This Date in Aviation History: October 14 - October 16

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/16/2015 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history, u

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from October 14 through October 16.

October 14, 1964 – The first flight of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. In much the same way that the jet engine revolutionized fixed wing aviation, the turboshaft engine became the preferred powerplant for helicopters as it offered greater power and speed over its piston-powered predecessors. Both the Army and Marine Corps went looking for a replacement for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , with the Army settling on the twin-rotor !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Defense Secretary Robert McNamara pressured the Marine Corps to adopt the Chinook, but they argued that their requirements were significantly different from the Army, such as the need for a watertight hull, and they wanted to accept the offering from Sikorsky, which was basically an enlarged version of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . After an intense competition, the Marines chose the YCH-53 over the Chinook, announcing in 1962 that it would procure two prototypes for further testing. (The USAF would later adopt the CH-53 as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for combat search and rescue (CSAR)). The CH-53 had a six-bladed main rotor that was borrowed from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (CH-54 Tarhe), a watertight hull (not intended for amphibious operations, the hull only allows emergency landings on water), and was powered by a pair of General Electric turboshaft engines mounted on pods outside the aircraft. Successively more powerful engines were added as development of the aircraft continued. The Sea Stallion had a crew of four, and, depending on the mission could carry 38 troops, or 24 stretchers with attendants, or an internal cargo payload of 8,000 pounds. An external load of 13,000 pounds could be slung underneath the aircraft. The CH-53 saw immediate action in the Vietnam War, where it played a vital role in troop and materiel transport, search and rescue, and evacuation duties at the close of the war. The Sea Stallion proved its mettle in every conflict since Vietnam, but was finally retired in 2012 after service in Afghanistan in favor of the CH-53E Super Stallion, a significantly upgraded and modernized version of the heavy lifter that benefits from the addition of a third turboshaft engine. (US Navy photo)

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October 14, 1938 – The first flight of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk has become one of the iconic aircraft of WWII, finding fame with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fighting in China, where the Flying Tigers, in their classic shark-mouthed P-4os, fought admirably against more maneuverable Japanese aircraft. And while the P-40 wasn’t the fastest, nor the most nimble fighter of the war, it was one of the most numerous, and was available to America and her allies in numbers before more powerful fighters could be brought to bear. The P-40 was developed from the tenth !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! airframe, and rather than the Pratt & Whitney radial of the P-36, the Warhawk was fitted with an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the same engine found in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Interestingly, the original P-40 design called for the radiator to be placed behind the pilot, but the Curtiss-Wright sales department asked it to be moved to the front. While the forward placement gave the P-40 its characteristic shark mouth silhouette, the rear-mounted radiator would later become the trademark of another famous fighter, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . A major drawback for the new fighter, though, was its single-stage, single-speed supercharger, but what the Warhawk gave up in performance it made up for in ruggedness and firepower. The lack of power limited the Warhawk’s performance against more powerful German aircraft at high altitudes, but it more than held its own under 16,000 feet. And while more nimble aircraft, such as the Japanese Zero, could outmaneuver the Warhawk, the development of effective tactics gave it an edge against the fragile Japanese designs. The P-40 was exported to almost every Allied combatant in WWII, and found great success with the RAF, where it was known as the Tomahawk and later the Kittyhawk. With 13,738 aircraft built from 1939-1944, the P-40 was the third most-produced American WWII fighter, behind !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (15,660) and the North American P-51 Mustang (15,586). (Photo: XP-40 in flight via US Air Force)

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October 15, 1933 – The Rolls-Royce Merlin engine is started for the first time. Hurricane. Spitfire. Lancaster. Mosquito. Mustang. These are the names of some of the greatest aircraft to come out of WWII, and they all share one thing in common: the mighty Rolls-Royce Merlin 12-cylinder engine, one of the most successful aircraft engines ever produced. Work began on the the 12-cylinder engine in the early 1930s when Rolls-Royce determined that they needed a more powerful engine than the 21-liter !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine then in production. The new 1,100 hp engine would be called the PV-12, as it was a private venture that received no government funding for its development. At first, the new engine was to be cooled with an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! system, but that was abandoned for a more traditional liquid cooling system when the former proved to be unreliable, and ethylene glycol became available from the US. At about the same time, the Air Ministry issued requirements for two new fighters, and both the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! would be built around the new PV-12 engine, rather than the Kestrel. The new engine was renamed for the Merlin, a small falcon, in keeping with the tradition of naming engines after birds of prey. The Merlin was first mated to a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! biplane for testing, but the first run of production engines was fraught with unreliability, such as cylinder head cracking, coolant leaks, and excessive wear to the camshafts and crankshaft main bearings. These problems were ironed out in the development process, and the Merlin II and III became the standard production engines. Development of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! progressed alongside engine development, and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! further improved the engine’s high altitude performance. The Merlin was produced in England as well as under license by Packard in the US, and would eventually be used to power forty-three different aircraft, from single-engine fighters like the Supermarine Spitfire and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to large four-engine bombers such as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Nearly 150,000 were built by the time production ended in 1950. (Photo by JAW via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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Short Take Off

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October 14, 2012 – Felix Baumgartner sets a new altitude record for a parachute jump, diving from an altitude of 128,097 feet. The jump was part of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! project, which set out to break the parachute altitude record held by US Air Force !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of 102,800 ft during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! project in 1960. During the jump, Baumgartner reached a speed of 1,357.64 mph, becoming the first person to break the speed of sound without a vehicle. (Photo via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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October 14, 1962 – A US Air Force Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance flight over Cuba discovers Russian-built ballistic missile launching facilities, triggering the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Overflights of the island nation by American aircraft found that the Russians were constructing missile installations capable of striking the American mainland. After a tense 13-day stand off, which included an American naval blockade of Cuba that put the world on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians agreed to dismantle the sites and remove the missiles. (USAF photo)

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October 14, 1949 – The first flight of the Fairchild C-123 Provider. Designed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and built by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the C-123 primarily served the USAF before being transferred to the US Coast Guard, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. The Provider saw extensive use in the Vietnam War, most famously—or notoriously—as the platform for the spraying of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! defoliant in an effort to deny the North Vietnamese Army of jungle foliage cover. (US Air Force photo)

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October 16, 1937 – The first flight of the Short Sunderland. One of the great flying boats to come out of the 1930s, the Short Sunderland was extensively upgraded for military service and was one of the most powerful and widely used flying boats of the war. Sunderlands were responsible for tracking and attacking enemy submarines, as well as rescuing victims of submarine attacks. After the war, remaining Sunderlands were converted to civilian use as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and flew into the 1970s. 777 Sunderlands were produced between 1938 and 1946.

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If you enjoy these Aviation History posts, please let me know in the comments. And if you missed any of the past articles, you can find them all at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Jcarr > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 12:43

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She is a beautiful beast.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 12:47

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The biggest film role for a Provider that I’m aware of is in Operation Dumbo Drop. It’s a slightly uneven movie in terms of tone, but it has some pretty good performances and really isn’t a waste.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 12:49

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Also in fiction, if I recall this correctly, in the book of The Hunt for Red October it was a gearbox failure on a Super Stallion (which went down with all hands) that prompted the Navy to send Jack Ryan to Red October instead of the intended translator.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 12:56

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I’ll take your word for it. I’ve never read the book (or any Clancy for that matter), and it’s been year since I saw the film.

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 12:57

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Again, I’ll take your word for it!

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 10/16/2015 at 12:58

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She is indeed. I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the importance of this single engine in the Allied war effort. Sure, somebody would have probably made something else, but the timing was perfect.

Spaceball-Two > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:02

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Really? Ah man some of his early stuff is great!

ttyymmnn > Spaceball-Two 10/16/2015 at 13:04

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I know, I just haven’t gotten there. When I do have time to read, it’s mostly military history of sci-fi/fantasy.

T5Killer > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 13:06

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You are correct. IIRC the whole scene was from the viewpoint of a escorting RN Harrier FRS.1

Spaceball-Two > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:07

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That’s usually my bag too. If you want a good one to start with I highly recommenced Red Storm Rising.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:10

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Ray Liotta, Danny Glover, and several others are quite solid, but the performances I particularly liked were Corin Nemec, Doug E. Doug, and Denis Leary - the scenery-chewing second string, in other words. It’s a bit awkward as a movie because it’s not sure whether to be a live action “mystical other cultures” movie like Disney was in love with at the time (a la Lion King) , a family comedy (like The Big Green) , or a Vietnam movie, with the last being hardest to mix with the other two, and probably not a good idea for both. It’s a great movie for mil hardware, though.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > T5Killer 10/16/2015 at 13:11

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...which sees the gear case running warm on FLIR shortly before it explodes, I think.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Spaceball-Two 10/16/2015 at 13:13

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Seconded. In fact, if I recall correctly RSR was kind of the Soviet Breakout textbook in a lot of respects, and because it’s not particularly part of the Jack Ryan And All His Friends collection it stands well on its own.

Spaceball-Two > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 13:14

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There some great strategy and the scale in the book is amazing.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:21

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These things were absolute beasts. There was a reason the Germans called it the porcupine.

Viggen > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 13:41

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The best book I’ve ever read was RSR. Really enjoyed ever part of it, the different character view points and how it wasn’t part of the Ryanverse.

Viggen > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 13:42

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I thought it was a -46? Or is that what Ryan broke his back in?

Viggen > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:46

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The US Army never operated the H-53 in any manner. It was the Air Force who adopted the HH-53 Super Jolly Green and later MH-53 Pave Low.

ttyymmnn > Viggen 10/16/2015 at 13:49

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Thanks for the correction. I will edit to reflect that.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:51

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Strongly recommend Clancy. From what I know about you, I think it would be very much in your wheelhouse.

The Jack Ryan series is great, but he has some that are outside of that that are also really great. Red Storm Rising (basically the Cold War with the heat finally turned up) is superb.

Jcarr > Spaceball-Two 10/16/2015 at 13:51

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+1 for RSR. That was my first Clancy and I was hooked.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 13:54

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Great post as usual. The hunt for red october in book form is far superior to the movie, and I love the moive.

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 14:18

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man, a good day! Merlins, C-123, Felix jumping, the Ch-53, and the U2, crazy cool stuff

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 10/16/2015 at 14:29

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Some posts are definitely more interesting than others! Looking for things for the next post, I’m noticing a decrease in first flights. I wonder if fall/winter has much to do with that.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Viggen 10/16/2015 at 14:52

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It was definitely a Super Stallion that the translator went down in. However, remembering that in that much detail makes me more embarrassed to say that I don’t remember what Ryan’s back got trashed in.

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 10/16/2015 at 14:58

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huh, that would make good sense. what an interesting trend to observe

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 10/16/2015 at 15:00

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Indeed. I’be been at this for almost 6 months now, and it’s been pretty steady, with a few dead days here and there. We’ll see how it goes.

Viggen > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 15:12

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You’re right. It was a -53 the translator was in. Read the book while I was in Afghanistan and I remember while reading that part, I kept looking up at another Sikorsky product that was in our hangar, a UH-60, to get an idea of where the XMSN that heated up was.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Viggen 10/16/2015 at 15:14

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The best technical reference I had on that way back when was my allegedly-pocket Janes and its 3-view little technical drawing.

Viggen > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 15:18

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I’d never actually read, Red October until then. Happened to find a copy of it in a care package. I’d read RSR probably five times before then.

Spaceball-Two > Jcarr 10/16/2015 at 15:22

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I feel like his older stuff was his best. The newer stuff (kind of like Dale Brown) was just rehashing old characters into new situations.

Jcarr > Spaceball-Two 10/16/2015 at 15:27

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I’m very slowly making my way through the series. Right now I’m at the beginning of Rainbow 6.

facw > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/16/2015 at 19:30

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One (I think a Pave Low?), was embossed on the cover of the Clear and Present Danger hardcover:

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > facw 10/16/2015 at 19:32

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Which I should have recalled, seeing as how I have that. Haven’t read it in years, though - I think I’ve probably read RSR and Without Remorse at least twice each since I last read C&PD. Don’t really know why.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/17/2015 at 00:27

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Was about to say “what was so special?”

Then saw this

and thought “well that’s unusual”

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/18/2015 at 06:13

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What was so special was very heavy defensive armament by the standards of the early part of the war (up to 16 guns); ability to soak up a huge amount of damage due to their large size and the structural strength needed to withstand water landings; their tendency to fly very low, severely restricting the manoevring options of attacking fighters; and the ability, when unable to continue flying, to not crash but land on the water and keep shooting the shit out of attackers while taxi-ing home. Admittedly other flying boats had the last two features, but they weren’t so dangerous to be near as a Sunderland.

The Germans very quickly learned that taking on a Sunderland with less than overwhelming force was a losing proposition. There’s a recorded episode of a single Sunderland being jumped by 8 Ju88s, taking out 6 of them, and making it home in more or less one piece.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/19/2015 at 15:56

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They had a pretty impressive armament. German pilots learned pretty fast to be careful around them.

Distraxi has already given you the specific example I was thinking about.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 10/19/2015 at 15:58

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This was the exact event I was thinking of. The other part of the story is that they were already damaged... 1 engine was out and they were making for home on 3.