The crew of Apollo 1. Left to right, Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. Grissom, United States Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. White II, United States Air Force, and Lieutenant Commander Roger B. Chaffee, United States Navy. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
27 January 1967: During a “plugs out” test of the Apollo 1 Command Module, two weeks ahead of the scheduled launch of the Apollo/Saturn 1B AS-204—the first manned Apollo Program space flight—a fire broke out in the pressurized pure oxygen environment of the capsule and rapidly involved the entire interior.
The pressure rapidly built to 29 pounds per square inch (200 kPa) and 17 seconds later, at 23:31:19.4 UTC, the capsule ruptured.
The three astronauts, Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. Grissom, United States Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. White II, United States Air Force, and Lieutenant Commander Roger B. Chaffee, United States Navy, were killed.
AD ASTRA PER ASPERA
NASA has a detailed summary of the accident and investigation at:
27 January 1959: The first Convair 880 takes off for its first flight at Lindbergh Field, San Diego, California. In the cockpit were Chief Engineering Test Pilot Donald Pound Germeraad, Co-pilot Philip M. Prophett, and Flight Test Engineer Bud Davies.
Convair 880 N801TW. (San Diego Air & Space Museum pictionid74075793)Germeraad and Prophett, Convair 880. (Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
Convair Jet Airliner In First Flight
SAN DIEGO (UPI)—Convair’s 880 jet transport took off from Lindbergh Field today on its maiden flight.
The sleek white and gold airplane. which its designers said is the world’s fastest commercial aircraft, used only one-half of the runway to be airborne.
As soon as the 129-foot 880 was airborne, chief engineering test pilot Don Germeraad out the plane in a gradual turn to take it over the Pacific Ocean and away from populated areas.
Today’s flight was scheduled to last approximately two hours.
Convair has received orders from many major airlines for the 615-mile-per-hour 880 transport. The first 880s are expected to go into airline service in the spring of 1960.
Convair Chief Engineering Test Pilot Donald P. Germeraad. (Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
The Convair 880 was a four-engine, swept-wing turbojet-powered commercial airliner. It was operated by a flight crew of three and could carry up to 110 passengers. The Convair 880-22-M was a modified version of the standard 880-22, intended for shorter range operations. It had leading-edge slats, a higher maximum takeoff weight, stronger landing gear, a tail skid and an improved anti-lock braking system. The Convair 880 was so-named because its design top speed was 880 feet per second (600 miles per hour, or 966 kilometers per hour), faster than its Boeing 707 or Douglas DC-8 rivals.
The airplane was 129 feet, 4 inches (39.421 meters) long with a wingspan of 120 feet (36.576 meters) and overall height of 36 feet, 3.75 inches (11.068 meters). The 880 had an empty weight of 94,000 pounds (42,638 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 191,000 pounds (86,636 kilograms).
The Convair 880-22-M was powered by four General Electric CJ805-3B turbojet engines. The CJ805-3B is a single-shaft, axial-flow turbojet with a 17-stage compressor section and 3-stage turbine, based on the military J79. The engine has a maximum continuous power rating of 9,800 pounds of thrust (43.593 kilonewtons) at Sea Level, and 11,650 pounds (51.822 kilonewtons) for Takeoff. The CJ805-3B is 9 feet, 2.4 inches (2.804 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.9 inches (1.013 meters) wide and 4 feet, 0.8 inches (1.240 meters) high. It weighs 2,875 pounds (1,304 kilograms).
The 880-22-M had a cruise speed of 0.82 Mach (556 miles per hour/895 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). The service ceiling was 41,000 feet (12,497 meters). Maximum range was 5,056 miles (8,137 kilometers).
The Convair Division of General Dynamics built 65 Convair 880 airliners at San Diego, California, between 1959 and 1962. Delta Air Lines retired its last one in January 1974.
The first Convair 880, N801TW, was rolled out of the Convair plant in San Diego, California, 15 December 1958. (San Diego Air & Space Museum Catalog #: 01_00083015)
N801TW rolled out of the Convair plant in San Diego, 15 December 1958. It was issued a type certificate by the Federal Aviation Administration on 14 July 1961. The 880 entered commercial service with Trans World Airways 19 July 1961. The airliner was withdrawn from use 14 July 1974 and stored at Kansas City International Airport (MCI). It was deregistered 1 July 1977.
Donald Pound Germeraad was born 18 July 1921 in Yellowstone County, Montana. He was the second of seven children of John Henry Germeraad, a farmer, and Jane Holland Blake Germeraad.
Don Germeraad graduated from the Billings Polytechnic Institute, Billings, Montana, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1941.
Donald P. Germeraad, 1942. (Slipstream Mk II 1942)
On 13 August 1941. Germeraad enlisted in the United States Navy as a Seaman 2c (V-5 Program) at Seattle, Washington (510-09-10). He was sent to the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Seattle for Indoctrinal Training, and then to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas for flight training.
On completion of flight training, Germeraad was commissioned as an ensign, United States Naval Reserve, 25 March 1942.
He was promoted to lieutenant, USNR, 1 April 1944.
Esther Pietrina Aspesi (Simmons College)
Lieutenant Germeraad married Lieutenant (j.g.) Esther Pietrina Aspesi, Nurse Corps, United States Navy, at Compton, California, 6 March 1946. Miss Simmons had attended Brighton High Cchool, Brighton, Massachussetts, and was a 1943 graduate of Simmons College School of Nursing. During World War II, Lieutenant Aspesi had been a member of the Navy’s Flight Evacuation Unit, serving at Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Lieutenant Germeraad was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander, USNR, 1 June 1946. In 1947, he was the commanding officer of VR-54, based at NAS Los Alamitos, California.
Germeraad graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, 17 June 1950. He was awarded the Webb Salisbury Memorial Award for outstanding work in aeronautical engineering.
First flight of the Convair XP5Y-1 Tradewind, Bu. No. 121455, San Diego Bay, California, 18 April 1950. (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-413610)
Lieutenant Commander Germeraad was awarded the Air Medal, 30 September 1952. He was Promoted to commander, USNR, 1 July 1954
Don Germeraad served Chief Engineering Test Pilot for Convair, 1947–1962; and chief, crew performance, 1962–1966. He made the first flights of the 240 Turboliner, 16 March 1947; XP5Y-1 Tradewind, 18 April 1950; R3Y-1, 22 February 1954; the 880; and the 990, 24 January 1961. He also flew the XF2Y-1 Sea Dart.
Donald P. Germeraad waves from the cockpit of a Convair 990. (Billings Gazette)
Commander Germeraad was promoted to Captain, United States Naval Reserve, 1 April 1962.
In 1966, he served as a member of the board of directors of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
After leaving Convair, Germeraad served as Manager, Ocean Systems Program Development, Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Sunnyvale, California 1966–1969, which was developing the Deep Submergence Search Vehicle (DSSV).
Ocean Chief Named by Lockheed
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Donald P. Germeraad has joined Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. as manager of advanced ocean programs, the company has announced.
A veteran of more than 26 years in the aerospace industry, a former chief engineering test pilot and a graduate student with highest honors from MIT, Germeraad has held managerial positions in life sciences and crew systems and has been the operator and test consultant on deep-diving research submersibles.
At Lockheed, Germeraad will direct design studies for advanced ocean systems concepts. He will manage research and development efforts involving conceptual design and systems analysis studies of advanced ocean systems, supporting technology programs and the integration of associated subsystems and support equipment. He reports to James G. Wenzel, manager of the ocean systems organization.
“EXAMPLES of some of the more challenging projects which we are aggressively pursuing,” Germeraad noted, “are technology extensions of our Deep Quest submarine and Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV), advanced structures and materials, underwater imaging systems, and submerged hydraulic and electrical components, to mention but a few. These are all important considerations for the Deep Submergence Search Vehicle (DSSV),” which would be the follow-on to the rescue vehicle.
Masters Degree in Systems Management, University of Southern California, 1971
Program Manager high speed ships, 1972–1976
Director-manager ocean system program development 1976–1983
Captain Germeraad retired from the United States Naval Reserve, July 1972.
Donald Pound Germeraad died 11 May 1992 in Mulnomah County, Oregon. His remains were interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Plot MU 0 49, San Diego, California.
The last North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs in squadron service with the United States Air Force were retired from the 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron, West Virginia Air National Guard, 27 January 1957. This airplane, F-51D-25-NA 44-72948, is on display at the WV ANG headquarters, Yeager Regional Airport, Charleston, WV. (U.S. Air Force)
27 January 1957: The last North American Aviation F-51D Mustang fighters in operational service with the United States Air Force were retired from the 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron, West Virginia Air National Guard. The squadron was based at Shepherd Field, Martinsburg, West Virginia (now known as Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport, MRB).
The United Press news service reported:
Aviation Era Ends With Last Official Flight of P51 Mustang
DAYTON, Ohio (UP)— An era in aviation has ended with the last official flight Sunday of a P51 Mustang fighter, pride of American’s [sic] World War II air arsenal.
The flight made by a former Canadian Royal Air Force ace, Major James L. Miller in a P51D, also marked the end of propeller-driven fighter planes in the U.S. Air Force.
Miller took off from nearby Wright Field at 1:30 p.m. Sunday and landed at Patterson Field several miles away 45 minutes later.
Henceforth, the Air Force will use nothing but jet-powered fighters.
The ravages of age prevented a battle-worn Mustang from taking part in decommissioning ceremonies at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, so a substitute flight had to be arranged.
The Mustang grounded at Cheyenne, Wyo., for repairs, could not take off as scheduled Friday because of bad weather.
The flight to Kansas City on Saturday and to Wright-Patterson on Sunday, had been scheduled for Lt. Col. Joseph T. Crane, commanding officer of the 167th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron [sic] of the West Virginia National Guard.
A quick switch in plans followed, and the Air Force requisitioned the only other P51 available from an airport at Charleston, W. Va. The plane had been earmarked for a city park there.
“Wham Bam!”, the last Mustang in U.S. Air Force service, North American Aviation F-51D-25 NA 44-72948. (“wwiiafterwwii”)
44-72948 had just completed repairs at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was returned to Charleston by the 167th’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. Crane, Jr.
44-72948 (North American Aviation serial number 122-39407) had been delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, in February 1945, but with the war drawing to a close in Europe, the Mustang never flew in combat. According to contemporary newspaper reports, during its career -948 was assigned to sixteen different Air Corps/Air Force units. It underwent nine engine changes and flew a total of 1,555 hours during nearly 12 years of service.
North American Aviation F-51D-25-NA Mustang 44-73574, 122-40033, 167th Fighter Bomber Squadron, West Virginia Air National Guard. (U.S. Air Force)
The airplane in the photographs below, North American Aviation F-51D-30-NA 44-74936, was was flown from Charleston to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, by Major James Miller. It was transferred to the United States Air Force Museum (renamed National Museum of the United States Air Force in 2004) where it is on display. The fighter is painted with the markings of another Mustang, P-51D-15-NA, 44-15174, Shimmy IV, of the 325th Fighter Group, Fifteenth Air Force, which served in North Africa and Italy during World War II.
On 2 June 1944, the actual Shimmy IV, flown by Colonel Chester L. Sluder, commanding officer of the 325th Fighter Group, led the fighter escorts for the first Fifteenth Air Force “shuttle bombing” mission to attack a railroad mashaling yard at Deprecan, Hungary, before flying on to land at Piriatyn, Ukraine. The name “Shimmy” was from the name of Colonel Sluder’s daughter, Shari, and the nickname of his wife, “Zimmy,” formerly Miss Louise Zimmerman.
On 9 December 1944, 44-15174 was flown by Lieutenant Norval W. Weers, 318th Fighter Squadron, when it ran low on fuel because of adverse weather. Weers crash-landed south of the Neusiedler See, Austria. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft I.
North American Aviation P-51D-5-NA 44-13366 on a test flight near the North American plant at Inglewood, California.
The P-51D was the predominant version of the North American Aviation single-place, single-engine, fighter, The P-51D was 32 feet, 3.5 inches (9.843 meters) long, with a wingspan of 37 feet (11.278 meters). It was 13 feet, 4.5 inches (4.077 meters) high. The fighter had an empty weight of 7,635 pounds (3,463 kilograms) and a maximum takeoff weight of 12,100 pounds (5,489 kilograms).
Three-view illustration with dimensions. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
Like the P-51B and C variants, the P-51D was powered by a right-hand tractor, liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,649-cubic-inch-displacement (27.04-liter) Packard V-1650-3 or -7 Merlin single overhead cam (SOHC) 60° V-12 engine which produced 1,380 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m at 60 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-3) or 1,490 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m. at 61 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-7). (Military Power rating, 15 minute limit.) These engines were versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 and 66, built under license by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. The engine drove a four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed propeller with a diameter of 11 feet, 2 inches (3.404 meters) through a 0.479:1 gear reduction.
A Packard Motor Car Company V-1650-7 Merlin V-12 aircraft engine at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. This engine weighs 1,715 pounds (778 kilograms) and produces 1,490 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. Packard built 55,873 of the V-1650 series engines. Continental built another 897. The cost per engine ranged from $12,548 to $17,185. (NASM)
The P-51D with a V-1650-7 Merlin had maximum speed at Sea Level of 323 miles per hour (520 kilometers per hour) at the Normal Power setting of 2,700 r.p.m. and 46 inches of manifold pressure, and 375 miles per hour (604 kilometers per hour) at War Emergency Power, 3,000 r.p.m with 67 inches of manifold pressure (5 minute limit). At altitude, using the Military Power setting of 3,000 r.p.m. and 61 inches of manifold pressure (15 minute limit), it had a maximum speed of 439 miles per hour (707 kilometers per hour) at 28,000 feet (8,534 meters). With War Emergency Power the P-51D could reach 442 miles per hour (711 kilometers per hour) at 26,000 feet (7,925 meters).
The P-51D could climb to 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) in 6.4 minutes, and to its service ceiling, 41,600 feet (12,680 meters), in 28 minutes. The airplane’s absolute ceiling was 42,400 feet (12,924 meters).
With 180 gallons (681 liters) internal fuel, the maximum range of the P-51D was 1,108 miles (1,783 kilometers).
Armorers carry six Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns and belts of linked ammunition to a parked P-51 Mustang. (U.S. Air Force)
The P-51D was armed with six Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, with three mounted in each wing. 400 rounds of ammunition were provided for the inner pair of guns, and 270 rounds for each of the outer two pairs of guns, for a total of 1,880 rounds. This was armor piercing, incendiary and tracer ammunition. The fighter could also carry a 1,000 pound (453.6 kilogram) bomb under each wing, in place of drop tanks, or up to ten rockets.
North American Aviation, Inc., produced a total of total of 8,156 P-51D Mustangs at Inglewood, California and Dallas, Texas. Another 200 were built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Australia.
North American Aviation P-51D-30-NA Mustang, 44-74936, marked as P-51D-15-NA 44-15174, “Shimmy IV,” is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)Left profile, North American Aviation P-51D-30-NA 44-74936, marked as “Shimmy IV,’ of the 325th Fighter Group, Fifteenth Air Force, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
Lockheed XP-38 Lightning 37-457 at March Field, Riverside County, California, January 1939. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive)
27 January 1939: First Lieutenant Benjamin Scovill Kelsey, Air Corps, United States Army, made the first flight of the prototype Lockheed XP-38 Lightning, serial number 37-457, at March Field, Riverside County, California.
This was a short flight. Immediately after takeoff, Kelsey felt severe vibrations in the airframe. Three of four flap support rods had failed, leaving the flaps unusable.
1st Lieutenant Benjamin Scovill Kelsey, Air Corps, United States Army, 1937.
Returning to March Field, Kelsey landed at a very high speed with a 18° nose up angle. The tail dragged on the runway. Damage was minor and the problem was quickly solved.
Designed by an engineering team led by Hall L. Hibbard, which included the legendary Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, the XP-38 was a single-place, twin-engine fighter designed for very high speed and long range. It was an unusual configuration with the cockpit and armament in a center nacelle, with two longitudinal booms containing the engines and propellers, turbochargers, radiators and coolers. The Lightning was equipped with tricycle landing gear. The nose strut retracted into the center nacelle and the two main gear struts retracted into bays in the booms. To reduce drag, the sheet metal used butt joints with flush rivets.
The prototype had been built built at Lockheed’s factory in Burbank, California. On the night of 31 December 1938/1 January 1939, it was transported to March Field aboard a convoy of three trucks. Once there, the components were assembled by Lockheed technicians working under tight security.
Lockheed XP-38 Lightning 37-457. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive)Lockheed XP-38 Lightning 37-457. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive)Left profile, Lockheed XP-38 Lightning 37-457. (U.S. Air Force)Lockheed XP-38 Lightning 37-457
The XP-38 was 37 feet, 10 inches (11.532 meters) long with a wingspan of 52 feet (15.850 meters) and overall height of 12 feet, 10 inches (3.952 meters). Its empty weight was 11,507 pounds (5,219.5 kilograms). The gross weight was 13,904 pounds (6,306.75 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 15,416 pounds (6,992.6 kilograms).
The Lightning was the first production airplane to use the Harold Caminez-designed, liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,710.60-cubic-inch-displacement (28.032 liter) Allison Engineering Company V-1710 single overhead cam 60° V-12 engines. When installed on the P-38, these engines rotated in opposite directions. The XP-38 used a pair of experimental C-series Allisons, with the port V-1710-C8 (V-1710-11) engine being a normal right-hand tractor configuration, while the starboard engine, the V-1710-C9 (V-1710-15), was a left-hand tractor. Through a 2:1 gear reduction, these engines drove the 11-foot (3.353 meters) diameter, three-bladed Curtiss Electric variable-pitch propellers inward to counteract the torque effect of the engines and propellers. (Viewed from the front of the airplane, the XP-38’s starboard propeller turned clockwise, the port propeller turned counter-clockwise. The direction of rotation was reversed in the YP-38 service test prototypes and production P-38 models.) The engines have long propeller gear drive sections to aid in streamlining aircraft, and are sometimes referred to as “long-nose Allisons.”
The V-1710-11 and -15 had a compression ratio of 6.65:1. They had a continuous power rating of 1,000 horsepower at 2,600 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and 1,150 horsepower at 2,950 r.p.m. for takeoff. The combination of a gear-driven supercharger and an exhaust-driven General Electric B-1 turbosupercharger allowed these engines to maintain their rated power levels to an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 meters).
The -11 and -15 were 7 feet, 10.46 inches (2.399 meters) long. The -11 was 3 feet, 6.59 inches (1.082 meters) high and 2 feet, 4.93 inches (0.7348 meters) wide. It weighed 1,300 pounds (589.7 kilograms). The -15 was 3 feet, 4.71 inches (1.034 meters) high, 2 feet, 4.94 inches (0.7351 meters) wide, and weighed 1,305 pounds (591.9 kilograms).
A 1939 Allison Engine Company V-1710-33 liquid-cooled, supercharged SOHC 60° V-12 aircraft engine at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. This engine weighs 1,340 pounds (607.8 kilograms) and produced 1,040 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m. During World War II, this engine cost $19,000. (NASM)
The XP-38 had a maximum speed of 413 miles per hour (664.66 kilometers per hour) at 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and a service ceiling of 38,000 feet (11,582.4 meters).
The XP-38 was unarmed, but almost all production Lightnings carried a 20 mm auto cannon and four Browning .50-caliber machine guns grouped together in the nose. They could also carry bombs or rockets and jettisonable external fuel tanks.
Lockheed XP-38 37-457. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive)
The prototype XP-38 was damaged beyond repair when, on approach to Mitchel Field, New York, 11 February 1939, both engines failed to accelerate from idle due to carburetor icing. Unable to maintain altitude, Lieutenant Kelsey crash landed on a golf course and was unhurt.
Testing continued with thirteen YP-38A pre-production aircraft and was quickly placed in full production. The P-38 Lightning was one of the most successful combat aircraft of World War II. By the end of the war, Lockheed had built 10,037 Lightnings.
Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier in the cockpit of P-38J-10-LO Lightning 42-68008. (Lockheed Martin)
27 January 1967: During a “plugs out” test of the Apollo 1 Command Module, two weeks ahead of the scheduled launch of the Apollo/Saturn 1B AS-204—the first manned Apollo Program space flight—a fire broke out in the pressurized pure oxygen environment of the capsule and rapidly involved the entire interior.
