This Date in Aviation History: November 21 - November 24

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/24/2015 at 12:35 • Filed to: Planelopnik, planelopnik history

9

11

Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from November 21 through November 24.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 22, 1916 – The first flight of the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5. Anybody who follows aviation, particularly military aviation, has heard of the Sopwith Camel . The Camel, along with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , are two of the iconic aircraft to result from WWI, and, even if you aren’t an aviation aficionado, you have likely heard of the Camel because Snoopy “flew” one against the Red Baron in the Charlie Brown comics. While some consider the Camel to be the best Allied fighter produced during the war, the Royal Aircraft S.E.5, an aircraft that is by no means a household name, ranks second to the Camel in the number of aircraft produced, and made a vital contribution to gaining air supremacy over the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (German Air Force). While the Camel was powered by a heavy !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the S.E.5 (Scout Experimenatal 5) was developed around the new water cooled Hispano-Suiza 8, a V8 engine that drove the propeller driven through a series of gears. Though the early gear system proved to be problematic, the V8 in front meant that the S.E.5 didn’t have the weight of an entire engine spinning at the front of the plane, and that helped the S.E.5 to be a very stable aircraft to fly, particularly in the hands of inexperienced pilots. But despite that stability, the S.E.5 was still a solid dogfighter, and while it couldn’t quite match the Camel in a tight scrap, the S.E.5 outperformed it at high altitude, and was more effective against the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! when it arrived on the battlefield in 1918. The Royal Aircraft Factory built three prototypes at their Farnborough factory, but two were lost to crashes, one of which claimed the life of Royal Aircraft’s chief test pilot. The cause of the crashes was traced to problems with the wing construction, so the S.E.5 was redesigned to strengthen the wing, resulting in one of the most rugged designs of the war, and giving the S.E.5 particularly good strength in a high-speed dive. After the production of 77 aircraft, the original Hispano-Suiza engine was replaced with a slightly more powerful version which provided a welcome 50 hp boost over the original power plant. This engine was subsequently replaced by a 200 hp Wolseley Viper , high-compression, direct-drive version of the Hispano-Suiza 8 which removed the gear drive and became the standard engine for what was now known as the S.E.5a. Over 5,000 S.E.5s were produced during the war. (UK government photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 24, 1947 – The first flight of the Grumman F9F Panther. With the advent of the jet engine towards the end of WWII, the US Navy started looking for their own jet-powered fighter to operate from its fleet of carriers. The Navy’s first foray into an all-jet fighter had been an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and work continued to find a suitable aircraft. Grumman began their own studies to design a new fighter, but their first attempt, a four-engine night fighter, lost out to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . So, they abandoned their early attempts and focused instead on an entirely new, single-engine day fighter that received the internal Grumman designation G-79. Since the early attempts at jet engine manufacturing in the US were not producing powerful enough engines, the new fighter would be powered by a Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet, built under license in the US by Pratt & Whitney and given the US designation J79. The new fighter, now designated XF9F by the Navy and given the feline nickname Panther following Grumman’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , had straight wings like other early jets of its era, and the engine was fed by air intakes in the wing roots. And, in a nod to the short range of the early, thirsty jet engines, permanent wingtip fuel tanks were added to the prototype to increase fuel capacity, which had the serendipitous benefit of increasing the Panther’s roll rate. By September 1949, the Panther was cleared for carrier operations, though development continued, and the decision was made to replace the original J79 with a more powerful Pratt & Whitney J48, another license-built Rolls-Royce engine. Armed with four 20 mm cannons and hardpoints for 2,000 pounds of bombs or rockets, the Panther entered service with the US Navy and Marine Corps in the Korean War, becoming the most widely used Navy fighter and ground attack aircraft of the war, flying more than 78,000 sorties and scoring the first air-to-air kill of the war for the Navy when a Panther downed a North Korean !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! piston-engined fighter. But the straight winged Panther proved unmatched for the swept-wing !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fighter, so Grumman developed a swept-wing version of the Panther, which was known as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though it shared the F9F (F-9) designation. Nearly 1,400 Panthers were produced for the US Navy and Marine Corps, as well as an export version that was sold to the Argentine Navy. The US Panthers were retired in 1958, but the Argentine fighters served until 1969. (US Navy photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Short Take Off

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 21, 1952 – The first flight of the Percival Pembroke, a twin-engine, light transport aircraft that was developed from the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Introduced in 1953, the Pembroke replaced the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with the RAF for transport duties, where it was known as the Percival C.1, and like other RAF passenger aircraft, the seats faced aft for passenger safety. The Percival also served as a reconnaissance aircraft with both the RAF and the Finnish Air Force. Production ended in 1958 after 128 aircraft were built, and the Percival served the RAF until 1988. (Photo by Arpingstone via Wikimedia Commons)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 22, 2003 – A DHL Airbus A300 is struck by a missile near Baghdad, Iraq. The cargo craft was performing a rapid climbout from Baghdad airport when Iraqi !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fighters struck the left wing of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile. The explosion caused the aircraft to lose complete hydaulic control, but the pilots were able to return to the airport using only engine thrust for steering, making a high-speed landing and departing the runway before coming to a stop. For their extraordinary piloting skills, the crew was awarded the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the Flight Safety Foundation !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (Photo author unknown)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 22, 1941 – The death of Werner Mölders, a German Luftwaffe pilot and the leading fighter ace in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . When combined with his victories in WWII, Mölders is the first pilot in history to claim 100 victories in aerial combat, surpassing WWI ace !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the Red Baron. Mölders was a leading figure in the development of aerial combat tactics, and is also credited with creating the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . For propaganda reasons, Mölders was removed from combat in 1941, in much the same way American aces were flown home to sell war bonds, but he died at the age of 28 as a passenger in the crash landing of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (Photo of Mölders Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1971-116-29 via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 23, 1959 – The first flight of the Boeing 720, a short to medium range airliner developed from the successful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Launched in 1960 with United Airlines, the 720 was smaller than its predecessor, and carried fewer passengers, and was developed to operate from shorter runways at airports that were inaccessible to the larger 707. The 720 became a popular charter aircraft, famously for the British band !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who named their 720 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . A follow-on variant of the 720, the 720B, replaced the original Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojet engines with Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofan engines, and the 720 was eventually replaced by the Boeing !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (Photo by Eduard Marmet via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 23, 1947 – The first flight of the Convair XC-99, a double-deck transport aircraft developed for the US Air Force and the largest piston-powered land-based aircraft ever built. Developed from the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the XC-99 was designed to carry 100,000 pounds of cargo or 400 fully equipped troops over 8,000 miles. A civilian airliner version, the Model 37, was planned but never developed. Introduced in 1949, only one XC-99 was built, and it was retired in 1957 after eight years of service. Today, the aircraft is part of the collection of the United States Air Force Museum, and is currently disassembled and stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona while awaiting restoration. (US Air Force photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 23, 1942 – The first flight of the Vought V-173. Nicknamed the “Flying Pancake,” the V-173 was a developmental proof of concept aircraft to create a new fighter for the US Navy that would take advantage of the unorthodox aircraft’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! wing and provide lower take off and landing speeds while preserving maneuverability at high speeds. The V-173 was eventually developed into the all-metal !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and while the design promised excellent performance, the XF5U came at a time when the Navy was transitioning to jet aircraft and the program was canceled. (US Navy photo)

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

November 24, 1971 – The hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a regularly scheduled flight between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. The suspected hijacker, Dan Cooper, who has since come to be known as D.B. Cooper, claimed to have a bomb and demanded that $200,000 and four parachutes be given to him when the flight reached Seattle. After the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! landed, the passengers were released and officials met Coopers demands. After refueling, the 727 took off, and Cooper ordered the crew to fly to Mexico City. Once in the air, Cooper parachuted from the rear stairway of the aircraft and was never seen again. Authorities believe Cooper perished in the jump, but neither his body nor the money was ever found, and the case remains the only unsolved act of air piracy in American aviation history. (Photo of Boeing 727 by clipperarctic via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

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!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 12:50

0

The S.E.5a was probably the better all-rounder when comparing it to the Camel, but in experienced hands I'd bet on the Camel. A pilot who knew what he was doing could make pretty good use of the heavy rotary up front. Allowing an experienced Camel pilot to make a right turn was pretty much suicide, the same characteristic that sent so many beginners to their deaths could be a huge asset in a dogfight.

Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 12:52

0

Where the hell is it? You can clearly see the YAL-1 on Google Maps. This thing, disassembled, should be visible.

ttyymmnn > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 11/24/2015 at 12:56

0

No idea. I got that info from Wiki, so it may be incorrect.

ttyymmnn > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/24/2015 at 12:57

1

As I was writing this, I kept making the mental comparison of the Spitfire and the Hurricane. The Spit got all the press, but the Hurry did most of the grunt work. They made a very good team.

ttyymmnn > Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole 11/24/2015 at 13:01

0

http://www.johnweeks.com/b36/xc99.html

911e46z06 > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 13:41

1

So the details are lost to history, but my grandpa had some involvement with the development of the V-173. My uncle, who would be the most likely to remember it accurately, believes he sold them some minor piece of a design, then was contracted to make models for testing. Anyway, when he died awhile back, we found a box that just said ‘Vought’ on it. Except for some bits and pieces and a couple little motors, everything was rotted away except for this:

Thought you may find it interesting.

DanimalHouse > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 15:06

0

TDIAH is the best.

MOAR OF THESE!!!! :D

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 17:00

0

I love the Flying Pancake. I wonder why they didn’t try to power it with jets?

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 11/24/2015 at 17:21

0

Well, you would have needed somewhere for the exhaust to, well, exhaust, and that would have messed up the shape. You didn’t want to hang them in pods, either. It seems to me that at that time in history, everybody had become so enamored with jets that they failed to see the continued potential for propellers, especially when turboprops came about.

facw > ttyymmnn 11/24/2015 at 22:56

0

It’s listed as arriving in June 2012, though they don’t have location info. You’d think it would be easily visible unless they’ve put it under cover somewhere (though it seems unlikely they’d do that unless AMARG was going to restore it to flightworthy status):

http://www.amarcexperience.com/ui/index.php?o…

ttyymmnn > facw 11/25/2015 at 03:02

0

For many years, it was sitting at Kelly AFB in San Antonio. Then, they disassembled it and took it to Dayton, but construction of the new display hangars took precedence over restoring the XC-99, so they shipped the pieces out to Arizona. So it’s out there somewhere, it’s just disassembled.