924

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan, Air Service, United States Army (FAI)
Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan, Air Service, United States Army (FAI)

23 June 1924: Lieutenant Russell Lowell Maughan, Air Service, United States Army, took off from Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, at 3:58 a.m., Eastern Time, and flew across the country to land at Crissy Field, at the Presidio of San Francisco, California at 9:46 p.m., Pacific Time. He covered a distance of 2,670 miles (4,297 kilometers) in 21 hours, 47 minutes. Maughan’s actual flight time was 20 hours, 48 minutes. He averaged 128.37 miles per hour (206.59 kilometers per hour).

His Dawn-To-Dusk transcontinental flight took place on a mid-summer day in order to take advantage of the longer hours of daylight, and he flew from East to West, to follow the advancing Sun across the sky.

Major General Mason Patrick, Chief o fteh Air Service, with Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan, 8 July 1924. (Library of Congress)
Major General Mason Matthews Patrick, Chief of the Air Service, with Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan, 8 July 1924. (Library of Congress)

Lieutenant Maughan made stops at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio; St. Joseph, Missouri; North Platte, Nebraska; Cheyenne, Wyoming and Salduro Siding, Utah. The stop at Dayton took 1 hour, 20 minutes when a mechanic over-tightened a fuel line fitting and damaged it. When he arrived at “Saint Joe,” the grass field was wet from rains, restricting his takeoff weight. Unable to carry a full load of fuel, he took off with a reduced load and then made a previously unplanned stop at North Platte, Nebraska, where he topped off his fuel tank.

Planned route of Maughan’s Dawn-to-Dusk transcontinental flight. (U.S. Air Force)

Russell Maughan was an experienced combat pilot and test pilot. He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during World War I, and he had competed in numerous air races and had set several speed records.

The airplane flown by Lieutenant Maughan was the fourth production Curtiss PW-8 Hawk, a single-place, single-engine biplane fighter, serial number A.S. 24-204. It was modified by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company at its Long Island, New York, factory. Curtiss removed the fighters’s two .30-caliber machine guns and added 100 gallons (378.5 liters) to the airplane’s standard fuel capacity of 77 gallons (291.5 liters).

The Curtiss PW-8 Hawk was powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated 1,145.111-cubic-inch-displacement (18.765 liter) Curtiss D-12 dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engine, which was developed by Arthur Nutt, based on the earlier Curtiss K-12 which had been designed by Charles B. Kirkham. The D-12 had four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 5.7:1. It was rated at 415 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m., and 460 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. During testing, it produced a 475 horsepower at 2,320 r.p.m. using a 50/50 mixture of 95-octane gasoline and benzol. The D-12 was a right-hand tractor direct-drive engine. It turned a two-bladed, fixed-pitch, forged aluminum propeller designed by Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed. The Curtiss D-12 was 56¾ inches (1.441 meters) long, 28¼ inches (0.718 meters) wide and 34¾ inches (0.882 meters) high. It weighed 678.25 pounds (307.65 kilograms).

The PW-8 had a cruise speed of 136 miles per hour (219 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 171 miles per hour (275 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level. The airplane’s service ceiling was 20,350 feet (6,203 meters) and its range was 544 miles (875 kilometers).

In the early years of military aviation, pilots undertook various dramatic flights to create public awareness of the capabilities military aircraft. Of this transcontinental flight, Maughan said, “The real reason for my flight across the United States in the sunlight hours of one day was that the chief of the Air Service wanted to show Congress just how unprotected are the people of the Pacific Coast.”

Lieutenant Russell L. Maughan with Curtiss PW-8 Hawk A.S. 24-204, 10 June 1924. (National Air and Space Museum)

Curtiss PW-8 Hawk A.S. 24-204 was damaged beyond repair at Selfridge Field, Michigan, 11 May 1926.

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes