Daily Archives: January 29, 2025

29 January 1936

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Grumman F3F-1, Bu. No. 0211, s/n 274. (San Diego Air & Space Museum, Roger Bilstein Collection 00032)

29 January 1936: The first production Grumman F3F-1, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) 0211 (Grumman Model G-11, serial number 271), was delivered to the United States Navy at NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C. The F3F series was the last biplane fighter in service with the U.S. Navy.

The production F3F-1 aircraft were preceded by three XF3F-1 prototypes. Interestingly, all three prototypes had the same Grumman serial number, 257, and were assigned Bu. No. 9727. Two of these crashed.

The F3F-1 was built by the Grumman Aircraft and Engineering Corporation at Farmingdale, New York, in factory space rented from Fairchild Aircraft Company. It was a single-bay wire-braced biplane with manually-operated retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit with a sliding canopy. It had an arresting hook for landing aboard aircraft carriers.

The airplane had an aluminum monocoque fuselage with fabric covered wings, ailerons, rudder and elevators. The vertical fin and horizontal stabilizer were of metal construction. The ailerons were positioned on the upper wing. The wings for the F3F-1 and F3F-2 were built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation under a subcontract.

Grumman F3F-1 Bu. No. 0264. (U.S. Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, 80-G-462080)

The F3F-1 was 23 feet, 3½ inches (7.099 meters) long. The upper wing had a span of 32 feet (9.754 meters) and a chord of 5 feet (1.524 meters). The lower wing’s span was 29 feet, 6 inches (8.992 meters) with a 4 foot (1.219 meters) chord. The total wing area was 260.6 square feet (24.2105 square meters). Both wings used a NACA CYH airfoil. The upper wing had no dihedral, but the lower wing had 2° dihedral. The vertical gap between the wings was 5 feet (1.524 meters) and the wings were staggered 2 feet, 7-1/16 inches (0.7889875 meters). The aircraft had an overall height of 10 feet, 6 inches (3.200 meters) with the thrust line level, and 8 feet 6 inches (2.591 meters) in three point attitude (not including the propeller).

Grumman F3F1 Bu. No. 0259, assigned to Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3). (U.S. Navy)

The F3F-1 was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 1,534.94-cubic-inch-displacement (25.153 liters) Pratt & Whitney R-1535-84 Twin Wasp Junior. This was a two-row, 14-cylinder radial engine, with a compression ratio of 6.75:1, requiring 87-octane gasoline. The direct drive engine turned a two-blade adjustable pitch Hamilton Standard propeller. The R-1535-84 was rated at 650 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m. at 7,500 feet (2,286 meters), and 700 horsepower at 2,250 r.p.m. for takeoff. It was 3 feet, 8-1/8 inches (1.1208 meters) long, 3 feet, 6-3/8 inches (1.107 meters) in diameter, and weighed 959 pounds (434 kilograms).

The F3F-1 had a fuel capacity of 110 U.S. gallons (416 liters) in a 75 gallon (284 liter) main, and 35 gallon (132 liter) auxiliary tank. Its gross weight was 4,116 pounds (1,867 kilograms).

The F3F series was armed with one M1919 .30-caliber Browning machine gun with 500 rounds of ammunition, and one M2 .50-caliber Browning machine gun with 200 rounds. It could also carry a 110 pound (50 kilogram) bomb on a centerline bomb rack.

The F3F-1 had a maximum speed of 231 miles per hour (372 kilometers per hour) at 7,500 feet (2,286 meters). It could climb at 1,900 feet per minute (9.65 meters per second) and had a service ceiling of 29,500 feet (8,992 meters).

Flight of three Grumman F3F-1 from Fighting Squadron Four (VF-4), “The Red Rippers.” Note the gun cameras mounted on the upper wing. (SDA&SM Catalog # 16_003713)

The U.S. Navy ordered 54 F3F-1 fighters in August 1935. The final airplane in this series was modified to the XF3F-2, substituting a Wright Cyclone XR-1820-22 engine, rated at 850 horsepower at 2,100 r.p.m., and 950 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m. for takeoff. This engine installation reduced the length of the airplane to 23 feet, 1-5/8 inches (7.052 meters).

A total of 147 F3F-1, -2 and -3 fighters were built. The type was retired in 1943.

The first F3F-1, Bu. No. 0211, crashed at sea near NAS Miami in March 1942.

Grumman F3F-1, Bu. No. 0252, assigned to Fighting Squadron Four (VF-4). The airplane is shown with the canopy open. (U.S. Navy)

© 2025, Bryan R. Swopes

29 January 1926

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
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]

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes