19 January 1950

January 19, 2025Aviation(42288), Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget, Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 1, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd., Gloster GA.5 Javelin, Gloster Meteor F. Mk.IV, Group Captain Hugh Joseph Wilson CBE AFC and Two Bars, Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, Janusz Żurakowski, Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.2, Squadron Leader William Arthur Waterton AFC and Bar GM RAF, World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course, World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 100 KilometersBryan Swopes

Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 1, 18101 (Avro Canada, via Harold A. Skaarup)

19 January 1950: At Malton Airport,¹ northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Gloster Aircraft Company’s chief test pilot, Squadron Leader William Arthur Waterton, AFC and Bar, GM, took the prototype Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 1, serial number 18101, for its first flight. Waterton, a Canadian, had been loaned to Avro Canada by Gloster for the test flight. (Avro Canada and Gloster were both owned by the Hawker Siddeley Group. Waterton was the most experienced jet aircraft pilot in the group at the time.)

The first flight lasted approximately 40 minutes, reaching 180 knots (207 miles per hour/333 kilometers per hour) and 5,000 feet (1524 meters). The only problem was that the button for cycling the landing gear would not operate, so Waterton decided to continue the flight with the gear down.² After landing Waterton said,

“She handled extremely well. Avro Canada seems to have overcome many points of criticism in existing fighters.”

—Manchester Evening News, #25,159 Friday, January 20, 1950, Page 5 Column 4

Bill Waterton later wrote,

The trouble had been simple. The shock-absorbing undercarriage legs were British developed and, unknown to the makers, were contracting slightly in the cold. Consequently, when the ‘plane’s weight came off the wheels, the legs did not “stretch” as much as they should have done—there was insufficient “stretch” to release the electrically triggered safety switch. When modifications were made the undercarriage gave no further trouble.

—The Quick and The Dead, Squadron Leader W.A. Waterton, G.M., A.F.C. and bar. Frederick Muller Ltd., London, 1956, Chapter 11 at Page 168

Avro Canada CF-101 Mark 1 18101 with government officials and test pilot Bill Waterton (Library and Archives Canada, MIKAN No. 4047130/Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

CF-100 18101 was the first of two Mark 1 prototypes for a twin-engine, all-weather, long range fighter. It had originally been designated XC-100. It was a large two-place aircraft, with a low, straight wing and a high-mounted horizontal stabilizer. It had tricycle landing gear. Each strut mounted two tires to support the weight of the aircraft. The two engines were mounted in long nacelles above the wings and on either side of the fuselage.

The CF-100 Mark 1 prototypes were 52 feet, 6 inches (16.002 meters) long, with a wing span of 52 feet, 0 inches (15.850 meters) and overall height of 14 feet, 6.4 inches (4.430 meters). They had an empty weight of 19,185 pounds (8,702 kilograms), and gross weight of 31,877 pounds (14,459 kilograms).

The prototypes were powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon RA.2 turbojet engines. (Some sources say the engines were RA.3s, though a specific mark is not described.) The Avon R.A.2 was a single-spool, axial flow turbojet with a 12-stage compressor section and single-stage turbine. It was rated at 6,000 pounds of thrust (26.69 kilonewtons). The RA.2 weighed 2,400 pounds (1,089 kilograms). The RA.2 also powered the English Electric Canberra B.1 prototype. Production CF-100s would be powered by the Avro Canada Orenda engine.

The Mark 1 had a maximum speed of 552 miles per hour (888 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters). It could climb at 9,800 feet per minute (49.8 meters per second). Its service ceiling was 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).

The two Mark 1s had no radar and were not armed.

Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 1 18101, FB D. (Avro Canada)

Following the two Mark 1 prototypes, Avro Canada produced ten Mark 2 pre-production aircraft, two of which were trainers. The first operational variant was the CF-100 Mark 3. It was equipped with radar and armed with eight Browning M3 .50-caliber machine guns with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun.

The Mark 4 was equipped with a more powerful radar. In addition to the machine guns, armament consisted of 58 unguided 2.75 inch (70 millimeter) Mark 4 Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFARs), each with a 6 pound 92.7 kilogram) explosive warhead. These were carried in wingtip pods.

Two Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 4B all-weather, long-range interceptors, 18423 and 18470. (Royal Canadian Air Force)

On 18 Dec 1952, Avro Canada test pilot Janusz Żurakowski put CF-101 Mark 4 serial number 18112 into a dive from 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and reached Mach 1.10. This was the first time that a straight wing aircraft exceeded Mach 1 without rocket power.

The majority of CF-100s were the Mark 5 variant. These had a greater wing span and larger horizontal stabilizer. The machine guns were eliminated.

Avro Canada CF-100 Mark 5 18539. (Royal Canadian Air Force)

A total of 692 of all types were built. 53 were sold to the Belgian Air Force. The CF-100 remained in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force until 1981.

CF-100 Mark 1 18102 was used to test wingtip-mounted fuel tanks. It crashed 5 April 1951 and was destroyed. Test pilot Flight Lieutenant Bruce Warren and flight engineer Jack Hieber were killed. The crew may have suffered hypoxia.

18101 was retained for testing. It was scrapped in 1965.

“Royal Air Force test pilot Squadron Leader Bill Waterton (1916-2006) AFC, of the RAF High Speed Flight, posed at a RAF station in England in August 1946. Bill Waterton, with fellow test pilots Neville Duke and Edward Donaldson, are preparing to attempt to break the world air speed record in a Gloster Meteor F4 jet aircraft. (Photo by Edward Malindine/Popperfoto via Getty Images)” Waterton’s ribbons are the Air Force Cross and the 1939–45 Star campaign medal.

William Arthur Waterton was born 18 March 1916, at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He was the first of two sons of William Albert Waterton, a police officer, and Mary Elizabeth Sereda Waterton. After high school, he attended Camrose Normal School, Alberta, a college for teachers. He then spent two years the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, graduating 1937. While there, he was a boxer. Waterton was commissioned in the 19th Alberta Dragoons in 1938.

Waterton crossed the Atlantic Ocean to attend the Civil Flying Training School, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. He departed St. John, New Brunswick, aboard the 22,022 gross registered ton (62,322 cubic meters) Canadian Pacific passenger liner Duchess of Richmond, arriving at Liverpool on 17 April 1939.

Duchess of Richmond (John H. Brown & Co., Ltd.)

On 10 June 1939, Bill Waterton was granted a short service commission in the Royal Air Force as an Acting Pilot Officer on probation for six years on the active list. (RAF serial number 42288)

Six months later,18 November 1939, Acting Pilot Officer on probation William Arthur Waterton was graded as Pilot Officer on probation.

A Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, N2320, assigned to No. 242 Squadron, Royal Air Force, circa 1940.

Pilot Officer Waterton was assigned to No. 242 Squadron, the first all-Canadian fighter squadron, at RAF Church Fenton, southeast of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. The Second World War had been underway for twelve weeks.

On 25 May 1940 his Hawker Hurricane Mk.I ² (squadron code “LE”), was disabled by anti-aircraft fire over Dunkerque, France. Waterton made it across the English Channel to Dover where he crash landed, suffering a severe head injury. Waterton was unconscious in a London hospital for five days, and remained hospitalized for three months.

Waterton’s Hurricane was repaired and returned to service.

On 18 Nov 1940, Pilot Officer on probation Waterton was confirmed in his appointment and promoted to the rank of Flying Officer.

After returning to flight status, Flying Officer Waterton was assigned as a flight instructor with No. 6 Operational Training Unit (OTU).

Flying Officer Waterton was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant, 18 January 1941.

Waterton served as a flight instructor in Canada in throughout 1942.

Flight Lieutenant William Arthur Waterton was awarded the Air Force Cross, 1 January 1943.

Waterton was next assigned to the Transatlantic Ferry Command, then transferred to No. 124 Squadron at RAF Manston, where he flew the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VI and VII. In September 1943, he was assigned to No.1409 (Meteorological) Flight at RAF Oakington, which was equipped with unarmed de Havilland Mosquitos.

In May 1944, Waterton was assigned to the Air Fighting Development Unit (Central Fighter Establishment) at RAF Wittering, testing captured enemy aircraft and comparing them to Allied aircraft.

On 13 April 1945, Flight Lieutenant Waterton was transferred to reserve and called up for Air Force service.

Flight Lieutenant Waterton was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader in June 1946.

Waterton attended No. 5 Empire Test Pilots School at Hanworth, where he had begun his aviation career in 1939.

After the War, Waterton was selected for the RAF High Speed Flight. Along with Group Captain Edward Mortlock (“Teddy”) Donaldson and Squadron Leader Neville Frederick Duke, he was to attempt a world speed record with the Gloster Meteor F. Mk.IV fighter.

Gloster Meteor F. Mk.4 EE549, the world record holder, at RAF Tangmere, 1 August 1946. (FlightGlobal)

On Friday, 16 August 1946, Squadron Leader Waterton flew Gloster Meteor F. Mk.IV EE550 ³ to 620 miles per hour (998 kilometers per hour) over a 3 kilometer course. Although this was 14 miles per hour (23 kilometers per hour) over the existing record, it was not an official record.

Squadron Leader William Arthur Waterton, AFC, RAF, climbing from the cockpit of his Gloster Meteor IV after a speed record attempt, at RAF Tangmere, 1946. (Neil Corbett, Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers)

On 7 September 1946, Waterton made made five runs over the course with EE550 during a 21 minute period. However, Group Captain Donaldson, flying Meteor IV EE549, established a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course, averaging 991 kilometers per hour (615.779 miles per hour). [FAI Record File Number 9848] This exceeded the record record set by Group Captain Hugh Joseph Wilson with Meteor IV EE455, 7 November 1945. [FAI Record File Number 9847] (Please see This Day in Aviation for 7 November 1945 at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/7-november-1945/ )

Interestingly, Donaldson had said that he thought that Waterton’s Meteor was the faster of the two.

Group Captain Edward M. Donaldson passing a timing station on the high speed course in Gloster Meteor F. Mk.IV EE549. (Royal Air Force)

“Squadron Leader Bill Waterton leaves Gloster Meteor EE549 at Farnborough after flying from Le Bourget to Croydon in 20 minutes at an average speed of 616 mph on 16 January 1947.” (Mary Evans Picture Library Media ID 18387988)

On 16 January 1947, Bill Waterton flew Meteor IV EE549 (the world record holder) from Aéroport de Paris – Le Bourget, to London, a distance of 208 statute miles, in 20 minutes, 11 seconds, at an average speed of 618.4 miles per hour (995.2 kilometers per hour). (This is not an official record.)

(The Daily Telegraph, No. 28,571, Friday, January 17, 1947, Page 13, Columns 4–5)

Great Circle route from Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget to Croydon Airport, 174 nautical miles (200 statute miles/322 kilometers). (Great Circle Mapper)

Acting Squadron Leader William Arthur Waterton, R.A.F.O. (Reserve of Air Force Officers), was awarded a Bar to his Air Force Cross (a second award of the AFC), 12 June 1947.

Waterton left the Royal Air Force and joined Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd. on 21 October 1947as a test pilot at a salary of £1,000 per year. In addition to testing improved Meteor variants, he was also assigned to the experimental E.1/44 and the delta-winged GA.5 Javelin. On 1 April 1948, he was appointed the company’s chief test pilot with an increase to £1,500 per year.

On 6 February 1948, Squadron Leader Waterton, flying a Gloster Meteor F. Mk.IV, VT103, set an Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 100 Kilometers, averaging 873.786 kilometers per hour (542.945miles per hour/471.807 knots). The course was from RAF Moreton Valence, southwest of Gloucester, to Evesham Bridge, Pershore Aerodrome, Defford Aerodrome and Grange Court Junction.⁴

Waterton had made an attempt earlier in the day with a Meteor F. Mk.V, averaging only 522 m.p.h. (840 kilometers per hour). Disappointed, he switched to a standard production Meteor IV and tried again.

The second E.1/44 prototype was the first to fly, with Waterton at the controls, 9 March 1948. (The first had been damaged while being transported by truck.) Waterton called the airplane the Gloster Gormless, “since she was so heavy for her single Nene engine.”

Gloster E.1/44 (Imperial War Museum ATP 17442B)

Waterton took the prototype Gloster GA.5 Javelin, WD804, for its first flight, 26 November 1951.

Gloster GA.5 Javelin WD804. (Royal Air Force)

On 29 June 1952, while Waterton was conducting the Javelin’s 99th flight, it experienced extreme flutter and both elevators separated from the airplane. Using the horizontal stabilizer’s trim control, Waterton was able to land the aircraft at RAF Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, though at a much higher speed than normal. The landing gear collapsed. The aircraft caught fire and was ultimately destroyed.

Bill Waterton was awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II.

In July 1953, Bill Waterton married Marjorie E. Stocks at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

A 1956 First Edition of Bill Waterton’s book, The Quick and the Dead.

Very critical of the safety record of the British aircraft industry, Waterton left Gloster and became an aviation correspondent for the Daily Express. After publishing his autobiography, The Quick and the Dead, in 1956, in which he continued his criticism of the aircraft industry, he was fired. The newspaper said that the aviation industry had stopped buying advertising space.

Bill Waterton returned to Canada, residing at Owen Sound, Ontario.

Squadron Leader William Arthur Waterton, AFC and Bar, GM, Royal Air Force, died 17 April 2006, at Owen Sound. He was 90 years of age. His remains were interred at the Oxenden Cemetery, Oxenden, Ontario, Canada.

¹ Today known as Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

² Martin’s Aviation Pages states L1654: https://martinaviationpages.com/25-may-1940/

Royal Air Force Commands Hurricane Mk.I data base says L1852: https://www.rafcommands.com/database/hurricanes/details.php?uniq=L1852

³ EE550 was destroyed 6 January 1951, west of Ashford, Kent. At 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) its pilot, Pilot Officer Thomas Charles Hood, RAF, was seen not wearing his oxygen mask. The meteor pitched up, rolled over and dived into the ground.

⁴ FAI Record File Number 8882

19 January 1937

January 19, 2025AviationHoward Hughes, Howard Robard Hughes Jr., Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes H-1 Racer, Hughes Model 1B, Newark Metropolitan Airport, NR258Y, NX258Y, Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Jr., Transcontinental Flight, Transcontinental Speed Record, Union Air TerminalBryan Swopes

19 January 1937: Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., departed Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California, at 2:14 a.m., Pacific Standard Time (10:14 UTC) aboard his Hughes Aircraft Company H-1 Racer, NR258Y. He flew non-stop across the North American continent to Newark Metropolitan Airport, Newark, New Jersey, and arrived overhead at 12:42:25 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (17:42:25 UTC).

Hughes completed the 2,490-mile (4,007.3 kilometer) flight in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds, at an average speed of 332 miles per hour (534 kilometers per hour). He broke the existing record, which he himself had set just over one year previously in a Northrop Gamma, by more than two hours.¹ (The 1937 flight is not recognized as an FAI record.)

Hughes H-1 NX258Y. (Hughes Aircraft Company)

The New York Times reported:

All landplane distance speed records were broken yesterday by Howard Hughes, millionaire sportsman pilot, who reached Newark Airport 7 hours 28 minutes and 25 seconds after he took off from Los Angeles, Calif. He was forced to stay aloft until the runway at the field was clear and landed at 1:03 P.M. His average speed was 332 miles an hour for the 2,490 miles he traveled.

Grimy from the smoke of his exhaust stacks the lanky pilot climbed out of his cramped cockpit and grinned. In recounting his experiences on the flight he said that the skies were overcast all the way and he had to fly on top of the clouds . . .

It was 2:14 o’clock in the morning and pitch dark when he opened the throttle at the Union Air Terminal at Burbank and released the 1,100 horsepower sealed in the fourteen cylinders of his supercharged Twin Row Wasp engine. The sleek gray and ble low-winged monoplane, designed and built under his own direction, staggered, accelerated and then literally vaulted into the air. Within a few seconds Hughes climbed into the low-hanging clouds and swung eastward . . .

At 14,000 feet, at which altitude he flew most of the way, he passed over the clouds, set his course and leveled off. He throttled his engine back until it was delivering only 375 horsepower and hunched himself over his instrument panel . . .

His arrival at Newark was unheralded and a surprise. It was thought that he was going to land at Chicago. The new United Air Lines extra-fare plane was loaded for its initial run and already had its door locked when the propeller whir of the hurling racer apparently made the buildings tremble from sound vibration as Hughes swept low across the field. William Zint of the Longines Watch Company, official timer for the National Aeronautic Association, noted the time. It was exactly 42 minutes and 25 seconds after noon.

Hughes pulled up in a sweeping chandelle maneuver and circled. The United Air Liner was already on the runway when Hughes swung back toward the flaps on his wing to slacken speed for landing . . . and the plane settled fast toward the earth. Still the pilot had no signal from the control tower where the dispatchers act as traffic patrols at the busiest airport in the world. Hughes had to open his throttle again and cruise around the field for some time before the green light at last came on. The United plane was then well on its course toward Chicago. Hughes’s plane slid in over the airport boundary, dropped it’s retractable undercarriage and tail wheel and touched both wheels and tail wheel in a perfect three-point landing at 1:02:30 P.M. . . .

— Excerpted from an article in The New York Times, Wednesday, 20 January 1937, Page 1 at Columns 6 and 7.

After landing at Newark, Hughes told newspaper reporters, “I flew at 14,000 feet most of the way,” Hughes said, “with my highest speed 370 miles an hour. I used about 200 of the 280-gallon load. I am very tired—a bit shaky.”

[Richard W.] Palmer met Hughes at Newark Airport. The two men shook their heads at each other. “I knew she was fast,” Hughes told his chief engineer, “but I didn’t know she was that fast.”

— Newark, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 19.—(AP)

Howard Hughes with his H-1 Racer, NR258Y.

The Hughes H-1 (FAA records describe the airplane as a Hughes Model 1B, serial number 1) was a single-seat, single-engine low wing monoplane with retractable landing gear, designed by Richard W. Palmer. Emphasis had been placed on an aerodynamically clean design and featured flush riveting on the aluminum skin of the fuselage. The airplane is 27 feet, 0 inches long (8.230 meters) with a wingspan of 31 feet, 9 inches (9.677 meters) and height of 8 feet (2.438 meters). (A second set of wings with a span of 25 feet (7.6 meters) was used on Hughes’ World Speed Record ² flight, 13 September 1935.) The H-1 has an empty weight of 3,565 pounds (1,617 kilograms) and gross weight of 5,492 pounds (2,491 kilograms).

The H-1 was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 1,534.943-cubic-inch-displacement (25.153 liter) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Jr., a two-row, fourteen-cylinder radial engine. Pratt & Whitney produced 18 civil and 22 military versions of the Twin Wasp Jr., in both direct drive and geared configurations, rated from 650 to 950 horsepower. It is not known which version powered the H-1, but various sources report that it was rated from 700 to 1,000 horsepower. The engine drove a two-bladed Hamilton Standard controllable-pitch propeller.

Hughes H-1 NX258Y at Hughes Airport, Culver City, California. (Hughes Aircraft Company) — Hughes H-1 NX258Y, left front quarter, at Hughes Airport, Culver City, California. (Hughes Aircraft Company)

Hughes H-1 NX258Y, right profile, at Hughes Airport, Culver City, California. (Hughes Aircraft Company)

Hughes H-1 NX258Y. (Ray Wagner Collection, San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives)

The Hughes Aircraft Co. H-1 Racer, NR258Y at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. (NASM)

¹ FAI Record File Number 13237: World Record for Speed Over a Recognized Course, 417.0 kilometers per hour (259.1 miles per hour)

² FAI Record File Number 8748: World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course, 567.12 kilometers per hour (352.39 miles per hour)

19–20 January 1915

January 19, 2025AviationAerial Bombardment, Airship, Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, Greater Yarmouth, Kaiserliche Marine, King's Lynn, L3, L4, L7, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH, LZ 24, Maybach Motorenbau GmbH, Sheringham, World War I, ZeppelinBryan Swopes

Luftschiff Zeppelin LZ24, the Imperial German Navy bomber L3. (Royal Air Force Museum)

19–20 January 1915: The Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Germany Navy) airship L3, under command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Fritz and Leutnant zur See v. Lynckner, departed Fuhlsbüttel, Hamburg, Germany, at 11:00 a.m., in company with L4 and L6, on a reconnaissance flight over the North Sea, then continued on to Britain, planning to attack during darkness.

L3 reached the British coast at 8:50 p.m. and proceeded to the area around Norfolk. At 9:20 p.m., Captain Fritz and his airship had reached Greater Yarmouth. Flying in rain at 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), over the next ten minutes they dropped six 110 pound (49.9 kilogram) bombs and seven incendiaries on the city below. As L3 turned to leave the area, another four 110 pound bombs were dropped. Completing the attack, L3 returned to Germany, arriving at the airship base at Fuhlsbüttel at 9:30 a.m.

L4, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Magnus von Platen-Hallermund and Leutnant zur See Kruse, dropped eleven bombs on Sheringham and King’s Lynn.

L6 had returned to Germany prior to the attack.

Reports are that a total of 4 people were killed and 16 wounded. Damage was limited.

In the short history of aerial warfare, this was the first time that a civilian population center was the target. It would not be the last.

Damage at King’s Lynn caused by the Zeppelin raid of 19–20 January 1915. (Imperial War Museum)

It was plain that the source of the disturbance was aircraft, though precisely of what kind could only be conjectured. The opinion is generally held that it was a dirigible, for what appeared to be searchlights were seen at a great altitude. Others, however, say that the lights were not the beams of a searchlight, but the flash of something resembling a magnesium flare.

— The Times, Wednesday, 20th January 1915, at Page 8.

Artist's impression of the 19 January 1915 air raid, with Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin. — Artist’s impression of the 19 January 1915 air raid, with Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin.

Luftschiff Zeppelin 24 was the third airship built for the Imperial German Navy, which designated it L3. It was operated by a crew of fifteen. The dirigible was 518 feet, 2 inches (157.937 meters) long with a diameter of 48 feet, 6 inches (14.783 meters).

Buoyancy was created by 18 gas cells filled with hydrogen, which had a total volume of 794,500 cubic feet (22,497.3 cubic meters). The empty weight of the airship was 37,250 pounds (16,896 kilograms) and it had a payload of 20,250 pounds (9,185 kilograms).

Three water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 22.921 liter (1,398.725 cubic inches) Maybach C-X six-cylinder inline engines, each producing 207 horsepower at 1,250 r.p.m., gave L3 a maximum speed of 47.4 miles per hour (76.3 kilometers per hour).

The Zeppelin’s maximum altitude, limited by the gas cells’ ability to contain the hydrogen as it expanded with increasing altitude, was 6,560 feet (2,000 meters). The maximum range was 1,366 miles (2,198 kilometers).

L3 made its first flight at Friedrichshafen 11 May 1914. On 17 February 1915, the loss of two engines in high winds forced it to ground at Fanoe Island, Denmark, where the crew abandoned it and Captain Fritz set it afire. The crew was interned for the duration of the war.

The crew of L3 was interred for the duration. — The crew of L3 was interned in Denmark for the duration of the war.

L4 (Luftschiff Zeppelin 27) was of the same airship class as L3. It was very slightly heavier and its Maybach C-X engines slightly more powerful. It was retired from service 17 February 1915, the same day that L3 was lost.

Note: Steve Smith’s Internet blog, “Great War Britain NORFOLK Remembering 1914–18” https://stevesmith1944.wordpress.com/about/ has a series of detailed articles about the Zeppelin raids, as well as many other events of World War I. Recommended.

16–18 January 1957

January 18, 2025Aviation53-0394, 53-0397, 53-0398, 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy), Around-The-World-Flight, Boeing B-52B Stratofortress, Castle Air Force Base, Circumnavigation, James H. Morris, Lucky Lady III, Mackay Trophy, March Air Force Base, Operation POWER FLITE, Strategic Air CommandBryan Swopes

The three Boeing B-52B Stratofortresses at March AFB, 18 January 1957. (U.S. Air Force)

16 January 1957: Operation POWER FLITE. At 1:00 p.m. PST, five Boeing B-52B Stratofortress eight-engine jet bombers of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command, 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy), departed Castle Air Force Base, near Merced, California, on a non-stop around-the-world flight. 45 hours, 19 minutes later, three B-52s landed at March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, completing the 24,325 miles (39,147 kilometer) flight at an average speed of 534 miles per hour (859 kilometers per hour).

The lead Stratofortress, B-52B-35-BO 53-0394, Lucky Lady III, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Morris. Morris had been co-pilot aboard Lucky Lady II, a Boeing B-50A Superfortress that flew around the world in 1949. Also aboard Morris’ bomber was Major General Archie J. Old, Jr., commanding 15th Air Force.

Major General Archie J. Old, Jr., U.S. Air Force, in the cockpit of B-52B 53-0394. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)

Three of the bombers were considered primary, with two “spares.” Each B-52 carried a flight crew of nine men, including three pilots and two navigators.

A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress refuels in flight from a Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker. The KC-97 had to enter a shallow dive to increase its speed, while teh B-52 flew in landing configuration to fly slow enough to stay with the tanker. (U.S. Air Force) — A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress refuels in flight from a Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker. The KC-97 had to enter a shallow dive to increase its speed, while the B-52 flew in landing configuration to stay with the tanker. (U.S. Air Force)

Four inflight refuelings from piston-engine Boeing KC-97 Stratotankers were required. More than 100 KC-97s participated in Operation POWER FLITE.

One of the primary B-52s, La Victoria, 53-0397, commanded by Major George Kalebaug, was unable to refuel in flight because of ice build-up in its refueling receptacle. The bomber diverted to Goose Bay, Labrador. A second B-52, a spare, as planned, left the flight over North Africa, diverting to an air base in England.

All 27 crewmembers of the three bombers were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by General Curtis LeMay. The Mackay Trophy for “the most meritorious flight of the year” was awarded to the 93rd Bombardment Wing.

Lucky Lady III was retired to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. It was scrapped in 1984. 53-0397 went to The Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1966, preceded by 53-0398 in 1965.

Flight helmets of the crew of Lucky Lady III, March AFB, 18 January 1957. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas.)

This record-breaking around the world flight was dramatized in the 1957 Warner Bros. movie “Bombers B-52,” which starred Natalie Wood, Karl Malden and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

Poster for the 1957 motion picture, "Bombers B-52". — Poster for the 1957 motion picture “Bombers B-52” (Warner Bros.)

The 93rd Bombardment Wing (Heavy) was the first operational Air Force unit to receive the B-52 Stratofortress, RB-52B 52-8711, on 29 June 1955.

Fifty B-52Bs were built by Boeing at its Plant 2, Seattle, Washington. The B-52B/RB-52B was operated by a six-man flight crew for the bombing mission, and eight for reconnaissance. These were the aircraft commander/pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radar navigator/bombardier, electronic warfare officer and gunner, plus two reconnaissance technicians when required.

The airplane was 156.6 feet, (47.73 meters) long with a wingspan of 185.0 feet (56.39 meters) and overall height of 48.3 feet, (14.72 meters). The wings were mounted high on the fuselage (“shoulder-mounted”) to provide clearance for the engines which were suspended on pylons. The wings had a 6° angle of incidence and 2° 30′ anhedral. The wings’ leading edges were swept aft 36° 54′. The bomber’s empty weight was 164,081 pounds (74,226 kilograms), with a combat weight of 272,000 pounds (123,377 kilograms) and a maximum takeoff weight of 420,000 pounds (190,509 kilograms).

Early production B-52Bs were powered by eight Pratt & Whitney J57-P-1WA turbojet engines, while later aircraft were equipped with J57-P-19W and J57-P-29W or WA turbojets. The engines were grouped in two-engine pods on four under-wing pylons. The J57 was a two-spool, axial-flow engine with a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7-high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine section (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). These engines were rated at 8,250 pounds of thrust (36.700 kilonewtons), each, Maximum Continuous Power; 9,500 pounds (42.258 kilonewtons), Military Power (30 minute limit); or 11,400 pounds (50.710 kilonewtons) with water injection (5 minute limit). The J57-P-1WA was 3 feet, 4.5 inches (1.029 meters) in diameter, 13 feet, 1.7 inches (4.006 meters) long, and weighed 4,210 pounds (1,910 kilograms).

The B-52B had a cruise speed of 453 knots (521 miles per hour/839 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters), and a maximum speed of 547 knots (630 miles per hour/1,013 kilometers per hour) at 19,900 feet (6,065 meters). The service ceiling with the maximum bomb load was 48,650 feet (14,829 meters), and 55,350 feet (16,855 meters) for a ferry mission.

Tail gun turret of an early B-52 Stratofortress

Maximum ferry range was 6,460 nautical miles (7,434 statute miles/11,964 kilometers). With the maximum bomb load, the B-52B had a combat radius of 2,620 nautical miles (3,015 statute miles/4,852 kilometers), or 3,135 nautical miles (3,608 statute miles/5,806 kilometers) with the design load. With inflight refueling, though, the bomber’s range was essentially world-wide.

Defensive armament consisted of four Browning Aircraft Machine Guns, Caliber .50, AN-M3, mounted in a tail turret with 600 rounds of ammunition per gun. These guns had a combined rate of fire in excess of 4,000 rounds per minute. (Some B-52s were armed with four M24A1 20 mm autocannons with 400 rounds per gun.)

The B-52B’s maximum bomb load was 43,000 pounds (19,505 kilograms). It could carry a maximum of 27 1,000-pound conventional explosive bombs. For strategic missions, the bomber carried one Mark 6 nuclear bomb, which had a yield ranging from 8 to 160 kilotons, depending on Mod, or two Mark 21 thermonuclear bombs, each with a yield of 4–5 megatons.

Boeing manufactured 744 B-52 Stratofortress bombers, with the final one rolled out at Wichita, Kansas, 22 June 1962. As of 27 September 2016, 77 B-52H bombers remain in service with the United States Air Force.

Boeing B-52B-35-BO Stratofortress 53-0394, Lucky Lady III. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)

18 January 1911

January 18, 2025AviationAircraft Carrier, Charles Fremont Pond, Curtiss Pusher, Eugene Burton Ely, Flight Deck, Mabel Ely, Selfridge Field, Shipboard Landing, USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)Bryan Swopes

Eugene Burton Ely, 1886–1911. (Portrait by J. Ellsworth Gross, Chicago, Illinois, 1910)

18 January 1911: Taking off from the U.S. Army’s Selfridge Field (the closed Tanforan race track at San Bruno, California) at approximately 10:45 a.m., Eugene Burton Ely flew his Curtiss-Ely pusher to San Francisco Bay where he landed aboard the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4) as it lay at anchor.

A temporary wooden deck had been erected aboard the ship at the Mare Island shipyard. Built of wood, it was 133 feet, 7 inches (40.7 meters) long and 31 feet, 6 inches (9.6 meters) wide. Twenty-two manila hemp cables were stretched across the deck at 3-foot (0.9-meter) intervals. These were to catch hooks mounted beneath Ely’s airplane and drag it to a stop. Each cable had a 50-pound (22.7 kilogram) sand bag at each end. The bags were precisely weighed so that the Curtiss would not slew to one side. A guideway was laid out on the deck with 2-inch × 4-inch (5 × 10 centimeter) planks, and 2-foot (0.6-meter) high barriers were at each edge of the flight deck.

Captain Charles Fremont Pond, commanding Pennsylvania, offered to take the ship to sea in order that Ely would have the advantage of a head wind down the flight deck, but as winds in the bay were 10 to 15 miles per hour (4.5–6.7 meters per second), Ely elected to have the cruiser remain anchored.

About ten minutes after Ely took off, he was overhead the anchored ship. He set up his approach and when he was approximately 75 feet (23 meters) astern of Pennsylvania, he cut his engine and glided to a landing. The airplane was flying at about 40 miles per hour (64 kilometers per hour) when the hooks engaged the cables, which quickly slowed it to a stop. Eugene B. Ely landed aboard USS Pennsylvania at 11:01 a.m.

Eugene B. Ely lands aboard USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4), at anchor in San Francisco Bay, 18 January 1911. (U.S. Navy)

Eugene B. Ely landing his Curtiss pusher aboard USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4) at anchor in San Francisco Bay, 18 January 1911. (U.S. Navy)

This was the very first time that an airplane had landed aboard a ship. The use of arresting wires would become common with aircraft carrier operations.

Ely and his wife, Mabel, were guests of Captain Pond for lunch. Photographs were taken and 57 minutes after his landing, he took off for the return flight to Selfridge Field.

Eugene Ely with his Curtiss pusher aboard USS Pennsylvania, shortly before taking off, 18 January 1911. (U.S. Navy)

Eugene B. Ely with his Curtiss pusher. He is wearing an improvised life vest made of bicycle tire inner tubes. (U.S. Navy)

Ely unsuccessfully tried to interest the Navy in employing him as an aviator. He and Mabel traveled the country, “barnstorming,” making flight demonstrations and entering aviation meets. He was killed at Macon, Georgia, 19 October 1911, when he was unable to pull out of a dive.

Eugene Burton Ely was born 21 October 1886 at Williamsburg, Iowa. He was the first of three children of Nathan Dana Ely, an attorney, and Emma Lewis Harrington Ely.

In 1907, Ely married Miss Mabel Hall at San Rafael, California.

Ely taught himself to fly using an airplane that he had repaired after it had crashed. He quickly became an recognized expert in aviation.

Soon after the formation of the California National Guard, Eugene Ely enlisted. Then in 1911, he was appointed Aviation Aide to Governor Hiram Warren Johnson of California. Eugene Ely was commissioned a second lieutenant, California, National Guard, 27 July 1911.

Mrs. Ely admires a medal which had been awarded to her husband, Eugene Burton Ely, circa 1911. (U.S. Navy)

Eugene Burton Ely was killed in an airplane accident at the Georgia State Fairgrounds, Macon, Georgia, on 19 October 1911, two days before his 25th birthday. His airplane failed to pull out of a dive. He had recently altered its configuration from a forward elevator to aft, and conjecture is that the ‘plane did not respond as Ely expected.

His remains are buried at his birthpace, Williamsburg, Iowa..

In 1933, the United States Congress passed Senate Bill 5514, authorizing the posthumous award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Eugene Ely for his contributions to aviation.