Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder 41-31819, “Mild and Bitter,” photographed during its 50th combat mission. (American Air Museum in Britain FRE 1191)
9 May 1944: A Martin B-26B Marauder of the 452nd Bombardment Squadron, 322 Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force, named Mild and Bitter, landed at RAF Bury St. Edmunds, a military airfield in Suffolk, England. When its engines had stopped, it had completed its second combat mission of the day: an attack against an enemy airfield at Évreaux-Fauville, in the Normandy region of France.
This was the one-hundredth combat mission flown by Mild and Bitter. It had flown 310 hours, 40 minutes in combat.
In those 100 missions, the airplane had never been forced to abort for mechanical reasons, it always came back with both of its engines running, never came back with its bomb load, and most importantly, of the 166 airmen who had flown aboard, none had ever been wounded or killed.
The bomber still had the two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp engines which had been installed at the factory, having logged 449 hours, 30 minutes, total time since new (TTSN).
The 100th mission flight crew of Martin B-26B Marauder 41-31819, “Mild and Bitter.” Left to right, 1st Lt. L.W. Rice; 2nd Lt. H.R. Harp; Capt. P. Shannon; SSgt. W.J. Bond; Sgt. R.E. Johnson, SSgt. J.K. Brandemihl. (U.S. Air Force)Captain Paul Shannon
The flight crew for the Marauder’s final mission was Captain Paul Shannon, aircraft commander; First Lieutenant Lee W. Rice, co-pilot; Second Lieutenant Harry R. Harp, bombardier/navigator; Staff Sergeant James K. Brandemihl, flight engineer and top turret gunner; Staff Sergeant Walter J. Bond, radio operator; and Sergeant Robert E. Johnson, tail gunner.
Following this last mission. 41-31819 was returned to the United States as part of a War Bonds tour. Following that, the B-26 was
“. . . taken to Patterson Field for study, inspection, and possible salvage.“
—Daily Hampshire Gazette Wed 26 July 1944
Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder 41-31819, “Mild and Bitter,” following its 100th combat mission, May 1944. (American Air Museum in Britain FRE 4477)
FIRST HUNDRED
Just before dark, the sleek, fast B-26 Marauder circled her English air base and slipped in to a smooth landing. Technical Sergeant William L. Stuart, a taciturn, red-haired Texan, heaved an eloquent sigh, rubbed his grease-stained hands together, got out his tools and prepared to go to work.
The ship rolling up to his dispersal station, the “Mild & Bitter,” had just made history: she was back from her 100th combat mission. Sergeant Stuart, her crew chief, had sweated out every one of the 100 for her; now he would check her over and get her ready for Mission 101. “Mild & Bitter” thus joined the select company of famed warplanes of World War II—planes like the embattled Fortresses “Memphis Belle” and “Hell’s Angels,” and the R.A.F.’s Lancaster “S for Sugar.”
Quiet Type
But “Mild & Bitter” had no record of hair-raising escapes. Her saga was one of good luck and almost monotonous efficiency. She had lugged 166 different airmen to battle; 26 were decorated, but not one got a Purple Heart. During her robust career she acquired some 50 flak holes, but never any damage that Bill Stuart and his ground crew could not repair overnight.
On her first combat flight, last July 28, she led a sweep over Abbeville; the 100th mission was to bomb an airfield at Evreux, near Paris. In between she had taken the targets as they came; power plants, E-boat pens, air bases, all around France up to Holland and back. She still had her original Pratt & Whitney, 2000 Hp engines. No one had picked any soft spots for the ship, even when she neared her record. Her last two missions were done between dawn and sunset, her last four in 36 hours.
Successful Type
Ninth Air Force men were proud of “Mild & Bitter,” proud also that her performance so well underlined the striking success in the European Theater of the whole B-26 Marauder type. Once regarded by many airmen as a hot and dangerous aircraft, the B-26 has proved to be the outstanding medium bomber of the European air war. Its combat losses (less than 0.3%) are the lowest in the theater.
Crew Chief Stuart (who named the plane after hearing Englishmen ordering their pints of mild & bitter in a local pub) tried hard to think of something spectacular that had happened to the ship. On one raid, it is true, a burst of flak fountained up right through the open bomb bay. Hot steel fragments rattled against cold steel bombs with a hellish din. But nothing happened.
The record of the B-26 is equally good in all other theaters of operations.
—TIME Magazine, 22 May 1944, reprinted in Pilot Training Manual for the B-26, Headquarters, AAF, Office of Flying Safety, Page 7
Martin B-26B Marauder 41-31819, Mild and Bitter, 322nd Bombardment Group. (American Air Museum in Britain FRE 4478)
Mild and Bitter was a Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder twin-engine medium bomber, U.S. Army Air Forces serial number 41-31819. It had been built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at Middle River, Maryland, in 1943. It was 58 feet, 2 inches (17.729 meters) long, with a wingspan of 71 feet, 0 inches (21.641 meters), and overall height of 21 feet, 6 inches (6.553 meters). The wings had a total area of 664.1 square feet (61.7 square meters). Their angle of incidence was 3° 30′ and they had 1° 17′ dihedral. The stabilizer had a span of 28 feet, 0 inches (8.534 meters), with -5° incidence and 8° dihedral. The bomber had an empty weight of 24,000 pounds (10,886 kilograms) and gross weight of 37,000 pounds (16,783 kilograms).
Crew Chief with Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder 41-31819, DR-X, (American Air Museum in Britain UPL 28017)
The B-26B-25-MA was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.461-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter), Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 2SB-G (R-2800-41) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.65:1. The R-2800-41 had a Normal Power rating of 1,600 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. to 5,700 feet (1,737 meters), and 1,450 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m. at 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). Its Takeoff Power rating was 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. The Military Power rating was the same as Takeoff Power up to 2,700 feet (823 meters), and 1,600 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. to 13,500 feet (4,115 meters). They turned 13 foot, 6 inch (4.115 meter) diameter four-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed, full-feathering propellers through a 2:1 gear reduction. The R-2800-41 was 6 feet, 3.72 inches (1.923 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter, and weighed 2,300 pounds (1,043 kilograms).
The B-26B had a maximum speed of 270 miles per hour (435 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 282 miles per hour (454 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The airplane’s service ceiling was 21,700 feet (6,614 meters). It’s maximum ferry range was 2,850 miles (4,587 kilometers).
The B-26B was armed with 11 air-cooled Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns. One was at the nose on a flexible mount, two fixed guns were on each side of the nose in “blister packs,” there were two flexible guns in the waist. A Martin 250CE power-operated dorsal gun turret had two, as did the Bell Type M-6 hydraulically-operated gun mount in the tail.
A maximum of four 2,000 pound (907 kilograms) bombs could be carried in the bomb bay.
When the B-26 entered service, it quickly gained a reputation as a dangerous airplane and was called “the widowmaker.” The airplane had relatively short wings with a small area for its size. This required that landing approaches be flown at much higher speeds than was normal practice. With one engine out, airspeed was even more critical. Some changes were made, such as a slight increase on wingspan and the size of the vertical fin and rudder, and an emphasis was made on airspeed control during training. The Marauder had the lowest rate of combat losses of any American bomber.
The Glenn L. Martin Co. produced 5,288 Marauders between 1941–1945. It served in the Pacific, Mediterranean and European combat areas. When it was removed from service at the end of World War II, the “B-26” designation was reassigned to the Douglas A-26 Invader, a twin-engine light bomber.
Captain Albert Francis Hegenberger, Air Corps, United States Army. (NASM)
9 May 1932: At McCook Field, Ohio, Captain Albert Francis Hegenberger, Air Corps, United States Army, flew the very first solo instrument approach and landing, using a system which he had developed. The Hegenberger system, which was adopted by both civil and military aviation authorities, used a series of non-directional radio beacons (NDB) and marker beacons on the ground, along with a radio-compass and other gyroscopic instruments and radio receivers aboard the aircraft, a Consolidated NY-2 biplane.
Hegenberger had located one NDB 1,500 feet (457 meters) from the airfield boundary, and another at 1½ miles (2.4 kilometers). They were aligned with the runway centerline. Both had marker beacons which would signal that the airplane was directly overhead. The radio compass aboard the airplane would indicate the direction of the NDB relative to the airplane and lights would illuminate when it passed over the marker beacons. When the airplane was heading directly toward the NDB, the needle pointed to zero.
A Consolidated NY-2 in flight. A hood covers the rear cockpit, preventing the pilot from seeing outside. (San Diego Air and Space Museum)
Captain Hegenberger turned toward the inner NDB from a distance of 50 miles (80 kilometers). He passed over it at a pre-planned altitude. When the lights on the instrument panel came on indicating that he was directly over the inner marker beacon, he turned toward the outer NDB. Crossing the outer marker, Hegenberger made a 180° turn back toward the inner NDB and began his descent. As he passed over the inner NDB again, he reduced engine power and placed the airplane in a landing attitude and waited for it to touch down on the runway.
This flight was the first solo blind instrument flight, approach and landing. (Lt. James H. Doolittle had made a blind instrument flight in 1929, but he carried a safety pilot aboard.) For his accomplishment, Captain Hegenberger was awarded an oak leaf cluster (a second award) for his Distinguished Flying Cross, and received the Collier Trophy, an annual award for the greatest achievement in aeronautics in America.
Captain Albert F. Hegenberger, Air Corps, United States Army, was presented the Collier Trophy by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 22 July 1935.
Within one week, the Civil Aeronautics Board created a new pilot rating and required that all commercial pilots demonstrate proficiency in instrument flight. In 1935, the CAB adopted Hegenberger’s system and ordered equipment installed at all major airports between New York and Los Angeles.
The Air Corps Newsletter reported the event:
FIRST SOLO BLIND FLIGHT A SUCCESS
By Lieut. Joseph S. Edgerton, Air Reserve.
ANOTHER milestone in aviation progress was reached a few days ago when Capt. Albert F. Hegenberger, Army Air Corps, made the first “blind” solo flight, seeing nothing but the instruments before him from take-off to landing. If the elements which made Hegenberger’s achievement possible can be applied to air transport operations, one of the greatest foes of aviation can be whipped.
Dense ground fog on an air transport today brings all flying to a halt. As long as the fog holds no mail or passengers move by air. The only solution is artificial fog dispersion or “blind landings” through the fog. Fog dispersion so far is impracticable, if not impossible. Blind landings, apparently, form the practicable solution.
Until Captain Hegenberger’s solo flight, no man had landed “blind” and alone though “Jimmy” Doolittle three years ¹ ago landed blind with a check pilot aboard to take over the controls in case Doolittle’s skill failed or his calculations went awry.
Hegenberger used radio to guide him into the field, to mark for him the point at which to begin his glide and to warn him when he neared the field boundary. He employed a super-sensitive altimeter to indicate his altitude above the landing area. Other flight instruments were normal, including artificial horizon, gyro compass, radio compass and standard flight instruments. The flight was made at Dayton, Ohio, home of the Air Corps Materiel Division, where Captain Hegenberger is stationed as navigation officer.
Modest to a fault, quiet and unassuming, Captain Hegenberger is a brilliant figure in aviation, though seldom in the limelight. he first came to public fame when he flew from California to Hawaii with Lieut. Lester Maitland, ² the first Pacific flight. He is regarded as one of the world’s three foremost aerial navigators.
So retiring is Hegenberger that the world remained for many days in the dark as to his achievement. Captain Hegenberger was on the high seas, enroute to Rome to attend the first international meeting of ocean flyers when the story of his success was given to the world by F. Trubee Davision, Assistant Secretary of War for Aeronautics, who learned of the flight from Hegenberger’s official report.
Of the crucial moment when Captain Hegenberger, alone in his swiftly moving plane, felt his way toward the surface of the earth which he could not see, he has little to say in his report. It is difficult for the layman to put himself in Hegenberger’s position during that moment. To get something of the idea, imagine yourself driving in an automobile. The windows are all curtained so that you can get no glimpse of anything outside the car, no sky, no road – nothing but the blank curtains and the instruments. You have a radio direction finder, with a little arrow showing when you deviate to the right or left of a given course. You are driving at 50 miles an hour across an open field. At the far side of the field is a great yawning chasm of appropriate depth – say something like the Grand Canyon. There is but one avenue of safety, a very narrow bridge. If you miss the bridge, curtains. A radio beacon is guiding you to the bridge and your only indication is the little pointer. You may not slacken speed but you must hit the bridge precisely.
Your problem, however, would be much simpler than Hegenberger’s. Gravity would hold you on the ground and you wouldn’t have to worry about that. You would have to worry only about whether you were too far to the left or right. Hegenberger had to worry, not only about whether he was to the right or left of the runway, but also whether he was too high or too low and whether he was actually over the landing field or over some other place or terrain not at all suitable for the landing of airplanes.
It must have been with a feeling of exquisite relief that he felt the wheels touch the ground and the plane roll to a stop safely. Of this feature of the experiment, however Capt. Hegenberger has only this to say: “The radio transmitters mark the field boundary and all you have to do is just fly along the ground, take things gently and easily, and when you feel it hit – well, just ease back on the stick.”
A magnificent flight, and one worthy of a large and imposing monument on the green fields of aeronautical progress. – Washington STAR
Ed. Note:
According to the announcement of Mr. Davidson regarding this first solo Blind Flight, Captain Hegenberger took off and, after flying for five minutes, landed solely by the air of the instruments on the panel in front of him without once seeing outside of the cockpit. This successful flight was the seventh in a series of nine attempts. During the first three flights, observers were carried in the plane who knew nothing of flying. On the seventh flight, Capt. Hegenberger took off alone, made two 180-degree turns and landed at the take-off point. He was guided during this flight by the various instruments already enumerated. One the ground were three radio sets, two of which were of obsolescent type. The cockpit occupied by Captain Hegenberger had a shielded cover which cut off all view outside the plane. He first tuned in on a transmitter distant from the field to simulate cross-country flying. After executing the first 180-degree turn, he tuned in first on a portable transmitter placed 1,000 feet from the border of the field and then on another a mile and a half away. Although flying away from the field he was able by lining up the two radio transmitters to ascertain the correct flight path on which to return for his landing. Executing his second 180-degree turn at a height of 1,000 feet, he began gliding down as he headed for the mile-and-a half station.
Captain Hegenberger explained that for regular blind landings certain refinements of equipment will be needed. He expressed the desire to start a graduate class of Air Corps officers for training in blind flight take-offs and landings. This Army pilot of Hawaiian Flight fame is now on duty as navigation officer at the Materiel Division, Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. His blind flying experiments are a continuation of those carried out under the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics by former Lieut. James H. Doolittle, now a Major in the Air Corps Reserve, and as brilliant a figure in commercial aviation as he was while actively connected with the Air Corps. On September 24, 1929, Major Doolittle first demonstrated to the world the possibility of landing an airplane by instruments alone. He carried a check pilot to take over the controls in case of emergency.
It may be stated that Captain Hegenberger is a pioneer in blind flying, for nearly nine years ago, on September 6, 1923, he flew the greater part of the journey from Dayton to Boston completely out of sight of land. Of course, there were no hooded cockpits in those days but, so far as vision of the ground was concerned, Captain Hegenberger and his passenger, Mr. Bradley Jones, Navigation Engineer at McCook Field, were not much better off that the present day airman piloting a covered wagon, aerial type.
Despite unfavorable weather conditions, they took off from McCook Field in a DeH at ten o’clock and landed at Boston Airport 7 hours and 25 minutes later. The sky was obscured by clouds which stretched from 300 to 7,000 feet altitude. After sighting Ohio State Univeriity at Columbus, the clouds became so dense that the flyers climbed above them and found themselves in clear sunlight little above 10,000 feet. A solid layer of clouds stretched beneath them. Not a glimpse of a land mark was obtained for a number of hours. The entire State of Pennsylvania was passed over without their obtaining a glimpse of it. Flying by instruments alone, Captain Hegenberger, at about 3:40 p.m., estimated that he should be close to the Hudson River, so he descended through the clouds and crossed this body of water not five minutes later. The remainder of the journey to Boston was made under the clouds. The successful termination of this flight demonstrated the efficiency of air navigation instruments even in those early days of Army aviation.
—Air Corps News Letter, Vol. XVI, No. 6, 26 May 1932, at pages 207–208
1st Lieutenant Albert Francis Hegenberger, Air Service, United States Army, circa 1920–1925. (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress, Call Number LC-B2-5469-15)
Albert Francis Hegenberger was born 30 September 1895 at Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. He was the second of five children of Alphonse Frederick Hegenberger, a clerk and immigrant from Bavaria, and Emma Amanda Buegler Hegenberger, of Switzerland.
In 1913 Hegenberger entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a student of aeronautical engineering.
Following the United States’ entry into World War I, Albert F. Hegenberger enlisted as a private in the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, United States Army, 14 September 1917. He was assigned to the School of Military Aeronautics at M.I.T., graduating in December 1917. After flight training at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, Hegenberger was commissioned a second lieutenant, Aviation Section, Signal Officers Reserve Corps, 6 April 1918. This commission was vacated 19 September 1920, and he was appointed a second lieutenant, Air Service, retroactive to 20 July 1920. He was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, effective that that same date.
In October 1918, Second Lieutenant Hegenberger returned to M.I.T., and entered the School of Aeronautical Engineering. He graduated in February 1919.
Lieutenant Hegenberger married Miss Louise B. Berchtold in 1919. They would have two sons, Albert F., Jr., born in 1920, and Robert F., born in 1924.
In October 1923, 1st Lieutenant Hegenberger was assigned to the 72nd Bombardment Squadron, 5th Composite Squadron, at Luke Field on the Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. The squadron was equipped with the DH-4 and the twin-engine Martin NBS-1 bomber. In March 1925, Lieutenant Hegenberger was transferred to the 23rd Bombardment Squadron, 5th Composite Group.
Lieutenant Hegenberger was next assigned as chief of the Equipment Branch, Material Division, at McCook Field, Dayton Ohio. He served in that position from October 1926 until June 1927, when became chief of the Instrument and Navigation Unit.
At 7:09 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time, 28 June 1927, 1st Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland and 1st Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger, Air Service, United States Army, took off from Oakland Municipal Airport, California, aboard an Atlantic-Fokker C-2, serial number A.S. 26-202, Bird of Paradise. Their destination was Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, 2,407 miles (3,874 kilometers) across the Pacific Ocean.
“Bird of Paradise”, Atlantic-Fokker C-2 serial number 26-202, arrives at Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii after a non-stop flight from Oakland, California, 6:29 a.m., 29 June 1927. (U.S. Air Force)
After 25 hours, 50 minutes of flight, Bird of Paradise landed at Wheeler Field, 6:29 a.m., local time, 29 June 1927. It had completed the first Transpacific Flight.
For their achievement, both officers were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. They were also awarded the Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year.
Secretary of War George Henry Dern presents Captain Albert F. Hegenberger the Distinguished Flying Cross, 18 May 1934. (Harris & Ewing)
1st Lieutenant Hegenberger continued in his technical assignments at McCook and Wright Fields. On 3 January 1932, he was promoted to the rank of captain.
Mrs. Hegenberger died 7 August 1933.
In August 1935, Captain Hegenberger was assigned to the 30th Bombardment Squadron at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California. The squadron moved to March Field, near Riverside, California, and transitioned to the Martin B-10. Captain Hegenberger was advanced to the rank of major (temporary), 2 October 1935.
On 22 July 1937, Major Hegenberger married Ms. Jewel Lilly Van Houten (née Jewel Lilly Baker) at Detroit, Michigan.
From August 1937 to June 1939, Major Hegenberger was assigned to the Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the 5th Bombardment Group at Hickam Field, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. The 5th was equipped with Keystone B-3 and B-4 bombers.
Major Hegenberger was appointed operations officer of the 18th Wing at Hickam, and then in November 1940, became assistant chief of staff for operations of the Hawaiian Air Force, headquartered at Fort Shafter, near Honolulu. Hegenberger was promoted to lieutenant colonel (temporary), on 30 December 1940. This rank became permanent 18 December 1941.
In April 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Hegenberger took command of the 11th Bombardment Group. The group was equipped with Douglas B-18 Bolo, but began receiving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses the following month.
Hegenberger was promoted to colonel (temporary), 5 January 1942. He took command of 18th Bombardment Group and Seventh Bomber Command. He was appointed Colonel, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), 8 June 1942. Returning to the continental United States, Colonel Hegenberger became assistant chief of staff for operations, Second Air Force, and commanding officer, II Bomber Command, at Fort George Wright, Spokane, Washington. In October 1942, Colonel Hegenberger took command of the 21st Bombardment Wing, based at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Salina, Kansas, and later, Topeka Army Air Field, Topeka, Kansas.
Colonel Hegenberger was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, A.U.S., 18 September 1943. In January 1944, he was appointed Chief of Staff, Second Air Force, at Colorado Springs Army Air Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The following year, January 1945, Brigadier General Hegenberger became Chief of Staff, Fourteenth Air Force, based at Chunking, China.
“Major General C. J. Chow, Director of the Commission on Aeronautical Affairs in Chungking, China, and Brig. General Albert F. Hegenberger, Chief of Staff of the 14th Air Force.” (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China)
Hegenberger became commanding general, Tenth Air Force, also based in China, in August 1945. He was promoted to major general, A.U.S., 7 September 1945. From December 1945 to July 1946, Major General Hegenberger served at Headquarters Army Air Forces. He was then assigned to Pacific Air Command, United States Army (PACUSA), in Japan. He assumed command of the 1st Air Division, Kadena Army Air Base, Okinawa, in July 1946.
In December 1947, Hegenberger was assigned to the Weapons Group, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force. He then served on the staff of the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, for Atomic Energy. On 19 February 1948, Hegenberger’s previous rank of brigadier general, United States Air Force, became permanent, with date of rank retroactive to 19 September 1943. (He continued in the temporary rank of major general.)
Major General Hegenberger retired from the U.S. Air Force on 31 August 1949 after nearly 32 years of military service. During his career, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster (two awards), World War I Victory Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; Order of the Cloud and Banner (Republic of China); and Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Corona d’Italia (Grand Officer, Order of the Crown of Italy).
Major General Albert Francis Hegenberger, United States Air Force (Retired) died at Goldenrod, Florida, 31 August 1983, at the age 87 years. He was buried at All Faiths Memorial Park, Casselbury, Florida.
¹ 24 September 1929. The check pilot was Lieutenant Benjamin Scovill Kelsey. Please see TDiA at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/24-september-1929/
² 28–29 June 1927. Please see TDiA at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/28-29-june-19/
The Byrd Arctic Expedition Fokker F.VIIa/3m at Spitzbergen, Svalbard, 9 May 1927. (Ohio State University Archives)
9 May 1926: Lieutenant Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., and Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett, United States Navy, departed Spitzbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, on a round-trip flight to the North Pole.
Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd, Jr., U.S. Navy (Library of Congress)Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett, U.S. Navy, circa April 1925 (U.S. Navy)
Their aircraft was a Fokker F.VIIa/3m three-engine, high-wing monoplane, construction number 600. The airplane was It was purchased for the Byrd Arctic Expedition by Edsel Ford, and named Josephine Ford in honor of his 3-year-old daughter, Josephine Clay Ford.
With Chief Bennett as the expedition’s pilot and Lieutenant Commander Byrd navigating, they flew approximately 840 miles (1,350 kilometers) to the Pole and returned the same day. The total duration of the flight was 15 hours, 44 minutes.
Secretary of the Navy Curtis Dwight Wilbur, Commander Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., President John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., Warrant Officer Floyd Bennett and Admiral Edward Walter Eberle, at the White House, 5 March 1927.Medal of Honor, U.S. Navy, 1919–1942.
For this accomplishment, Lieutenant Commander Byrd was promoted to Commander, and Chief Bennett to Warrant Officer. Both aviators were awarded the Medal of Honor by President Coolidge.
In the years since this event, there has been speculation that the airplane may not have actually reached the North Pole. Professor Gerald Newsom of Ohio State University, an astronomer who taught celestial navigation, analyzed Byrd’s handwritten notes and estimated that because of the inadequacies of the equipment then available to Byrd, Josephine Ford may have flown 21 miles (33.8 kilometers) beyond the North Pole, or fallen 78 miles (125.5 kilometers) short. Professor Newsom pointed out, though, that the fact the Byrd was able to return to Svalbard after nearly 16 hours proves that he knew how to navigate using that equipment under those conditions.
(See https://web.archive.org/web/20161216185546/http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/byrdnorth.htm for additional information.)
Richard E. Byrd holding a Bumstead Sun Compass used for celestial navigation at very high latitudes, 1925. (Maynard Owen Williams/National Geographic Society, Image ID 612617)Fokker F.VIIa/3 Josephine Ford (David Horn Collection)Prototype Fokker F.VIIa/3m, c/n 600, at Detroit Michigan, September 1925. (Robert McMahan Collection)
Josephine Ford is the first Fokker F.VIIa/3m monoplane, c/n 600. It was built by Anton H.G. Fokker’s N.V. Koninklijke Nederlandse Vliegtuigenfabriek Fokker at Veere, Netherlands in 1925, and made its first flight at Schipol, 4 September 1925. It was demonstrated for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines), then disassembled and shipped to the United States. 600 was flown from New York to Detroit, where it participated in the First Annual Aerial Reliability Tour, 28 September–3 October 1925, flown by Egbert P. Lott. The airplane was evaluated by the U.S. Army Air Corps at Wright Field, and was then sold to Edsel Ford.
The United States did not register aircraft prior to 1927. According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Registry data base, FOKKER VII (TRI-MOTOR) Serial Number 600 was registered 21 June 1927 to the Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan, as NC267. The registration was cancelled 14 March 1930.
Fokker F.VII 3m Josephine Ford (Fokker Aircraft)
Sources vary as to the actual dimensions of the Fokker F.VIIa/3m. The Henry Ford, the museum which owns the airplane, gives its dimensions as 49.167 feet (14.986 meters) in length, with a wingspan of 63.5 feet (19.355 meters) and height of 12.75 feet (3.886 meters). Another source says that the airplane is 47 feet, 11 inches (14.605 meters) long with a wingspan of 63 feet, 4 inches (19.304 meters) and height of 12 feet, 8 inches (3.861 meters). Its empty weight is variously given as 4,630 pounds, 5,060 pounds or 6,724 pounds and maximum takeoff weight is 7,950 pounds, 8,800 pounds or 11,464 pounds. It has a cruise speed of 81 knots. Or 90. . . .
Josephine Ford was powered by three air-cooled 787¼-cubic-inch-displacement (12.901 liter) Wright Aeronautical Corporation Model J-4 Whirlwind nine-cylinder radial engines, rated at 215 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The J-4 weighed 475 pounds. (The specific variant, J-4, J-4A, or J-4B, is not known.)
Josephine Ford is in the collection of The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.
Fokker F.VIIa/3m Josephine Ford, flown by the Byrd Arctic Expedition, in the collection of The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan. (The Henry Ford Museum)
A 20th Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
8–19 May 1946: Over an 11-day period, 20th Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortresses based in the Marianas Islands set a series of twelve payload, altitude and speed records. These records were certified for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and National Aeronautic Association (NAA) by Charles S. Logsden, the association’s official timer and records keeper. All of the record flights originated from Harmon Field on the Island of Guam.
Harmon Field, 24 January 1945. (NARA/U.S.Navy 80-G-346042)
On 8 May, a B-29 flown by Arthur A. Pearson carried a 10 000 kilogram (22,046 pounds) payload to an altitude of 12 668 meters (41,562 feet). [FAI Record File Number 10415] Other members of the flight crew were Vernon L. Dalbey, R.S. Strasburg, I. F. Bork, J.T Collins, and J. Friedberg.
Three days later, 11 May 1946, a B-29 under the command of Colonel Beverly Howard Warren took off from Harmon Field with a payload of 15 166 kilograms (33,435 pounds) and climbed to a height of 2 000 meters (6,562 feet). [FAI Record File Number 8738] The bomber then continued to climb until it reached an altitude of 12 046 meters (39,521 feet). [FAI Record File Number 8736] Colonel Warren (later, Brigadier General) was chief of special projects, headquarters, Pacific Air Command, United States Army (PACUSA). Other members of his crew were J.R. Dale, W.D. Collier, G.S. Fish, and T.H. Hall.
Colonel Warren’s flight crew consisted of J.R. Dale, W.D. Collier, G.S. Fish and T.H. Hall. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
On 13 May, Elbert D. Reynolds, Brian P. Robson, John G. Barnes, T. Madden, K. H. Morehouse, W. C. Flynn,and L. Lentowski flew their Superfortress with a payload of 2 000 kilograms (4,409 pounds) to an altitude 14 180 meters (46,522 feet). [FAI File Number 8738]
Elbert D. Reynolds’ flight crew, Brian P. Robson, John G. Barnes, T. Madden, K. H. Morehouse, W. C. Flynn,and L. Lentowski. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
The following day, 14 May, John B. Tobison’s B-29 carried a 5 000 kilogram (11,023 pounds) payload to an altitude of 13 793 meters (45,253 feet). [FAI Record File Number 8243] The members of his crew were A.W. Armistead, R.M. Beattie, E.J. Joyce, R.F. Johnson and M.R. Genta.
On 15 May, Finlay Ross and his crew, which included Dougall M. Davis, flew their B-29 to an altitude of 14 603 meters (47,910 feet) with a payload of 1 000 kilograms (2,205 pounds). [FAI Record File Number 8194]
17 May: E.M Graboski flew his B-29 around a closed circuit for a distance of 1 000 kilometers (621.37 miles) with a 5 000 kilogram (11,023.1 pounds) payload, with an average speed of 594,97 km/h (369.697 m.p.h.). [FAI Record File Number 10424] Continuing around the closed circuit for a total of 2 000 km (1,242.74 mi.), Grabowski and his crew set records for an average speed of 588.46 km/h (365.652 m.p.h.) with a 1 000 kg (2,204.6 lbs.) payload [FAI File #13329]; 2 000 kg (4,409.3 lbs.) [FAI # 13330]; and 5 000 kg (11,023.1 lbs.). [FAI # 10425] Grabowski’s crew members were J.J. Liset, D.P. Kelly, O.W. Lambert, F.M. Polmotier.
Finally. on 19 May 1946, J.D. Bartlett, with his crewmen, William Murray, C.M. Youngblood, Don J. Shrader, and R.F. Wilson, flew their Superfortress around a closed circuit if 1 000 km (621.37 mi.) with a payload of 10 000 kg (22,046 lbs.) at an average speed of 575,71 km/h (357.730 m.p.h.); [FAI # 10408]; and 2 000 km (1,243.74 mi.) at 574,59 km/h (357.034 m.p.h.) (FAI # 10409]
Boeing B-29-1-BN Superfortress 42-93843, the final Block 1 Superfortress, circa 1944.
The B-29 Superfortress was the most technologically advanced—and complex—aircraft of World War II. It required the manufacturing capabilities of the entire nation to produce. Over 1,400,000 engineering man-hours had been required to design the prototypes.
The Superfortress was manufactured by Boeing at Seattle and Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas; by the Glenn L. Martin Company at Omaha, Nebraska; and by Bell Aircraft Corporation, Marietta, Georgia.
There were three XB-29 prototypes, 14 YB-29 pre-production test aircraft, 2,513 B-29 Superfortresses, 1,119 B-29A, and 311 B-29B aircraft. The bomber served during World War II and the Korean War and continued in active U.S. service until 1960. In addition to its primary mission as a long range heavy bomber, the Superfortress also served as a photographic reconnaissance airplane, designated F-13, a weather recon airplane (WB-29), and a tanker (KB-29).
The B-29 was operated by a crew of 11 to 13 men. It was 99 feet, 0 inches (30.175 meters) long with a wingspan of 141 feet, 3 inches (43.068 meters). The vertical fin was 27 feet, 9 inches (8.305 meters) high. The airplane’s empty weight was 71,500 pounds (32,432 kilograms). Its maximum takeoff weight of 140,000 pounds (63,503 kilograms).
The B-29’s wings had a total area of 1,720 square feet (159.8 square meters). They had an angle of incidence of 4° and 4° 29′ 23″ dihedral. The leading edges were swept aft to 7° 1′ 26″.
The B-29 was powered by four air-cooled, turbocharged and supercharged, 3,347.66-cubic-inch-displacement (54.858 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 18 (also known as the Duplex-Cyclone) 670C18BA4 (R-3350-23A) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines. These had a Normal Power rating of 2,000 horsepower at 2,400 r.p.m., and 2,200 horsepower at 2,800 r.p.m., for takeoff. They drove 16 foot, 7 inch (5.055 meter) diameter, four-bladed, Hamilton Standard constant-speed propellers through a 0.35:1 gear reduction. The R-3350-23A was 6 feet, 4.26 inches (1.937 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.78 inches (1.417 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,646 pounds (1,200 kilograms).
The maximum speed of the B-29 was 353 knots (406 miles per hour/654 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters), though its normal cruising speed was 216 knots (249 miles per hour/400 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The bomber’s service ceiling was 40,600 feet (12,375 meters) and the maximum ferry range was 4,492 nautical miles (5,169 statute miles/8,319 kilometers).
The Superfortress could carry a maximum of 20,000 pounds (9,072 kilograms) of bombs in two bomb bays. For defense, it was armed 12 Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns in four remote, computer-controlled gun turrets and a manned tail position. The bomber carried 500 rounds of ammunition per gun. (Some B-29s were also armed with an M2 20 mm autocannon at the tail.)
A number of B-29 Superfortresses are on display at locations around the world, but only two, the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29A-60-BN 44-62070, Fifi, and B-29-70-BW 44-69972, Doc, are airworthy. (After a lengthy restoration, Doc received its Federal Aviation Administration Special Airworthiness Certificate, 19 May 2016.)
Lieutenant Apollo Soucek waves from the cockpit of the Wright XF3W-1 Apache. (NASM)
8 May 1929: Lieutenant Apollo Soucek, United States Navy, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude when he flew the prototype Wright Aeronautical Division XF3W-1 Apache, Bu. No. A7223, to 11,930 meters (39,140 feet) over NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C. ¹ The record was certified by the National Aeronautic Association.
Lieutenant Soucek was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this achievement.
Flight reported:
New Altitude Record Claimed
It is announced in Washington that Lieut. Apollo Soucek, U.S.N., claims to have created a new height record of 40,000 ft. on May 8. In the course of his flight he encountered a temperature of 60 deg. F. below zero. [-51 °C.]
—FLIGHT The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 1064. (No. 20. Vol. XXI.) May 16, 1929, Page 405 at Column 2
Lieutenant Apollo Soucek, United States Navy.
Lieutenant Soucek set two other World Records with the XF3W-1 Apache. On 4 June 1929, with the Apache configured as afloat plane, he flew it to an altitude of 11,753 meters (38,560 feet). ² The following year, 4 June 1930, he flew the Apache to 13,157 meters (43,166 feet). ³
Wright XF3W-1 Apache, Bu. No. A7223, at NACA Langley. (NASA)
Wright Aeronautical Division XF3W-1 Apache, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number A7223, was a prototype for a single-place, single-engine fighter for the U.S. Navy. The XF3W-1 was a single-bay biplane with a fuselage constructed of steel tubing, covered with doped fabric. The wings were constructed of wood. It was 22 feet, 1 inch (6.731 meters) long with a wingspan of 27 feet, 4 inches (8.331 meters) and height of 8 feet, 6 inches (2.591 meters). It had an empty wight of 1,414 pounds (641 kilograms) and gross weight of 2,128 pounds (965 kilograms). Only one XF3W-1 was built.
The XF3W-1 was designed to use the new air-cooled, supercharged 1,176.036-cubic-inch-displacement (19.272 liters) Wright Aeronautical Division R-1200 Simoon 9-cylinder radial engine, which was rated at 350 horsepower at 1,900 r.p.m. The R-1200 weighed 640 pounds (290 kilograms).
Pratt & Whitney Wasp A Serial Number 1, (R-1340), Radial 9 Engine at the National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)
After taking delivery of the prototype, the Navy installed the number two Pratt & Whitney Wasp A engine. (The XF3W-1 was the first airplane to fly with a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, 5 May 1926.) The Wasp A was an air-cooled, supercharged, 1,343.8-cubic-inch displacement (22.021 liters) nine-cylinder radial direct-drive engine with a compression ratio of 5.25:1. It was rated at 410 horsepower at 1,900 r.p.m. at Sea Level, burning 58 octane gasoline. The Wasp A was 3 feet, 6.63 inches (1.083 meters) long, 4 feet, 3.44 inches (1.307 meters) in diameter, and weighed 745 pounds (338 kilograms).
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) used the XF3W-1 for engine and cowling tests at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL), Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia. Which engine was installed at the time of Lieutenant Soucek’s record flight is uncertain.
The XF3W-1’s engine was supercharged by a NACA Model 2E Roots-type supercharger, built by the Allison Engineering Company. This supercharger, serial number 1, is in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum.
The XF3W-1 was also configured as a float plane.
162 m.p.h., 38,560′
Wright Aeronautical XF3W-1 Apache, Bu. No. A7223, at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Hampton, Virginia, 28 August 1926. (NASA)
Apollo Soucek was born 24 February 1897, at Lamont, Oklahoma. He was a son of Bohemian immigrants, Johann Grothard Soucek, a blacksmith, and Ludmila Pishny Soucek. He had a brother, two years his junior, named Zeus.
Midshipman Apollo Soucek, U.S. Naval Academy, 1921. (The Lucky Bag)
Soucek received an appointment as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis Maryland. He entered on 9 June 1917 as a member of the Class of 1921. While at Annapolis, “Soakem” Soucek played baseball and football. In The Lucky Bag it was written, “When you want a man you can rely on and trust ’till there’s skating in Hell, just page old Soakem—he’s there with the goods.”
Midshipman Soucek graduated and was commissioned an ensign, United States Navy, with a date of precedence of 3 June 1921.
Ensign Soucek’s first assignment was aboard the New Mexico-class battleship, USS Mississippi (BB-41).
In February 1924, Ensign Soucek was transferred to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, for flight instruction. He was designated a Naval Aviator in October 1924. He was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) and assigned as assistant flight officer aboard the U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier, USS Langley (CV-1).
USS Langley (CV-1), 1922. (U.S. Navy)
Soucek was next transferred to Observation Squadron 1 (VO-1), Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, aboard USS Maryland (BB-46), a Colorado-class battleship. He had collateral duty as the ship’s assistant navigator.
In 1925, Lieutenant (j. g.) Souceck served aboard USS Aroostock (CM-3), a minesweeper which had been converted to an aircraft tender, and in 1926, was assigned to the Naval Aircraft Factory, Philadephia, Pennsylvania.
Lieutenant (j.g.) Soucek was promoted to lieutenant, 3 June 1927, and he began a tour of duty with the Bureau of Aeronautics, 29 June 1927. He specialized in engines in the Bureau’s Material Division.
Lieutenant Apollo Soucek married Miss Agnes Eleanor O’Connor at Washington, D.C., 27 May 1930.
In 1931, Lieutenant Soucek served with Fighting Squadron 1B (VF-1B). He returned to duty at the Naval Aircraft Factory in 1933.
Lieutenant Apollo Soucek, United States Navy, 16 March 1932. The airplane is a Boeing F4B-2, A8801, assigned to VF-1, USS Saratoga (CV- 3). Lieutenant Soucek is wearing the green uniform of a U.S. Naval Aviator. (U.S. Navy via Davis-Monthan Airfield Register)
In 1936, Lieutenant Souceck served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4).
USS Ranger (CV-4). (U.S. Navy)
Souceck was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander, 3 June 1937, and was assigned as commanding officer of Fighting Squadron 2 (VF-2). In 1938, he returned to the Bureau of Aeronautics, working in both the Flight Division and the Personnel Division.
In 1940, Lieutenant Commander Soucek served as navigator aboard USS Yorktown (CV-5).
Souceck was promoted to the rank of commander, 27 August 1941. He was assigned as Air Officer aboard the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier, USS Hornet (CV-8). When the carrier’s executive officer was promoted, Commander Soucek was assigned as Hornet‘s executive officer, serving under Captain Marc A. Mitscher. Hornet participated in the Halsey-Doolittle Raid of 18 April 1942; the Battle of Midway; and the Solomons Campaign.
Commander Soucek was promoted to the rank of captain (temporary), 20 August 1942, with date of rank 20 June 1942.
Hornet was sunk at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 27 October 1942. Captain Soucek was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the battle.
USS Hornet (CV-8) under attack during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942. (U.S. Navy)
Captain Soucek next was as assistant chief of staff for operations, U.S Pacific Fleet, then the Naval Air Training Command. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (temporary), 23 July 1944. After the war, reverted to the permanent rank of captain, with the 23 July 1944 date of rank.
On 27 October 1945, Captain Soucek became the first commanding officer of the Midway-class aircraft carrier, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42). He was appointed Commander, Carrier Division 14, in January 1946. He remained in command of Roosevelt until relieved, 2 March 1946.
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42), (U.S. Navy)
After leaving Roosevelt, Soucek was assigned as Commander Fleet Air Wing 1.
From July 1947 through 1949, Rear Admiral Soucek was Commander, Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. In late 1949, he was Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Aviation Plans, and then, in 1950, Director, Aviation Plans, in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
In 1951 Rear Admiral Soucek was appointed Naval Attaché for Air at the United States Embassy, London, England. His wife, Agnes, died that year.
Soucek returned to combat during the Korean War. In 1952, he commanded Carrier Division 3 and Task Force 77 from his flagship, USS Boxer (CV-21). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
Two Vought F4U-5N Corsairs fly past USS Boxer (CV-21), off Korea, 4 September 1951. (U.S. Navy)
Rear Admiral Soucek became Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics, 18 June 1953.
In 1954, Rear Admiral Soucek became a member of the advisory board of the Smithsonian Institution National Air Museum, serving without compensation.
Soucek suffered a heart attack in February 1955. Unable to return to full duty, he was transferred to the Retired List on 1 July 1955.
Rear Admiral Apollo Soucek, United States Navy, died at his home in Washington, D.C., 19 July 1955. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral. He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.
Mild and Bitter was a Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder twin-engine medium bomber, U.S. Army Air Forces serial number 41-31819. It had been built by the Glenn L. Martin Company at Middle River, Maryland, in 1943. It was 58 feet, 2 inches (17.729 meters) long, with a wingspan of 71 feet, 0 inches (21.641 meters), and overall height of 21 feet, 6 inches (6.553 meters). The wings had a total area of 664.1 square feet (61.7 square meters). Their angle of incidence was 3° 30′ and they had 1° 17′ dihedral. The stabilizer had a span of 28 feet, 0 inches (8.534 meters), with -5° incidence and 8° dihedral. The bomber had an empty weight of 24,000 pounds (10,886 kilograms) and gross weight of 37,000 pounds (16,783 kilograms).
