Tag Archives: FAI

28 October 1936

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
“Portrait of a Hero of the Soviet Union, Pilot A.B. Yumashev,” by Pyotr Konchalovsky, 1941. 140 x 111 cm., Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
“Portrait of a Hero of the Soviet Union, Pilot A.B. Yumashev,” by Pyotr Konchalovsky, 1941. Oil on canvas, 140 x 111 cm. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
A.B. Yumashev, 1939. (Central Archive of Cinema, Photographic and Phonographic Documents in St, Petersburg)
A.B. Yumashev, 1939. (Central Archive of Cinema, Photographic and Phonographic Documents in St, Petersburg)

28 October 1936: Flying a four-engine Tupolev TB-3 bomber near Tchelcovo, U.S.S.R., Юмашев Андрей Борисович (Andrey Borisovich Yumashev, A.B. Yumashev, A. Youmachev, André Youmacheff), with a crewman named Kalachnikov, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude With a 5,000 Kilogram (11,023 pounds) Payload, reaching 8,980 meters (29,462 feet).¹ This was the fourth world altitude record set by Yumashev with the TB-3.

The transport variant of the Tupolev TB-3 is identified as the ANT-6.

For the 28 October flight, Yumashev’s airplane was powered by four air-cooled, supercharged, 30.104 liter (1,837 cubic inches) Shvetsov ASh-62 nine-cylinder radial engines, rated at 1,000 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m., each. This engine was developed from the earlier Shvetsov M-25, which was a license-built version of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation R-1820 Cyclone.

The previous month, Andrey Yumashev had set three similar world records. At that time the TB-3 had been powered by four liquid-cooled, supercharged, 46.928 liter (2,863.7 cubic inches) displacement, Mikulin AM-34FRN 60° V-12 engines with gear reduction, rated at 1,200 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. Interestingly, this engine had a different piston stroke length for the left and right cylinder banks, resulting in different displacement for each bank. On 11 September, Yumashev had flown the TB-3 to an altitude of 8,116 meters (26,627 feet) with a 5,000 kilogram payload.² On 16 September, he reached 6,605 meters (21,670 feet) while carrying 10,000 kilograms (22,046.23 pounds).³ Finally, on 20 September the Andrey Yumashev and the TB-3, this time with crewman Cheverdinsky, reached 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) with a 12,000 kilogram (26,455.47 pounds) payload.⁴

Soviet Air Force Tupolev TB-3 heavy bombers.
Soviet Air Force Tupolev TB-3 heavy bombers.

The Tupolev TB-3 was a four-engine heavy bomber built of a steel framework with corrugated steel skin panels. It had fixed landing gear. Initially, each main gear supported two wheels in a bicycle configuration. This was later changed to a single wheel and tire. While most were powered by liquid-cooled V-12 engines, various combinations of propellers were used. Some airplanes used wooden two-bladed propellers, while some used four-bladed propellers on the inner two engines. Later bombers used four-bladed propellers on all engines, while some ANT-6 transports used metal three-bladed variable-pitch propellers.

The first prototype had flown in 1930 and the TB-3 was in service until 1939, by which time it was obsolete. There were still more than 500 when the Great Patriotic War began in 1941. In addition to service as a heavy bomber, it also flew cargo and was a paratroop transport.

ANT-6-4M34 "Aviaarktika" modified for a 1937 polar expedition.
Tupolev ANT-6-4AM-34RVN, No. 209, “Aviaarktika,” modified for an August 1937 polar expedition. The airplane and its six-man crew disappeared.

Major General Andrey Borisovich Yumashev was born at St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, in March 1902. He entered the army in 1918, serving with artillery units. In 1924 he trained as a pilot, serving as a combat pilot until 1927 when he became a test pilot at the Research and Testing Institute of the Air Force. Over the next ten years he tested fighters, bombers, and transports, and was appointed Test Pilot First Class.

In addition to the four payload-to-altitude world records above, from 12–14 July 1937 he was copilot of a Tupolev ANT-25 which flew from Moscow to San Jacinto, California, across the North Pole.⁵

Yumashev flew the Ilyushin DB-3 long-range bomber during the Soviet Finnish War of 1940 (“The Winter War.”) During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 2nd Independent Fighter Aviation Squadron in defense of Moscow, then the 237th Fighter Regiment at the Kalinin Front. He served as deputy commander of the 3rd Air Force at the Kalinin Front and then the 1st Air Army on the Western Front. By the spring of 1943, he was in command of the 6th Fighter Air Corps at the Central front. By 1944, General Yumashev commanded the Eastern Front Air Defense and the Southern Front Air Defense. He participated in the attacks against Königsberg and Berlin at the end of World War II.

A. B. Yumashev retired from the Soviet military in 1946. He then went on to become an accomplished artist.

During his military service, General Yumashev was named Hero of the Soviet Union, twice was awarded the Order of Lenin, and five times the Order of the Red Banner. He was also awarded the Order of the Red Star.

Major General Andrey Borisovich Yumashev died at Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R., 20 May 1988.

General Andrey Borisovich Yumashev, Soviet Air Force (1902–1988)
Major General Andrey Borisovich Yumashev, Soviet Air Force (1902–1988)

¹ FAI Record File Number 8291

² FAI Record File Number 8209

³ FAI Record File Number 10412

⁴ FAI Record File Number 8730

⁵ FAI Record File Number 9300

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

26 October 1925

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenant James H. Doolittle, USAAS, with the Curtiss R3C-2 Schneider Trophy winner, 1925. (U.S. Air Force)
Lieutenant James H. Doolittle, Air Service, United States Army, with the Curtiss R3C-2 Schneider Trophy winner, 1925. (U.S. Air Force)

26 October 1925: Lieutenant James Harold Doolittle, Air Service, United States Army, won the Coupe d’Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider (commonly called the Schneider Trophy) when he placed first flying his Curtiss R3C-2 float plane over a 217-mile (349 kilometer) course near Bay Shores on Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

Doolittle’s average speed for the seven laps around the triangular race course was 232.57 miles per hour (374.29 kilometers per hour). The second-place airplane, a Gloster-Napier III flown by Captain Hubert Broad, averaged 199.16 miles per hour (320.52 kilometers per hour).

Doolittle also set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records during the race: World Record for Speed Over 100 Kilometers, with an average speed of 377.83 kilometers per hour (234.77 miles per hour);¹  World Record for Speed Over 200 Kilometers, 377.16 kilometers per hour (234.36 miles per hour).²  On the following day, Doolittle set a third FAI record: World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course, 395.5 kilometers per hour (245.75 miles per hour).³

Lt. Jmes H. Doolittle and Lt. Cyrus Bettis with the Curtiss R3C (NARA 31758AC)
Lieutenant James H. Doolittle (left) and Lieutenant Cyrus Bettis with the Curtiss R3C-2. (NARA 31758AC)

A contemporary news article commented on Jimmy Doolittle’s performance:

Gloster III Schneider Cup racer, powered by a 700 horsepower Napier Lion VII “broad arrow” W-12.

“. . . according to reports Lieut. Doolittle’s cornering was superb, and must have been to a great extent responsible for the excellent performance. Reports from America—coming, it is thought, from a reliable source—indicate that one particular engine out of the 12 built for the Pulitzer and Schneider Trophy races proved exceptionally good, as will often happen in a batch of engines, and it is believed that this engine was fitted in Doolittle’s Curtiss-Army Racer. This fact, taken in conjunction with the masterly handling of the machine, would seem to account for the wholly unexpected average speed maintained, which was, of course, far and away ahead of the speeds of the British and Italian competitors.”

—FLIGHT, The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, No. 879 (No. 44, Vol. XVII.) October 29, 1923 at Page 703

“The triangular Schneider race course stretched from Bay Shore Park to Gibson Island to the south and across Chesapeake Bay to Huntingfield Point. Contestants had to fly the 50-kilometer (31-mile) course seven times.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Curtiss R3C-2 Racer on display at the National Air and Space Museum. (Photo by Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)
The Curtiss R3C-2 Racer on display at the National Air and Space Museum. (Photo by Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution)

The R3C-2 was a single-engine, single-seat, single-bay biplane, equipped with pontoons for taking off and landing on water. It was built especially for air racing. Two R3Cs were built for the United States Navy and one for the Army. (The Army aircraft is identified by a Navy Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (“Bu. No.”) A-7054. It does not seem to have been assigned an Air Service serial number.) The airplane and its V-1400 engine were both built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, which had been founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss. The R3C-2 was converted from the R3C-1, the land plane configuration which had been flown by Lieutenant Cyrus Bettis, AS, USA, to win the Pulitzer Trophy Race just two weeks earlier.

The RC3-2 is 22 feet long (6.706 meters), an increase of 2 feet, 3.5 inches (0.698 meters) over the R3C-1 configuration, resulting from the replacement of the fixed wheeled landing gear with the single-step pontoons. The upper wing span is 22 feet (6.706 meters), with a chord of 4 feet, 8¼ inches (1.429 meters). The lower wing span is 20 feet (6.096 meters) with a chord of 3 feet, 3¾ inches (1.010 meters).  Weight empty was 2,135 pounds (968 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight was 2,738 pounds (1,242 kilograms).

Constructed of wood, the fuselage has four ash longerons and seven birch vertical bulkheads. The framework is covered with two layers of 2-inch (51 millimeter) wide, 3/32-inch (2.38 millimeter) thick spruce strips. These were placed on a 45° diagonal from the fuselage horizontal centerline, with the second layer at 90° to the first. These veneer strips were glued and tacked to the frame. The fuselage was then covered with doped fabric. The wings and tail surfaces are also of wood, with spruce ribs and a covering of spruce strips.

Lieutenant Cyrus Bettis, USAAS, with the Curtiss R3C-1 racer at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, 12 October 1925. The surface radiators on the wings can be seen. (Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co.)

The single-bay wings are wire braced and contain surface radiators made of thin brass sheeting. The radiators contained 12 gallons (45.4 liters) of water, circulating at a rate of 75 gallons (283.9 liters) per minute. By using surface radiators to cool the engine, aerodynamic drag was reduced.

The Curtiss V-1400 engine was developed from the earlier Curtiss D-12. It was a water-cooled, normally aspirated, 1,399.91-cubic-inch-displacement (22.940 liter), dual overhead cam (DOHC) 60° V-12, with a compression ratio of 5.5:1. The V-1400 was rated at 510 horsepower at 2,100 r.p.m., and could produce 619 horsepower at 2,500 r.p.m. It was a direct-drive engine and turned a two-bladed duralumin fixed-pitch propeller with a diameter of 7 feet, 8 inches (2.337 meters). The propeller was designed by Sylvanus Albert Reed, Ph.D. The V-1400 engine weighed 660 pounds (299 kilograms).

The R3C-2 had a fuel capacity of 27 gallons (102 liters). Its range was 290 miles (467 kilometers).

The Coupe d’Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider at the Science Museum, London. (Wikipedia, edit by Eric Menneteau)

Jimmy Doolittle was one of America’s foremost pioneering aviators. He set many records, won air races, tested and developed new flying equipment and techniques.

He was a highly-educated military officer, having earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Berkeley School of Mines, and M.S and D.Sc. degrees in Aeronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During World War II, Colonel Doolittle planned and led the famous Halsey-Doolittle Raid against Japan, 18 April 1942, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

As a brigadier general, he commanded 12th Air Force in North Africa. Promoted to major general, he was given command of the 15th Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater, and commanded 8th Air Force as a lieutenant general, 1943–1945.

After the war, Lieutenant General Doolittle was placed on the inactive list. On 4 April 1985, by Act of Congress, James H. Doolittle was promoted to General. General Doolittle is the only person to have been awarded both the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Jimmy Doolittle
First Lieutenant James Harold Doolittle, Air Service, United States Army

¹ FAI Record File Number 11866

² FAI Record File Number 11867

³ FAI Record File Number 11868

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

22 October 1938

Aviation, , , , , , , ,
Lieutenant Colonel Mario Pezzi, wearing a full-pressure suit, seated in the cockpit of the Caproni Ca.161bis.
Lieutenant Colonel Mario Pezzi, seated in a pressure vessel built into the cockpit of the Caproni Ca.161bis.

22 October 1938: Lieutenant Colonel Mario Pezzi, Regia Aeronautica, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for altitude when he flew an experimental Società Italiana Caproni Ca.161bis to an altitude of 17,083 meters (56,047 feet).¹

Pezzi was awarded the Medaglia d’oro al Valore Aeronautico and promoted to the rank of colonel.

The Caproni Ca.161bis, with Lieutenant Colonel Mario Pezzi, wearing a full-pressure suit, in the cockpit. (Mario Pezzi Family Archive)
The Caproni Ca.161bis, with Lieutenant Colonel Mario Pezzi in the cockpit. (Mario Pezzi Family Archive)

The Caproni Ca.161bis was an experimental single-seat, single engine, two-bay biplane developed from the earlier Ca.113. It was 27 feet, ¾ inch (8.249 meters) long with a wingspan of 46 feet, 9 inches (14.249 meters) and height of 11 feet, 5¾ inches (3.500 meters). The airplane’s empty weight was 1,205 kilograms (2,657 pounds) and gross weight was 1,650 kilograms (3,638 pounds).

ub The Ca.161bis was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged, 38.673 liter (2,359.97 cubic inch) Piaggio P.XI R.C.100/2v two-row 14-cylinder radial engine which produced 700 horsepower and drove a four-bladed propeller through a 0.62:1 reduction gear. This engine was a license-built version of the French Gnome-Rhône 14K Mistral Major.

Generale S.A. Mario Pezzi,Regia Aeronautica. (Mario Pezzi Family Archive)
Generale S.A. Mario Pezzi, Regia Aeronautica. (Mario Pezzi Family Archive)

¹ FAI Record File Number 11713. This record was retired by changes of the sporting code.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

22 October 1919

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet with a Spad-Herbemont, (S.20bis6) 9 October 1920. (Agence Meurisse 84138/BnF)

22 October 1919: During a competition for the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe, Lieutenant Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet of France’s  Aéronautique Militaire flew a Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V to set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 268.63 kilometers per hour (166.92 miles per hour).¹

De Romanet’s Ni-D 29V was one of three racing variants of the highly successful single-engine, single-seat Ni-D 29C.1 biplane fighter, which was the fastest in the world at the time. The Ni-D 29V was 21 feet, 3.5 inches (6.489 meters) long, with a wing span of just 6.00 meters (19 feet, 8¼ inches), shortened from the 31 feet, 10 inch (9.703 meters) wingspan of the standard production chasseur.

Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V (Unattributed)
A Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V. This airplane, #10, was flown by Joseph Sadi Lecointe. (Unattributed)

The airplane was powered by a water-cooled, normally aspirated, 18.473 liter (1,127.29-cubic-inch displacement) right-hand tractor Hispano-Suiza 8Fb single overhead cam (SOHC) 90° V-8 engine, modified to increase its output to 320 horsepower. This was a direct-drive engine, and turned a two-bladed-fixed pitch propeller. The engine was 1.32 meters (4 feet, 4 inches) long, 0.89 meters (2 feet, 11 inches) wide, and 0.88 meters (2 feet, 10½ inches) high. It weighed 256 kilograms (564 pounds).

The standard airplane had a top speed of 235 kilometers per hour (146 miles per hour), a range of 580 kilometers (360 miles) and a service ceiling of 8,500 meters (27,887 feet).

This right rear-quarter view of a Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V shows the shortned two-bay wing configuration. (United States Air Force)
This right rear-quarter view of one of the three Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V racers shows the shortened two-bay wing configuration. (United States Air Force)
Bernard Henri Barny de Romanet

Le Marquis Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was born at Saint-Maurice-de-Sathonay, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France, 28 January 1894. He was the son of Léonard Jean Michel Barny de Romanet and Marie Noémie Isabelle de Veyssière. He descended from a very old French family.

Bernard de Romanet joined the Cavalry at the age of 18 years. During World War I, he served with both cavalry and infantry regiments as a Maréchel de Logis (master sergeant) before transferring to the Aéronautique Militaire in July 1915, as a photographer and observer.

After completing flight training in 1916, de Romanet was assigned as a pilot. In early 1918, de Romanet trained as a fighter pilot. He shot down his first enemy airplane 23 May 1918, for which he was awarded the Médaille Militaire, and was promoted to Adjutant (warrant officer). De Romanet was commissioned as a Sous-Lieutenant (equivalent to a second lieutenant in the United States military) several months later. After a fourth confirmed victory he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (first lieutenant).

By August 1918, he was in command of Escadrille 167. He was officially credited with having shot down 18 enemy aircraft, sharing credit for 12 with other pilots. He claimed an additional 6 airplanes destroyed.

Lieutenant de Romanet was appointed Chevalier de la légion d’honneur, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre with three  étoiles en vermeil (silver gilt) stars and 10 palmes.

Bernard Henri Marie Léonard Barny de Romanet was killed 23 September 1921, when the fabric covering of his Lumière-De Monge 5.1 airplane’s wings was torn away and the airplane crashed.

¹ FAI Record File Numbers 15642, 15670.

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

20 October 1920

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe. (FAI)
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)

20 October 1920: At Villacoublay, France, Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew his Nieuport-Delâge 29V to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Speed Record of 302.53 kilometers per hour (187.98 miles per hour) over a straight 1 kilometer course.¹

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe in the cockpit of his Nieuport-Delâge 29V racer, after winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy, at Orleans/Etampes, 28 September 1920. Under the terms of trophy, the nation whose team won the event three consecutive times took permanent possession. After Sadi-Lecointe’s victory, the Gordon Bennett Trophy was in the permanent possession of the Aéro-Club de France.

Sadi-Lecointe’s Ni-D 29V was one of three racing variants of the highly successful single-engine, single-seat Ni-D 29C.1 biplane fighter, which was the fastest in the world at the time. The Ni-D 29V was 21 feet, 3.5 inches (6.489 meters) long, with a wing span of just 6.00 meters (19 feet, 8¼ inches), shortened from the 31 feet, 10 inch (9.703 meters) wingspan of the standard production chasseur.

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew this Nieuport-Delage NiD-29V to win The Gordon Bennet Cup, 20 October 1920. (les avions Nieuport-Delage)
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe flew this Nieuport-Delâge NiD-29V to win The Gordon Bennett Cup, 28 September 1920. (les avions Nieuport-Delâge)

The airplane was powered by a water-cooled, normally aspirated, 18.473 liter (1,127.29-cubic-inch displacement) right-hand tractor Hispano-Suiza 8Fb single overhead cam (SOHC) 90° V-8 engine, modified to increase its output to 320 horsepower. This was a direct-drive engine, and turned a two-bladed-fixed pitch propeller. The engine was 1.32 meters (4 feet, 4 inches) long, 0.89 meters (2 feet, 11 inches) wide, and 0.88 meters (2 feet, 10½ inches) high. It weighed 256 kilograms (564 pounds).

The standard airplane had a top speed of 235 kilometers per hour (146 miles per hour), a range of 580 kilometers (360 miles) and a service ceiling of 8,500 meters (27,887 feet).

Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V (Unattributed)
Nieuport-Delâge Ni-D 29V (Unattributed)

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

He joined the Service Aéronautique (the original form of the French Air Force) as a mechanic in October 1912, and was designated pilote militaire nº375, 20 September 1913. He served as a pilot during World War I, flying the Blériot XI-2, Morane LA and Nieuprt X, then in December 1915 became a flight instructor at l’Ecole de Pilotage d’Avord. Sadi-Lacointe was promoted from the enlisted ranks to sous-lieutenant, 17 September 1917, and was assigned as a test pilot at Blériot–Société Pour L’Aviation et ses Dérivés, where he worked on the development of the famous SPAD S.XIII C.1 fighter.

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

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

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

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

MORT POUR LA FRANCE

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe was a test pilot for the SPAD S.VII C.1 fighter
Joseph Sadi-Lecointe was a test pilot for the Société Pour L’Aviation et ses Dérivés SPAD S.VII C.1 fighter (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

¹ FAI Record File Number 15499

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes