Osoaviakhim-1, 30 January 1934. (RIA Novosti/Science Source)П. Ф. Федосеенко (Pavel Fyodorovich Fedoseyenko)
30 January 1934: At approximately 9:00 a.m. a large gas balloon lifted off from Matilovo, near Moscow, and ascended toward the stratosphere. Three aeronauts were aboard: Pavel Fyodorovich Fedoseyenko, Ilya Davydovich Usyskin, and Andrei Bogdanovich Vasenko. The balloon was named Osoaviakhim 1.
Buoyancy was provided by gaseous hydrogen. When fully expanded, the balloon had a volume of approximately 25,000 cubic meters (882,867 cubic feet) and a diameter of 177 feet (54.95 meters).
The three passengers and scientific instruments were carried in a welded sheet metal sphere hanging from cables below the envelope. The gondola was considered air-tight, and with its passengers, equipment and ballast, weighed about 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds).
The equipment and experiments carried aboard Osoaviakhim 1 were provided by the Main Physical Observatory, Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, and the State Radium Institute, all located in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. They were designed to measure cosmic rays, determine the makeup of the upper atmosphere, and measure magnetic effects. Photographs of the ground were also to be taken.
А.Б.Васенко (Andrei Vasenko)
As the balloon rose, the crew maintained radio contact with ground stations. At about 11:45, they reported that they had reached about 67,600 feet (20,600 meters). At 12:23, Osoaviakhim 1 had reached its peak altitude, 22,000 meters (72,178 feet).
While in the stratosphere, sunlight was not damped as it would have been in the lower, denser troposphere. It caused the hydrogen within the envelope to heat to approximately 54 °C. (129 °F.) above the temperature of the surrounding air. The hydrogen expanded the envelope beyond its limits and was released through pressure relief valves.
During the descent, the remaining hydrogen cooled and contracted. The balloon gradually lost buoyancy and the rate of descent increased. The crew had released all of the ballast in order to reach the peak altitude and now had no way to lighten ship to slow the balloon’s descent. After passing through 12,000 meters (39,370 feet), the rate of descent began to dramatically increase, and by 8,000 meters (26,247 feet), the balloon was torn away from the spherical gondola, which then entered a free fall.
И.Д.Усыскин (Il’ia Usyskin)
Osoaviakhim 1 struck the ground near Potijsky Ostrog, about 470 kilometers (292 miles) east of Matilovo. All three men were killed. A watch belonging to Vasenko was stopped at 4:23. Presumably, this was the time at which the impact occurred.
A state funeral was held 2 February. The ashes of the three aeronauts were interred in the Kremlin wall. The three urns were carried by the most prominent leaders of the Communist state, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov, People’s Commissar for Defense; and Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars.
Fedoseyenko, Usyskin, and Vasenko were named Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Although Osoaviakhim 1 rose higher than than the 18,665 meter record ¹ set by Century of Progress (Commander Thomas Greenhow Williams Settle, United States Navy, and Major Chester Fordnay, United States Marine Corps), 20 November 1933, its peak altitude was not recognized as a record by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). At the time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was not a member nation of the FAI.
Osoaviakhim stratospheric balloon. (Georgy N. Bibikov/The State Russian Museum)
Mrs. Macready with her husband, Lieutenant John Arthur Macready, shortly before his altitude record flight, 29 January 1926. (George Rinhart via Daedalians)
29 January 1926: At McCook Field, near Dayton, Ohio, First Lieutenant John Arthur Macready, Air Service, United States Army, took off in an experimental airplane, the Engineering Division XCO-5. Macready was attempting to exceed the existing Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world altitude record of 12,066 meters (39,587 feet), which had been set by Jean Callizo at Villacoublay, France, 21 October 1924.¹
The official observers of the National Aeronautic Association were Orville Wright (co-inventor with his brother Wilbur, of the airplane); George B. Smith of Dayton; and Levitt Luzurne Custer (inventor of the statoscope, the original barometric altimeter).
The Dayton Daily News reported:
Every part of the plane functioned perfectly. . . with the exception of the supercharging apparatus. The plane climbed to 25,000 feet in less than 45 minutes. The remainder of the flight was a fight against the dropping pressure in the motor.
In taking off, the altitude plane required approximately 50 feet and immediately began a steep ascent. Throughout the test the several hundred people who had congregated to see the flight start could find the plane by a long line of white vapor, which trailed in the wake of the ship in the rare atmosphere.
On other tests the plane has shown sea level pressure at approximately 32,000 feet. The super-charger showed a steadily declining pressure after 25,000 feet, indicating its lack of sufficient capacity for the motor. . .
—Dayton Daily News, Vol. XL, No. 162, January 29, 1926, Page 1, Column 7, and Page 2, Column 2
Lieutenant John A. Macready, 28 September 1921. “The cold, though a severe drain on the system with the best protection possible, is more easily met. To prepare for it, Lieutenant Macready wears over his uniform, a heavy suit of woollen underwear and over that a thick heavily padded, leather-covered suit of down and feathers. Then, fur-lined gloves, fleece-lined moccasins over the boots, and a leather head mask lined with fur, which, with the oxygen mask, completely covers the face, completes the costume. The goggles are coated on the inside with anti-freezing gelatine supposed to function to 60 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.” (NASM)
Lieutenant Macready reported, “My watch stopped at 30,000 feet and I believe it was frozen, because just before landing it started again.” He observed a temperature of -62 °C. (-79.6 °F.) at 34,600 feet (10,546 meters), which he said then increased to -56 °C. (-68.8 °F.) at 36,000 feet (10,973 meters).
When the airplane was inspected after landing at McCook Field, it was found that a crack had developed in the supercharger intercooler, allowing the supercharged air to escape. This resulted in a significant loss of power, and prevented Macready from passing Callizo’s record.
Lieutenant Macready reported that the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale altimeter (one of two altimeters in the airplane’s cockpit) had indicated that he had reached a maximum of 36,200 feet (11,034 meters). When the sealed barograph was sent to the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., for calibration, it indicated a peak altitude of 38,704 feet (11,797 meters). This was 269 meters (883 feet) lower than the existing world record, but it did establish a new United States national altitude record.
Letter from Orville Wright to the National Aeronautic Association, 11 March 1926.Engineering Division XCO-5, A.S. 23-1204. (U.S. Air Force)
The XCO-5 was a prototype two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane, a reconnaissance and observation variant of the TP-1 fighter. It was built by the Engineering Division at McCook Field. The airplane carried project number P305 painted on its rudder.
The XCO-5’s wings were built specifically for flight at very high altitude, using an airfoil (Joukowsky StAe-27A) designed by Professor Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky (Николай Егорович Жуковский), head of the Central AeroHydroDynamics Institute (TsAGI) at Kachino, Russia. The two-bay biplane wings had a significant vertical gap and longitudinal stagger. The lifting surface was 600 square feet (55.742 square meters). The upper wing had dihedral while the lower wing did not.
The XCO-5 was 25 feet, 1 inch long (7.645 meters) with a wingspan of 36 feet (10.973 meters) and height of 10 feet (3.048 meters). The empty weight was 2,748 pounds (1,246 kilograms) and the gross weight was 4,363 pounds (1,979 kilograms).
The XCO-5 was powered by a water-cooled, 1,649.34-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) Liberty 12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine. It produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 is a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine. As installed on A.S. 23-1204, the engine turned a specially-designed, two-bladed, ground-adjustable, forged aluminum propeller with a diameter of 10 feet, 6 inches (3.200 meters). The Liberty 12 was 67.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 27.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 41.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).
Also installed on A.S. 23-1204 was an experimental supercharger. FLIGHT explained:
Since the Liberty engine, which delivers 400 h.p. at sea level, has an output of but 50 h.p. at 35,000 feet unsupercharged, a supercharger is a prime requisite of altitude work. The General Electric Form F, 20,000-ft. side type supercharger used in previous tests, with certain modifications, has been installed. The supercharger is an air compressor which keeps the air pressure in the carburettor at sea level pressure at heights where, owing to the natural decrease in the air pressure, the horsepower gradually falls away but to a fraction of its original output. In former supercharger installations, much difficulty was experienced with pre-ignition of the engine. This often became so pronounced that the plane had to be brought to earth. It was suspected that a richer mixture with the supercharger at altitude was necessary. This was found to be true but the principal difficulty was the overheating of the mixture due to the heat generated in the supercharger itself. Due to the increase in temperature created by the compression in the supercharger, it was necessary to interpose an intercooler between the supercharger outlet and the carburettor in order to obtain satisfactory engine performance. The intercooler, in the form of a honeycomb radiator, was placed on the side of the aeroplane. It was also found that the poor conductivity of the air at high altitudes, additional radiating surface for engine cooling was required. This, with the correction of mixture, put an end to pre-ignition.
—FLIGHT, The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 893. (No. 5, Vol. XVIII.), 4 February 1926, Page 69, Column 1
The XCO-5 has a maximum speed of 129 miles per hour (208 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and a cruise speed of 117 miles per hour (188 kilometers per hour).
Lieutenant John A. Macready, USAAS, stands in front of the Engineering Division-built XCO-5. (U.S. Air Force)
¹ FAI Record File Number 8384, Gourdou-Leseurre GL.40, 300 c.v. Hispano Suiza
See also: John Arthur Macready (14 October 1887–15 September 1979) [TDiA No. 1,500]
Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51L) was launched from Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, at 16:38 UTC, 28 January 1986. (Thom Baur/AP)
28 January 1986, 11:38:00 a.m. (EST): The Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-99) lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Mission STS-51L.
At liftoff, an O-ring seal between segments of the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) began leaking. Superheated gases breached the seal and began to burn laterally.
“At 58.778 seconds into powered flight, a large flame plume is visible just above the SRB exhaust nozzle indicating a breach in the motor casing.” (NASA)
The venting rocket exhaust burned through the SRB attachment strut and into the liquid hydrogen tank in the lower section of the External Tank. The aft portion of the liquid hydrogen tank failed and drove the tank vertically upward into the liquid oxygen tank. Both tanks ruptured and the propellants detonated.
1 minute, 13 seconds after liftoff, Challenger was accelerating through Mach 1.62 (1,069 miles per hour, 1,720 kilometers per hour) at approximately 46,000 feet (14,020 meters) when the explosion of the external tank caused the space shuttle to suddenly veer away from its flight path. The shuttle was subjected to aerodynamic forces far beyond its design limits and it was torn apart.
Challenger’s external tank, containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, exploded 1 minute 13 seconds after liftoff. The two solid rocket boosters flew off in different directions. (Bruce Weaver/AP)
The crew cabin, with its seven astronauts aboard, broke away from the disintegrating shuttle assembly and continued upward for another 25 seconds to approximately 65,000 feet (19,080 meters), then began a long fall to the ocean below.
2 minutes 45 seconds after the explosion, the cabin impacted the surface of the Atlantic Ocean at 207 miles per hour (333 kilometers per hour). The entire crew was killed.
The crew cabin of Space Shuttle Challenger is visible near the end of the smoke plume at the upper center of this photograph, still climbing at supersonic speed. (NASA)
I watched this terrible tragedy as it happened, live on television. I will never forget.
The explosion occurred 1 minute, 13 seconds after liftoff. (NASA)
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Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L Flight Crew. Front Row, left to right, Captain Michael J. Smith, U.S. Navy; Lieutenant Colonel Francis R. Scobee, U.S. Air Force; Ronald Ervin McNair. Back Row, left to right: Lieutenant Colonel Ellison S. Onizuka, U.S. Air Force; Sharon Christa McAuliffe; Gregory Bruce Jarvis; Judith Arlene Resnick. (NASA)
Lieutenant Colonel Francis Stanley Gabreski, United States Army Air Forces. (Getty Images)
28 January 1919: Colonel Francis Stanley (“Gabby”) Gabreski, United States Air Force, was born at Oil City, Pennsylvania. He was the second child of Stanislaw Gabryszewski, a railroad car repairer, and Jozefa Kapica Gabryszewsky, both immigrants from Poland. He attended Oil City High School, graduating in 1938.
Francis Gabreski, 1940. (The Dome)
After two years of study at the University of Notre Dame, on 28 Francis S. Gabreski enlisted as a Flying Cadet, Air Corps, United States Army, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was 5 feet, 8 inches (172.7 centimeters) tall and weighed 146 pounds (66.2 kilograms). After completing flight training, on 14 March 1941, Gabreski was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Air Reserve.
Lieutenant Gabreski was assigned as a fighter pilot with the 45th Pursuit Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group, at Wheeler Army Airfield, Territory of Hawaii. He flew Curtiss P-36 Hawks and P-40 Warhawks. While at Wheeler, Gabreski met his future wife, Miss Catherine Mary Cochran. They planned to marry, but this was delayed when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Hawaii on 7 December 1941.
On 1 March 1942, Gabreski was promoted to first lieutenant, Air Corps, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), and then to captain, 16 October 1942. Captain Gabreski was sent to Britain with the 56th Fighter Group.
Because of his Polish lineage and his fluency in the language, Gabreski requested assignment to a Polish fighter squadron fighting with the Royal Air Force. His request was approved and he was assigned to No. 315 Squadron, based at RAF Northolt, London, England, where he flew the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX. (One of those Spitfires, Spitfire Mk.IXc BS410, is currently under restoration at the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar.)
Captain Francis S. Gabreski, U.S. Army Air Corps, in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, PK E, BS410, with No. 315 Squadron, Royal Air Force, at RAF Northolt, England, 1943. This airplane was shot down 13 May 1943. It is currently under restoration. (Royal Air Force)
As American involvement in the European Theater increased, “Gabby” returned to the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, and flew the Republic P-47C Thunderbolt. He was promoted to the rank of Major, 19 July 1943.
Major Gabreski was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, 23 January 1944. He took command of the 61st Fighter Squadron on 13 April 1944.
Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Gabreski, commanding 61st Fighter Squadron, in the cockpit of his Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt, 42-26418, 1944. The marks indicate 28 enemy aircraft destroyed. (American Air Museum in Britain)
By July 1944, he had shot down 28 enemy fighters in aerial combat and destroyed another three on the ground, making him the leading American fighter ace up to that time.
Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski’s Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt, 42-26418, RAF Boxted, Essex, England, 1944. (U.S. Air Force 68268 A.C./American Air Museum in Britain UPL 33594)Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski, at right, with the ground crew of his Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, circa July 1944. Left to right, crew chief, Staff Sergeant Ralph H. Safford,of Ionia, Michigan; assistant crew chief Corporal Felix Schacki, Gary, Indiana; and armorer Sergeant Michael Di Franza, East Boston, Massachussetts. (American Air Museum in Britain)Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski (standing, just left of center) with the pilots of the 61st Fighter Squadron, July 1944. (American Air Museum in Britain)
Having flown 193 combat missions and awaiting transport to the United States, on 20 July 1944 Gabreski decided to take “just one more.” As he made a low strafing run across an enemy airfield near Bassenheim, Germany, the tips of his propeller blades hit the ground, causing a severe vibration. He put his Thunderbolt down on its belly, climbed out and ran to avoid being captured. He evaded the enemy for five days before he was caught. Gabreski was held as a Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft I until April 1945.
Two German officers stand on the wing of Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski’s P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt, 42-26418, near Bassenheim, Germany. (Luftwaffe)Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski’s P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt, 42-26418, near Bassenheim, Germany. (Luftwaffe)
Gabreski was promoted to the rank of Colonel, Army of the United States, 24 October 1945. He was released from active duty in September 1946. He then joined the Air National Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, 6 December 1946.
Gabreski resumed his college education, enrolling as one of the first students at the School of General Studies of Columbia University in 1947. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) in political science, in 1949.
During the the Korean War, Lieutenant Colonel Gabreski served with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing and commanded the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing. He is credited with shooting down 6.5 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 fighters netween 8 July 1951 and 13 April 1952, while flying North American Aviation F-86A and F-86E Sabres. (The “.5” represents credit shared with another pilot for one enemy airplane destroyed, 20 February 1952.) Gabreski flew 100 combat missions over Korea.
Colonel Gabreski in the cockpit of a North American Aviation F-86E Sabre, Korea, 1952.
After an assignment as Chief of Combat Operations, Office of the Deputy Inspector General, at Norton Air Force Base in southern California, Colonel Gabreski attended the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama. He was then assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff, Ninth Air Force.
He went on to command two tactical fighter wings, the 354th and the 18th, flying North American Aviation F-100 Super Sabres.
Colonel Gabreski’s final fighter command was the 52nd Fighter Wing (Air Defense) based at Suffolk County Airport, New York, which was equipped with the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptor.
Colonel Francis Stanley Gabreski, United States Air Force. (Imperial War Museum FRE 13934)
Colonel Gabreski retired from the Air Force 1 November 1967 after 27 years of service and 37.5 enemy aircraft destroyed. At the time of his retirement, he had flown more combat missions than any other U.S. Air Force fighter pilot.
Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Francis S. Gabreski, 11 June 1945. (andrezejburlewicz.blog)
Gabby Gabreski married Miss Catherine Mary (“Kay”) Cochran, 11 June 1945, at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel, Campion College, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They would have nine children. Mrs Gabreski died in a car accident in 1993.
Two of their sons graduated from the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and became U.S. Air Force pilots. His daughter-in-law, Lieutenant General Terry L. Gabreski, USAF, was the highest-ranking woman in the United States Air Force at the time of her retirement.
Colonel Gabreski was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in combat on 26 November 1943, when he shot down two enemy Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters. His other decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with oak leaf cluster (two awards), Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with two silver and bronze oak leaf clusters (thirteen awards), Bronze Star, Air Medal with one silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster (seven awards), and Prisoner of War Medal. He was awarded the Royal Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, France’s Légion d’honneur and Croix de Guerre with Palm, Poland’s Krzyż Walecznych and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm.
In 1991, Suffolk County Airport, New York, was renamed Francis S. Gabreski Airport in his honor.
Colonel Gabreski died 31 January 2002 at the age of 83 years. He is buried at Calverton National Cemetery, Long Island, New York.
Lieutenant Colonel Francis Stanley Gabreski. Fighter Pilot. (U.S. Air Force)
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.
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NASA has a detailed summary of the accident and investigation at:
