This Date in Aviation History: March 23 - March 25

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 03/25/2016 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, important historical events and people in aviation from March 23 through March 25.

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March 23, 1948 – The first flight of the Douglas F3D Skyknight. Today, modern jet fighters with powerful radars are capable of finding and destroying enemy targets in day, night and in all types of weather. But in WWII, when radar tracking systems were in their infancy, special night fighters were developed to carry primitive radars aloft and seek out enemy aircraft. Following the war, the US Navy found that they still had need of a dedicated night fighter, and in 1945 they issued a requirement for a jet-powered, radar-equipped night fighter that would be capable of operating from aircraft carriers. The Navy accepted proposals from Grumman and Douglas, with the Skyknight being awarded a development contract on April 3, 1946. Unlike the Grumman design, which featured four engines, the Douglas team, lead by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , created a twin-engine design built around two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! housed in nacelles nestled along the side of the fuselage which provided a top speed of 565 mph The pilot an radar operator sat side-by-side in a large cockpit and, following standard practice for the era, the F3D had straight wings and tail. The Skyknight also had no ejection seats. Instead, the pilots would exit the aircraft through a chute and drop out of the bottom of the aircraft, similar to the system that would be used on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . To track enemy aircraft, the Skyknight had a Westinghouse AN/APQ fire control system in its bulbous nose that was actually a combination of three radars in one, each performing a different function. And once the enemy was targeted, it could be engaged with four 20mm cannons, rockets, and eventually !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! air-to-air missiles. While the F3D, later renamed F-10, was never designed to be a dogfighter, it’s handling capabilities were still quite good, and it could could even out turn the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . During the Korean War, the US Marine Corps operated the upgraded F3D-2 Skyknight from land bases, usually in support of nighttime bombing missions, and on November 2, 1952, Marine Corps pilot Maj. William Stratton and radar operator MSGT Hans Hoglind of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! claimed the first radar-led kill of one jet by another when they shot down a North Korean !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That same year, the Skyknight would claim the first radar lock-on kill of an enemy aircraft without visual contact when USMC pilots downed a North Korean !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Throughout the war, Marine Corps pilots flying the Skyknight were responsible for more enemy kills than any other US Navy fighter. The Skyknight was slowly phased out following the Korean War, but it continued to serve as a test platform, particularly during the development of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! missile, and was the first platform to be fitted with an operational, radar-guided air-to-air missile. The Skyknight was also the only Korean War-era jet to also see service in Vitenam, where it flew as an electronic warfare platform prior to the introduction of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Marine Corps Skyknight pilots made history again when they carried out the first airborne radar jamming mission in support of a US Air Force raid on missile sites near Hanoi in 1965. While only 265 Skyknights were produced, they hold an outsized place in Naval aviation history, with the last Skyknight serving until 1970. (US Navy photo)

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March 24, 1935 – The first flight of the Avro Anson. For a seafaring island nation such as England, keeping an eye on the surrounding is of paramount importance. Normally, maritime patrol and reconnaissance was the purview of large flying boats, but those aircraft are expensive to build and operate. So in 1933, the British Air Ministry issued a requirement for a smaller and simpler coastal patrol and maritime reconnaissance aircraft that would supplement, though not replace, the big flying boats, and was cheaper to operate from land bases. De Havilland responded with their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a twin-engine biplane airliner that carried 6-8 passengers, while Avro offered the Type 652A, a modified version of their Type 652 airliner. In the ensuing competition, the Avro aircraft was deemed superior, and an initial contract for 174 aircraft was awarded in 1935, with the name Anson given to the project in honor of British Admiral of the Fleet !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Like many aircraft developed in the years leading up to WWII, the Anson was a low wing cantilever monoplane with the wing constructed mostly of spruce plywood while the fuselage consisted of a fabric-covered metal tube framework. The landing gear, while retractable, required no less than 144 cranks of a handle in the cockpit to pull the wheels up, so many shorter flights were taken with the landing gear extended. The Anson was powered by a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! radial engines that provided a top speed of 188 mph with a range of just under 800 miles. The Anson entered service with the RAF in March 1936, and it was was armed with a single .303 caliber forward-firing machine gun which was aimed by the pilot, and a Lewis gun in a ventral turret. The third crew member worked as the navigator/bombardier, though a fourth crew member was added after 1938. In addition to the machine guns, up to 360 pounds of bombs could be carried on underwing stations. Though the Anson was designed for maritime patrol, it came into its own as a training aircraft, and it’s patrol duties were taken over by the newly-arrived !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . By the time England entered WWII, the RAF had 824 Ansons, and the majority were used to train bomber crews in multi-engine aircraft operation before they transitioned to training in large bombers. But the Anson didn’t only provide training for RAF pilots. It was also used to train navigators, radio operators and bombardiers, and a powered turret was added to train defensive gunners in aerial gunnery. Production of the Anson continued after the war for use as small civilian airliners and executive aircraft. By the time production finally ended in 1952, just over 11,000 Ansons had been built, with nearly 3,000 of those produced by Federal Aircraft in Canada, production numbers that are second only to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! bomber in total aircraft built. (Photo by L-Bit via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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March 25, 1955 – The first flight of the Vought F-8 Crusader. It’s not often that a fighter design comes off the drawing board and goes into production in a mere 6 months. But such was the F-8 Crusader, a remarkable, award-winning fighter aircraft which, as the last fighter to have guns as its main weapon, was known as “The Last of the Gunfighters.” Development of the Crusader began in 1952 when the Navy announced a requirement for a new supersonic fighter that would replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an innovative fighter that was plagued with difficulties and only served in relatively small numbers. From the start, the Crusader was a unique aircraft, with a high mounted wing that was unusual for fighters of its day. To reduce landing speeds and improve pilot visibility, the entire wing pivoted upward seven degrees, an innovation that earned Vought and the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1956. The F-8 was powered by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbojet and, on its very first flight from Edwards AFB, test pilot John Konrad pushed the Crusader past the sound barrier. That speed would become one of its hallmarks. The Crusader was the first US jet fighter to exceed 1,000 mph, winning the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that year for achieving a speed of 1,015 mph and, on July 16, 1957, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! made the first non-stop transcontinental flight at an average speed of over Mach 1. Maximum speed in normal operations was Mach 1.7, and cruising speed was 570 mph with a combat radius of 450 miles. The Last of the Gunfighers was armed with four 20mm !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! cannons in the lower fuselage capable of firing 1,000 rounds per minute and, on earlier models, a retractable tray was installed below the fuselage that could hold air-to-air or air-to-ground rockets. In later models, the tray was removed in favor of more space for fuel. The Crusader entered US Navy service with fighter squadron !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in March of 1957, and soon joined the fleet as a day fighter. Early F-8s were fitted with a small radar in the nose, while later models received more powerful AN/APQ radars, turning the F-8 into a true all-weather fighter. During the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the RF-8A reconnaissance variant was the perfect aircraft for low-level, high-speed photo missions over the island, flights which marked the operational debut of the Crusader. These missions proved invaluable in proving to the world that the Russians were indeed building facilities for nuclear missiles in Cuba. In Vietnam, Crusaders were the first to engage North Vietnamese fighters, and also took part in ground attack missions. Crusader pilots claimed 19 enemy fighters shot down, all but two being !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Vought eventually produced 1,219 Crusaders, and the type was retired from active duty in 1976, though the reconnaissance variant would serve until 1987. Crusaders also flew for the Philippines and France, with France retiring the last of their Crusaders in 1999. (US Navy photo)

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Short Take Off

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March 23, 1998 – The first flight of the Chengdu J-10, a lightweight, all-weather, multirole fighter developed and produced by the China’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The fighter features a delta wing and forward canard and bears more than a passing resemblance to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though it is powered by only a singe engine. In performance capability, the J-10 is comparable to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Pakistan is the sole international customer for the J-10, though Iran has expressed an interest in the fighter as well. A total of 400 J-10s have been produced to date. (Photo author unknown)

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March 24, 1971 – Boeing cancels the B2707 supersonic transport. Envisioned as a larger and faster supersonic transport to rival the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the B2707 arose from a competition initiated by the National Supersonic Transport program announced by President Kennedy in 1963. The B2707 project advanced as far as the construction of two prototypes, neither of which were completed, before the project was canceled. Rising environmental concerns over pollution, fuel consumption and noise levels, as well as a lack of funding, ultimately led to the end of the program and the loss of as many as 60,000 jobs. (Boeing photo)

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March 24, 1944 – RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade jumps out of his burning bomber without a parachute during a raid on Germany . Alkemade’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was part of a raid on Berlin when his bomber was attacked by a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! night fighter. With the bomber on fire and his parachute unserviceable, Alkemade bailed out at 18,000 feet and fell into a forest, where tree branches slowed his fall before he came to rest in a deep snowdrift. Alkemade survived the fall with severe bruising and a sprained leg. He was captured German troops and finished the war as a POW. Alkemade died in 1987.

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March 25, 1971 – The first flight of the Ilyushin Il-76. The strategic airlifter was first developed by Ilyushin as a commercial freighter in 1967 to replace the turboprop-powered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and it also saw service with the Russian military as a cargo aircraft, transport and aerial tanker. Like many Russian aircraft, the Il-76 was built to operate from unimproved or grass runways, a capability that has proven especially useful in international disaster relief. The Il-76, NATO reporting name Candid, has been developed into numerous variants and has been exported to 37 international customers. The aircraft remains in production, and 960 have been built to date. (Photo by Igor Dvurekov via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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March 25, 1958 – The first flight of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, an attempt by the Canadian aviation industry to develop and produce an indigenous supersonic interceptor. The project progressed as far as flying prototypes which displayed excellent performance and handling, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.98. However, the Canadian government controversially canceled the project, citing concerns of cost overruns and the threat of Soviet espionage. Following the cancelation on February 20, 1959, all the finished and unfinished aircraft were destroyed along with all engineering tools and plans. Read more about the Avro Arrow at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . (Canadian government photo)

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March 25, 1931 – The first flight of the Hawker Fury, a development of the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the first RAF fighter capable of speeds in excess of 200 mph. The Fury improved on the F.20 mainly with the introduction of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! V-12 engine that was in use in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! light bomber. The Fury I entered service with the RAF in 1931, with the upgraded Fury II joining five years later. It remained in service until January 1939, shortly before England’s entry in to WWII. A total of 275 Furies were produced. (Photo via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! )

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March 25, 1928 – The birth of American astronaut James “Jim” Arthur Lovell, a retired captain in the US Navy best known as the commander of the ill-fated !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! mission. Prior to his NASA career, Lovell piloted the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the Navy before entering test pilot school and then applying for the Astronaut Corps. His first flight to space was on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , where Lovell, along with Command Pilot !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , set an endurance record of 14 days in space. Later, Lovell commanded !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with pilot !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and also served as the command module pilot of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the first Apollo mission to orbit the Moon.

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Recent Aviation History Posts

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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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RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 03/25/2016 at 13:22

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Shame the Boeing SST was never built, it sure has the looks to be an all-time classic.

facw > ttyymmnn 03/25/2016 at 15:20

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I really love the dark grey/blue paint scheme the French used on their F-8s at the end:

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > RallyWrench 03/25/2016 at 21:18

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as cool as it would have been the airline and aviation industry in the 70s would have imploded with the opec limits. those bug jets were thirsty.