Daily Archives: November 2, 2024

2 November 1962

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Lockheed XH-51A Bu. No. 151262. (Lockheed)

2 November 1962: Lockheed test pilot Donald Riley Segner takes the Lockheed XH-51A (Model 186), Bu. No. 151262 (s/n 186-1001), for its first flight.

The XH-51A was a response to the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy request for an experimental helicopter to explore rigid rotor technology. A rigid rotor relies of the flexibility of the rotor system to accomplish the functions of pitch, lead-lag and blade flapping that are allowed by hinges in an articulated rotor system. Two XH-51As were built and both were assigned U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics serial numbers (“Bu. No.”). Tests were conducted at Lockheed’s facility at the Oxnard Municipal Airport (OXR), located on the Ventura County coastline of southern California. Later tests took place at the Naval Air Test Center, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.

Lockheed XH-51 Bu. No. 151262 in flight over Ventura County, California.
Lockheed photo # LN 7520. (Lockheed/Vertical Flight Society)

The XH-51A was a two-place, single engine, rigid-rotor light helicopter with retractable skid landing gear. It had an overall length of 42.08 feet (12.826 meters) with all blades turning, and height of 8 feet, 2.5 inches (2.502 meters). The helicopter’s design gross weight was 3,905 pounds (2,041 kilograms).

The helicopter’s main rotor mast tilted 6° forward. The three-blade main rotor diameter was 35 feet, 0 inches (10.668 meters). The blades had a chord of 1 foot, 1.5 inches (0.029 meters) and incorporated 5° of negative twist. There was no taper. They used a NACA 0012 airfoil, which was very common with helicopters at the time. Each main rotor blade weighed 86 pounds (39.0 kilograms). As is common with American helicopters, the rotor turned counter-clockwise as seen from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The main rotor turned at 355 r.p.m. A stabilizing “gyro” with a diameter of 6 feet, 5 inches (1.956 meters) was placed above the main rotor. A two-blade tail rotor with a diameter of 6 feet, 0 inches (1.829 meters) was located at the top of a vertical fin/pylon, turning clockwise, as seen from the helicopter’s left side. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.) The tail rotor’s chord was 8.5 inches (0.216 meters). These blades also used the NACA 0012 airfoil, with 4.35° negative twist and no taper. The tail rotor turned at 2,085 r.p.m.

Lockheed XH-51A Bu. No. 151262 (Vertipedia)

The XH-51A was powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6B turboshaft engine, rated at 450 shaft horsepower at Sea Level (30 minute limit), and 500 shaft horsepower at Sea Level for takeoff (5 minute limit).

A test pilot demonstrates the hovering flight stability of the Lockheed XH-51A with his hands off of the flight controls. (Lockheed)

The maximum speed of the XH-51A attained during the flight test program was 150 knots (173 miles per hour/278 kilometers per hour) in level flight at Sea Level, and 113 knots (209 kilometers per hour) at 7,900 feet (2,408 meters) density altitude. In both cases, engine power was the limiting factor.

A four-blade rigid main rotor was also tested on the XH-51A. This increased the empty weight of the helicopter by 139 pounds (63 kilograms). Power required to hover out of ground effect (HOGE) went up by 30 s.h.p. (Various sources state that excessive vibrations caused Lockheed to switch to a four-blade main rotor. The four-blade design was pre-planned, however. The four-blade system resulted in “excessive structural loads in the main rotor system and excessive cabin vibration levels.” ¹)

XH-51A Bu. No. 151263 was modified as a compound helicopter with an auxiliary wing and a Pratt & Whitney J60-P-2 turbojet installed in a North American Aviation T-39A Sabreliner engine nacelle on the helicopter’s left side. The vertical fin area was increased. Main rotor r.p.m. decreased to 327 r.p.m. In this configuration, it reached 210 knots (242 miles per hour/389 kilometers per hour) in level flight. Engineers predicted that it should be capable of 230 knots.

Both Lockheed XH-51As are at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Donald Riley Segner with the compound XH-51A. (Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)
Donald R. Segner (1943 Ceralbus)

Donald Riley Segner was born 14 December 1925 in Los Angeles County, California. He was the third of four children of Oscar W. Segner, an electrician, and Sue Brown Segner, who had been born in Czechoslovakia of Hungarian parents.

Don Segner attended Burbank High School, Burbank, California, graduating with the class of 1943.

Donald R. Segner enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, 20 February 1943. He completed primary flight training at NAS Ottumwa, located northwest of Ottumwa, Iowa, in October 1945. He then moved on to advanced training at the Naval Flight Training Center, NAS Norman, at Norman, Oklahoma. He was awarded the gold wings of a Naval Aviator and commissioned a second lieutenant, United States Marine Corps Reserve, 1 September 1946.

Second Lieutenant Segner was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, 5 June 1949, and to captain, 25 June 1952.

Captain Segner married Miss Alice Esther Stansfield at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, August 1952. They would have three children. Mrs. Segner passed away in 2014.

A Grumman F9F-2 Panther, Bu. No. 123440, assigned to VMF-311. This airplane crashed 16 February 1952 while attempting to land aboard USS Phillppine Sea (CVA-47). Its pilot was killed.

Donald Segner flew 86 combat missions during the Korean War, flying the Grumman F9F-2 Panther with Marine Fighter Squadron 311 (VMF-311). He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight, in action against enemy forces in Korea. He was also awarded the Air Medal with two gold stars (three awards).

On 21 January 1953, while flying a Goodyear Aircraft Corporation FG-1D Corsair, Bu. No. 67063, assigned to Marine Fighter Training Squadron 10 (VMFT-10) at MCAS El Toro, Captain Segner was involved in a Class C accident over MCAS El Centro.

In 1956, Captain Segner was assigned as a test pilot at NAS Patuxent River (“Pax River”), Maryland.

Captain Segner was promoted to the rank of major, 1 July 1957. In 1960 he was the first Naval Aviator to fly a tilt wing vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the Vertol VZ-2, USAF serial number 56-6943.

Vertol VZ-2 (Model 76), 56-6943. Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, NASM A19650279000_DSH01)

While remaining in the Marine Corps Reserve, Segner began working as a test pilot at Lockheed in 1962. In 1964, he was assigned to Marine Medium helicopter Squadron 764 at NAS Los Alamitos (SLI), California.

Major Segner was promoted to lieutenant colonel, 1 August 1964. In December 1964, while flying a Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse, Major Segner flew the 95,000th Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) and landing at Los Alamitos. In 1965, he served as executive officer of Marine Wing Support Group 47 (MWSG-47) at Los Alamitos, California. He retired from the Marine Corps in January 1966.

On 23 September 1966, Segner was elected president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP)

On 21 September 1967, Segner made the first flight of the Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenne compound attack helicopter.

1972 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Octave Chanute Award, for advancing the art, science or technology of aeronautics. That same year he received the Iven C. Kincheloe Award of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for outstanding professional accomplishment in the conduct of flight testing

After retiring from Lockheed in 1980, President Ronald Reagan appointed Don Segner as Associate Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Donald Riley Segner died 10 May 2019 at the age of 93 years. His remains were interred at Pacific View Memorial Park, Corona del Mar, California.

¹ “Exploration of High-Speed Flight with the XH-51A Rigid Rotor Helicopter,” by William K. Foulke, U.S. Army Aviation Material Laboratories (USAAML Technical Report 65-25), Page 88

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

2 November 1953

Aviation, , , , , , , ,
Air Force officers examine the wreck of teh prototype Convair YF-102, 52-994, near Edwards AFB, 2 November 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Air Force officers examine the wreck of the prototype Convair YF-102, 52-7994, near Edwards AFB, 2 November 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

On 2 November 1953, the Convair YF-102 prototype, 52-7994 was severely damaged when its Pratt & Whitney J57-P-11 engine flamed out during a test flight. The cause was traced to the engine’s Bendix fuel control. Dick Johnson was unable to restart the engine and was forced to make a gear-up landing in the desert, not far from Edwards Air Force Base. Johnson was seriously injured. The prototype was written off.

Wreck of Convair YF-102 52-7994 near Edwards Air Force Base, 2 November 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Wreck of Convair YF-102 52-7994 near Edwards Air Force Base, 2 November 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

2 November 1950

Aviation, , , , , , ,
(The Daily Pantagraph, Vol. CIV, No. 307, Friday, 3 November 1950, at Page 13)

2 Nov 1950: In a ceremony at The White House, Washington, D.C., President Harry S. Truman presented the Harmon International Trophies for the period 1940–1949. The Harmon aviator’s trophy was awarded to Lieutenant General James Harold (“Jimmy”) Doolittle, United States Air Force (Retired), the wartime commanding general of the Eighth Air Force. General Doolittle had previously been awarded the Harmon U.S. national aviator’s trophy in 1929, for his work on instrument flying.

Lieutenant General James H. (“Jimmy”) Dooliitle, commanding Eighth Air Force, with a scale model Boeing B-29 Superfortress. (U.S. Air Force)

The international aviatrix trophy went to Colonel Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Cochran, U.S. Air Force Reserve, for her service as Director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), 1942–1944. She would eventually win fourteen Harmon trophies.

Jacqueline Cochran with ribbon representing the Distinguished Service Medal.

The international aeronaut trophy was presented to Vice Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl, commanding the U.S. Navy’s lighter-than-aircraft during World War II. This was Admiral Rosendahl’s fourth Harmon Trophy.

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

2 November 1947

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
Nov. 2, 1947: The Hughes Aircraft H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" during short flight in the Long Beach-Los Angeles Harbor. This photo was published in the Nov. 3, 1947 LA Times. (Los Angeles Times)
“Nov. 2, 1947: The Hughes Aircraft H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” during short flight in the Long Beach-Los Angeles Harbor. This photo was published in the Nov. 3, 1947 L.A. Times.” (Los Angeles Times)

2 November 1947: Howard Hughes’ Hughes Aircraft Company H-4 Hercules flying boat, NX37602, made its first and only flight at the harbor of Los Angeles, California. The new media called it “The Spruce Goose” due to its strong but lightweight wooden construction. As with the famous de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito fighter-bomber, the use of wood freed up valuable metal alloys during World War II.

Conceived by Henry J. Kaiser, the airplane was initially called the HK-1. It was designed to carry as many as 750 fully-equipped soldiers on transoceanic flights.

Hughes H-4 Hercules NX37602 in San Pedro Bay, 2 November 1947. Two U.S. Navy heavy cruisers and a fleet oiler are in the background. On the horizon is Santa Catalina Island, "Twenty-six miles across the sea...." (LIFE Magazine)
Hughes H-4 Hercules NX37602 in San Pedro Bay, 2 November 1947. Two U.S. Navy heavy cruisers and a fleet oiler are in the background. On the horizon is Santa Catalina Island. (LIFE Magazine)

The H-4 is 218 feet, 8 inches (66.650 meters) long with a wingspan of 320 feet, 11 inches (97.815 meters). Its height is 79 feet, 4 inches (24.181 meters). The Hercules’ designed loaded weight is 400,000 pounds (181,437 kilograms).

The flying boat was powered by eight air-cooled, supercharged 4,362.49-cubic-inch-displacement (71.489 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major VSB11-G (R-4360-4A) four-row 28-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 7:1. The R-4360-4A had a Normal Power rating of 2,500 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), 2,200 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. to 14,500 feet (4,420 meters), and a Takeoff rating of 3,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. The Military Power rating was also 3,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m., to an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters), then decreased to 2,400 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. to 13,500 feet (4,115 meters). The engines turned four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers with a diameters of 17 feet, 2 inches (5.232 meters) through a 0.425:1 gear reduction. The R-4360-4A was 8 feet, 0.75 inches (2.457 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,390 pounds (1,538 kilograms).

On its only flight, the H-4 Hercules traveled approximately one mile (1.6 kilometers) at 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour), remaining in ground effect. It never flew again, and its estimated performance was never verified through flight testing.

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., in the cockpit of the H-4 Hercules, 6 November 1947. (J.R. Eyerman/LIFE Magazine)
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., in the cockpit of the H-4 Hercules, 6 November 1947. (J.R. Eyerman/LIFE Magazine)

The airplane is on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

Medal of Honor, Second Lieutenant Robert Edward Femoyer, Air Corps, United States Army

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Second Lieutenant Robert Edward Femoyer, Air Corps, United States Army. (U.S. Air Force)

2 November 1944: The 8th Air Force sent 638 B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bombers, escorted by 642 P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning fighters from their bases in England, over 500 miles to attack the I.G. Farben Leunawerke synthetic oil refinery at Leuna, a 3-square-mile facility a few miles from Merseberg, Germany.

The Leuna refinery used a hydrogeneration process to produce aviation gasoline from coal. This was the most heavily defended target in all of Germany, surrounded by more than 1,700 88 mm and 105 mm antiaircraft guns (“flak”) in 36-gun batteries. According the the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, “Aircrews viewed a mission to Leuna as the most dangerous and difficult assignment of the air war.”

One B-17 pilot described it: “When I describe the flak over Leuna as a cloud, I don’t mean just a wall of smoke; it was a box, the length, width, and depth of our route to the ‘bombs away’ point.”

On the 2 November attack, the bombers were under “intense” anti-aircraft fire for 18 minutes, and heavy fire for 30 minutes. They were also attacked by a record 700 Luftwaffe fighters including the new Me 262 twin-engine jets. The 8th Air Force lost 38 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and 28 fighters. An astonishing 481 bombers were damaged.

Second Lieutenant Robert E. Femoyer was the navigator on one of those B-17s, commanded by Second Lieutenant Jerome Rosenblum. B-17G-25-DL Flying Fortress 42-38052, Hotshot Green, of the 711th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) based at RAF Rattlesden, was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire and fell out of formation.

Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor

The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to

FEMOYER, ROBERT E.

(Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, 711th Bombing Squadron, 447th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Corps.

Place and date: Over Merseberg, Germany, 2 November 1944.

Entered service at: Jacksonville, Fla. Born: 31 October 1921, Huntington, W. Va.

G.O. No.: 35, 9 May 1945

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty near Merseburg, Germany, on 2 November 1944. While on a mission, the bomber, of which 2d Lt. Femoyer was the navigator, was struck by 3 enemy antiaircraft shells. The plane suffered serious damage and 2d Lt. Femoyer was severely wounded in the side and back by shell fragments which penetrated his body. In spite of extreme pain and great loss of blood he refused an offered injection of morphine. He was determined to keep his mental faculties clear in order that he might direct his plane out of danger and so save his comrades. Not being able to arise from the floor, he asked to be propped up in order to enable him to see his charts and instruments. He successfully directed the navigation of his lone bomber for 2-½ hours so well it avoided enemy flak and returned to the field without further damage. Only when the plane had arrived in the safe area over the English Channel did he feel that he had accomplished his objective; then, and only then, he permitted an injection of a sedative. He died shortly after being removed from the plane. The heroism and self-sacrifice of 2d Lt. Femoyer are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

B-17 Flying Fortress bombers under anti-aircraft artillery fire over Merseberg, Germany. (U.S. Air Force)
B-17 Flying Fortress bombers under anti-aircraft artillery fire over Merseberg, Germany. (U.S. Air Force)

Robert Edward Femoyer was born 30 October 1921 at Huntington, West Virginia. He was the first of two children of Edward Peter Femoyer and Mary Elizabeth Kramer Femoyer. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Central Catholic High School in Huntington, Femoyer attended Marshall College for one year before transferring to the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (better known as Virginia Tech), at Blacksburg, Virginia, as a member of the Class of 1944.

In February 1942, when he registered with the draft board, Femoyer was an employee of the Hercules Powder Company, a manufacturer of explosives. He was described as having brown hair and eyes, was 6 feet tall and weighed 150 pounds. Femoyer joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps at Roanoke, Virginia, 11 November 1942. He enlisted as a private in the Air Corps 4 February 1943 at Miami Beach, Florida, where he received basic military training.

Aviation Cadet Robert Edward Femoyer, Air Corps, United States Army, 1943. (Imperial War Museum)

After aircrew training at the University of Pittsburgh, March through June, 1943, Aviation Cadet Femoyer was sent to the Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics, Jackson, Mississippi, for flight training. He did not qualify as a pilot but was recommended for training as a navigator. He trained at Selman Army Airfield, near Monroe, Louisiana, and attended aerial gunnery school at Fort Myers, Florida. On graduation, 10 June 1944, Robert Edward Femoyer was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

Following combat crew training at Lincoln, Nebraska, he was deployed to England in September 1944. Lieutenant Femoyer was assigned to the 711th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy) at RAF Rattlesden, southeast of Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk, England.

Second Lieutenant Robert Edward Femoyer’s body was returned to the United States in 1949, and buried at the Greenlawn Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida. A residential building at Virginia Polytechnic Institute was built following the war and named Femoyer Hall.

Douglas B-17G-25-DL Flying Fortress 42-38052, 711th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy), RAF Rattlesden, Suffolk, England. At the time of this photograph, the airplane carried the name, Lucky Stehley Boy. (Mark Brown, U.S. Air Force)
Douglas B-17G-25-DL Flying Fortress 42-38052, 711th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy), RAF Rattlesden, Suffolk, England. At the time of this photograph, the airplane carried the name, Lucky Stehley Boy. (Mark Brown, U.S. Air Force)

B-17G-25-DL 42-38052 was one of 2,400 B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bombers built by the Douglas Aircraft Company at Long Beach, California from 1943 to 1945. 2,395 of these were the “G” variant, with its distinctive “chin” gun turret. -052 was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1943. In January 1944, the new bomber was assigned to the 711th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at U.S. Army Air Forces Station 126 (RAF Rattlesden), Suffolk, England. The new bomber flew its first combat mission 4 February 1944.

The B-17G was camouflaged with the standard U.S.A.A.F. olive drab sides and upper surfaces, with neutral gray underneath. The vertical fin and wing tips were painted yellow and two vertical green stripes circled the aft fuselage. The four engine cowlings were painted blue, and a blue chevron was painted on the top of the right wing, indicating that this B-17 belonged to the 711th Bomb Squadron. The 447th’s group identification, a white letter “K” surrounded by a black square, was painted on the upper portion of the fin. Below this was its abbreviated serial number, “238052.” A black capital “L”, identifying the individual airplane, was painted at the bottom of the fin.

42-38052 was a replacement aircraft and was flown by several crews. It carried the names El Mal Centavo (“The Bad Penny”) and Lucky Stehley Boy, (“. . . so named in honor of Dr. Stehley of Cumberland. . . .”—Grant County Press, Petersburg, West Virginia, Thursday, 31 August 1944, Page 1, Column 6.)

This Vega Aircraft Corporation-built B-17G-105-VE Flying Fortress, 44-85784, seen at Rotterdam, May 1985, is painted in the markings of the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy). (Jan Arkesteijn)
This Vega Aircraft Corporation-built B-17G-105-VE Flying Fortress, 44-85784, seen at Rotterdam, May 1985, is painted in the markings of the 447th Bombardment Group (Heavy). (Jan Arkesteijn)

On 27 March 1945, -052 crash-landed at B-53, a forward airfield near Merville, France, when its left main landing gear failed to extend. It was repaired and survived the war.

B-17G-25-DL 42-38052, with one main gear extended, just before crash landing at B-53, 1340 hours, 27 March 1945. (U.S. Air Force)
B-17G-25-DL 42-38052, with one main gear extended, just before crash landing at B-53, 1340 hours, 27 March 1945. (U.S. Air Force)

The veteran bomber was flown back to the United States and on 15 August 1945, arrived at the reclamation center at Kingman, Arizona. It was scrapped 8 November 1945, after less than two years of service.

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes