Jackie Cochran with her North American Aviation P-51C Mustang, N5528N, circa December 1949. (FAI)
9 April 1951: Jackie Cochran set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world record and National Aeronautic Association U.S. National Record on 9 April 1951, flying her North American Aviation P-51C Mustang, N5528N, to an average speed of 464.374 miles per hour (747.338 kilometers per hour) over a straight 16 kilometer (9.942 miles) high-altitude course at Indio, California.¹
National Aeronautic Association Certificate of Record in the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive. (Bryan R. Swopes)
Thunderbird was Jackie Cochran’s third P-51 Mustang. She had purchased it from Academy Award-winning actor and World War II B-24 wing commander James M. Stewart, 19 December 1949. It was painted cobalt blue with gold lettering and trim.
That same day, Jackie Cochran flew her new airplane to two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a 500 kilometer Closed Circuit Without Payload, and a U.S. National Aeronautic Association record, with an average speed of 703.275 kilometers per hour (436.995 miles per hour).
Thunderbird had won the 1949 Bendix Trophy Race from Rosamond Dry Lake, California, to Cleveland Municipal Airport, Ohio, with pilot Joe De Bona in the cockpit.
According to Civil Aviation Administration records, N5528N had been “assembled from components of other aircraft of the same type.” It has no USAAC serial number or North American Aviation serial number. The CAA designated it as a P-51C and assigned 2925 as its serial number. It was certificated in the Experimental category and registered N5528N.
Thunderbird, Jackie Cochran’s North American P-51C Mustang, N5528N, circa 1951. (FAI)
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is a single-place, single-engine long range fighter. It is a low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear and is of all-metal construction. The fighter is powered by a liquid-cooled V-12 engine. It was originally produced for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force as the Mustang Mk.I. Two examples were provided to the U.S. Army Air Corps, designated XP-51. This resulted in orders for the P-51A and A-36 Apache dive bomber variant. These early Mustangs were powered by the Allison V-1750 engine driving a three-bladed propeller, which also powered the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.
In 1942, soon after the first production Mustang Mk.I arrived in England, Rolls-Royce began experimenting with a borrowed airplane, AM121, in which they installed the Supermarine Spitfire’s Merlin 61 engine. This resulted in an airplane of superior performance.
In the United States, the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, had begun building Merlin engines under license from Rolls-Royce. These American engines were designated V-1650. North American modified two P-51s from the production line to install the Packard V-1650-3. These were designated XP-51B. Testing revealed that the new variant was so good that the Army Air Corps limited its order for P-51As to 310 airplanes and production was changed to the P-51B.
The P-51B and P-51C are virtually Identical. The P-51Bs were built by North American Aviation, Inc., at Inglewood, California. P-51Cs were built at North American’s Dallas, Texas plant. They were 32 feet, 2.97 inches (9.829 meters) long, with a wingspan of 37 feet, 0.31-inch (11.282 meters) and overall height of 13 feet, 8 inches (4.167 meters) high. The fighter had an empty weight of 6,985 pounds (3,168 kilograms) and a maximum gross weight of 11,800 pounds (5,352 kilograms).
Packard Motor Car Company V-1650-7 Merlin, liquid-cooled, supercharged SOHC 60° V-12 aircraft engine at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. This engine weighs 905 pounds (411 kilograms) and produces 1,490 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. (NASM)
P-51Bs and Cs were powered by a right-hand tractor, liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,649-cubic-inch-displacement (27.04-liter) Packard V-1650-3 or -7 Merlin single overhead cam (SOHC) 60° V-12 engine which produced 1,380 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m at 60 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-3) or 1,490 horsepower at Sea Level, turning 3,000 r.p.m. at 61 inches of manifold pressure (V-1650-7). (Military Power rating, 15 minute limit.) These were license-built versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 63 and 66. The engine drove a four-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed propeller with a diameter of 11 feet, 2 inches (3.404 meters) through a 0.479:1 gear reduction.
North American Aviation P-51B-1-NA Mustang in flight. (Air Force Historical Research Agency)
The P-51B/C had a cruise speed of 362 miles per hour (583 kilometers per hour) and the maximum speed was 439 miles per hour (707 kilometers per hour) at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). The service ceiling was 41,900 feet (12,771 meters). With internal fuel, the combat range was 755 miles (1,215 kilometers).
In military service, armament consisted of four air-cooled Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, mounted two in each wing, with 350 rounds per gun for the inboard guns and 280 rounds per gun for the outboard.
1,988 P-51B Mustangs were built at North American’s Inglewood, California plant and another 1,750 P-51Cs were produced at Dallas, Texas. This was nearly 23% of the total P-51 production.
North American Aviation P-51B-1-NA Mustang 43-12491 at NACA Langley Field, Virginia, 1945. (NASA)
The Mitsubishi Karigane J-BAAI, arrives at Croydon Aerodrome, London, 3:30 p.m., 9 April 1937.
5–9 April 1937: Kamikaze-gō, a prototype of the Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane single-engine reconnaissance airplane, was flown by Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi from Tokyo to London in 94 hours, 17 minutes, 56 seconds total elapsed time. The actual flight time in flight was 51 hours, 17 minutes, 23 seconds. The two pilots covered a distance of 15,357 kilometers (9,542.4 miles).¹
Navigator Kenji Tsukagoshi (standing) and Pilot Masaaki Iinuma with the Mistubishi Karigane.
Kamikaze-gō was the second prototype Ki-15. It had been purchased by the Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, and was registered J-BAAI. The airplane was painted silver with medium blue trim. The airplane was flown to London for the coronation of George VI.
Iinuma and Tsukagoshi departed Tachikawa Airfield at 5:12:04 p.m., 5 April 1937. The route of the flight was Tokyo to Taipei and on to Hanoi, Vientiane, Calcutta, Karachi, Basra, Baghdad, Athens, Rome, Paris, and finally, London. The Mitsubishi prototype arrived at Croydon Aerodrome, London, at 3:30 p.m., 9 April.
Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi wave to the crowd after the Mitsubishi Karigane arrived at Croydon Aerodrome, London, at 3:30 p.m., 9 April 1937. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
Flight reported:
JAPAN MAKES HER MARK
Mr. Iinuma, Mr. Tsukagoshi and their Honourable Mitsubishi Monoplane
AT 3.30 p.m. on Friday a large welcoming crowd, largely consisting of the Japanese residents in London, who had been waiting since mid-day, saw a characteristically “over-nosed” monoplane coming in from the direction of Paris. Mr. Iinuma, the pilot, made two complete circuits of the aerodrome while two Leopards, bulging with Press photographers, made an abortive attempt to keep up with the machine, both by diving and by cutting off corners. Then he brought it in slowly and carefully to land neatly, with a burst of engine and straight off the glide, in the centre of the available landing area—which was restricted by flagged-off areas populated by various working parties.
Thus was the “goodwill” flight of Mr. Iinuma and Mr. Tsukagoshi from Tokio to London completed in 94 hours. The effort is of rather unusual interest in that the aircraft and engine were of Japanese manufacture.
The first section of the flight which was sponsored by the Tokyo Asahi Press commenced from Tokio at 5.12 p.m. on Monday, April 5, and covered 1,400 odd miles to Taihoku, Formosa. In spite of the weather conditions, which were the worst experienced on the whole trip, and average speed of almost 200 m.p.h. was maintained. After leaving Hanoi (French Indo-China), the next stop, bad visibility to Vientiane lowered the average a little and it was not until the Baghdad to Athens stage was covered that the average speed for a section exceeded 100 m.p.h.; in this case 1,280 miles was covered in 6 hours 17 mins., a speed of 202 m.p.h. Strong head-winds were encountered while crossing India.
Last Friday the final European stages were commenced; leaving Athens at 5.40 a.m., Rome was reached at 8.46 a.m.—710 miles at 219 m.p.h. After only 50 minutes the Divine Wind took the air again for Paris, arriving there at 1.33 after having put up an average of 230 m.p.h. for the 730 miles. Finally, at 2.15 on Friday, April 9, Mr. Iinuma took off for Croydon and had terminated his flight within 75 minutes.
Illustration from article in Flight, 15 April 1937, at Page 374.
Without fuss or bother the two members of the crew smiled gravely at their compatriots and disappeared into the seething crowd. They managed to obtain a good rest at Rome and did not appear to be particularly exhausted. In due course, mechanics wheeled the Divine Wind into the Rollason hangar and the inner doors slid in front of the eyes of the curious.
Contrary to expectations, this Mitsubishi monoplane (which, incidentally was completed toward the end of March) and its engine do not appear to have built under direct licence from any American firms. Its type name is Karigane, or Wild Goose. It is reminiscent of the well-known Northrop series of single-engined mailplanes, but the resemblance is largely superficial and might apply to any machine built on the same lines and for the same purpose. The radial engine—a Nakajima Kotobuki III giving 550 h.p. (normal) at sea level and designed for a fixed-pitch airscrew, has points of similarity with the P. and W. Wasp and earlier Wright Cyclones, but is obviously of Japanese design. Superior people would not find it difficult to discover similarities—and to talk of “copying”—in the case of such a machine built anywhere. Two additional aircraft of similar type, but with various improvements are being built for Asahi.
Mitsubishi Karigane prototype, J-BAAI, Kamikaze-gō. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Except for the control surfaces, the machine is entirely of metal skin covering and the thin-section wing appears to be of cellular construction and a very nice piece of work, too, with flush rivets and little sign of irregularities.
The wing area is given as 215 sq. ft. and the span is 39 ft. A range of under 1,500 miles is claimed by the manufacturers.
The only noticeable British item of equipment was a “Demec” navigation light.
The centre part of the long, roofed cabin is devoted to the accommodation of the extra tanks, which give the machine a range of 1,500 miles, with the pilot’s seat ahead and the radio operator’s cabin at the rear. There does not appear to be any fairlead for a trailing aerial, but the fixed aerial is mounted well away from the fuselage. Presumably the “radio operator” was more navigator; certainly, a new and interesting type of combined slide-rule and calculator could be seen in one of the pockets, and he had both a compass and a selection of essential instruments for his own use. The pilot’s instruments were of standard type, with an artificial horizon, a turn indicator, a rate-of-climb and so on. He used two compasses, one of the direct-reading bowl type and the other the verge-ring type—the latter being on the floor of the cockpit. The maximum speed of this Mitsubishi monoplane is given officially as 310 m.p.h. This seems to be on the high side, but the machine had certainly been cruising at somewhere over 200 m.p.h.
At Croydon, Mr J.C. Galpin, of the Air Ministry, gave the two airman a message of welcome from Sir Philip Sassoon.
—Flight, The Aircraft Engineer and Airships, No. 1477, Vol. XXXI, 15 April 1937 at Page 374 and 376.
Pilot Masaaki Iinuma (left) and Navigator Kenji Tsukagoshi at Croydon Aerodrome, 9 April 1937.
After returning to Japan, Kamikaze-gō continued in service to its owners, until returning from China, it encountered bad weather and crash landed on Taiwan. The airplane was recovered then placed on display at the Asahi Shimbun headquarters in Tokyo. During a bombing raid in 1944, the building was hit and the airplane was destroyed.
Following the Tokyo-to-London flight, Masaaki Iinuma and Kenji Tsukagoshi became national heroes. Iinuma was killed when he accidentally walked into a turning airplane propeller at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 11 December 1941. Tsukagoshi disappeared while on a flight over the Indian Ocean in 1943.
Kamikaze-gō, the record-setting Mitsubishi Ki-15 prototype, J-BAAI, after its crash landing on Taiwan.
Asahi Shimbun bought a second Ki-15, registered J-BAAL. Several of the production airplanes were used by Japanese companies as courier or mail planes.
Kamikaze-gō‘s Nakajima Kotobuki III was a licensed development of the Bristol Jupiter. It was an air-cooled, supercharged, 24.108 liter (1,471.150 cubic inch), nine cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 6.1:1, rated at 540 horsepower at 2,300 r.p.m. at Sea Level and 610 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m for takeoff. The engine drove a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller through a 0.6875:1 gear reduction. It was 1.170 meters (3 feet, 10.1 inches) long, 1.280 meters (4 feet, 2.4 inches) in diameter, and weighed 424 kilograms (935 pounds).
The initial production version of the Karigane, the Ki-15-I (Army Type 97 Command Reconnaissance Airplane Model 1) also had a crew of two. It was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear. It was 8.7 meters (28 feet, 6.5 inches) long with a wingspan of 12.0 meters (39 feet, 4.5 inches) and overall height of 3.35 meters (11 feet). Its empty weight was 1,400 kilograms (3,086 pounds) and maximum takeoff weight was 2,300 kilograms (5,071 pounds).
The Ki-15-I was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 32.572 liter (1,987.665 cubic-inches) displacement Nakajima Ha.8 nine-cylinder radial engine which produced 640 horsepower.
This gave the Ki-15 a maximum speed of 480 kilometers per hour (298 miles per hour) at 4,000 meters (13,125 feet), and a cruise speed of 320 kilometers per hour (199 miles per hour) at 5,000 meters (16,404 feet). Its range was 2,400 kilometers (1,491 miles) and the service ceiling was 11,400 meters (37,400 feet). The Mitsubishi Ki-15 was produced from 1936 to 1945. Approximately 500 of all types were built.
Mitsubishi Ki-15 Karigane J-BAAI, Kamikaze-go, in flight. (San Diego Air and Space Museum)
¹ Numerous sources report that this flight established a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record, and that it was the first to be set by fliers from Japan. The FAI data base, however, does not list such a record, either by names of the crew, nationality, aircraft type, aircraft registration, date of the flight, nor is a record included in the list of all records for the year 1937.
Miss Barbara Jane Harrison, British Overseas Airways Corporation
8 April 1968: British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 712, call sign Speedbird 712, a Boeing 707-465 Intercontinental registered G-ARWE, departed London Heathrow for Sydney, Australia, with 116 passengers and 11 crew. Approximately 20 seconds after takeoff, there was a loud bang and severe shudder as the Number Two jet engine failed catastrophically. The flight crew started through emergency procedures while calling MAYDAY and turning back toward the airport. The failed engine fell off the left wing which then caught fire as fuel continued to flow. Three minutes, thirty-two seconds after takeoff, Speedbird 712 touched down on Runway 05 and rapidly came to a stop. Fuel continued to burn, and the airliner’s cabin crew began evacuating passengers.
This photograph shows Speedbird 712 over Thorpe, Surrey. The Number Two Engine is circled at the lower right..
Stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison was among the crew members who helped passengers escape from the burning Boeing 707. The exit slide had not deployed correctly and Miss Harrison was encouraging passengers to jump to the runway surface, and in some cases, even pushed them out. She was seen standing in a doorway as the flames and smoke spread, and people below, including the airplane’s captain, Cliff Taylor, shouted at her to jump. Instead, she turned away and went back inside, presumably to help a disabled passenger in a wheelchair. She gave her life to help others. Later, the bodies of Miss Harrison and the disabled passenger were found together in the burned out wreck. Four other passengers also died.
For her gallantry in saving the lives of others at the cost of her own, Queen Elizabeth II awarded the George Cross, for “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.”
Barbara Jane Harrison was 22 years old.
CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD
ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON S.W.1
8th August 1969.
The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to make the undermentioned award.
GEORGE CROSS
Miss Barbara Jane HARRISON (deceased), Stewardess, British Overseas Airways Corporation.
On April 8th 1968, soon after take-off from Heathrow Airport, No. 2 engine of B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 G-ARWE caught fire and subsequently fell from the aircraft, leaving a fierce fire burning at No. 2 engine position. About two and a half minutes later the aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport and the fire on the port wing intensified. Miss Harrison was one of the stewardesses in this aircraft and the duties assigned to her in an emergency were to help the steward at the aft station to open the appropriate rear door and inflate the escape chute and then to assist the passengers at the rear of the aircraft to leave in an orderly manner. When the aircraft landed Miss Harrison and the steward concerned opened the rear galley door and inflated the chute, which unfortunately became twisted on the way down so that the steward had to climb down it to straighten it before it could be used. Once out of the aircraft he was unable to return; hence Miss Harrison was left alone to the task of shepherding passengers to the rear door and helping them out of the aircraft. She encouraged some passengers to jump from the machine and pushed out others. With flames and explosions all around her and escape from the tail of the machine impossible she directed her passengers to another exit while she remained at her post. She was finally overcome while trying to save an elderly cripple who was seated in one of the last rows and whose body was found close to that of the stewardess. Miss Harrison was a very brave young lady who gave her life in her utter devotion to duty.
—Supplement to The London Gazette of Thursday, 7th August 1969, Friday, 8th August 1969, No. 44913, at Page 8211, Column 1.
BOAC Flight 712, a Boeing 707-465, G-ARWE, burning on the runway at Heathrow, 8 April 1968.
Only four women have been awarded the George Cross: Violet Szabó, Odette Sansom, Noor Inayat Khahn, all three secret intelligence agents for England’s Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) during World War II, and Barbara Jane Harrison.
Barbara Jane Harrison was born at Kingsdale Crescent, Bradford, Yorkshire, England, 14 May 1945. She was the second of two daughters of Alan Frederic Harrison, a police officer, and Lena Veronica Adlard Harrison. Her mother died when she was ten years old. Jane was educated at the Newby County Primary School, Scarborough High School for Girls, and Doncaster High School for Girls.
Miss Harrison left the Doncaster School in May 1962 to accept employment with the Martins Bank Limited branch office at Baxter Gate, Doncaster. Later she was employed as a nanny in the United States and in Switzerland. She joined the British Overseas Airways Corporation in June 1966.
Miss Harrison’s remains were interred at Fulford Cemetery, Fulford, North Yorkshire, England. Her George Cross is on display at British Airways’ Speedbird Centre, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England.
Marker at Fulford Cemetery.Captain C. W. R. Taylor
Speedbird 712 was under the command of Captain Charles Wilson Ratcliffe Taylor, with Senior First Officer Francis Brendan Kirkland as copilot, and Acting First Officer John Chester Hutchinson as the third, relief, pilot. The flight engineer was Engineer Officer Thomas Charles Hicks. Also in the cockpit was Supervisory Captain Geoffrey Sidney Moss, who was conducting a periodic flight check of the crew.
Speedbird 712’s Chief Steward, Neville Cearl Davis-Gordon, was awarded the British Empire Medal for Gallantry (Civil Division) for his role in evacuating the passengers from the burning airliner.¹
Air Traffic Control Officer III John Michael Davis, who handled Speedbird 712’s emergency, was appointed an Ordinary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for 1969.²
“Whiskey Echo” (G-ARWE) was a Boeing Model 707-465 Intercontinental airliner, serial number 18373, Boeing line number 302. The 707-465 was a variant of the 707-420 series, which was itself a version of the 707-320, with the primary change being the substitution of Rolls-Royce Conway Mk.508 turbofan engines in place of the standard Pratt & Whitney JT3C-6 turbojet engines. The airliner was operated by a minimum flight crew of three, and could carry 141 passengers with mixed-class seating, or a maximum of 189 passengers.
Boeing 707-465 G-ARWE in Cunard Eagle Airways livery, circa 1962. (www.britisheagle.net)
Whiskey Echo had originally been ordered by Cunard Eagle Airways and registered VR-BBZ (Bermuda). It made its first flight 27 June 1962. Cunard Eagle was taken over by BOAC as BOAC-Cunard in June 1962. Sisterships VR-BBW and VR-BBZ were reregistered in the United Kingdom as G-ARWD and G-ARWE.
A Boeing 707 Intercontinental (-420 series) airliner in BOAC-Cunard livery. (jjPostcards)
At the time of the accident, Whiskey Echo had flown 20,870 hours (TTAF).
Whiskey Echo’s Number 2 engine was built in 1961 and had 14,917 hours total time since new (TTSN). It was last overhauled in March 1965 and had been flown 4,346 hours (TSIO) at the time of the accident. The engine had a normal time between overhauls (TBO) of 5,500 hours. The engine was removed from service due to excessive vibration in May 1965. Inspection revealed a fatigue failure of the Stage 8 high-pressure compressor stage. The engine was repaired, but during test runs, was still producing vibrations and was rejected based on BOAC standards. The vibrations did not exceed Rolls-Royce limits, though, and the engine was accepted for service. It was installed on another Boeing 707 and run for 1,415 hours, when it was removed for modification of turbine seals. The engine was installed at the Number 2 position on G-ARWE on 5 April 1968, three days before the accident.
The accident investigation found that the engine had suffered a fatigue failure of the Stage 5 low-pressure compressor wheel. Fragments of the wheel rim and blades were found inside the airport perimeter at the departure end of Runway 28 Left.
The engine’s 1¾-inch-diameter (44.45 millimeters) fuel supply line was severed by flying fragments. Jet fuel was pumped out of the open line at a rate of about 50 gallons (189 liters) per minute.
About 90 seconds after the fire started, Whiskey Echo’s Number 2 engine and part of its pylon fell away from the left wing.
According to the accident investigation report,
“Having initially started an Engine Failure Drill, the Flight Engineer changed directly to the Engine Fire Drill. According to his evidence, having completed Phase 1 of the Engine Fire Drill, which is required to be done from memory, he subsequently used his own copy of the check list to complete Phase II of the drill, including operation of the fire extinguisher transfer switch and pushing the discharge button for the second shot thirty seconds after the first. When the First Officer started to read the check list the Flight Engineer told him the check was already completed. . . .”
— CIVIL AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT, Report on the Accident to Boeing 707-465 G-ARWE at Heathrow Airport, London, on 8th April 1968. ACCIDENTS INVESTIGATION BRANCH, Civil Accident Report No. EW/C/0203, Section 1.1 at Page 3
The engineer officer had failed to pull the fire fuel shut-off valve while following the emergency procedures check list. With the valve closed, the fuel in the supply line beyond the valve would have sustained the fire for only a few seconds. The airliner’s fire extinguisher bottles can only be discharged after the fire shut-off handle has been pulled.
Whiskey Echo had previously sustained an uncontained turbine blade failure. While taking off from Honolulu International Airport, Oahu, Hawaii, 21 November 1967, fragments of the turbine blades punctured a fuel tank, resulting in a fire. The takeoff was aborted, and emergency personnel at the airport put out the fire. The airplane was repaired, all four engines changed, and G-ARWE was returned to service.
A BOAC Boeing 707-436 Intercontinental, G-APFD, similar in appearance to 707-465 G-ARWE. (Pinterest)
The Boeing 707-420 series airliners were 152 feet, 11 inches (46.609 meters) long, with a wingspan of 142 feet, 5 inches (43.409 meters) and overall height 42 feet, 2 inches (12.852 meters) at its operating empty weight. The leading edges of the wings and tail surfaces are swept 35°. The fuselage has a maximum diameter of 12 feet, 8.0 inches (3.759 meters). The 707 International has a typical empty weight of 142,600 pounds (64,682 kilograms), and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 312,000 pounds (141,700 kilograms). The usable fuel capacity is 23,820 gallons (90,169 liters).
All 707-series aircraft are powered by four jet engines installed in nacelles below and forward of the wings on pylons. The -420 Internationals were powered by Rolls-Royce Conway Mk. 508 engines. The Rolls-Royce Conway (R.Co.12) is a two-spool, axial-flow, low-bypass turbofan engine. The engine has a 7-stage low- and 9-stage high-pressure compressor section, 12 interconnected combustion liners, with a single-stage high- and 2-stage low-pressure turbine. The Mk. 508 has a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 14,625 pounds of thrust (65.055 Kilonewtons), and 17,500 pounds of thrust (77.844 Kilonewtons) at 9,990 r.p.m., for Takeoff. The engine is 3 feet, 6.0 inches (1.067 meters) in diameter, 11 feet, 4.0 inches (3.454 meters) long, and weighs 4,542 pounds (2,060 kilograms).
The -420 series had a maximum cruise speed of 593 miles per hour 954 kilometers per hour) at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters)—0.87 Mach; and economical cruise speed of 550 miles per hour (885 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10668 meters).
Boeing built 1,010 Model 707 airplanes between 1957 and 1979. Of these, 37 were the 707-420 International variant.
A British Overseas Airways Corporation Boeing 707 International (-420 series) airliner, similar in appearance to G-ARWE. (Travel Update)
¹ Supplement to The London Gazette of Thursday, 7th August 1969. Friday, 8th August 1969, No. 44913, at Page 8212, Column 1.
² Supplement to The London Gazette of Friday, 6th June 1969. Saturday, 14th June 1969, No. 44863, at Page 5975, Column 1
De Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 G-ALYY, 1953. (Zoggavia)
8 April 1954: Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens (South African Airways) Flight 201, a chartered British Overseas Airways Corporation de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, departed Rome at 1832 UTC, bound for Cairo.
The Comet, registered G-ALYY, was under the command of Captain Wilhelm Karel Mostert, with First Officer Barent Jacobus Grove, Navigator Albert Escourt Sissing, Radio Officer Bertram Ernest Webstock, and Flight Engineer August Ranwald Lagesen. Air Hostess Pamela Lucia Reitz and Flight Steward Jacobus Bruwer Kok were in the passenger compartment with the 14 passengers.
As the airliner climbed toward 35,000 feet (10,668 meters), they made several position reports. Last heard from at 1907 UTC, radioing an expected arrival time at Cairo, the Comet disintegrated in flight and fell into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Searchers found a debris field and floating bodies the next day near the volcanic island of Stromboli. All 21 persons aboard were killed.
This was the second catastrophic failure of a DH.106 in just three months. BOAC immediately grounded its entire Comet fleet, and the British Air Ministry revoked the airliner’s certificate of airworthiness. Production of the airliner at de Havilland was halted.
The first crash had been presumed to be a result of an in-flight fire, and the second, an uncontained turbine engine failure. But an extensive investigation eventually determined that the cause of both crashes was the in-flight break up of the fuselage pressure hull. “Owing to the absence of wreckage, we are unable to form a definite opinion on the cause of the accident near Naples, but we draw attention to the fact that the explanation offered for the accident at Elba [Comet G–ALYP, 10 January 1954] appears to be applicable to that at Naples.” ¹ Metal fatigue of the fuselage was caused by the repeated expansion and contraction of pressurization cycles. Cracks in the aluminum skin formed at stress points at the corners of the passenger compartment windows and then spread outward. This resulted in catastrophic explosive decompression.
Cut-away illustration of de Havilland Comet I G-ALYP by artist Laurence Dunn.
The DH.106 Comet 1 was the first production version and was very similar to the two prototypes. It can be visually identified by its square passenger windows. It was flown by a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and navigator. The airliner could carry up to 44 passengers.
The airplane was 93 feet (28.346 meters) long with a wingspan of 115 feet (35.052 meters) and overall height of 27 feet, 10 inches (8.484 meters). The wings were swept 20°, as measured at ¼ chord. The fuselage had a maximum outside diameter of 10 feet, 3 inches (3.124 meters), and 9 feet, 9 inches (2.972 meters) inside. The Comet 1 had an authorised maximum all-up weight of 107,000 pounds (48,534 kilograms).
The Comet I was powered by four de Havilland Engine Co., Ltd., Ghost 50 Mk.I turbojet engines. The Ghost was a single-shaft centrifugal-flow turbojet with a single-stage compressor, 10 combustion chambers and a single-stage turbine. It was rated at 5,000 pounds of thrust (22.24 kilonewtons) at 10,250 r.p.m. The Ghost 50 had a maximum diameter of 4 feet, 5 inches (1.346 meters), length of 10 feet, 1 inch (3.073 meters) and dry weight of 2,218 pounds (1,006 kilograms). When first placed in service, the engines required a combustion chamber inspection at 125 hour intervals. A complete overhaul was required every 375 hours. The Ghost was the first turbojet certified for civil airliner operations.
A de Havilland Engine Company advertisement in the Illustrated London News, circa 1950.
The Comet I had a maximum cruising speed of 490 miles per hour (789 kilometers per hour), True Air Speed, and operating altitude of 35,000 to 40,000 feet (10,668–12,192 meters). The airliner’s fuel capacity was 6,050 Imperial gallons (27,504 liters, or 7,266 U.S. gallons) giving a practical stage length of 2,140 miles (3,444 kilometers). The maximum range was 3,860 miles (6,212 kilometers).
Twelve DH.106 Comet 1 airliners were built.
The de Havilland Comet was the first commercial jet airliner and its introduction had revolutionized the industry. The two disasters were a blow from which the company never really recovered.
The first production de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, G-ALYP, in formation with the two prototypes, G-ALVG and G-ALZK. G-ALYP also broke up in flight, 10 January 1954. (Ed Coates Collection)
¹ MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND CIVIL AVIATION, CIVIL AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT. Report of the Court of Inquiry into the Accidents to Comet G–ALYP on 10th January, 1954 and Comet G–ALYY on 8th April, 1954, Part IX: THE COURT’S CONCLUSION AS TO CAUSE OF ACCIDENT, at Pages 46–47
In one of the most dramatic photographic images of World War II, “Wee Willie,” Boeing B-17G-15-BO Flying Fortress 42-31333, is going down after it was hit by antiaircraft artillery over Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 8 April 1945. (American Air Museum in Britain, Roger Freeman Collection.)
8 April 1945: Wee Willie, a Flying Fortress heavy bomber, left its base at Air Force Station 121 (RAF Bassingbourne, Cambridgeshire, England), on its 129th combat mission over western Europe. The aircraft commander was 1st Lieutenant Robert E. Fuller, U.S. Army Air Forces.
Wee Willie was a B-17G-15-BO, serial number 42-31333, built by the Boeing Airplane Company’s Plant 2, Seattle, Washington. It was delivered to the United States Army Air Forces at Cheyenne, Wyoming on 22 October 1943, and arrived at Bassingbourne 20 December 1943. It was assigned to the 322nd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force. The identification letters LG W were painted on both sides of its fuselage, and a white triangle with a black letter A on the top of its right wing and both sides of its vertical fin.
Boeing B-17G-15-BO Flying Fortress 42-31333, LG W, Wee Willie, December 1944. (U.S. Air Force)
On 8 April 1945, the 322nd Bombardment Squadron was part of an attack against the locomotive repair facilities at the railroad marshaling yards in Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt Germany. The squadron was bombing through clouds using H2S ground search radar to identify the target area. Antiaircraft gunfire (flak) was moderate, causing major damage to four B-17s and minor damage to thirteen others. Two bombers from the 91st Bomb Group were lost, including Wee Willie.
The Missing Air Crew Report, MACR 13881, included a statement from a witness:
We were flying over the target at 20,500 feet [6,248 meters] altitude when I observed aircraft B-17G, 42-31333 to receive a direct flak hit approximately between the bomb bay and #2 engine. The aircraft immediately started into a vertical dive. The fuselage was on fire and when it had dropped approximately 5,000 feet [1,524 meters] the left wing fell off. It continued down and when the fuselage was about 3,000 feet [914.4 meters] from the ground it exploded and then exploded again when it hit the ground. I saw no crew member leave the aircraft or parachutes open.
This photographic image precedes the one above. The Boeing B-17G-15-BO Flying Fortress 42-31333, Wee Willie, is engulfed in flame. The left wing has separated and is crossing over the fuselage. (American Air Museum in Britain)
The pilot, Lieutenant Fuller, did escape from the doomed bomber. He was captured and spent the remainder of the war as a Prisoner of War. The other eight crew members, however were killed.
1st Lieutenant Robert E. Fuller, O-774609, California. Aircraft Commander/Pilot—Prisoner of War
2nd Lieutenant Woodrow A. Lien, O-778858, Montana. Co-pilot—Killed in Action
Technical Sergeant Francis J. McCarthy, 14148856, Tennessee. Navigator—Killed in Action
Staff Sergeant Richard D. Proudfit, 14166848, Mississippi. Togglier—Killed in Action
Staff Sergeant William H. Cassiday, 32346219, New York. Ball Turret Gunner—Killed in Action
Staff Sergeant Ralph J. Leffelman, 19112019, Washington. Radio Operator/Top Gunner—Killed in Action
Staff Sergeant James D. Houtchens, 37483248, Nebraska. Waist Gunner—Killed in Action
Sergeant Le Moyne Miller, 33920597, Pennsylvania. Tail Gunner—Killed in Action
In the third photograph of the sequence, Wee Willie has exploded and fragments of the wings and fuselage streak downward in flame. (American Air Museum in Britain, Roger Freeman Collection)
Wee Willie was the oldest B-17G still in service with the 91st Bomb Group, and the next to last B-17 lost to enemy action by the group before cessation of hostilities. The War in Europe came to an end with the unconditional surrender of Germany just 30 days later, 7 May 1945.
Boeing B-17G-15-BO Flying Fortress, LG W, “Wee Willie,” and its flight crew at Air Force Station 121, RAF Bassingbourne, 12 February 1944. The bomber is still nearly new, having flown 6 combat missions, 31 January 1943–3 February 1944, when it was damaged by anti-aircraft artllery over Wilhelmsahaven, Germany. “Wee Willie” was out of action until 20 February 1944. Standing, left to right: 1st Lt. John A. Moeller, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Harry Lerner, navigator; S/Sgt Robert Kelley, waist gunner; S/Sgt Martin, ball turret gunner; Lt. Joe Gagliano, bombardier; 1st Lt. Paul D. Jessop, pilot. Kneeling, left to right: S/Sgt MacElroy, waist gunner; S/Sgt Shoupe, radio operator; S/Sgt Southworth, engineer/top turret gunner; and S/Sgt Joe Zastinich, tail gunner. Waist gunner S/Sgt Henry F. Osowski was wounded on the Wilhelmshaven mission and is not in this photograph. (American Air Museum in Britain)During the 129 missions “Wee Willie” flew in its 1 year, 3 months, 20 days at war, many airmen served as its crew members. The men in this photograph are not identified, and the date it was taken is not known. A battle-scarred veteran, “Wee Willie” now has markings showing 106 missions completed. These men are representative all the aircrews who fought and died in the skies over Europe. The officer kneeling in the front row, right, has been identified as 2nd Lieutenant Jess Ziccarello, the navigator for this crew. Lieutenant Colonel Ziccarello passed away 2 October 2019 at the age of 96 years. Thanks to his son, Rick Ziccarello, for the identification. In the back row, second from right, is waist gunner Samuel McGowen. According to his nephew, Hal McGowen, he completed his 30 mission combat tour and lived until 2007. (American Air Museum in Britain)
