Category Archives: Aviation

23 June 1924

Aviation, , , , , , , ,
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, 1924

23 June 1924: Joseph Sadi-Lecointe set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Distance of 500 Kilometers when he flew a Nieuport-Delâge NiD-42 S sesquiplane to an average speed of 306.70 kilometers per hour (190.57 miles per hour) at Istres, France.¹

Nieuport-Deleage 500 h.p. (FAI)
Nieuport-Delâge NiD-42 S. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)

Two Nieuport-Delâge NiD-42 S racers were built by Société Nieuport-Astra. The airplane was a single-place, single-engine, strut-braced high-wing sesquiplane (“a plane-and-a-half”) with fixed landing gear. An airfoil was positioned between the wheels.

The NiD-42 S racer was 6.55 meters (21 feet, 5.9 inches) long and 2.20 meters (7 feet, 2.6 inches) high. The upper wingspan was 9.50 meters (31 feet, 2.0 inches) and the lower wing, 2.75 meters (9 feet, 0.3 inches). The vertical gap between the wings was 1.70 meters (5 feet, 6.9 inches). The lower “half wing” had an area of 1.60 square meters (17.22 square feet).

The racer’s empty weight was 1,170 kilograms (2,580 pounds), and gross weight was 1,440 kilograms (3,175 pounds).

Le sesquiplan Nieuport de Sadi-Lecointe sur lequel il realize son record de vitesse du monde. (L’AÉROPHILE, 1er-15 Octobre 1922, at page 294)

The fuselage was a wood monocoque assembly, built in two halves, using as many as six layers of 0.9 mm (0.04 inches) white wood strips, placed diagonally at alternating 90° angles. The completed fuselage was then covered in doped fabric. The upper wing was one built as one piece, using two spruce spars. The surfaces were plywood, covered with fabric. The struts were steel tubing with a streamlined cross section. Cylindrical Lamblin radiators were used for engine cooling, located under the fuselage. The lower “half-wing” was made of duralumin.

The NiD-42 S was powered by a water-cooled, supercharged, 18.473 liter (1,127.265 cubic inch displacement) Société Française Hispano-Suiza Type 42 (also referred to as the 8F series), a single overhead camshaft (SOHC) 90° V-8 engine with a compression ratio of 5.3:1. The standard normally-aspirated engine was rated at 320 horsepower, but Sadi-Lecointe’s was supercharged and required that benzol added to the fuel to prevent pre-ignition. When tested, the engine produced exactly 357.7 horsepower at 1,860 r.p.m. It was a direct-drive engine which turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller.

The NiD-42 S had a maximum speed of 330 kilometers per hour (205 miles per hour) and maximum range of 500 kilometers (311 miles).

This left front quarter view of the NiD-42 S shows the lower airfoil between the landing gear wheels which gives the airplane the sesquiplane designation. (hydroretro)

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe learned to fly in 1910. The Aero Club de France awarded him its license number 431 on 10 February 1910.

He joined the Service Aéronautique (the original form of the French Air Force) as a mechanic in October 1912, and was designated pilote militaire nº375, 20 September 1913. He served as a pilot during World War I, flying the Blériot XI-2, Morane LA and Nieuprt X, then in December 1915 became a flight instructor at l’Ecole de Pilotage d’Avord.

Sadi-Lacointe was promoted from the enlisted ranks to sous-lieutenant, 17 September 1917, and was assigned as a test pilot at Blériot–Société Pour L’Aviation et ses Dérivés, where he worked on the development of the famous SPAD S.XIII C.1 fighter.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe was a test pilot for the SPAD S.XIII C.1 fighter. (BnF)

After the War, he was a test pilot for Nieuport-Delâge, and participated in numerous races and set a series of speed and altitude records with the company’s airplanes.

Sadi-Lecointe returned to military service in 1925 and participated in the Second Moroccan War. Then in 1927, he returned to his position as chief test pilot for Nieuport-Delâge. From 1936 to 1940, he served as Inspecteur général de l’aviation civile (Inspector General of Aviation) for the French Air Ministry. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Lieutenant Colonel Sadi-Lecointe was again recalled to military service as Inspector of Flying Schools.

With the Fall of France, Sadi-Lacointe joined La Résistance française and operated with the group Rafale Andromède. He was captured and tortured by the Gestapo at Paris, and died as a result, 15 July 1944.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe, Commandeur Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, was awarded the Croix de Guerre in three wars. He was posthumously awarded the Médaille de la Résistance. The Aéro-Club de France awarded him its Grande Médaille d’Or de l’Aéro-Club de France. During his flying career, Sadi-Lecointe set seven World Records for Speed, and three World Records for Altitude.

MORT POUR LA FRANCE

The Cross of Lorraine was the symbol of La Résistance française during World War II. (© Ray Rivera)

¹ FAI Record File Number 14618

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

23 June 1913

Aviation, , , , , , ,
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, 1914. (Karl Karlovich Bulla)
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, 1914. (Karl Karlovich Bulla)

23 June 1913: While parked at St. Petersberg, Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky’s S-21, Русский Витязь (Russky Vityaz or “Russian Knight”), the world’s first four-engine airplane, and, at the time, the world’s largest airplane, was crushed by an engine that had fallen off of a single-engine Morane-Saulnier airplane that was flying overhead.

Russky Vityaz, the Sikorsky S-21. (Bain News Service/Library of Congress LC-B2-3222-11)

Igor Sikorsky began work on the S-21 in 1911, while chief engineer for Russko-Baltiisky Vagonny Zavod at St. Petersburg, and it first flew 10 May 1913. It was a four-engine biplane operated by a crew of three and could carry up to seven passengers in two enclosed cabins. These cabins were large enough that the passengers could stand and move  around.

The S-21 was 20 meters (65.6 feet) long. The upper wing had a span of 27 meters (88.6 feet) and the lower wing, 20 meters (65.6 feet). Overall height of the airplane was 4 meters (13.1 feet). Its empty weight was 3,400 kilograms (7,496 pounds) and the gross weight was 4,000 kilograms (8,818 pounds).

Ígor’ Ivánovič Sikórskij; with His Imperial Majesty Tsearevich Nikoláj II Aleksándrovič Románov aboard the S-21. (San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives, Catalog #: 12_00087512)

Russky Vityaz was powered by four water-cooled Argus Motoren G.m.b.H. As 1 inline four-cylinder engines in a tractor configuration. These produced 100 horsepower, each, and turned two-bladed fixed-pitch propellers. The biplane had a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour (56 miles per hour), service ceiling of just 600 meters (1,969 feet) and range of 170 kilometers (106 miles).

Rather than try to repair the wrecked S-21, Sikorsky decided to build something even bigger: the Sikorsky S-22 Ilya Muromets.

Российская Империя. Авиаконструктор Игорь Сикорский сажает свой четырехмоторный самолет “Илья Муромец” на Корпусном аэродроме в Санкт-Петербурге. /Репродукция Фотохроники ТАСС/

Igor Sikorsky emigrated to the United States of America in 1919, where he designed and built large seaplanes for airline use before focusing on the development of the helicopter, beginning with the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300. His company remains in operation today and produces some of the most widely used military and commercial helicopters.

Igor Sikorsky's S-21, Russky Vityaz, four-engine airplane, 1913. (RIA Novosti)
Igor Sikorsky’s S-21 four-engine airplane, Russky Vitaz 1913. (RIA Novosti)

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

20–22 June 1972

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
Westland Chief Pilot Leonard Roy Moxham and Michael Ball. (FAI)

20–22 June 1972: Westland AH.1 Lynx, c/n 02/11, XX153, flown by then Westland Chief Pilot Leonard Roy Moxham and flight test engineer Michael Ball, set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed. Flying over a straight 15/25 kilometer course on 20 June, the Lynx averaged 321.74 kilometers per hour (199.92 miles per hour).¹ Two days later, the Lynx flew a closed 100 kilometer circuit at an average speed of 318.50 kilometers per hour (197.91 miles per hour).² Both of these records were for helicopters in the 3,000–4,500 kilogram weight class.

XX153 is at the Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop, Hampshire, England.

The near helicopter is Westland Lynx XX153, the 1972 FAI World Speed Record Holder. (FAI)

¹ FAI Record File Number 1826

² FAI Record File Number 1853

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

22 June 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , ,
The last of 744 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers, B-52H-175-BW, 61-0040, is rolled out at the Boeing plant at Wichita, Kansas. (Boeing)
The last of 744 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers, B-52H-175-BW, 61-0040, is rolled out at the Boeing plant at Wichita, Kansas. (Boeing)

22 June 1962: The last of 744 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers, B-52H-175-BW, serial number 61-0040, was rolled out at the Boeing Military Airplane Company plant in Wichita, Kansas.

The U.S. Air Force contracted 62 B-52H Stratofortresses, serial numbers 60-0001 through 60-0062, on 6 May 1960. A second group of 40, serials 61-0001 through 61-0040, were ordered later. All were built at the Boeing Wichita plant.

The B-52H, like the B-52G, is a re-engineered aircraft, structurally different from the XB-52, YB-52, and B-52A–B-52F Stratofortress variants. It is lighter, carries more internal fuel, giving it a longer unrefueled range, and is strengthened for low-altitude flight. The shorter vertical fin is intended to prevent the losses caused by the original tall fin in turbulent air. The B-52H is equipped with quieter, more efficient turbofan engines.

Boeing B-52H-175-BW Stratofortress 61-0040 in camouflage. (U.S. Air Force)
Boeing B-52H-175-BW Stratofortress 61-0040 in camouflage, assigned to 2nd Air Force, circa 1975. (U.S. Air Force)

The B-52H was developed to carry four Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missiles on pylons mounted under the wings, inboard of the engines. The Skybolt was armed with a 1-megaton W-59 thermonuclear warhead. The program was cancelled, however, and the North American Aviation AGM-28 Hound Dog air-launched cruise missile was used instead. (Interestingly, the Hound Dog’s Pratt & Whitney J52-P-3 turbojet engine could be used to supplement the B-52’s takeoff thrust, and then refueled from the bomber’s tanks before being air-launched.)

The B-52H is a sub-sonic, swept wing, long-range strategic bomber. It was originally operated by a crew of six: two pilots, a navigator and a radar navigator, an electronic warfare officer, and a gunner. (The gunner was eliminated after 1991). The airplane is 159 feet, 4 inches (48.565 meters) long, with a wing span of 185 feet (56.388 meters). It is 40 feet, 8 inches (12.395 meters) high to the top of the vertical fin. The B-52H uses the vertical fin developed for the B-52G, which is 22 feet, 11 inches (6.985 meters) tall. This is 7 feet, 8 inches (2.337 meters) shorter than the fin on the XB-52–B-52F aircraft, but the fin’s chord is longer.

The wings of the B-52H have a total area of 4,000 square feet ( square meters). The leading edges are swept aft to 36° 58′. The angle of incidence is 6°, and there is 2° 30′ dihedral. (The wings are very flexible and exhibit pronounced anhedral when on the ground.) To limit twisting in flight, the B-52 has spoilers on top of the wings rather than ailerons at the trailing edges.

Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. (U.S. Air Force)

The bomber has an empty weight of 172,740 pounds (78,354 kilograms) and its Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) is 488,000 pounds (221,353 kilograms).

The most significant difference between the B-52H and the earlier Stratofortresses is the replacement of the eight Pratt & Whitney J57-series turbojet engines with eight Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp JT3D-2 (TF33-P-3) turbofans, which are significantly more efficient. They are quieter and don’t emit the dark smoke trails of the turbojets. The TF-33 is a two-spool axial-flow turbofan engine with 2 fan stages, a 14-stage compressor section (7-stage intermediate pressure, 7-stage high-pressure) and and a 4-stage turbine (1-stage high-pressure, 3-stage low-pressure). The TF33-P-3 has a maximum continuous power rating of 14,500 pounds of thrust (64.499 kilonewtons) at 9,750 r.p.m., N1. Military Power, limited to 30 minutes, is 16,500 pounds (73.396 kilonewtons) at 10,000 r.p.m., N1. Each engine produces a maximum of 17,000 pounds of thrust (75.620 kilonewtons) at 10,050 r.p.m., N1, with a 5-minute limit. The TF33-P-3 is 11 feet, 4.32 inches (3.4625 meters) long, 4 feet, 4.93 inches (1.3442 meters) in diameter and weighs 3,900 pounds (1,769 kilograms).

The B-52H has a cruise speed of 456 knots (525 miles per hour/845 kilometers per hour). It has a maximum speed, with Military Power, of 555 knots (639 miles per hour/1,028 kilometers per hour) at 20,700 feet (6,309 meters)—0.906 Mach. The service ceiling is 46,900 feet (14,295 meters). The unrefueled range is 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers). With inflight refueling, its range is limited only by the endurance of its crew.

A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress during a deterrent patrol near the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, 2016. (U.S. Air Force)
A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress during a deterrent patrol near the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, 2016. (U.S. Air Force)

The B-52H can carry a wide variety of conventional free-fall or guided bombs, land-attack or anti-ship cruise missiles, and thermonuclear bombs or cruise missiles. These can be carried both in the internal bomb bay or on underwing pylons. The bomb load is approximately 70,000 pounds (31,751 kilograms).

The B-52H was equipped with a General Electric M61 Vulcan 20 mm six-barreled rotary cannon (a “Gatling gun”) in a remotely-operated tail turret. The gun had a rate of fire of 4,000 rounds per minute, and had a magazine capacity of 1,242 rounds. After 1991, the gun and its radar system were removed from the bomber fleet. The flight crew was reduced to five.

The B-52H was armed with a 20 mm M61 Vulcan 6-barreled cannon in place of the four .50-caliber machine guns of the earlier variants.
The B-52H was armed with a 20 mm M61 Vulcan 6-barreled cannon in place of the four .50-caliber machine guns of the earlier variants.

102 B-52Hs were built by Boeing Wichita. Beginning in 2009, eighteen B-52H bombers were placed in climate-controlled long term storage at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.  In 2014, the entire fleet began a major avionics upgrade. As of December 2015, fifty-eight of the bombers remained in the active fleet of the United States Air Force and eighteen are assigned to the Air Force Reserve.

Recently, a B-52H-156-BW Stratofortress, 61-0007, Ghost Rider, was returned to operational status after eight years in storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona. 45,000 man-hours were required to restore the bomber.

The B-52H is expected to remain in service until 2040.

62 years after roll-out, 61-0040 is still in service with the United States Air Force, assigned to the 23rd Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Wing, at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.

Boeing B-52H-175-BW Stratofortress 61-0040 parked at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. While at Andersen, -1040 was maintained by crew chiefs Airman 1st Class Jordon Dyer, Staff Sgt. Timothy Beamesderfer, Staff Sgt. Jim Alcozer and Airman 1st Class Michael Lawhorn, 36th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. The bomber flew 20 consecutive sorties without a maintenance abort. (Senior Airman Carlin Leslie, U.S. Air Force 120724-F-QZ836-001)

© 2020 Bryan R. Swopes

22 June 1962

Aviation, , , , , , , , , ,
Jacqueline Auriol climbs out of the cockpit of a Dassault Mirage IIIC. (Joyeux Magazine)

22 June 1962: At Istres, France, Société des Avions Marcel Dassault test pilot Jacqueline Marie-Thérèse Suzanne Douet Auriol flew a delta-winged Dassault Mirage III C interceptor to set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 100 Kilometers. Her average speed over the course was 1,850.2 kilometers per hour (1,149.7 miles per hour).¹ Mme. Auriol broke the record set 6 October 1961 by Jacqueline Cochran with a Northrop T-38A Talon.²

Dassault Mirage III C. (Dassault Aviation)

The Dassault Mirage III C was the first production variant of the Mirage series. It was a single-place, single-engine tailless-delta-wing interceptor designed for Armée de l’air (the French air force), with variants for export. It was designed as a light-weight fighter capable of Mach 2 speeds.

The Mirage III C was 45 feet, 5 inches (13,843 meters) long with a wingspan of 27 feet, 0 inches (8.230 meters) and height of 14 feet, 9 inches (4.496 meters.) The fuselage had a horizontal ellipse cross section and incorporated the Area Rule, similar to the delta wing Convair F-102A. The Mirage IIIC had an empty weight of 12,350 pounds (5,602 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of  max gross 22,860 pounds (10,369 kilograms).

The interceptor’s low-mounted delta wings used trailing edge flight controls, with ailerons outboard, elevators at the center and small trim tabs inboard. The leading edges were swept aft to 60° 34′ and there was 2° 30′ anhedral. The total wing area was 366 square feet (34.00 square meters).

The Mirage III C was powered by a Société nationale d’études et de construction de moteurs d’aviation (SNECMA) Atar 09C single shaft, axial-flow turbo-réacteur (turbojet engine) with afterburner. The engine used a 9-stage compressor section and 2-stage turbine. It was rated at 9,430 pounds of thrust (41.947 kilonewtons), and 13,669 pounds (60.803 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The Atar 09C was 5.900 meters (19 feet, 4.28 inches) long, 1.000 meters (3 feet, 3.37 inches) in diameter and weighed 1,456 kilograms (3,210 pounds).

When configured as a high-altitude interceptor, the Mirage could be equipped with a hypergolic liquid fueled Société d’Études pour la Propulsion par Réaction SEPR 841 rocket engine mounted under the rear fuselage. When the booster pack not used, a small additional fuel tank would be mounted in the same position.

The Dassault Mirage III C could climb to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) in 3 minutes, 60,000 feet (18,288 meters) in 6 minutes, 10 seconds, and reach 72,000 feet (21,946 meters) in 9 minutes. It had an economical cruise speed of 0.9 Mach at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), and maximum speed of Mach 2.3 at 36,000 feet (10,973 meters). The maximum range with external fuel tanks was 1,850 miles (2977 kilometers).

The interceptor was equipped with search radar and a missile targeting computer. Armament consisted of a modular gun pack with two Direction des Études et Fabrications d’Armement (DEFA) 5-52 autocannon with 125 rounds of ammunition per gun (the targeting computer had to be removed for this installation). A Nord AA.20 guided air-to-air missile could be carried under the fuselage on a centerline hardpoint, or a AS.30 air-to-ground missile. Both of these were controlled by the pilot through a cockpit joystick. Alternatively, two Sidewinder infrared-homing air to air missiles were carried on underwing pylons.

95 Mirage III Cs were built. The served with the Armée de l’air from 1961 to 1988.

Dassault Mirage III C No. 92. (Dassault Aviation)

¹ FAI Record File Number 12391.

² FAI Record File Number 13036: 1,262.19 km/h (784.29 miles per hour)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes