This Date in Aviation History: September 7 - September 10

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 09/10/2019 at 12:35 • Filed to: wingspan, Planelopnik, TDIAH

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Welcome to This Date in Aviation History , getting of you caught up on milestones, important historical events and people in aviation from September 7 through September 10.

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(US Air Force)

September 7, 1997 – The first flight of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. With the arrival of the warplane in WWI, the concept of seizing the high ground in battle evolved from stationing your army on a hill above to seizing control of the ultimate high ground, the airspace over the battlefield. As fighter aircraft evolved, the concept of the dedicated air superiority fighter evolved along with them, one that would clear the air of enemy aircraft and hold it while specialized ground attack aircraft could operate at lower levels. As aircraft further evolved and developed new capabilities, it became possible to combine !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and ground attack in a single aircraft.

The two YF-22 prototypes (US Air Force)

In the 1980s, the US Air Force began the process of finding a new air superiority fighter to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , one that would also be as flexible in both the fighter and the ground attack role as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .   As part of that effort, and to counter ever more advanced aircraft being produced by America’s adversaries, the Air Force began development of what it called the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1981. The new fighter would also make use of the latest advances in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! technology. By 1984, the Air Force had settled on the requirements for the new aircraft which called for a fighter with a 50,000 poound maximum takeoff weight, a radius of 800 miles, and the ability for supercruise, meaning the fighter would be able to maintain supersonic speeds without the use of gas-guzzling afterburners. Two aircraft were selected for a competition for what would result a very lucrative contract: the Lockheed Martin YF-22, and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Though the YF-23 proved to be stealthier and faster, the YF-22's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engines made it more maneuverable. Both aircraft were seen as very capable platforms, but the Air Force selected the YF-22, and it entered production in 1996 as the F-22 Raptor.

The YF-22 flies in formation with its Northrop YF-23 competitor. After a fly-off, the Air Force selected the YF-22. (US Air Force)

The Air Force !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Raptor as a “combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represent[ing] an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force....The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.” The Raptor’s stealthy design allows it to target and destroy opponents before being detected by the enemy, and its advanced avionics allow it not only to protect itself but to protect other assets as well, a critical capability for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the future. The F-22 is powered by a pair of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbofans and has an estimated top speed of Mach 2.5. It is armed with one 20mm !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! rotary cannon, and its internal weapons bay can carry both air-to-air missiles for air defense and air-to-ground missiles for ground attack. Four underwing pylons can be fitted with either drop tanks or additional ordnance. During the development of the aircraft, designers toyed with different names and designations for the F-22. At one time, in a nod to its capability for ground attack, it was designated F/A-22, but upon introduction the designation was changed back to F-22. Lockheed had originally chosen “Lightning II” after the iconic WWII fighter, and it was also briefly called the “SuperStar” and “Rapier.” But, perhaps in a reference to the Eagle it was meant to replace, the Air Force eventually settled on another bird of prey, the Raptor.

An F-22A Raptor 27th Fighter Squadron “Fighting Eagles” fires an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile from its internal weapons bay. (US Air Force)

Due in part to its high cost, and the continued development of what some consider to be the more advanced !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , production of the Raptor was controversially halted in 2011. The Air Force had initially requested 648 Raptors, and that number was then cut to 440. Ultimately, just under 200 F-22s were built. However, the protracted and troublesome development of the F-35 has led to a high demand for the Raptor to respond to a burgeoning number of missions around the world, leading to discussions about restarting the F-22 production line. However, such a restart remains highly unlikely. Though the tooling and assembly structures were preserved when the production line was shut down 2012, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of restarting the supply train and production line is estimated to be upwards of $50 billion to procure 194 more Raptors. At least for now, the Air Force will have to make due with the Raptors it has, while it waits for the F-35 to become fully operational in large numbers.

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(US Army)

September 7, 1965 – The first flight of the Bell AH-1 Cobra. By the Vietnam War, the US Army had become very much a helicopter-borne force, using the theories of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to carry troops into battle. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the Huey, became the modern Army mule. This all-purpose utility helicopter, which first flew in 1956, came to symbolize the war in Vietnam, as it appeared on the nightly news airlifting troops and supplies to the battlefield and evacuating casualties to medical aid stations. While the Huey proved to be invaluable in these roles, it was also relatively slow, lightly armed, and susceptible to ground fire. The Army responded by turning some of the Hueys into makeshift gunships, but they soon realized the need for a dedicated attack helicopter to protect the transport helicopters and support ground troops in combat, particularly when they were under fire and vulnerable in contested landing zones.

The Bell 209, the prototype for the AH-1. The prototype originally had retractable landing skids which were later replaced with fixed skids. (US Army)

Bell Helicopter had been working on the first dedicated helicopter gunship as early as the 1950s, and they presented the Army with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1963, which was essentially the first modern attack helicopter. The Army was impressed, but the Sioux Scout had shortcomings that concerned Army brass. A year later, the Army launched the Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition and settled on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which, after 10 years of costly development, had turned out to be too complex and was ultimately canceled. However, Bell, which had not been asked to take part in the competition, had been continuously developing their own light attack helicopter, using the engine, transmission and rotor system that had been proven reliable in the UH-1 Iroquois.

The new helicopter, designated the Bell 209, was designed to carry 7.62mm miniguns or a grenade launcher in a chin-mounted turret, as well as rockets or missiles on stub wings affixed to the fuselage. The crew of two sat in a tandem configuration with gunner in the front and pilot in the rear that made for a very narrow profile when seen head-on, making it more difficult to hit from the ground as as the helicopter bore down on its target. In 1967, the Army adopted the 209, now with a traditional fixed landing skid rather than the original retractable gear, as the AH-1 Cobra. Cobras were in the air over Vietnam by the summer of 1967, and saw action during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of 1968 and throughout the rest of the war. In addition to their combat support roles, Cobras teamed with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! light observation helicopters to form hunter-killer teams that provided support during the rescue of downed pilots. Following Vietnam, the Cobra remained in service and took part in the invasions of Grenada and Panama, and were flown during both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The Army finally phased out the Cobra in the 1990s in favor of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Cobra was also exported to 11 nations, and was manufactured in Japan by Fuji Heavy Industries.

It is difficult to overstate the effectiveness of the Cobra as a dedicated attack helicopter, and it has proven so useful that its basic design was modified into more powerful versions with the addition of a second engine. The resulting !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , as well as the latest version, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , form the backbone of the US Marine Corps attack helicopter fleet and will continue to do so for quite some time. Older AH-1 Cobras also remain in service with export countries, and two Firewatch Cobras !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! the US Forest Service by using infrared sensors and cameras to support firefighters on the ground.

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(US Air Force)

September 8, 1968 – The first flight of the SEPECAT Jaguar. In the early 1960s, the British Royal Air Force began looking for a new two-seat supersonic trainer to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which had been in service since the mid-1950s. At the same time, the French Armée de l’Air was looking for a new supersonic trainer that could also double as a light attack aircraft to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , all of similar vintage to their British counterparts. But developing a new military aircraft, or any aircraft for that matter, is an extremely expensive undertaking. But one way for an aircraft manufacturer to reduce costs, and take advantage of the expertise of others, is to form a consortium of manufacturers from friendly nations and divide the work between them.

An RAF Jaguar showing the unique placement of air-to-air missiles on top of the wing. (Author unknown)

With both nations working toward a common goal, they decided to join forces on the project and formed a partnership between French !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that was known as Société Européenne de Production de l’Avion d’École de Combat et d’Appui Tactique (SEPECAT) which translates as “European company for the production of a combat trainer and tactical support aircraft.” The two companies agreed that unique assemblies would be produced by both countries, and that final assembly would take place in both England and France. A second consortium of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in England and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in France worked together to produce the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbofan engines that would give the Jaguar a top speed of Mach 1.6. The design featured a high wing that allowed for easy access to weapons stores and external fuel tanks, a tricycle landing gear, and unique overwing pylons for short-range air-to-air missiles, an arrangement that freed up space under the wings for fuel tanks, weapons or other stores.

The French were the first to receive the new fighter, in both the E ( École , or trainer) and A ( Appui , or Attack/Support) versions in 1973. While initially envisioned as a nuclear-capable attack aircraft, the Jaguar never performed this role for the Armée de l’Air , and instead was used as a support aircraft to clear the way for the nuclear armed Mirage fighters. The Jaguar served the French in numerous regional conflicts in their former colonies, as well as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1991. The RAF received the Jaguar into service in 1974 in both fighter/bomber and trainer versions, where it eventually saw action in the Gulf War of 1991 alongside French Jaguars, and returned to the Gulf in 1994 as a target designation aircraft for other !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! aircraft. Unlike the French, the British used the Jaguar in the tactical nuclear strike role where it carried the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tactical nuclear bomb. SEPECAT procuded a total of 543 Jaguars for France and England as well as a number of export customers. All but India have since retired the aircraft.

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Short Takeoff

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(Author unknown)

September 7, 1955 – The first flight of the Sukhoi Su-7, a swept-wing, supersonic, low-level tactical fighter given the NATO designation Fitter . The Su-7 was the first Soviet fighter to employ an all-moving tailplane ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) and a movable cone in the air intake, known as a translating centerbody, that adjusted airflow into the engine at supersonic speed. Its wing was dramatically swept at 60-degrees and, when fitted with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbofan, the Fitter was capable of reaching speeds up to Mach 2. Though unsuccessful as a dogfighter, the Su-7B variant proved very successful as a tactical ground attack aircraft and became the primary Soviet ground attack aircraft of the 1960s. Nearly 1,900 were produced from 1957-1972, and the type was retired in 1990.

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(US Air Force)

September 7, 1942 – The first flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator, a heavy strategic bomber developed as a fallback design should the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! prove unsuccessful or suffer significantly delays. Following the successful launch of the Superfortress, production of the Dominator was halted after only 118 were built, and those saw only limited action in the war after arriving in the Pacific Theater in the summer of 1945. There, the bombers flew a handful of bombing missions and served mostly as armed reconnaissance aircraft. The B-32 holds the dubious distinction of being the last Allied aircraft attacked by the Japanese when a Dominator on a reconnaissance mission over Tokyo was fired on by Japanese fighters four days after Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender. The attack killed photographer’s assistant Sergeant Anthony Marchione, the last American airman to die in WWII.

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(Author unknown)

September 7, 1940 – The first flight of the Blohm & Voss BV 222, a large, six-engine flying boat developed before WWII as a commercial transport and later pressed into military service to transport troops and supplies. Known as the Wiking ( Viking ), the BV 222 saw action in Europe and the Mediterranean. A total of 13 were built, and a number of them were destroyed by Allied fighters both in the air and on the ground, and a BV 222 was reported to have shot down a US Navy !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Three BV 222s came into Allied hands, but were soon scrapped or destroyed. The last BV 222 is reportedly resting underwater near Norway, and plans are underway to raise and restore it.

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September 7, 1906 – The first flight of the Santos-Dumont 14- bis . Designed by Brazilian aviation pioneer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the 14- bis (for testing, the aircraft was attached to Santos-Dumont’s non-rigid airship !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and bis means addition ) was designed around the box kite principle, and had a forward box canard for control. The dihedral design of the wings provided lateral stability, and it was powered by an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fuel-injected engine. Piloting the 14- bis , Santos-Dumont made the first powered flight anywhere outside of the US, as well as the first publicly witnessed powered flight, leading some to contend that the 14- bis is the first true airplane, since the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! used a launch rail rather than taking off under the plane’s own power. For this reason, Brazilians hail Santos-Dumont as the “Father of Aviation.”

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September 8, 1927 – The Cessna Aircraft Company is established.   !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! began as a farmer in Rago, Kansas, and built his first airplane in 1911 after working for the Queen Aeroplane Company in New York. Along with Victor Roos, Cessna founded an aircraft manufacturing company in 1927 (Roos left after just one month), and the company’s first aircraft, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , was certified on October 29, 1929, the day the American !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The company closed during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but was reopened by Cessna’s nephews in 1934. A brand of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! since 2014, Cessna is based in Wichita, Kansas and is known for the production of both piston- and jet-powered general aviation aircraft. The company became famous with the introduction of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 1956, which has since become the most successful aircraft in history with over 43,000 produced.

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September 9, 2006 – The first flight of the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, a specially modified 747-400 that was developed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to transport sections of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for final assembly. Originally known as the Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), the Dreamlifter was modified in Taiwan by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and has a cargo compartment that can accommodate 65,000 cubic feet of cargo, the largest volume in the world. The Dreamlifter can hold triple the volume of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! freighter and has an 803,001 pound maximum takeoff weight (MTOW). The Dreamlifter entered service in 2007 and four have been built. It is flown exclusively by Boeing, with no other commercial customers.

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(Australian Government)

September 9, 1916 – The first flight of the Bristol F.2 Fighter, a two-seat fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed for the Royal Flying Corps during WWI. Unlike most two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, which were not known for their dogfighting capabilities, the F.2 proved to be very agile and could “mix it up” with single-seat enemy fighters. The F.2 was known for making attacks with its forward-firing machine guns while the observer in the rear seat provided cover with a swiveling machine gun. Popularly known as the “Brisfit” or “Biff,” the F.2 saw its first action in April 1917 during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and served throughout the rest of the war. Production continued until 1927, with many surplus aircraft modified for civilian use. A total of 5,329 were built.

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(US Air Force)

September 10, 1956 – The first flight of the North American F-107, a fighter-bomber developed for the US Air Force based on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The F-107 was initially designated the F-100B, but soon became so heavily modified that the Air Force gave it a new designation. In order to accommodate a radar, the Super Sabre’s nose air intake was moved to the top of the aircraft, which caused some concern among pilots who might be forced to eject. It also severely limited rearward visibility, but this wasn’t considered a problem since the YF-107 relied on missiles fired from beyond visual range. North American built three prototypes, but it lost an Air Force competition against the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and never entered production. The first two prototypes are housed in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Arizona and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Ohio, while the third was scrapped in the 1960s.

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(US Air Force)

September 10, 1944 – The first flight of the Fairchild C-82 Packet, a cargo and troop transport developed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . To preserve critical wartime supplies, the Packet was originally intended to be built from plywood and steel, but design requirements dictated a switch to all-metal construction. Delivery to the US Army Air Forces did not take place until June 1945, so its use in WWII was limited. Nevertheless, the Packet did take part in cargo and troop carrying missions, and was used as a paratroop transport and glider tug. Following the war, its payload and rugged construction made the C-82 popular with civilian operators. A total of 223 were produced, and the Packet formed the basis for the highly successful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which entered service in 1949.

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Connecting Flights

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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!!! . You can also find more stories about aviation, aviators and airplane oddities at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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For Sweden > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 12:42

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Some fight fires. Others Fight fires

facw > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 13:03

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Some D reamlifters (plus an An-124) at Paine Field when I was there a few weeks ago:

They are big. When we were coming back from the tour, we saw a pair of wings being transferred over to the factory, but unfortunately that means we didn’t actually see them being unloaded.

user314 > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 13:07

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ttyymmnn > user314 09/10/2019 at 13:20

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He just wants a tummy rub. 

user314 > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 13:31

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Cats are cats, doesn’t matter how big they are. 

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 13:36

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It s crazy to think that the Raptor took its first flight the same year my Land Cruiser took its first drive.

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 09/10/2019 at 13:45

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It’s also crazy to think that the F-15 it was built to replace took it’s first flight in 1972. And the C model is still flying. 

ttyymmnn > user314 09/10/2019 at 13:45

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“In the dark, all cats are gray.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 14:00

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I had two projects in Mojave C alifornia when they were testing the F22 at Edwards. I would just sit there and watch the jets to 30 mile diameter circles at about 20,000 feet for hours on end. It was so damn cool.

facw > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/10/2019 at 15:22

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I was in Hawaii during RIMPAC one year and the F-22s there were quite active. My main takeaway is that it’s good they are supersonic because all that stealth would be wasted if someone set up some anti-plane sonar thing, those guys are loud.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > facw 09/10/2019 at 15:24

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Not F15 loud tho. 

facw > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/10/2019 at 15:28

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Felt louder to me, but I didn’t have them side by side to listen to for an apples to apples comparison. The F-22's engines are considerably more powerful than the F-15' s so I find it pretty believable that they could be louder.

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 09/10/2019 at 21:27

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The F-107 would be a tough aircraft to be comfortable flying knowing that if you punched out that there was even money that it would get you. 

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 09/10/2019 at 22:35

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I saw the 107 at the USAF Museum, and was really struck by how big it is. Also, how many stencils were painted on the side. The F-107 was the last fighter to bear the North American name.