This Date in Aviation History: February 3 - February 5

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 02/05/2016 at 12:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, planelopnik history

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting you caught up on milestones and important historical events in aviation from February 3 through February 5.

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February 3, 1961 – The US Air Force Strategic Air Command commences Operation Looking Glass. During the Cold War, Russia and the US stood face to face, often on the brink of nuclear war. Perhaps the greatest fear on both sides was that the one would launch a surprise nuclear attack and the other would be unable to respond following the destruction of their command and control assets. In response to that possible scenario, the US Air Force !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! initiated Operation Looking Glass, which ensured that a command and control aircraft was in the air 24 hours a day, 365 day a year, and that the crew of that aircraft would be able to launch American missiles if ground-based crews had been incapacitated or killed. When Looking Glass first commenced its round-the-clock flights, it was based at Offutt AFB in Nebraska, and over the years its basing has rotated. Crews flew in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a highly modified version of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! transport aircraft. The crew consisted of two pilots, a refueling specialist, and approximately 20 other personnel to operate the communications equipment on board. But the most important person on those flights was the flag officer—either an Air Force general officer or a Navy admiral—who had the authority to order a launch of American missiles if the need arose. The mission was named Looking Glass because the mission mirrors the capability of the ground based command and control facilities, and it had the communications gear necessary to contact US missile sites to command a launch, and if those sites were unable to respond, the missiles could be launched from the air. Looking Glass could also communicate with submerged nuclear submarines by extending a 2.5 mile long trailing wire antenna that could still communicate following a nuclear attack by using the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . This allowed the officer on board the EC-135 to issue Emergency Action Messages to American submarines and order the launch of their missiles. At !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or higher, meaning that nuclear war was the next step or that an attack was imminent, the Looking Glass pilots were required to wear an eye patch over one eye. If a nuclear explosion took place near enough to blind them with the flash, then they still had one good eye to fly the plane. Later, pilots were given special visors that instantly turned opaque in the event of a bright flash of light and then cleared. Looking Glass flew continuously for more than 29 years, with only one 8-hour break in service. During that time, when no Looking Glass aircraft could take off from either Offutt AFB or Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, the mission was covered by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! aircraft. On July 24, 1990, Looking Glass ceased its continuous flights, but it remains on alert 24 hours a day should the need arise. In 1998, the EC-135 was retired in favor of the US Navy’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a modified !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (Photo by Mike Freer via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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February 4, 1948 – The first flight of the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. Following WWII, aircraft designers embarked on a relentless search for speed. With the advent of jet engines, pilots were reaching speeds that had been well out of their reach in even the fastest propeller planes, and the race was on to break the sound barrier, a feat which some believed could not be done. But in 1947, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , flying the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , did break the sound barrier, so the bar was raised once again, and now the goal was to reach Mach 2. The Douglas Skyrocket was the second phase of a three-part Navy program to construct both jet- and rocket-powered aircraft to explore supersonic flight. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the first part of the program, was a straight-winged, turbojet-powered research aircraft that first flew in 1947 and managed Mach 0.99, only exceeding Mach 1 in a dive. The next step was the D-588-2 Skyrocket. Douglas built three Skyrockets, but unlike the Skystreak, the Skyrocket was a much sleeker, with 35-degree swept wings and a swept tail. Initially, it was powered by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turbojet, and the first flight tests were made using this engine configuration. The three aircraft undertook numerous flights to test the airplane’s flight characteristics in transonic and supersonic flight. For the next phase of testing, the turbojet was removed and replaced with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! LR8-RM-6 liquid fueled rocket engine, the same engine that powered the X-1, and it provided the Skyrocket with 6,000 lbf of static thrust. With only the rocket engine, the Skyrocket was carried aloft by a US Navy P2B, the Navy designation for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . A number of flights were taken that brought the Skyrocket very near Mach 2, and also set unofficial altitude records in the process (in order to achieve an altitude record recognized by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the aircraft must take off and land on its own power). The pressure was now on to break the Mach 2 barrier, but the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (NACA), which was running the tests, refused, saying that they were not in the business of setting records. However, NACA finally relented. For the record-setting flight, the Skyrocket was given modified rocket nozzles, filled with chilled alcohol fuel so more could be placed on board, and the fuselage was waxed to help reduce drag. The pilot for the flight would be Navy test pilot !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . After disengaging from the mothership, Crossfield took the Skyrocket to 72,000 ft, then pushed over into a slight dive and, on November 20, 1953, he reached Mach 2.005 (1,291 mph). It was the one and only time that the Skyrocket exceeded Mach 2. All told, the three Skyrockets made 313 test flights throughout the program, and gathered significant data on swept wing flight in the transonic and supersonic regimes, data that would be used to help design the next generation of swept wing fighter aircraft. (NASA photo)

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Short Take Off

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February 3, 1998 – A US Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler cuts a gondola cable in Italy, killing 20 people. While flying through a canyon near the Italian town of Calavese during low-level flight training, the pilots of the Prowler flew below the “hard deck,” or the minimum altitude for safe operation, so low that it struck the cable supporting a cable car, causing it to plunge 260 ft to the ground, killing the occupants. During the ensuing investigation, the pilots admitted that they flew so low to “have fun” and to film the scenery, making a video which the pilot destroyed after returning to base. The crew was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, yet they were found guilty of obstruction of justice and conduct unbecoming an officer for the destruction of evidence and were dismissed from the Marine Corps. (US Navy photo. Note: this is not the accident aircraft)

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February 3, 1984 – The launch of Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-41-B, which included the first untethered spacewalk. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the fourth flight of the Shuttle !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and while its main mission was the deployment of two communications satellites, the flight was notable for the first use of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (MMU), a device that fit over the astronaut’s life support backpack and propelled the astronaut using bursts of gaseous nitrogen. Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless took the inaugural flight, followed by Mission Specialist Robert Stewart. The MMU was used on a total of three flights before its retirement. A smaller system has since been developed, called the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (SAFER), but it is only intended for emergency use should an astronaut become untethered from the orbiter. (NASA photo)

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February 3, 1964 – Operation Bongo II commences over Oklahoma City. With the advent of supersonic aircraft, and the possibility of regular supersonic transport in the US, NASA, the FAA, and the US Air Force wanted to study the effects of repeated sonic booms over populated areas. For a six-month period, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! flew 1,253 supersonic flights over the city, averaging just over 7 sonic booms per day. The experiment was intended to measure the effect on buildings and public attitude towards the repeated sonic booms, as well as to develop methods to predict the effect of the booms and gather data for insurance companies. Initially tolerant of the noise, residents soon began to resent the tests, and 147 windows were broken in the city’s tallest buildings. The negative publicity from the program, as well as the FAA’s botched handling of damage claims, were cited as part of the decision to cancel the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! supersonic airliner in 1971. (US Air Force photo)

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February 3, 1959 – A crash claims the life of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. Tired of riding in a cold tour bus, Holly chartered a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (N3794) to take himself, Valens and Richardson from Clear Lake, Iowa to Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane was piloted by Roger Peterson, and they took off at 12:55 am in snowy conditions with 6 mile visibility, though conditions were deteriorating rapidly, and Peterson was not given an accurate weather report. Peterson was not certified to fly in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! conditions, and had failed an instrument checkride nine months prior to the accident. Also, the Bonanza was equipped with a Sperry altitude gyroscope rather than a traditional artificial horizon, and the two instruments read opposite of each other. Just 5 minutes after takeoff, and less than six miles from the airport, the plane crashed, killing all on board. The Civil Aeronautics Board stated the crash was caused by “the pilot’s unwise decision to embark on a flight” that required an IFR rating, but also listed the gyroscope and the pilot’s being unaware of the worsening weather as contributing factors. (US Department of Transportation photo)

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February 3, 1859 – The birth of Hugo Junkers, a German engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the development of all-metal airplanes in Germany. His company, Junkers Flugzeug und Motorenwerke AG, played a significant role in the development of the German aircraft industry between WWI and WWII, and he created numerous all-metal aircraft for Germany during the war, while also pioneering the use of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in airplane construction. But perhaps his greatest achievement was the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a three-engine, corrugated metal passenger plane that helped create the business of civilian air travel, served the Luftwaffe throughout WWII, and influenced other aircraft designers such as Ford with with their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Although his company continued producing aircraft in his name for the Nazi war effort, Junkers had already been forced out of his company by 1934, and died the following year. (Ju-52 photo by Bernd K via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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February 4, 2011 – The first flight of the Northrop Grumman X-47B, an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (UCAV) developed for carrier operations. The X-47B made its first launch from the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) on May 14, 2013, performed the first autonomous touch-and-go landings three days later, and made the first arrested carrier landing of a UCAV on July 10. The X-47B also demonstrated autonomous aerial refueling in April of 2015. The X-47 program has finished, and the Navy plans to open the competition for a deployable fleet of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (UCLASS) aircraft in 2016, with regular operations beginning in 2020. (US Navy photo)

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February 4, 1946 – The first flight of the Republic XF-12 Rainbow. Designed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the man who created the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Rainbow was intended for use in the Pacific as a high-flying reconnaissance plane to find targets for allied bombers. The Rainbow was said to “fly on all fours,” which meant that it had four engines, a 4,000 mile range, could fly at 40,000 feet, and could cruise at 400 mph. It remains the fastest piston-powered aircraft of its size. Unfortunately for the Rainbow, it came at the same time as the emerging jet engine, and by the end of the WWII, the US no longer had a need for an aircraft of its type. Only 2 Rainbows were built before the project was canceled. (US Air Force photo)

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February 5, 1880 – The birth of Gabriel Voisin, a French aviation pioneer who is credited with creating Europe’s first manned, powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of controlled, sustained flight. After working with French aviation pioneer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Voisin formed the world’s first aircraft manufacturing company with his brother Charles, the Société Anonyme des Aéroplanes G. Voisin . The historic first flight in Europe took place on January 13, 1908 with pilot Henry Farman at the controls of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , also called the Voisin 1907 Biplane. Following the flight, about 60 of these aircraft were produced by the Voisin brothers. Voisin was a major provider of aircraft to France during WWI, but after the war he abandoned the aviation business and set up an automobile manufacturing company called !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Voisin died in 1973. (Photos via the US Library of Congress)

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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 02/05/2016 at 12:43

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Offutt AFB in Oklahoma Omaha

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 02/05/2016 at 12:46

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Dang it. I even proofed this this morning. Thanks.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 02/05/2016 at 12:59

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No problem, you had all the letter there. Probably just saw what you expected to see. I do design and layout for 60+ page research publications at work and no matter how many people we have proof them, there’s always typos that slip through.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 02/05/2016 at 13:04

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It was also late at night, and I’d had a few beers. When I was working on my doctoral dissertation, I had proofed that thing God knows how many times. When I printed the copy to turn it, I printed it in 25-page blocks, and on the top page of one of those sets I saw a typo. I fixed that one, then said to hell with any others. I have heard it said that one good way to check for typos is to change the font of what you’re reading. You get so used to seeing it one way that you miss things, and the change in font makes you pay more attention. Comic sans, anyone?

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 02/05/2016 at 13:06

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A doctoral dissertation in Comic Sans would be a sight to see.

The Ghost of Oppo > ttyymmnn 02/05/2016 at 13:18

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Hindsight is 20/20, but nothing about a Bonanza at night in a midwest snow storm sounds better, or warmer, than a bus ride.

ttyymmnn > The Ghost of Oppo 02/05/2016 at 13:27

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If anything, it’s shorter. And this was a real short ride.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ttyymmnn 02/06/2016 at 11:37

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thats a bitchin hood ornament

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 02/09/2016 at 16:25

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After the mothership took the Skyrocket to 72,000 ft, Crossfield pushed over into a slight dive and, on November 20, 1953, he reached Mach 2.005 (1,291 mph).

What mothership was used for this, or did Crossfield fly the Skyrocket to 72,000 feet before starting his dive?

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 02/09/2016 at 16:30

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It was a US Navy P2B patrol bomber, the Navy’s designation for the B-29. With only the rocket motor, the Skyrocket was incapable of taking off under its own power, hence no official altitude records were set.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ttyymmnn 02/09/2016 at 20:55

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The way it is worded it sounds like the mothership flew to 72,000 feet before releasing the Skyrocket. That doesn't seem possible, IIRC the B-52 only got up to around 45,000 feet to launch the X-15.

ttyymmnn > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 02/10/2016 at 11:08

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Yeah, that was not clear at all. Thanks for pointing it out. 70,000 ft is U-2 territory. The B-29 topped out at about 32,000, and the B-50 pushed that up to about 37,000.