2–6 July 1919

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The Royal Air Force rigid airship HMA R34 landing at Mineola, Long Island, New York, 6 July 1919.

2–6 July 1919: Two weeks after Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic airplane flight, the Royal Air Force rigid airship R 34 landed at Mineola, Long Island, New York, completing the first east-to-west Atlantic crossing by air. The airship was under the command of Major George Herbert Scott, A.F.C., R.A.F. The total complement, including passengers, was 30 persons.

The 108 hour, 12 minute flight started from East Fortune Airship Station near Edinburgh, Scotland at 2:38 a.m., British Summer Time (1:38 a.m., Greenwich mean time) on Wednesday, 2 July. R 34 arrived at Mineola at 9:54 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time (1:54 p.m. G.M.T.) on Sunday, 6 July. According to records of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the distance flown by R 34 was 5,797 kilometers (3,602 miles). On arrival, the airship had only 40 minutes of fuel remaining.

This chart of R34's flight was published in the Times, 7 July 1919.
This chart of R34’s flight was published in The Times, 7 July 1919.

R 34 was based on extensive study of the captured German Zeppelin, L-33. It was built for the Royal Naval Air Service ¹ by William Beardmore and Company, Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland. 643 feet long (196 meters), with a maximum diameter of 78 feet, 9 inches (24 meters), the dirigible had a total volume of 1,950,000 cubic feet (55,218 cubic meters). The airship had a light weight metal structure covered with doped fabric. Buoyancy was provided by 55,185 cubic meters (1,948,840 cubic feet) of gaseous hydrogen contained in 19 gas bags inside the airship’s envelope. R 34 had a gross lift capacity of 59 tons. Useful lift was 58,240 pounds (26,417 kilograms).

Crewmen working in the forward control car of R34 during the Atlantic crossing, July 1918. (National Museums Scotland)
Crewmen working in the forward control car of R 34 during the Atlantic crossing, July 1918. (National Museums Scotland)

The airship was powered by five water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 15.395-liter (989.483-cubic-inch-displacement) Sunbeam Maori Mk.IV dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12 engines with four valves per cylinder. The Mk.IV’s cylinder bore had been increased from 100 millimeters to 110 millimeters (3.94 to 4.33 inches), resulting in a larger displacement than previous Maori variants. The Maori Mk.IV was a direct-drive engine which produced 275 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. Each engine turned a two-bladed, 17 foot diameter (5.182 meter) propeller through a remote gearbox with a 0.257:1 reduction. The two wing engines were equipped with reversible gearboxes. With the engines turning 1,800 r.p.m., the R 34 had a cruising speed of 47 knots (54 miles per hour/87 kilometers per hour) and consumed 65 gallons (246 liters) of fuel per hour.

R 34 made the return flight to England, 10–13 July 1919, in 75 hours, 3 minutes.

Major Scott was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD.

St. James’s Palace, S.W. 1,

23rd August 1919.

     The KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following appointment to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of distinguished services to Aviation. :—

To be a Commander of the Military Division of the Said Most Excellent Order :—

Major George Herbert Scott, A.F.C., Royal Air Force, Commander of H.M. Airship R/34 on the outward voyage to the United States of America and and also on the homeward journey.

R 34 at Long Island, New York. (Evening Times)

Colonel (A./Brig.-Genl.) Edwards Maitland Maitland, C.M.G., D.S.O., Capt. (A./Major) Gilbert George Herbert Cooke, D.S.C., Lieutenant Guy Harris and 2nd Lieutenant John Durham Shotter were each awarded the Air Force Cross.

The Air Force Medal was awarded to Flight-Sergeant William Rose Gent, Sergt.-Maj. II. Walter Robert Mayes, D.S.M., Flight-Sergeant Walter James Robinson, Flight-Sergeant Reginald William Ripley, Flight-Sergeant Norman Albert Scull, and Sergeant Herbert Murray Watson, D.S.M.

¹ On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps were combined to form the Royal Air Force.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

5 July 1962

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Captain Clarence R. Radcliffe, Jr., United States Air Force (FAI)
Captain Chester R. Radcliffe, Jr., United States Air Force (FAI)

5 July 1962: Captain Chester R. Radcliffe, Jr., United States Air Force, flew Kaman HH-43B-KA Huskie 60-0263 from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Springfield, Minnesota, a distance of 1,429.80 kilometers (888.44 miles). This established a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Distance Without Landing.¹

Captain Chet Radcliffe is congratulated on completion of the flight. The man in teh white shirt is Kaman Aircraft Company chief test pilot Andy Foster. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain Chet Radcliffe (right of center, wearing L-2B flight jacket) is congratulated on completion of the flight. The man in the white shirt is Kaman Aircraft Company Chief Test Pilot Francis Andrew Foster. (U.S. Air Force)

This same helicopter, flown by Captain Walter G. McMeen, set an FAI World Record for Altitude with a 1000 kilogram Payload to an altitude of 8,037 meters (26,368 feet) over the Kaman plant at Bloomfield, Connecticut, 25 May 1961.² On 18 October 1961, again at Bloomfield, Lieutenant Colonel Francis M. Carney set a World Record for Altitude Without Payload when he flew 60-0263 to 10,010 meters (32,841 feet).³ The following week, on 24 October 1961, Colonel Carney set six more world records, flying the HH-43B to 3,000 meters (9,853 feet) in 2 minutes, 41.5 seconds;⁴ 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in 6 minutes 49.3 seconds;⁵ and to 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) in 14 minutes, 31 seconds.⁶ The following summer, Captain Richard H. Coan set an FAI World Record for Distance Over a Closed Circuit Without Landing when he flew 1,055.16 kilometers (655.65 miles) at Mono Lake, California, 13 June 1962.⁷

Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-263. (FAI)
Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-263. (FAI)

A turboshaft engine drove a unique system of counter-rotating and intermeshing rotors to provide lift, thrust and directional control. The counter-rotation cancelled the torque effect so no anti-torque, or tail, rotor was necessary. This allowed all of the engine’s power to drive the main rotor system.

The Huskie was used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, primarily for short range rescue operations. It was operated by two pilots and two rescue crewmen.

The fuselage of the H-43B was 25 feet, 2 inches (7.671 meters) long. Each rotor had a diameter of 47 feet, 0 inches (14.326 meters). It’s height was 15 feet, 6½ inches (4.737 meters). The helicopter’s empty weight was 4,470 pounds (2,028 kilograms) and its maximum gross weight was 8,800 pounds (3,992 kilograms).

The H-43B was powered by one Lycoming T53-L-1B turboshaft engine, rated at 860 shaft horsepower at 21,510 r.p.m. The engine uses a 5-stage axial-flow, 1 stage centrifugal-flow, compressor with a single stage gas producer turbine and single-stage power turbine. A reverse-flow combustion section allows significant reduction in the the engine’s total length. The power turbine drives the output shaft through a 3.22:1 gear reduction. The T53-L-1 is 3 feet, 11.8 inches (1.214 meters) long and 1 foot, 11.0 inches (0.584 meters) in diameter. It weighs 460 pounds (209 kilograms).

The Huskie’s economical cruise speed was 98 miles per hour (158 kilometers per hour), and the maximum speed was 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour). Its hover ceiling out of ground effect (HOGE) was 18,000 feet (5,486 meters), and in ground effect (HIGE) was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and it had a range of 235 miles (378 kilometers).

With the call sign Pedro, the HH-43 was a rescue helicopter that served in combat during the Vietnam War.

The record-setting Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-0263 was last assigned to Detachment 3, 42nd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. It is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Its distance record still stands.

Kaman HH-43B-KA Huskie 60-0263 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
Kaman HH-43B-KA Huskie 60-0263 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 1258

² FAI Record File Number 13154

³ FAI Record File Number 1870

⁴ FAI Record File Numbers 13057 and 13135

⁵ FAI Record File Numbers 13056 and 13136

⁶ FAI Record File Number 13137

⁷ FAI Record File Number 131258

© 2020, Bryan R. Swopes

5 July 1927

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The Honorable Mary Bailey D.B.E. (1890–1960) (Monash University)

5 July 1927: Less than one year after learning to fly an airplane, Lady Bailey, with Mrs. Geoffrey de Havilland (the former Miss Louise Thomas) as a passenger, took off from the de Havilland airfield at Stag Lane, Edgeware, London, England, and climbed to an altitude of 5,268 meters (17,283 feet) setting a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for multi-place light aircraft.¹ (Mrs. de Havilland is listed as “crew” in the FAI record.)

This was the very first Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world record credited to a woman.

Lady Bailey was flying Captain Geoffrey de Havilland’s personal airplane, a DH.60X Moth, construction number 276, registration G-EBQH.

de havilland DH.60X Hermes Moth G-EBWD, the same type airplane flown by Lady Bailey. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
de havilland DH.60X Hermes Moth G-EBWD, the same type airplane flown by Lady Bailey. (This is the same airplane shown in the photograph below.) (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

Lady Bailey was born Mary Westenra, daughter of the 5th Baron Rossmore. She married Sir Abe Bailey at the age of 20. Soon after becoming a licensed pilot in early 1927 (Royal Aero Club Aviator’s Certificate 8067), she flew across the Irish Sea, the first woman to do so. After her World Record altitude flight, she set several long distance solo flight records, including an 8,000-mile  (12,875 kilometers)flight from Croydon, South London to Cape Town, South Africa with a DH.60 Cirrus II Moth, G-EBSF, and an 10,000-mile (16,093 kilometers) return flight made with another DH.60 (after G-EBSF was damaged). These were the longest solo flight and the longest flight by a woman to that time.

Lady Bailey was twice awarded the Harmon Trophy (1927, 1928). In 1930, she was invested Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. During World War II, The Hon. Dame Mary Bailey, D.B.E., served with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force with the rank of Section Officer, equivalent to a Royal Air Force sergeant.

Lady Mary died 29 July 1960 at the age of 70.

The de Havilland DH.60 was a light-weight, two-place, single-engine, single-bay biplane. The fuselage was covered with plywood and the wings and tail surfaces were covered with fabric. It was 23 feet, 5½ inches (7.150 meters) long with a wingspan of 29 feet, 0 inches (8.839 meters) and overall height of 8 feet, 9½ inches (2.680 meters). The airplane was designed so that the wings could be folded parallel to the fuselage, giving it an approximate width of 9 feet (2.7 meters). The wings had a chord of 4 feet, 3 inches (1.295 meters). The vertical gap between the wings was 4 feet, 10 inches (1.473 meters) and lower wing was staggered 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) behind the upper. Both wings had 3.5° angle of incidence and 3.5° dihedral. There was no sweep. Empty, the DH.60 had a weight of 764 pounds (346.6 kilograms) and loaded weight of 1,650 pounds (748 kilograms).

G-EBQH was a prototype for the de Havilland DH.60 Cirrus II Moth, and was powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 304.66-cubic-inch-displacement (4.993 liter) A.D.C. Cirrus Mark II four-cylinder vertical inline engine. This was a right-hand tractor, direct-drive, overhead-valve engine with two valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 4.9:1. It had a normal power rating of 75 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. and a maximum power rating of 80 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. It drove a two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller. The Cirrus Mk.II was 3 feet, 9.3 inches (1.151 meters) long, 1 foot, 7 inches wide (0.483 meters) and 2 feet, 11.6 inches (0.904 meters) high. It weighed 280 pounds (127 kilograms).

G-EBQH was used as a factory demonstrator and test aircraft. The DH.60X crashed in February 1928 but was rebuilt and later sold. It was flown in the King’s Cup Air Races of 1927, 1928 and 1929 by Alan S. Butler, the chairman of de Havilland. The prototype was modified to a single-place configuration with a Cirrus Mark III engine, and was known as the Moth Special. In the 1929 race, it set the fastest time for a light aircraft.

Records indicate that G-EBQH changed ownership a number of times. Its Certificate of Airworthiness expired in 1937 and its status is not known.

A de Havilland DH.60X Moth G-EBWD at Naval Air Day at Shuttleworth, 2 June 2002. This airplane is similar to the DH.60X that Lady Bailey flew to her FAI altitude record. (This is the same airplane shown in the photograph above).

¹ FAI Record File Number 8221

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

5 July 1917

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Fokker Flugzeugwerke GmbH V.5 prototype, designated F.1 102/17.
A Fokker advertisement in Motor, 1917.

5 July 1917: First flight, the first of two Fokker Versuch 5 (V.5) triplane prototypes, designated F.1, serial number 102/17.

The Fokker F.I was a prototype single-engine, single-seat triplane fighter, designed and built by Fokker Flugzeugwerke GmbH, Schwerin, Germany. After very slight changes, the production version would be designated Fokker Dr.I. The fuselage was constructed of steel tubing braced with wire and covered with fabric. The wings used plywood ribs and a boxed plywood spar.

The two V.5s were improved variants of the V.4 prototype. The wingspan was increased and interplane struts were added.

The F.I was 5.770 meters (18 feet, 11.2 inches) long. The upper wing had a span of 7.190 meters (23 feet, 7.1 inches); the middle wing, 6.225 meters (20 feet, 5 inches); and the lower wing, 5.725 meters (18 feet, 9.4 inches). All three wings had a chord of 1.000 meters (3 feet, 3.4 inches). The airplane had an overall height of 2.950 meters (9 feet, 8.1 inches). Its empty weight was 405 kilograms (893 pounds), and the gross weight was 587 kilograms (1,294 pounds).

Fokker F.1 102/17

Originally built with a Motorenfabrik Oberursel Ur.II nine-cylinder rotary engine rated at 110 horsepower (a license-built copy of the French Le Rhône 9J engine). The Le Rhône 9J, produced by Société des Moteurs Le Rhône, was an air-cooled, normally aspirated, 15.074 liter (919.85 cubic inches) nine-cylinder rotary engine, capable of producing 113 horsepower at 1,200 r.p.m., and a maximum 135 horsepower at 1,350 r.p.m. As the engine rotated, it turned a two-bladed Axial Proppellerwerk AG fixed-pitch, laminated wood propeller with a diameter of 2.660 meters (8 feet, 8.7 inches). The Le Rhône 9J was 850 millimeters (2 feet, 9.47 inches) long and 970 millimeters (3 feet, 2.19 inches) in diameter. It weighed 137 kilograms (302 pounds).

Fokker F.1 102/17

The Fokker F.I had a maximum speed of 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) at Sea Level and 166 kilometers per hour (103 miles per hour) at 4,000 meters (13,123 feet ). The service ceiling was 7,000 meters (22,966 feet). It carried fuel for approximately 1½ hours of flight.

The F.I was armed with two fixed 8mm Spandau LMG 08/15 machine guns, synchronized to fire forward through the propeller arc. The fighter carried 550 rounds of ammunition per gun.

Fokker F.1 102/17. The curved leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is seen.
The second protototype, F.1 103/17, was flown by Leutnant Werner Voss. It was ordered on 14 July 1917 and accepted by the German Air Force on 16 August. It was sent to Jagdstafell 10 on 21 August. Shot down 23 September 1917

Fokker F.1 102/17 was shot down by a Sopwith Camel, 15 September 1917 near Wervik, Belgium. The pilot, Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff, was killed.

Plans for the production Fokker DR.I.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

4 July 1973

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Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaefer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, the record-setting crew of Chuck’s Challenge. (FAI)

4 July 1973: One of the last Grumman Albatross flying boats in service with the United States Air Force, HU-16B 51-5282, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) altitude record for amphibians (Class C-3) when, at 12:33 p.m. EDT, it reached 10,022 meters (32,881 feet).¹ This exceeded the previous record set 37 years earlier by 2,417 meters (7,930 feet).²

Flown by Lieutenant Colonel Charles H. Manning, Major Paul M. Schaeffer and Technical Sergeant Emund K. Schindler, 51-5282 was assigned to the 301st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Homestead AFB, Florida. After the flight, Manning said, “It wasn’t very comfortable. The outside temperature was 25 below zero.” The Air Force Times reported that the cold caused the lens of Sergeant Schindler’s watch to pop out.

Originally built as an SA-16A, 51-5282 was modified to the SA-16B standard, increasing the wingspan to 96 feet, 8 inches (29.464 meters) and altering the leading edges. Larger tail surfaces were added. In 1962 the designation was changed from SA-16B to HU-16B.

The Albatross was operated by a crew of 4 to 6 airmen, and could carry up to 10 passengers. The amphibian was 62 feet, 10 inches (19.152 meters) long and had an overall height of 25 feet, 11 inches (7.899 meters). The airplane’s total wing area was 1,035 square feet (96.15 square meters). The HU-16B had an empty weight of 23,025 pounds (10,444 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 37,500 pounds (17,010 kilograms). For takeoff from water, the airplane’s weight was limited to 34,000 pound (15,422 kilograms), using rocket assist.

Grumman SA-16B Albatross (designated HU-16B in 1962). (© Ron Olsen. Used with permission.)

The SA-16A was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 1,823.129-cubic-inch-displacement (29.876 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division Cyclone 9 826C9HD3 and -D5 (R-1820-76A and -76B) nine-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.80:1. 115/145 octane aviation gasoline was required. These engines were rated at 1,275 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m., and 1,425 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m for takeoff. The engines drove three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic full-feathering, reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 11 feet, 0 inches (3.353 meters) through a 0.666:1 gear reduction. The R-1820-76A and -76B were 3 feet, 11.69 inches (1.211 meters) long and 4 feet, 6.95 inches (1.396 meters) in diameter, and weighed 1,380 pounds (626 kilograms).

The Albatross could be equipped with two or four Aerojet 14AS1000 RATO units, which produced 1,000 pounds of thrust (4.49 kilonewtons), each, for 15 seconds.

The flying boat had a cruise speed of 134 knots (154 miles per hour/248 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 204 knots (235 miles per hour/379 kilometers per hour) at 3,700 feet (1,128 meters). The service ceiling was 23,800 feet (7,254 meters) and its maximum range was 2,410 nautical miles (2,773 statute miles/4,463 kilometers) with external fuel tanks.

Two weeks after the record-setting flight, 51-5282 was flown to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, making the very last USAF HU-16 flight.

FAI record-setting Grumman HU-16B Albatross 51-5282 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 3208

² FAI Record File Number 11649, 11650: 7,605 meters (24,951 feet), 14 April 1936,  by Boris Vasilievich Sergievsky, Chief Pilot, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, flying a Sikorsky S-43, with Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky and Michael Pravikov.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes