This Date in Aviation History: January 23 - January 25

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 01/25/2019 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 January 23 through January 25.

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January 23, 1951 – The first flight of the Douglas F4D-1 (F-6) Skyray. One of the more important spoils of war that the Allies captured from Germany at the end of WWII was the trove of aerodynamic data that had been collected by German scientists and, in many cases, the scientists themselves. Germany was on the forefront of innovative and even radical aircraft design, and the Allies were soon employing many of the German ideas in their own aircraft. Among the materials captured in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the work of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , who had done a significant amount of research into delta wings, specifically !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! delta designs.

A US Navy reserve F-6A taking off in 1963. After the Department of Defense adopted a uniform scheme for classifying aircraft, the F4D Skyray became the F-6 Skyray. (US Navy)

In 1947, the US Navy issued a requirement for a new interceptor, one that could be launched from either land bases or carriers at sea. The new interceptor would have to be very fast and have an excellent rate of climb, as it was intended to intercept bombers flying at 40,000 feet with a speed of 575 mph. With an interception range of 100 miles, the new fighter would have to reach 40,000 feet in just five minutes. Following the inspiration of Lippisch, famed Douglas engineer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! created a relatively small aircraft that had rounded delta wings and no tail. The wings were swept to 52.5 degrees, which had the added benefit of shifting the center of gravity aft, thereby improving the aircraft’s pivot point in pitch. With no horizontal tail, the pilot controlled pitch and roll with the use of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a movable control surface that combines the functions of ailerons and elevators. This arrangement later became standard on most delta wing designs. A hydraulic booster helped activate the elevons and, in the event of hydraulic failure, the control stick could be extended by 12 inches to give the pilot more leverage to work them manually.

Heinemann originally planned to use the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! afterburning turbojet, but that engine wasn’t ready in time for use in the prototype. So Douglas substituted a less powerful Allison engine, which significantly affected the Skyray’s performance. The only engine available at the time that would give the Skyray the required performance was the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but using this engine required a complete redesign of the fuselage, which Douglas did. The extra work proved worthwhile, because the Skyray turned out to be everything the Navy wanted in an interceptor, and could easily have been nicknamed Skyrocket (as it was, the unofficial nickname was Ford, for F4D). During a test flight on October 3, 1953, the Skyray established a world speed record of 753 mph, the first carrier-based aircraft to hold the title. And, in another test, a Marine Corps pilot took his Skyray to 50,000 feet in just 2 minutes 36 seconds, setting a world record for the fastest time to that altitude.

The Skyray entered service in 1956 and a total of 422 were produced. However, despite the Skyray’s blistering speed, it soon became a victim of its own specialization. Designed solely as a high altitude interceptor, the Skyray was unsuited for the multi-role missions that newer, larger carrier aircraft were designed for. It served for only eight years before the Navy phased it out of service in 1964, though !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! continued to fly four Skyrays for research missions until 1969. In an effort to extend the life of the design, Douglas developed a larger, more powerful, multi-role version with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but it was not adopted by the Navy, and only four were built.

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A US Army Air Corps Douglas A-20A Havoc of the 58th Bomb Squadron over Oahu, Hawaii in 1941 (US Air Force)

January 23, 1939 – The first flight of the Douglas A-20 Havoc. The Douglas A-20 Havoc was arguably one of the best medium bombers of WWII, but it doesn’t garner nearly as much attention today as the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , its closest competitor, even though they both arose from the same 1937 US Army request for new attack aircraft. In response to the Army’s request, North American submitted their NA-40 (which would become the B-25), Douglas proposed their DB-7 (Douglas Bomber 7, which would become the A-20, and designed by Ed Heinemann), Stearman submitted the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and Martin proposed their 167F (which would become the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). In the end, the Army chose North American’s offering, and showed little interest in the submission from Douglas. However, the French showed significant interest in the Douglas design, and they ordered 270 DB-7s at the outbreak of WWII with their own specific modifications. These included a thinner, taller fuselage, 1,000 hp Pratt & Whitney radial engines, French-made guns, and cockpit instruments that used the metric system. These aircraft flew in a vain attempt to stop the German invasion of France, and the survivors were evacuated to North Africa with the fall of France. In battle, the DB-7 proved to be rugged and dependable, with excellent maneuverability and speed for its size.

With the fall of France, the remaining aircraft were handed over to the British, where they became known as the Boston, and were intended to be used as bombers. However, their range was not sufficient to bomb targets on the European mainland, so many were instead converted to night fighters called the Havoc I. In this role, the glazed bombardier’s position was replaced with a solid nose which housed a targeting radar. It was also fitted with forward firing machine guns. Another version, called Turbinlite, was given a 2.7 million candlepower spotlight powered by batteries in the bomb bay along with a targeting radar. The unarmed Turbinlite aircraft illuminated enemy bombers bombers so they could be attacked by other aircraft. A large number of A-20B, G and H Havocs were exported to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease program, and the Russians eventually operated more Havocs than the United States. The Soviets appreciated the high speed and maneuverability of the big plane and, when fitted with more powerful machine guns and cannons, it became a potent tank buster for the Soviet Air Force. Havocs were also exported to the Netherlands and Australia, where they saw service in the Pacific Theater.

Royal Air Force Bostons in formation (UK Government)

Though initially cool to the A-20, the US Army changed its mind after seeing how well the bomber served the French and British. The Army placed orders for two versions of the A-20: one for high-level bombing (A-20) and the other for low-level attack (A-20A). Douglas also produced a version known as the A-20B, which was intended for high-level bombing, armor protection and self-sealing fuel tanks removed to reduce weight. Though the Army ordered 999 of these B models, the majority were sent to Russia. The A-20G, which removed the glazed nose in favor four 2omm cannons and two .50 caliber machine guns, was the most highly produced model with 2,850 built. The G model proved particularly effective in the Pacific against Japanese ground targets and shipping.

US Army Air Forces P-70 night fighter, painted black, with antennae set in the nose (US Air Force)

When the US entered into WWII, their first purpose-built night fighter, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, was still a year away from its maiden flight, and wouldn’t enter service until late in the war. Following the British lead, the Americans converted the Havoc to the night fighting role. Dubbed the P-70, the aircraft’s glazed nose was painted over and filled with a SCR-540 radar, which was a copy of the radar set used by the British. Four 20mm cannons were fitted in a tray beneath the bomb bay, and extra fuel was loaded in the upper bomb bay. Later conversions of C and G models moved the weapons to the nose and the radar set took its place in the bomb bay.

US Army Forces A-20G Havoc. Note the armament in the nose. (US Air Force)

In the end, the bomber that had initially been turned down by the US Army Air Forces proved to be a rugged dependable, and extremely flexible platform that saw service in all theaters of the war. By the end of production in September 1944, nearly 7,500 Havocs had been built, with a handful also constructed under license by Boeing. Havocs were retired from US Air Force service by 1949, but a number of surplus aircraft made their way into private hands, where they were flown as cargo haulers and executive transport.

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Short Takeoff

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January 23, 2007 – The first flight of the Lockheed Martin CATBird (Cooperative Avionics Test Bed), a highly modified !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! developed to test the avionics on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Lockheed purchased the 737 from Indonesian Airlines and began the process of converting the former airlinier in 1986. With a full-sized F-35 lightning nose section on the front of the aircraft, and canards that are the exact size and position relative to the nose as the actual F-35, the CATBird provides an economical way to test the Lightning’s suite of avionics, and can carry engineers and other testing equipment aloft in a flexible system for testing different components and configurations.

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(NASA)

January 22, 2003 – The final communication is made between Pioneer 10 and Earth. Pioneer 10 is an unmanned spacecraft that was designed to study Jupiter and launched on March 3, 1972. The probe made its closest approach to Jupiter on December 3, 1973, then crossed the orbits of Saturn in 1976 and Uranus in 1979 before finally achieving exit velocity and leaving our solar system on March 31, 1997. After solar power to the radios and antenna had become too weak, NASA received Pioneer 10's final radio message on January 22, 2003, when the probe was 12 billion kilometers from Earth. Pioneer 10's final trajectory would take it in the direction of the star !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , about 68 light years away. At its current velocity, it will take Pioneer 10 more than 2 million years to reach Aldebaran.

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January 23, 1909 – The first flight of the Blériot XI. In the early days of aviation, flying across the English Channel seemed an almost insurmountable feat. The first pilot to make the journey successfully was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , flying a Blériot XI, a plane of his own design and construction. The flight made Blériot an instant celebrity, and his fame was an important factor in the success of his budding aircraft company. Produced in single and double seat configurations, the Blériot XI saw service in WWI, and was the aircraft of choice for many pioneering aviators who used it for racing and record-setting flights. Two restored Blériot XIs exist today, and they are considered the oldest flyable aircraft in the world.

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January 24, 1975 – The first flight of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, a multipurpose medium helicopter that is currently produced by Airbus Helicopters. Similar in many ways to the commercially unsuccessful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the AS365 improves on the earlier design by adding a second engine and other upgraded components. The Dauphin was originally developed by Aérospatiale, but through a series of corporate mergers it was subsequently produced by Eurocopter, and finally Airbus. The Dauphin was introduced in 1978, serves both commercial and military operators, and remains in production after more than 40 years. More than 1,000 Dauphins have been produced to date.

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(US Air Force)

January 24, 1961 – A USAF Strategic Air Command bomber flying a 24-hour alert mission crashes while carrying two nuclear bombs. Known as the Goldsboro crash, the accident began when a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! based at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina suffered a fuel leak from a ruptured wing and and, after flying out to sea to burn of fuel, was ordered to return to base. Unable to control the aircraft as it descended, the aircraft commander ordered the crew to eject, and the bomber eventually broke up, killing two crewmen, while a third died after ejecting. Two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! nuclear bombs separated from the aircraft. One came down in a field and was destroyed. The second, though, parachuted to the ground as designed and landed upright, its parachute snagged on a tree. Of the four arming switches, three were tripped, meaning the bomb was one step away from detonating, though some experts dispute the claim that the weapon was close to detonating.

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January 24, 1961 – The first flight of the Convair 990. In 1959, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! became the last major manufacturer to enter the civilian jet airliner market with their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a four-engine, narrow-body airliner positioned to compete with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . However, the 880 was never able to capture much market share due to its smaller size, so Convair stretched the 880 by 10 feet to create the 990 Coronado. The new airliner could now seat up to 121 passengers, though still fewer than the 707. Unable to compete in passenger load, Convair bet that both the 880 and 990 would appeal to airlines due to their speed, which was about 40 mph faster than their competitors. However, the penalty for that speed was increased fuel burn, and the 990 never caught on. Only 37 were built from 1961-1963. Despite its failure in the commercial market, the 990 remains the fastest non-supersonic airliner ever to enter production, having set a record of speed of Mach .97, or 675 mph, in 1961.

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(NASA)

January 25, 2004 – The NASA probe Opportunity lands on Mars.   Opportunity , also known as Mars Exploration Rover–B, or MER-B, was the second of two exploratory rovers launched by NASA. Opportunity left Earth on July 7, 2003 and landed on Mars three weeks after its partner rover !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (MER-A). The mission of both rovers was to search for clues to water on Mars, analyze rocks and soil samples, and study geologic processes that led to the formation of the Martian terrain. Though originally scheduled to operate for 92 Earth days, Opportunity worked for an astonishing 5,295 Earth days and covered more than 28 miles of the Martian surface ( Spirit became mired on May 1, 2009 and ceased communicating with Earth on March 22, 2010). After “sleeping” through its 8th Martian winter, Opportunity failed to wake up, and was last heard from on June 10, 2018.

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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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KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 12:48

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Never knew the CATbird existed. I learn something new with your posts every time. 

facw > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 12:54

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It always boggles my mind that the Skyray was once the fastest plane in the world. It just doesn’t look fast.

facw > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 12:58

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The Dauphin was originally developed by Aérospatiale, but through a series of corporate mergers it was subsequently produced by Eurocopter, and finally Airbus 

It’s also license-built in China as the Harbin Z-9. There’s even an attack variant, the Z-19:

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 13:30

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Minor point: You write in the section title that Pioneer 10's last signal was 1/23, but in the text you write 1/13. NASA’s web site lists the final signal date as 1/22

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 13:39

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Pioneer 10 will be sorely disappointed when it reaches the vicinity of Alderaan, as it blew up in 1977.  It’ll have to stop at that small moon.  Wait, that’s no moon, here we go again.....

facw > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 01/25/2019 at 13:40

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It’s the successor to the Catfish, which was a 757 modified to do the same thing for F-22 avionics testing:

ttyymmnn > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 01/25/2019 at 13:47

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I have looked long and hard to see if it is still flying, but I can’t confirm. Thanks for reading!

ttyymmnn > facw 01/25/2019 at 13:50

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Ed Heinemann FTW. Lots of power, little drag, I suppose. It was ~6,000 lbs heavier than a Skyhawk.

ttyymmnn > facw 01/25/2019 at 13:50

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Thanks for the comment. You invariably teach ME something. 

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 01/25/2019 at 13:52

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What are you, some kind of scholar?? That’s, like, both possible errors. But they wouldn’t be the first. Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll edit.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 13:53

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Quick question about the dates on the Skyray article. It says that the aircraft was phased out in 1969 but that a few continued to fly for research until 1969. Were they all phased out by 1969 or should those be two different dates?

ttyymmnn > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 01/25/2019 at 13:55

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That’s a typo. Should be 1964 and 1969. Thanks. 

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 13:56

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Appreciate you posting it in the first place, as always.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 01/25/2019 at 13:58

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The pleasure is all mine. Thanks for reading. Closely.

user314 > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 14:14

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Eh, Klingons are going to shoot down Pioneer 10 anyway.

Opportunity has finally thrown off the yoke of the human oppressors and is building its new empire

I’ve probably said this before, but the Skyray is sexy in a way you just don’t get with later aircraft.

ttyymmnn > user314 01/25/2019 at 15:04

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The Ford has always been one of my favorites. And the Skylancer was simply awesome. Too bad it wasn’t produced.

user314 > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 15:32

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The most recent article I could find was from 2017, when it was flying in support of upgrades to the F-22's radar. The FAA shows an A/W date of 10/2017, so it looks like it’s flying on an as-needed basis.

user314 > facw 01/25/2019 at 15:48

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Ooh, fenstron tail and a ball turret. Not bad, needz moar dakka though .

I still likes me some SuperHind better:

It’s like someone marathoned   Blue Thunder and Airwolf and then said “hold my vodka* ”...

*Yes, I know ATE (now Paramount Group) is a South Af rican firm.

ttyymmnn > user314 01/25/2019 at 15:51

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I hadn’t thought to go after the flight records. Good call.

user314 > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 16:01

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I don’t subscribe to FlightAware, but if anyone does look up N757A, you should be able to see when it was last flown. 

ttyymmnn > user314 01/25/2019 at 16:07

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Paid subscription? Not me.

glemon > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 16:28

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The 707 is classicly clean and beautiful, however, the Convair 990 really looks the part of the speedster it is, with those jet engines looking a little too big for the stilletto fuselage.

ttyymmnn > glemon 01/25/2019 at 17:12

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For the super speed look, you have to go with the anti-shock bodies on the wings of the  990.

glemon > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 18:56

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Sweet, you have to love the little jetway attachment to the bus as well.  I flew United through Denver a couple weeks ago and ended up leaving via the gates that have you walk outside to the plane about 60 feet, in Denver, in January.  Barbarians

ttyymmnn > glemon 01/25/2019 at 19:07

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Old school. Nice.

glemon > ttyymmnn 01/25/2019 at 21:23

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If I have to walk across the tarmac put me on a DC3, preferably somewhere warm.