This Date in Aviation History: August 17 - August 20

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 08/20/2019 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 August 17 through August 20.

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(PHAN J. Mason, US Navy)

August 19, 1958 – The first flight of the Lockheed P-3 Orion. The modern carrier battle group is one of the most potent assemblages of warships ever put together. But in spite of all that firepower, it remains vulnerable to attack from submarines. Since U-Boats prowled the seas in WWI, navies have struggled to find the subs before the subs find them, and aircraft have come to play a vital role in submarine detection and defense. Following WWII, the US Navy fielded its first dedicated antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft with the hunter-killer team of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That two-aircraft system was followed by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the first purpose-built carrier-borne ASW aircraft that was large enough to carry both the equipment to detect submarines and the weapons to counter them.

The Orion prototype, a converted Lockheed Electra (US Navy)

In August 1957, the Navy issued a call for design proposals to meet Type Specification 146 for a new land-based aircraft to perform the ASW role, an aircraft that would complement the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! flying boat. To meet their needs as quickly as possible and to reduce cost, the Navy encouraged manufacturers to modify an aircraft already in production. Concurrent with the Navy request, Lockheed was working on the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a four-engine turboprop airliner that carried about 100 passengers and was the first large turboprop airliner in the US when it made its maiden flight in December of 1957. Lockheed proposed adapting the Electra for the ASW role, an idea that was accepted by the Navy, and a contract was awarded in May 1958. Production began immediately on a flying prototype, and the first Orion was fitted with a simulated weapons bay and carried a mock-up of the Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) boom in the rear of the aircraft. While by no means a production-ready aircraft, and still looking very much like an Electra, the mock-up of what would become the Orion gave the Navy a good idea of the feasibility of the design.

A P-3B Orion of Patrol Squadron 9 (VP-9) armed with four Bullpup air-to-ground missiles in 1969. (PH2 D.T. Isenberg, US Navy)

While the P-3 retains the wings, tail, basic structure, and engines of the Electra, the fuselage was shortened, a weapons bay was added, and upgrades were made to the avionics. Four !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! turboprop engines take the Orion to a top speed of 411 knots (about 466 mph) with a combat radius of over 1,500 miles. Once on station, the Orion can loiter for up to three hours at 1,500 feet. If an enemy sub is detected, ten wing stations and eight internal bomb bay stations can hold up to 20,000 pounds of air-to-surface missiles, depth charges, mines, torpedoes, or sonobuoys. The Orion was also designed to carry the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though that capability was retired in 1993.

A P-3 Orion from Patrol Squadron 10 (VP-10) flies over a Soviet Victor III class submarine. (US Navy)

The P-3 was introduced in 1962, and its primary mission was to track Soviet submarines lurking around US fleets and destroy them if the Cold War suddenly became hot. But even with the end of the Cold War, patrolling Orions are often shadowed by opposing aircraft and, in one high-profile !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on April 1, 2001, an Orion operating near China collided with a Chinese !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! fighter, leading to the loss of the fighter. The Orion was forced to land on the Chinese Island of Hainan, leading to an international incident that was eventually resolved with the release of the Orion and its crew and the return of the aircraft.

A pair of WP-3D Orion hurricane hunters. (NOAA)

The P-3 has shown a remarkable adaptability, and Lockheed has produced a host of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , including the WP-3D Orion hurricane hunter for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A total of 757 Orions have been produced, a number which includes 107 aircraft built under license by Kawasaki in Japan. They are operated by a number of export countries, including Iran, who received its aircraft when Iran was still allied with the US. After more than 50 years of service, the Orion soldiers on, but it is in the process of being replaced in US Navy service by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , another sub hunter derived from a civilian airliner, in this case the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Short Takeoff

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August 17, 1978 – The crew of the Double Eagle II makes the first transatlantic crossing by balloon. Balloonists had been trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean for more than 100 years, but it wasn’t until 1978 that balloonists Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman reached France after lifting off from Presque Isle, Maine. Newman had planned on hang gliding down to European soil after the crossing, but the glider had to be jettisoned as ballast during flight. After crossing the Irish coast, French officials offered to let them land at Le Bourget Airport, where !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! landed in 1937, but the crew instead chose to land in a field in the suburbs of Paris. The gondola of the balloon is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, DC.

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(US Air Force)

August 17, 1956 – The first flight of the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter, a transport aircraft that was developed alongside the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Boeing developed the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , better known as the “Dash 80,” in response to a US Air Force request for a jet-powered tanker. Though the vast majority of the 820 aircraft were built as KC-135 tankers, a number were built as transport aircraft, with the C-135A having accommodations for 126 passengers. The C-135B received more powerful engines, and five were designed for VIP transport as the VC-135B. Other variants were flown for weather reconnaissance, and a number were sold to France as tankers. The C-135 received the internal Boeing designation 717, though that number was later assigned to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! after the two companies merged.

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(US Air Force)

August 17, 1918 – The first flight of the Martin MB-1, a large biplane bomber built for the US Army Air Service and the first purpose-built bomber produced in the United States. Martin designed the MB-1 in response to the similarly-sized !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and it was powered by two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engines that gave the bomber a top speed of 105 mph. The MB-1 could carry a total of 1,040 pounds of bombs and was armed with five .30 caliber defensive machine guns. The MB-1 was configured for both reconnaissance and bombing missions, and was also developed as a torpedo bomber variant for the US Navy and US Marine Corps. The US Postal Service also flew the MB-1 as a mail plane. A total of 20 were built.

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August 18, 1965 – The first flight of the Kamov Ka-26, a light utility helicopter that was built in large numbers and has found its most popular use as an agricultural top dresser. The Ka-26 (NATO reporting name Hoodlum ) is powered by two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! nine-cylinder radial engines housed in external pods that drive a set of contra-rotating !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , thus eliminating the need for a counter-torque rotor at the rear. A removable pod behind the cockpit can be configured for passengers, medevac or light cargo, and a chemical hopper can also be fitted for agricultural use. A total of 816 were produced from 1969-1985, and it was later developed into the more powerful !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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(US Air Force)

August 18, 1945 – The US suffers its last air combat casualty of WWII. Though the Japanese government had signaled its surrender three days earlier, some Japanese pilots continued to attack American bombers carrying out reconnaissance flights over the Japanese homeland. Two !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , tasked with a photo reconnaissance mission over Tokyo, were attacked by 17 Japanese fighters, heavily damaging one of the Dominators. Three crew members were seriously wounded and 19-year-old Sergeant Anthony Marchione, a photographer’s assistant, was killed. Following the attack, the propellers were removed from all Japanese aircraft to prevent future attacks.

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August 18, 1871 — Alphonse Pénaud achieves the first flight of a stable model airplane. Though Pénaud is certainly not a household name in aviation history, his pioneering use of a rubber band to power flying model airplanes is still used today by hobbyists and toymakers. In 1871, more than 30 years before the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight, Pénaud built and flew a model airplane that he called the Planophore , with design elements such as a dihedral upturn of the wingtips and a tailplane with a smaller angle of incidence than the main wing that made the design inherently stable. It was powered by a pusher propeller turned by a rubber band that kept the Planophore aloft for 11 seconds in a demonstration flight that covered 131 feet. Despite the success of his model, Pénaud could find no financial backing for what was arguably groundbreaking work, and he committed suicide in 1880 at age 30.

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August 19, 1980 – All passengers and crew of Saudia Flight 163 perish in a fire after the plane made a successful emergency landing. Saudia Flight 163 (HZ-AHK) was regularly scheduled !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! service from Riyadh International Airport to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Seven minutes after takeoff, a fire broke out in the cargo hold and the passenger compartment filled with smoke. As the fire spread, it burned through the aft passenger compartment floor and severed the engine control cables for the center engine. Despite this, the crew managed to return to Riyadh and land safely, though it continued to taxi for nearly three minutes before stopping on a taxiway. Rescue crews had to drive to where the plane stopped, but did not open the doors to the aircraft until the engines stopped, a full 23 minutes after the successful emergency landing. By that time, all 287 passengers and 14 crew had died from smoke inhalation. It was the second worst death toll in any single aircraft accident after !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the worst accident ever involving an L-1011, and the deadliest aviation disaster that did not involve a crash or breakup of any kind.

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(Embraer)

August 19, 1969 – Aircraft manufacturer Embraer is founded by Brazil’s Ministry of Aeronautics. Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica was created as a government-owned corporation as Brazil sought to gain a foothold in aircraft manufacturing and reduce its reliance on foreign aircraft manufacturers. Embraer’s first aircraft was the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a 21-passenger twin-turboprop developed for civilian and military customers, and the company now produces an entire line of jet-powered regional airliners. In 1994, Embraer became a private company, though the government retains a share of the company, and it has expanded into the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world behind Boeing and Airbus, with production facilities in the United States and China. In 2018, Boeing took an 80% stake in Embraer to develop smaller regional airliners in a move to counter Airbus’ acquisition of the Bombardier CSeries.

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(Republic of Korea Air Force)

August 20, 2002 – The first flight of the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, a two-seat supersonic trainer developed in a partnership with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the first supersonic aircraft produced by South Korea. One of only handful of supersonic trainers, the T-50 entered service with the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) in 2005 and is currently operated by Korea, Indonesia, Iraq and the Philippines. An armed version has also been developed for light attack. The T-50 was an unsuccessful contender for the US Air Force’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to procure a new trainer to replace the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and .

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August 20, 1963 – The first flight of the BAC One-Eleven, a short-range airliner and the second jet-powered airliner to enter service in Europe after the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Also known as the BAC 111 and the BAC 1-11, the airliner was developed to replace the turboprop-powered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , though early sales were dominated by purchases from US carriers. The One-Eleven was originally designed to carry 89 passengers, while subsequent variants accommodated up to 119 passengers. With a total of 244 aircraft produced in the United Kingdom and Romania, the One-Eleven became one of the most successful British airliners of its day.  

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(US Navy)

August 20, 1923 – The first flight of the rigid airship USS Shenandoah (ZR-1). The first of four rigid airships commissioned by the US Navy, Shenandoah was constructed at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey from a design that was largely based on the German !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! LZ-96. Like its German counterpart, Shenandoah was intended for fleet reconnaissance duties, and she was the first American airship to cross North America in 1924, flying from New Jersey to California. Shenandoah was lost on September 2, 1925 during its 57th flight when the airship was torn apart by a thunderstorm over Ohio, killing 14 members of its 43-man crew.

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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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facw > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 12:52

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The T-50 was an unsuccessful contender for the US Air Force’s T-X program to procure a new trainer to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon , and . 

You may have missed something here...

MarquetteLa > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 13:18

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“ Despite the success of his model, Pénaud could find no financial backing for what was arguably groundbreaking work, and he committed suiced in 1880 at age 30. “

Small typo t here, but wow. Inventing powered flight and then no one wants to invest to build a larger prototype? That sucks.

lone_liberal > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 13:29

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There was a small Navy air wing deployed to Diego Garcia when I was there that  consisted of mainly S3s and P3s. Those are the sounds that I will always associate with that place. The high pitched whine of an S3 and the thrum of a P3. Well, those and the sounds of a crab being smacked by the cane from an electrical safety board. You have to keep yourself entertained somehow. 

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 13:37

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The first frame of Shenandoah was erected by 24 June 1922; on 20 August 1923, the completed airship was floated free of the ground. Helium cost $55 per thousand cubic feet at the time, and was considered too expensive to simply vent to the atmosphere to compensate for the weight of fuel consumed by the gasoline engines. 

That is the equivalent of $840 dollars/1k ft 3 in 2019, and almost eight times the current price of $119 per 1k ft 3 .

I want to make a version of that rubber band pusher prop, wonder how tough it would be to modify a Guillow  plane....

ttyymmnn > facw 08/20/2019 at 14:00

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What did I miss?

facw > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 14:56

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Well I hate to be one of those picky grammar people, but with a few exceptions (like this one), you generally don’t end a sentence with and.

ttyymmnn > facw 08/20/2019 at 15:06

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Obviously an editorial mistake. I think the whole thing needs to be rewritten. Thanks for catching that. 

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 15:54

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Useless factoid: the RNZAF, aka “ The World’s Skintest Airforce” (TM) make extremely heavy use of their P3s , due to only having 6 of them and covering one of the world ’s largest maritime search and rescue zones. Design o perating life on P3s is pretty short (7500hrs), due to spending much of their time at low altitude over salt water. In the 90s, because the government wouldn’t spring for new planes, the RNZAF developed a technique for replacing the original P3B   wings with later P3C ones, wing root fatigue being the limiting life factor on P3s. This technique was subsequently sold back to Lockheed and used by several nations to extend P3 life to cover P8 delays. The RNZAF planes are currently at an average of > 24000 hrs, and expected to be in service till 2024.

ttyymmnn > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 08/20/2019 at 16:22

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Not useless at all. that’s a neat story. I love how these older planes are made to just keep flying. It’s a testament to their design and construction.

The Orion has always been one of my favorites. I grew up in VA near numerous military installations, and would seen them regularly in the sky, along with Hawkeyes and all manner of Navy fighters. Air and Space Magazine had a great feature a few years ago about an Orion crew that attended an air show, their beat up and well-used Orion parked amongst the shiny new Air Force aircraft. It’s a great story.

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/i-got-those-old-beat-orion-blues-180949487/

facw > user314 08/20/2019 at 16:27

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Of course we are actually in a bit of a helium shortage due in no small part to mismanagement of the national helium reserve (originally created to ensure an adequate supply for airships). The government has been trying to empty it, which flooded the market with cheap helium, discouraging commercial collection, and now that the reserve is emptying, there’s not much to pick up the slack (and apparently production is naturally a bit of an up and down business anyway, and aside from the national reserve there isn’t a great way to store helium for future use).

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 17:00

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I’m a big Orion fan too. I used to sail offshore a lot when I was younger,and when you’re out there among miles and miles of nothin g , having a P3 divert off course to dip down, check you out, and give you a wing waggle really give s you a warm fuzzy .

Another fun fact: since we got rid of the A4s, the P3s are the most hea v ily armed aircraft in the NZ military ! The “F” in RNZAF is aspirational nowadays .

ttyymmnn > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 08/20/2019 at 17:09

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The “F” in RNZAF is aspirational nowadays.

LOL.

Off topic, but how do you like the All Blacks for the RWC? I finally plunked down the money to watch the International matches on ESPN+. I read about the humiliating loss to the Wallabies in Japan, but then watched them shut the Aussies out in Auckland.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 17:25

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RWC, like any playoff type event, comes down to luck on the day, but I like their chances this time. World rankings notwithstanding, they’re still the winningest team in rugby and this is one of their best lineups ever. Getting a fright from the Aussies has been pretty good for their chances, I reckon - it’s reminded them that they can lose, which is something the ABs tend to forget from time to time, and that they need to bring their A game. The most recent game showed what they’re capable of when they’re fired up and angry: that was probably the biggest thrashing  we’ve ever given the Wallabies. If they can keep that anger stoked till after the RWC they’ll be hard to beat.

ttyymmnn > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 08/20/2019 at 17:30

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I think I remember the commenter saying that 38-0 was the record, and iirc it was 35-0. Still, they absolutely shut the Aussies down. It’s going to cost me $65 to watch the matches, but I will gladly pay it. Int’l rugby is probably my favorite int’l sport. My only claim to being an All Blacks fan is that I had a good friend in grad school who was from Christchurch. He went on at great length about the All Blacks at a time (we’re talking early 90s) that it wasn’t even on TV here. So when I was finally able to start watching, I just picked the All Blacks. Looks like I made a pretty good choice. 

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 19:35

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The record was 43-6 in 1996 (37 points differential) and this one was 36-0. However the key difference is the “0" in the m os t recent score. I t’s pretty unusual for reasonably well matched teams to hold each other to a zero score in rugby: someone always slips a penalty through at least. No t only kicking their butts, but playing with enough disci pline to not give away a penalty while doing so, is quite the achievement .

The “ enough discipli ne” thing will also be a knock- on effect of the previous loss. Scott B arret t being sent off in that game is only the 4th time in their 114 year history that an AB’s been red carded - I expect a pretty spectacular dressing down will have been given to the whole team by the coaches over that one.

wafflesnfalafel > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 21:01

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Walked through a P-3 up at NAS Whidbey last year during their annual open house.  Man those things are old and beat to #$@!.  

ttyymmnn > wafflesnfalafel 08/20/2019 at 21:26

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Read this: https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/i-got-those-old-beat-orion-blues-180949487/

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 08/20/2019 at 21:59

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Other than this: “The T-50 was an unsuccessful contender for the US Air Force’s T-X program to procure a new trainer to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon , and .” (and what?)

Your writing is fire.  

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/20/2019 at 22:56

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Yeah, burn that one. That must have been a cut/paste edit error. I’ll have to go back and fix that.