26 August 1963

August 26, 2024AviationADEN 30 mm revolver cannon, de Havilland Firestrak, Diana Barnato Walker MBE FRAeS, English Electric Lightning T Mk.4, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Squadron-Leader Kenneth Goodwin, Supersonic Flight, XM996Bryan Swopes

“Housewife Diana Barnato Walker, 45, waves as she climbs into her RAF Lightning jet fighter at Middleton St. George, England, Monday, the day she became the world’s fasted woman aviator. Mrs. Walker, who has a 14-year-old son, flew the plane at 1,250 m.p.h., breaking the official record set by France’s Jacqueline Auriol. Mrs. Walker is a trainer-pilot in the Women’s Junior Air Corps. UPI Radiotelephoto” —The Palm Beach Post, 29 August 1963, Page 51

26 August 1963: Mrs. Diana Barnato Walker, a former pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II, flew an English Electric Lightning T Mk.4, XM996, with Squadron Leader Kenneth Goodwin, from RAF Middleton St. George. Her request to make the flight had been approved by Secretary of State for Air Sir Hugh C. P. J. Fraser, MBE. This was the 27th anniversary of her very first flight, which was made in a de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth.

Barnato Walker took the controls of the Lightning soon after takeoff, and climbed to 56,000 feet, accelerating toward Mach 1.6. The duration of the flight was approximately 40 minutes.

The Daily Herald quoted her as saying, “Of all the aircraft I have ever flown this is a lady’s dream plane. It flies so quietly and smoothly and responds perfectly.”

The Chelsea News reported:

CHELSEA MOTHER JOINS THE ‘TEN TONNERS’

Flies 1,250 mph at 56,000 feet

By GOGI HARMSWORTH

Mrs. Diana Barnato Walker, of No. 3 Chelsea Embankment, has become the first woman pilot to be a member of the 350-strong Ten Ton Club, all of whose members are pilots who have flown over 1,000 m.p.h. — there are only two other women members in the world. She is the mother of a 14-year-old boy, Barney.

Mrs. Barnato-Walker made her flight on Monday in a two-seater Lightning T.4 from the R.A.F. station at Middleton St. George, Yorkshire. Her co-pilot was Squadron-Leader Kenneth Goodwin.

“It was absolutely wonderful,” said Mrs. Barnato-Walker on Wednesday. “It was terribly quiet in the Lightning when we were supersonic because we were going so fast that we left the noise of the plane behind.”

Immediately after taking off, she took over the control and remained in charge for most of the 40-minute flight.

The maximum speed was 1,250 mph (mach 1.6).

The plane belonged to No. 2 Squadron, 226 Operational Conversion Unit, stationed at Middleton St. George.

Mrs. Barnato-Walker was allowed to do the flight because it was thought she would then be better qualified to inspect cadets in the Women’s Junior Air Corps.

CLUB TIE

She was officially made a member of the Ten Ton Club when she landed, and was presented with the exclusive club tie.

She was guest of honor at a party held for her in the mess.

A few days before the flight, Mrs. Barnato-Walker had to go through the official R.A.F. decompression test because of the high altitude (56,000 ft.) at which the flight was made. She had to wear RAF safety gear during the flight. If she had not passed the decompression test she would not have been allowed to do he “ten ton.”

Mrs. Barnato-Walker, who was featured in the NEWS on February 8, is corps pilot in the Women’s Junior Air Corps and spends most of her week-ends and spare time giving flights to young cadets of the various units in the British Isles, helping them become air-minded and perhaps take up a career in flying.

RACING ACE FATHER

She is the daughter of the late Wolf Barnato, the racing motorist, and the grand-daughter of Barney Barnato, the South African diamond millionaire.

During the war she piloted nearly every British military bomber and fighter plane then in existence when she was in the ferry service.

She became a pilot in 1936, at the earliest possible age.

Chelsea News, No. 5,369, Friday, 30 August 1963, Page 1, Columns 4 and 5

Although many sources state that Mrs. Barnato Walker established a world speed record, breaking one set by Jacqueline Auriol in a Mirage III R on 14 June 1963,¹ the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale online data base does not show any official FAI records credited to her. Other sources state that she was the first British woman to break the “sound barrier.” However, Flight Officer Jean Oakes WRAF, accomplished this 13 September 1962, when along with Flight Lieutenant John Smith, when she also flew a Lightning T.4 from RAF Middleton St. George to Mach 1.6. (Flight Officer Oakes, a recruiting officer, may not have been a qualified pilot.)

Diana Maitland Barnato was born 15 January 1918, at Camden Town, London, England, during a Zeppelin raid. She was the daughter of Joel Woolf (“Babe”) Barnato and Dorothy Matland Falk Barnato; grand-daughter of Barney Barnato [Barnet Isaacs], the owner of the Barnato Diamond Mining Company, Kimberly Mine; Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company; co-founder with Cecil Rhodes of the De Beers Consolidated Mines; and owner of the New Primrose Gold Mining Company and the Johannesburg Estate Company.

She attended Queen’s College, Harley Street, London, until 1936.

As a debutante, Miss Barnato was presented to King Edward VIII at Buckingham Palace.

At the age of 18, she earned pilot license at Brooklands Flying Club, while flying a de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth.

With the onset of World War II, Miss Barnato joined the Red Cross as a nurse. She served in France until the evacuation of British forces at Dunkirk.

In order to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, an organization of civilian pilots which ferried military aircraft for the Royal Air Force, on 9 March 1941 Miss Barnato took a qualification flight with the ATA’s chief instructor, A.R.O. Macmillan. Having qualified, she was sent to the ATA elementary flying school at White Waltham Airfield, Berkshire, England, in November 1941. On completion of training, she was assigned to the Air Transport Auxiliary Ferry Pool No. 15, RAF Hamble, Hampshire, 9 May 1942.

First Officer Diana Barnato, Air Transport Auxiliary.

In May 1943, she First Officer Barnato was reprimanded for “appearing at Windsor Races wearing trousers and side cap.” She was again reprimanded the following month for “diversion of operational aircraft,” and demoted to 3rd Officer.

During the War, Barnato flew more than 80 aircraft types, and delivered more than 260 Supermarine Spitfires.

Diana Barnato, Air Transport Auxiliary, with a Supermarine Spitfire during World War II. (Ministry of Supply)

On 6 May 1944, Diana Barnato married Wing Commander Derek Ronald Walker, RAF, at St. Jude’s Church, Englefield Green, Runnymead, Surrey, England. A few months later, she and her new husband took a pair of Supermarine Spitfire IXs and flew to Brussels, Belgium. Because this was an unauthorized flight, both newlyweds were fined three months pay.

Wing Commander Walker was killed 14 November 1945, while flying a North American Mustang IV, KM232, in bad weather. His remains were buried at Englefield Green Cemetery.

Mrs. Barnato Walker never remarried. She did have a 30-year relationship with Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, CBE, MC, DFC, FRSA, FRGS. (Some sources state that they had a son, Barney Barnato Walker, while others indicate that he had been adopted.)

Mrs. Barnato Walker received the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy from Lord Brabazon, 1963. (RAeC)

In 1963, she was presented the Jean Lennox Bird Trophy of the British Women Pilots Association, which is awarded to a British woman who has made a noteworthy contribution to aviation, by Lord Brabazon. The trophy is a pale celadon vase and cover, approximately 20 centimeters high.

On 12 June 1965 Mrs. Barnato Walker was made an Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) “for services to the Air Transport Auxiliary and the Girls Venture Corps.”

She was the Master of Foxhounds of the Old Surrey and Burstow Hounds, and Commodore ATA Association. She worked at sheep farming in Surrey.

She was the author of Spreading My Wings, an autobiography published in 1994.

Miss Diana Barnato with Ernest Ide, circa 1938. (Steven Iceton)

At the age of 88 years, Mrs. barnato Walker flew in a two-plane Supermarine Spitfire. She said “It would be impolite not to.”

Diana Barnato Walker, MBE, died of pneumonia, 28 April 2008, in a hospital in Surrey, at the age of 90 years. Her funeral was held at Horne Church, Surrey, on Thursday, 15 May 2008.

Diana Barnato-Walker flew this English Electric Lightning T.4, XM996, to Mach 1.6 at 30,000 feet, 26 August 1963. (Russ Smith)

The English Electric Lightning T Mk.4 is a two-place, twin-engined, mid-wing monoplane interceptor trainer. A crew of two sit side-by-side in the cockpit. It is 55 feet, 3 inches (16.840 meters) long, with a wing span of 34 feet, 10 inches (10.617 meters) and height of 19 feet, 7 inches (5.969 meters). The wings have an angle of incidence of 2°‚ and 3° anhedral. The leading edges are swept aft 60° and the trailing edges, 51°56′. At the root, the wing’s chord is 18 feet, 6 inches(5.638 meters) tapering to a theoretical 1 foot, 3.72 inches (0.399 meters) at the rounded tip. The variable incidence tail plane has a span of 14 feet, 6 inches (4.420 meters) with a 60° sweep. The Lightning T Mk.4 carries 966 Imperial gallons (4,392 liters or 1,160 U.S. gallons) of fuel in seven tanks throughout the fuselage and wings.

The Lightning is powered by two vertically-mounted axial-flow Rolls-Royce Avon Mk. 22001 afterburning turbojet engines. These are each rated 11,200 pounds (49.820 kilonewtons) static thrust at Sea Level, and 14,400 pounds (64.054 kilonewtons) with afterburner. One engine, No. 2, is mounted above and to the rear of engine No.1. The engines are limited to 100% +/- 0.5% r.p.m., for 15 minutes, and 97.5%, for 30 minutes. Maximum Continuous Power is restricted to 95% r.p.m.

The ventral fuel tank is clearly visible as the English Electric Lightning T Mk.4 rolls away from the camera.

The Lightning T Mk.4 has an empty weight of 24,815 pounds (11,256 kilograms), and all-up weight of 34,914 pounds (15,837 kilograms), with a ventral fuel tank installed. Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) is 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms).

The Lightning’s maximum speed limitation is Mach 1.7. With no missiles carried, it is restricted to 650 knots (748 miles per hour/1,204 kilometers per hour) Indicated Air Speed; with two missiles, 600 knots (690 miles per hour/1,111 kilometers per hour) IAS below 25,000 feet; and 650 knots IAS above 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The trainer’s approach speed is 175–180 knots (201– 207miles per hour/324 –333 kilometers per hour).

The T Mk.4’s maximum load factor is 6 g up to 0.9 Mach, or 5.5 g, above (empty or no ventral tank). The maximum negative acceleration is 3g.

The Lightning T Mk.4 is limited to a maximum altitude of 60,000 feet (18,288 meters).

The interceptor trainer can be armed with two ADEN 30mm guns or two de Havilland Firestreak heat-seeking missiles, and in addition to its primary training function, is fully operational as a fighter.

¹ FAI Record File Number 12392, 2,038.70 kilometers per hour (1,266.79 miles per hour)

23–26 August 1929

August 26, 2024AviationCircumnavigation, Dirigible, Dr. Hugo Eckener, Graf Zeppelin, Lighter-Than-Air, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH, LZ 127, Maybach VL-2, Mines Field, Trans-Pacific Flight, Transoceanic FlightBryan Swopes

*Graf Zeppelin*, LZ 127, at Mines Field, Los Angeles, 26 August 1929. (M.J. Ford)

Dr. Hugo Eckener (18xx—1954) — Dr. Hugo Eckener (1868—1954)

The rigid airship Graf Zeppelin, LZ 127, under the command of Dr. Hugo Eckener, departed Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, 8 August 1929, heading east across the Atlantic Ocean on the first aerial circumnavigation by air. The flight was sponsored by publisher William Randolph Hearst, who had placed several correspondents aboard.

Graf Zeppelin was named after Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, a German general and count, the founder of the Zeppelin Airship Company. The airship was constructed of a lightweight metal structure covered by a fabric envelope. It was 776 feet (236.6 meters) long. Contained inside were 12 hydrogen-filled buoyancy tanks, fuel tanks, work spaces and crew quarters.

A gondola mounted underneath contained the flight deck, a sitting and dining room and ten passenger cabins. The LZ-127 was manned by a 36 person crew and could carry 24 passengers.

LZ-127was powered by five water-cooled, fuel injected 33.251 liter (2,029.1 cubic inches) Maybach VL-2 60° V-12 engines producing 570 horsepower at 1,600 r.p.m., each. Fuel was either gasoline or blau gas, a gaseous fuel similar to propane. The zeppelin’s maximum speed was 80 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour).

A dining room aboard Graf Zeppelin. — A dining room aboard *Graf Zeppelin*.

After refueling at the Kasumigaura Naval Air Station, Tokyo, Japan, Graf Zeppelin started east across the Pacific Ocean on 23 August, enroute to Los Angeles, California. This leg crossed 5,998 miles (9,653 kilometers) in 79 hours, 3 minutes. This was the first ever non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean.

LZ 127 arrived at Mines Field (now, LAX) at 1:50 a.m., 26 August 1929. There were an estimated 50,000 spectators.

Airship Graf Zeppelin, D-LZ127, at Los Angeles, 1929. A Goodyear blimp is alongside. — Airship *Graf Zeppelin*, D-LZ127, at Los Angeles, 1929. A Goodyear blimp is alongside. (M.J. Ford)

Neil Alden Armstrong (5 August 1930–25 August 2012)

August 25, 2024Aviation, Space FlightAeronautical Engineer, American Hero, Apollo 11, Apollo Program, Astronaut, Fighter Pilot, First Man on the Moon, Gemini 8, Gemini VIII, Lunar Landing, Manned Space Flight, Moon Landing, Moon Shot, NASA X-15 Hypersonic Research Program, Neil A. Armstrong, Neil Alden Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, North American Aviation X-15A, Professor, Project Gemini, Test PilotBryan Swopes

NEIL ALDEN ARMSTRONG (1930–2012)

The following is the official NASA biography:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John H. Glenn Research Center
Lewis Field
Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Neil A. Armstrong

Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio.

After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders.

Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.

As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface.

Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to aeronautics.

He was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati between 1971-1979. During the years 1982-1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Va.

He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. He holds honorary doctorates from a number of universities.

Armstrong is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society; Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the International Astronautics Federation.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985-1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986), and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971-1973).

Armstrong has been decorated by 17 countries. He is the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society’s Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale’s Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award.

Armstrong passed away on Aug. 25, 2012 following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. He was 82.

The above official NASA biography is from the website: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/neilabio.html

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Astronaut Neil Armstrong steps onto the surface of The Moon, 20 July 1969. (NASA)

25 August 1981

August 25, 2024Space FlightInterplanetary Probe, Saturn, Space Probe, Voyager 2Bryan Swopes

NASA illustration of *Voyager 2*. (NASA)

25 August 1981: 4 years, 5 days after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Saturn.

Upper atmosphere of Saturn, photographed by *Voyager 2*. (NASA)

The probe continued outward to Saturn, Neptune and Uranus, continuously transmitting images and data. In 1990, the space probe passed beyond the limits of the Solar System.

Voyager 2 is now in interstellar space. It crossed the heliopause, where “solar wind” is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas, 5 November 2018. It is still operating, 46 years after it was launched.

On 21 July 2023, an erroneous instruction caused Voyager 2 to turn its antenna away from Earth, but on 5 August 2023, contact was reestablished. A power reduction strategy is hoped to allow the space probe to continue operating until 2026.

As of 15 August 2024, Voyager 2 was 136 Astronomical Units from Earth (20,345,310,413 kilometers/12,641,989,788 statute miles/10,985,588,776 nautical miles). Radio signals, traveling at the Speed of Light, take 18 hours, 56 minutes to cross that distance. It continues outbound at a rate of 3.3 AU/year. (With respect to the Sun, Voyager 2 is traveling outbound at 15.35 kilometers per second (33,330.48 miles per hour/29,832.37 knots).

25 August 1947

August 25, 2024AviationAllison J35-A-11, Bu. No. 37970, D-558-I, Douglas Aircraft Company, Douglas D-558-I Skystreak, Edwards Air Force Base, FAI, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, Fighter Pilot, Marion E. Carl, Marion Eugene Carl, Muroc Army Air Field, Muroc Dry Lake, Test Pilot, World Record for Speed Over a 3km Straight CourseBryan Swopes

Major Marion E. Carl, USN, with a Douglas D-558-I Skystreak at Muroc Dry Lake, 1947. (U.S. Navy) — Major Marion E. Carl, USMC, with a Douglas D-558-I Skystreak at Muroc Dry Lake, 1947. (U.S. Navy)

25 August 1947: Major Marion Eugene Carl, United States Marine Corps, flying the Douglas D-558-I Skystreak, Bu. No. 37970, set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Straight Course, averaging 1,047.356 kilometers per hour (650.797 miles per hour).¹ The Skystreak was flown over a course laid out on Muroc Dry Lake, site of Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) in the high desert of Southern California.

Douglas D-558-I Skystreak Bu. No. 37970 makes a pass over the 3 kilometer course on Muroc Dry Lake. (U.S. Navy)

Four passes were made over the course at an altitude of 200 feet (61 meters) or lower. Two runs were made in each direction to compensate for any head or tail winds. The official speed for a record attempt was the average of the two best consecutive passes out of the four.

Major Carl’s record exceeded one set by Commander Turner F. Caldwell, Jr., U.S. Navy, just five days earlier by 10.053 miles per hour (16.178 kilometers per hour).

Major Marion E. Carl, USMC, and Commander Turner F. Caldwell, Jr., USN, stand with the record-setting Douglas D-558-I Skystreak, Bu. No. 37970, on Muroc Dry Lake. (U.S. Navy)

The D-558 Program was intended as a three phase test program for the U.S. Navy and the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) to investigate transonic and supersonic flight using straight and swept wing aircraft powered by turbojet and/or rocket engines. The Douglas Aircraft Company designed and built three D-558-I Skystreaks and three D-558-II Skyrockets. The Phase I aircraft were flown by Douglas test pilot Eugene Francis (“Gene”) May, Navy Project Officer Commander Turner F. Caldwell, Jr., and Major Marion Carl.

Major Marion E. Carl, USMC; Gene May, Douglas Aircraft Company; Commander Turner F. Caldwell, USN.

The D-558-I Skystreak (also referred to as the D-558-1) was a single-engine, straight winged, turbojet-powered airplane. It was built of magnesium and aluminum for light weight, but was designed to withstand very high acceleration loads. It was 35 feet, 8 inches (10.871 meters) long with a wingspan of 25 feet, 0 inches (7.62 meters) and overall height of 12 feet, 1¾ inches (3.702 meters). The airplane had retractable tricycle landing gear. Its empty weight was approximately 7,500 pounds (3,400 kilograms), landing weight at the conclusion of a flight test was 7,711 pounds (3,498 kilograms). The maximum takeoff weight was 10,105 pounds (4,583.6 kilograms). The aircraft fuel load was 230 gallons (870.7 liters) of kerosene.

The D-558-I was powered by a single Allison J35-A-11 turbojet engine. The J35 was a single-spool, axial-flow turbojet with an 11-stage compressor section, 8 combustion chambers and single-stage turbine. The J35-A-11 was rated at 5,000 pounds of thrust (22.24 kilonewtons). The engine was 12 feet, 1.0 inches (3.683 meters) long, 3 feet, 4.0 inches (1.016 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,455 pounds (1,114 kilograms). The J35-A-11 was a production version of the General Electric TG-180, initially produced by Chevrolet as the J35-C-3. It was the first widely-used American jet engine.

The D-558-I had a designed service ceiling of 45,700 feet (13,930 meters). Intended for experimental flights of short duration, it had a very short range and took off and landed from the dry lake at Muroc. (After 1949, this would be known as Edwards Air Force Base.) The experimental airplane was not as fast as the more widely known Bell X-1 rocketplane, but rendered valuable research time in the high transonic range.

Gene May did reach Mach 1.0 in 37970, 29 September 1948, though he was in a 35° dive. This was the highest speed that had been reached up to that time by an airplane capable of taking off and landing under its own power.

The three D-558-I Skystreaks made a total of 229 flights and Bu. No. 37970 made 101 of them. After the Douglas test program was completed, -970 was turned over to NACA as NACA 140, but it was quickly grounded after the crash of the number two aircraft, and was used for spare parts for number three.

Today, 37970 is in the collection of the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. The other surviving Skystreak, Bu. No. 37972, is at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina.

This painting depicts Major Marion E. Carl's speed record attempt over the 3 kilometer course at Muroc Dry Lake. (Steve Cox, 24" x 30", acrylic on board) — This painting depicts Major Marion E. Carl’s speed record attempt over the 3 kilometer course at Muroc Dry Lake. (Steve Cox, 24″ × 30″, acrylic on board)

For biographical information about Marion Carl, please see “This Day in Aviation” for 24 August 1942 at: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/24-august-1942/

¹ FAI Record File Number 9865