Tag Archives: John Paul Richter

27 June 1923

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , ,
Lieutenants Lowell Herbert Smith and John Paul Richter, Air Service, U.S. Army. (U.S. Air Force)

The first successful aerial refueling took place on June 27, 1923, when a DH-4B, Air Service serial number A.S. 23-462, carrying Lieutenants Virgil S. Hine and Frank Walter Seifert passed gasoline through a hose to another DH-4B which was flying beneath them carrying Lieutenants Lowell Herbert Smith and John Paul Richter.

Hine and Smith piloted their respective airplanes while Seifert and Richter handled the refueling. A 50 foot (15.24 meter) hose with manually-operated quick-acting valves at each end was used. During the refueling, 75 gallons (284 liters) of gasoline was passed from the tanker to the receiver.

Smith and Richter landed after 6 hours, 38 minutes, when their airplane developed engine trouble. Only one refueling had been completed but that had demonstrated the feasibility of the procedure.

A DH-4B flown by Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter receives gasoline from another DH-4B, A.S. 23-462, flown by Lieutenants Virgil S. Hine and Frank W. Seifert at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, 27 June 1923. (U.S. Air Force)

For their accomplishment, all four officers were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The United Press reported:

AVIATORS GOING AFTER ENDURANCE RECORD FORCED TO COME DOWN

Burned-out Generator Puts End to Non-Stop Flight

BEEN FLYING FIVE AND HALF HOURS

Plan to Make Another Start Tomorrow In Same Plane

[UNITED PRESS LEASED WIRE]

     SAN DIEGO, Cal., June 27.—A burned-out generator on the non-stop DeHavilland plane piloted by Captain Lowell H. Smith and Lieutenant John B. Richter forced the airmen down at 10:20 a.m. today, after they had been in the air for five hours and 36 minutes and had successfully taken on fuel while in flight.

     Another start will be made tomorrow morning at the same time, with the same plane.

     The endurance plane was successfully refueled at 10 a.m. by Lieutenants Virgil Hines and Frank Seifert, flying in another plane. The 100 gallons of gasoline was dropped through a 40-foot rubber hose while the two planes speeded at a rate of 90 miles an hour, The transfer was made in a minute and a half, while the planes traveled over the marine base at Rockwell Field. Oil and messages were also transferred successfully and the plane continued on toward the  Tia Juana end of the course, while the fueling plane alighted at North Island.

Danger of Explosion

     Had the slightest mishap occurred both planes risked destruction in flames. The gas passed within a few inches of hot exhaust pipes from the engines of the De Havilland plane.

     “It was necessary to make two contacts between the planes,” said Lieutenant Seifert, when the fueling plane landed.

     “We gave them 40 gallons the first time. The second time we got about 50 gallons to them.”

     Captain Smith and Lieutenant Richter hopped off at Rockwell Field at 4:43:43 3-5 a.m. in their attempt to remain in the air four days without stopping.

     In addition to the aviation time record, the aviators hoped to break speed records for 2,000, 2,500, 3,000 and 4,000 kilometers.

Bothered by Fog

     The men took off in a fog which bothered them from the start.

     “We are forced to fly at an altitude of 100 feet because of the fog,” they wirelessed at 7:05 a.m.

     This flying over the city is extremely dangerous. Their first thought was of the citizens of San Diego they awakened, and this was their message to the United Press:

     “We are sorry to have to disturb the residents at such an hour. Everything is going fine.”

     The men wore parachutes buckled on ready for any emergency. Lieutenant Hynes and Frank Seifert, in the refueling plane were equipped in the same fashion.

Carried No Food

     They carried a light supply of gasoline and oil, in order to make speed, and a thermos bottle of coffee and hot water. No food was carried. A complete meal, with a menu prepared by North Island chefs, was to be dropped to the aviators from another plane three times a day. The aviators planed to take turns at the stick, one eating and sleeping while the other piloted the plane Neither expected to get much sleep during the four days. At 8 a.m. the plane had averaged about 70 miles an hour.

     Rigid air rules were enforced to protect the birdmen on their history-making flight, all other planes in this vicinity being instructed to keep several thousand yards away from the course.

—Hollywood Daily Citizen, Vol. 19, No. 75, Wednesday, 27 June 1923, Page 1, Columns 6–8, and Page 2, Column 6

The following year, Lieutenant Smith piloted the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago on its around-the-world flight.

The Airco DH.4 was a very successful airplane of World War I, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was built by several manufacturers in Europe and the United States. The DH-4B was a rebuilt DH.4 with fuel capacity increased to 110 gallons (420 liters). The DH-4B was 30 feet, 6 inches (9.296 meters) long with a wingspan of 43 feet, 6 inches (13.259 meters) and height of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.150 meters). Loaded weight of the standard DH-4B was 3,557 pounds (1,613.4 kilograms).

In place of the Rolls-Royce Eagle VII V-12 of the British-built version, Army Air Service DH-4s were powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.336-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) Liberty L-12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine with a compression ratio of 5.4:1. The Liberty produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine. It turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 5 feet, 7.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 2 feet, 3.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 3 feet, 5.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).

Major Henry H. Arnold standing beside the first Liberty 12 aircraft engine turned out for war use. “Hap” Arnold would later hold the 5-star rank of General of the Army and General of the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)

The Liberty L12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and Packard. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.

The DH-4B had a maximum speed of 128 miles per hour (206 kilometers per hour), service ceiling of 19,600 feet (5,974 meters) and range of 400 miles (644 kilometers).

mid air refueling
The first mid air refueling near San Diego, California, 27 June 1923. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

25 October 1923

Aviation, , , , , , , , , , ,
First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith and First Lieutenant John Paul Richter, Air Service, United States Army. (U.S. Air Force)

25 October 1923: First Lieutenant Lowell Herbert Smith and First Lieutenant John P. Richter, Air Service, United States Army, flew a DH-4B from Sumas, Washington, to Tijuana, Mexico, non-stop.

The 1,280 mile (2,060 kilometer) flight was made possible by two air-to-air refuelings from tanker airplanes pre-positioned over Eugene, Oregon, and Sacramento, California. The DH-4B tanker over Eugene was flown by First Lieutenants Virgil Hine and Frank W. Siefert. The Sacramento tanker was flown by Captain Robert J. Erwin and First Lieutenant Oliver R. McNeel. At both locations, Smith and Richter made two refueling contacts before proceeding on their route.

On arrival over Mexico, they circled the Tijuana Customs House, then landed at Rockwell Field, San Diego.

The flight took approximately 12 hours.

On 27 June 1923, Captain Smith and Lieutenant Richter stayed aloft over Rockwell Field, (now, NAS North Island) at San Diego, California, with multiple refuelings. This photograph shows the DH-4B tanker, A.S. 23-467, and receiver on that endurance flight. (U.S. Air Force)

Lowell Herbert Smith was born 8 October 1892 in Santa Barbara County, California. He was the second of four children of Jasper Green Smith and Nora Maude Holland Smith. Beginning in 1915, he flew for the Mexican Army. (Another source says that he flew for the revolutionary bandit, Pancho Villa.) Smith graduated from San Fernando College in 1917. He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, United States Army, 8 June 1917, and attended the Military School of Aeronautics at the University of California. Smith was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Signal Officers Reserve Corps, 13 December 1917. He was promoted to the rank of captain, Aviation Section, 23 October 1918. On 10 September 1920, that commission was vacated and he was commissioned a captain, Air Service. On 18 November 1922, Smith was discharged as captain and appointed first lieutenant.

On 27 June 1923, Smith and Richter accomplished the first air refueling over Rockwell Field, San Diego, using air techniques that they also used for the border-to-border flight of 25 October 1926. On 28–29 June, Smith and Richter remained airborne over San Diego for 37 hours, 15 minutes, 14½ seconds. For that flight, they were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

From 6 April to 28 September 1924, Lowell Smith was the pilot of Airplane No. 2, the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, on the first circumnavigation by airplane. After Major Frederick Martin crashed his DWC in Alaska, Smith assumed command of the remaining three aircraft for the rest of the 23,942 nautical mile (44,341 kilometers) flight. For this flight, Smith was awarded the Distinguished Service medal. He was again promoted to captain 4 December 1924.

Smith graduated from the Army Command and General Staff School in 1935. In 1936 he served on a War Department board that established airplane design standards and procedures for the military to order new aircraft.  He was promoted to major on 16 June 1936, and to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1940. Several months later, with the rapid expansion of the Army Air Corps, on 30 August 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and then to colonel, 15 March 1941. During World War II, Colonel Smith commanded Davis-Monthan Army Airfield.

Colonel Lowell Herbert Smith, United States Army Air Corps, died as the result of falling from a horse near Tucson, Arizona, 4 November 1945. He was 53 years old. Colonel Smith is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

John Paul Richter was born in Virginia, 6 January 1991, the first of five children of Otto Frank Richter, a physician, and Nora Kinney Richter. In 1911 he graduated from the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.  He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps 22 May 1917, and was commissioned a first lieutenant 20 November 1917. His commission in the Aviation Section was vacated 12 October 1920 and he was appointed a first lieutenant in the Air Service, effective retroactively to 1 July 1920.

John Richter married Miss Frances K. Fisher in 1925.

Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Richter, United States Army Air Corps, was discharged 31 December 1943. He died 26 April 1964 at the age of 73 years. He is buried at the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Refueling in flight. (U.S. Air Force)
DH-4B A.S. 23-467 (top right) trails a refueling hose for Smith and Richter’s DH-4B near Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, 23 June 1923. (U.S. Air Force)

The Airco DH.4 was a very successful airplane of World War I, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. The DH.4 (DH-4 in American service) was a two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane with fixed landing gear. The fuselage and wings were constructed of wood and covered with doped-fabric. The airplane was produced by several manufacturers in Europe and the United States. The DH-4 was 30 feet, 5 inches (9.271 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 8 inches (13.005 meters) and height of 10 feet, 6 inches (3.200 meters). The DH-4 had an empty weight of 2,391 pounds, (1,085 kilograms) and gross weight of 4,297 pounds (1,949 kilograms). Fuel capacity was 67 gallons (254 liters).

Army Air Service DH-4s were powered by Liberty 12 aircraft engines in place of the Rolls-Royce Eagle VII V-12 of the British-built DH.4 version. The L-12 was water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.34-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter), single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine. It produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine and it turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 67.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 27.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 41.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).

The Liberty 12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and the Packard Motor Car Company. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.

The DH-4 had a maximum speed of 124 miles per hour (200 kilometers per hour), service ceiling of 19,600 feet (5,974 meters) and range of 400 miles (644 kilometers).

Many DH-4s were rebuilt as DH-4Bs. These can be identified by the relocated pilot’s cockpit, which was moved aft, closer to the observer’s position. The an enlarged fuel tank was place ahead of the pilot’s cockpit. Following World War II, many were rebuilt with tubular metal frames for the fuselage, replacing the original wooden structure. These aircraft were redesignated DH-4M.

The prototype American DH-4, Dayton-Wright-built airplane, is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Aviation and Space Museum.

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes