This Date in Aviation History: November 4 - November 6

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 11/06/2020 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 November 4 through November 6.

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I’ve got stuff scheduled into December, so  I will continue to post until they turn the lights out.

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November 5, 1981 – The first flight of the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. The aviators of the United States Marine Corps have a long and rich history of providing close air support, an affinity with the Marines on the ground that they symbolize through their camouflage flight helmet covers. So it’s not surprising that the Marine Corps showed an interest in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , an aircraft that could take off and land vertically and operate from bases close to the ground troops, or from amphibious assault ships of the US Navy offshore near the battleground.

The AV-8B Harrier II, as its name suggests, is the second generation of the AV-8A Harrier, a plane that traces its development back to the British-built !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While the original Harrier was a groundbreaking design, it suffered from a relatively short range and small payload (the AV-8A could carry only half the load of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), so the designers of the Harrier II sought to address these shortcomings. In 1973, McDonnell Douglas and Hawker Siddeley began a joint program to develop a more robust version of the jump jet; however, that initial project was terminated due to costs and engineering difficulties with the new larger !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine. Both companies forged ahead independently, with Hawker Siddeley working on improvements such as a larger wing that could be retrofitted to existing first generation Harriers. The Marine Corps, facing the daunting task of developing an aircraft that the Navy didn’t want to pay for, hoped that the original Harrier could be upgraded without a new engine. McDonnell Douglas focused on improving the wings, air intakes, and other aerodynamic structures, but those changes did not provide the desired increase in speed, though payload and range were increased to acceptable levels.

Then, in 1981, newly formed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (BAe) rejoined the project in a work-sharing role, giving it a much needed boost. Refinements to the aircraft continued, and the Harrier II eventually received larger air intakes with a redesigned inlet, and a redesign of the underside of the fuselage that allowed the Harrier II to use reflected engine exhaust to augment the lifting power of the engine. A redesigned !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! reduced drag in transonic flight, and a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (HOTAS) helped reduce pilot workload. The latest and most powerful Pegasus engine provides 23,800 pounds of thrust, and a greater fuel capacity increased the range to 1,400 miles while the payload was increased to 9,200 pounds carried on six underwing pylons. A single General Dynamics !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 25mm five-barreled rotary cannon with 300 rounds of ammunition, mounted in a pod under the fuselage, augmented the Harrier II’s ground attack capability.

The first production AV-8Bs entered service with Marine Attack Training Squadron 203 in 1983 and, after extensive testing, the Harrier II joined the rest of the Marine Corps in 1985. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , derived from the American Harrier II, also entered service in the same year. The Harrier II has since become a workhorse of Marine aviation, serving extensively in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of 1990-1991, the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia during !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and throughout the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. In addition to service with the USMC, the Harrier II also serves the navies of Spain (EAV-8B) and Italy, while the British retired the BAe Harrier II in 2011 ahead of its pending replacement by the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in 2019. Further upgrades produced the AV-8B Plus, which includes additional armaments and night fighting capability. The Marine Corps’ AV-8B is slated for eventual replacement by the F-35B STOVL and F-35C multi-role fighter in both the ground attack and fighter role, though current plans are for the Harrier II to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! until 2030.

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Hurricane IIC BE500 flown by Sqn Ldr Denis Smallwood of 87 Sqn. This Hurricane is painted in the RDM2 “Special Night” livery.

November 6, 1935 – The first flight of the Hawker Hurricane. There is an undeniable glamour in being a fighter pilot, wheeling above the clouds high over the battlefield in one-on-one combat with the enemy. For that reason, the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tended to receive all the glory for the high-flying exploits of its dashing pilots during the Second World War. But much of the yeoman’s work of air combat was done at lower altitudes, down on the deck, or slugging it out with waves of incoming bombers. That mission was the bailiwick of the Hawker Hurricane. It wasn’t the most glamorous fighter in the RAF, and its design hearkened back to an earlier era of aviation, but it was a hard hitting workman of an airplane whose pilots ultimately downed more enemy aircraft during the war than all other British aircraft types combined.

K5083, the prototype Hawker Hurricane at Brooklands prior to its maiden flight. Note the two-bladed wooden propeller. Later production models received a variable-pitch metal propeller.

Development of the Hurricane traces back to the earlier !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , both biplanes with fixed-pitch wooden propellers. Famed Hawker designer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! began an in-house project to develop a new fighter by creating a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! monoplane with fixed landing gear, before further refining the design to include retractable gear. He also replaced the underpowered !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! engine with the more powerful PV-12, which was later developed into the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and would go on to become one of the greatest piston engines ever produced. Hawker progressed so far on the fighter that the Air Ministry simply wrote Specification F.36/34 specifically to match the new fighter, and the Hurricane was born.

Royal Canadian Air Force pilots scramble to their waiting Hurricanes to intercept incoming Luftwaffe bombers during the Battle of Britain

When the “Hurry” entered service in 1937, it was the first monoplane fighter to serve the RAF. During the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Spitfire got much of the press for its high speed and high altitude performance against German escort fighters, while the Hurricane, which was 30-40 mph slower than the “Spit,” tangled with the German bombers. In the Mediterranean theater, the Hurricane was outclassed with the arrival of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , but still remained a potent ground attack aircraft, and was instrumental in the pivotal British victory at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in North Africa. Hurricanes also played a vital role in the Allied victory in the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and nearly 3,000 were delivered to the Soviet Union. However, in the face of superior Axis fighters, its use solely as a day fighter was over by 1943. Interestingly, for all that the Spitfire was a famous dogfighter, the Hurry was actually more agile than the Spit at altitudes below 20,000 feet, having a tighter turning radius and a superior roll rate.

A Hurricane Mk. 1 in flight over Egypt in 1940

The prototype Hurricane came with a stressed fabric skin and a two-bladed wooden propeller, but with the addition of a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , metal wings, and armor plating, the aircraft that was known as the “Mk 1 (revised)” became the primary production model and formed the backbone of the RAF throughout the war and served in every theater of battle. To address the high altitude performance issues in the original Hurricane, Hawker developed the Hurricane II which had a two-stage supercharger, a strengthened wing, and additional attachment points for external stores. Other variants followed, including the Sea Hurricane, which was modified for carrier operations. Although more than 14,000 Hurricanes were produced, only 12 remain airworthy today.

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Short Takeoff

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November 4, 1968 – The first flight of the Aero L-39 Albatros, a two-seat jet trainer developed by the Czech aircraft manufacturer !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! as a replacement for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Albatros was the first jet trainer to be equipped with a turbofan rather than a turbojet engine, and its straight wing helps provide stable flying characteristics at lower speeds. The L-39 has become popular on the air show circuit with private flight demonstration teams and, while it was designed as a trainer, it has also proven itself as a ground attack aircraft for nations with smaller military budgets. The L-29 was subsequently developed into the L-59 Super Albatros/ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which features a strengthened fuselage, longer nose, updated cockpit and avionics, and a more powerful engine. More than 2,800 L-29s were produced from 1971-1990.

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November 4, 1932 – The first flight of the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing. Arguably one of the most graceful aircraft to come out of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Staggerwing took its name from the negative wing stagger that placed the lower wing ahead of the upper wing. This arrangement offered improved visibility for the pilot, and also reduced aerodynamic interference between the wings while providing a home for the retracting landing gear ahead of the center of gravity. The Model 17 was one of the earliest airplanes marketed to flying executives, with an enclosed cabin that carried a pilot and three passengers. Its retractable landing gear was a rarity at the time. The “Stag” was popular with air racers, and served the US military as a liaison aircraft as the UC-43 Traveler.

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November 5, 1911 – Calbraith Rodgers completes the first coast-to-coast flight across the United States. Hoping to claim a $50,000 prize purse offered by publishing magnate !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Rodgers set out from Sheepshead Bay, New York on September 7 flying a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! named the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!   after Rodgers’ soft drink company sponsor. Rodgers headed for Texas to skirt the Rocky Mountains, and eventually landed in Pasadena, California. Unfortunately, Rogers missed the deadline, and the prize money, by 19 days due to 70 stops caused by mechanical troubles and crashes along the way. Rodgers died just five months later when he flew into a flock of birds and crashed while making an exhibition flight.

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November 6, 1957 – The first flight of the Fairey Rotodyne. Though resembling a helicopter, the Rotodyne was actually a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , a class of rotorcraft where lift is provided by short wings and a large powered rotor while forward propulsion is provided through conventional engines. The Rotodyne’s rotor was turned by jets on the rotor tips which were powered for takeoff, landing, and hovering, but were unpowered during flight. In this way, the Rotodyne acted as an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Intended for civilian or military transport, the Rotodyne was canceled after the construction of just one prototype as no customers were found, and also due to concerns over the noise produced by the rotor’s tip-jets.

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November 6, 1945 – The first jet-powered airplane lands on a US Navy aircraft carrier. The rather unfortunately named !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was a mixed-power aircraft, having both a radial engine and a turbojet engine, as early jet engines were still untrusted. The first aircraft to enter US Navy service to include a jet engine, the Fireball made the first jet-powered carrier landing unintentionally when US Marine Corps pilot J.C. West landed aboard the escort carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) under jet power alone after his radial engine failed. The Fireball proved fragile and unsuited to carrier operations, often breaking apart on landing. Only 71 were built, and the type was retired in 1947 in favor of pure jet fighters.

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November 6, 1942 – The first flight of the Heinkel He 219. A very advanced aircraft for its day, the He 219 Uhu (Eagle Owl) was flown by the Luftwaffe primarily as a night fighter in the closing stages of WWII. The 219 was fitted with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! VHF radar and was the first operational Luftwaffe warplane to use a tricycle landing gear and the first operational aircraft to have an ejection seat. Coming late in the war, the He 219 fought well, claiming five RAF bombers shot down on its first night of operation. However, with less than 300 produced, there were not enough of them to make a significant impact on the outcome of the war.

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Connecting Flights

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If you enjoy these Aviation History posts, please let me know in the comments. You can find more posts about aviation history, aviators, and aviation oddities at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 11/06/2020 at 12:47

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Obviously, in the news today, I’m mostly mourning your wonderful aviation posts. I hope you are able to back them all up.

I’m largely decamping to DriveTribe’s OPPO group... hope we can find some place for all the great aviation work. Thanks for the great memories !

ttyymmnn > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 11/06/2020 at 13:21

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Thanks. I appreciate that, and I appreciate your comments and insights. I have backed up just about every word and photo I’ve ever done, and I’ve been hoping for years to get them onto my own website one day. Trouble is, I don’t really no where to start. I think that once Oppo goes away (if it does) then I will have the impetus to really get that started. I really enjoy doing it, and I will miss the opportunity to create the content. That said, I’ve been updating TDIAH for three years, and it’s time to stop on that project. Those will get posted as they are, and I will work now on new stuff like the Skyshark post. I’ve already got one in mind, and three more that were started and never finished.

Thanks again. Do you have a link to that DriveTribe group?D

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 11/06/2020 at 13:47

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You have my email, so make sure you let me know where you land so I can continue to enjoy,  comment on,  and upvote your posts.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/06/2020 at 13:50

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I do, and I will. Thanks.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > ttyymmnn 11/06/2020 at 14:26

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Not to denigrate the Hurricane, because frankly it was a perfectly serviceable aircraft if slightly outdated, as long as you adjusted your tactics to suit it. Much like how Wildcat pilots had to weave, Hurricane pilots could take advantage of the one strength it did have - turning. To quote one Hurricane pilot, “Never climb, never dive, just turn.” Against your average BF109 pilot, that was enough. And it was fairly rugged, and afaik ea sier, faster and cheaper to produce than the Spit.

But.

The claim that they were more significant than the Spit because they went after the bombers while the Spits did the glamourous work dogfighting has always bothered me. If the RAF had more Spits, they’d be doing both jobs and probably doing a BETTER job against the bombers than the Hurricanes did. If they had only Hurricanes, they’d struggle to reach the bombers at all through the escort. The only reason the Hurricane was relevant was it’s sheer numbers of production.

Rant over.

(This isn’t directed at you btw... just the argument in general. I t bugs me. )

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 11/06/2020 at 14:26

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This is link I followed to get in there. Thei r “access control” is different, but one log-in does seem to access all “tribes”...

https://drivetribe.com/t/opposite-lock-WsyTisBFQiuJU7cDJZttOw

I have an email with that big tech company that rhymes with “boogle”

autoeroticar

AnalogMan > ttyymmnn 11/10/2020 at 10:52

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Thank you so much for all the fantastic posts! This has been one of my favorite places to visit ever! I’ve looked forward to all the new posts and the ‘armchair’ explorations and adventures, and everything I’ve learned here. I wish you and everyone all the best, and hope you’ll be able to find a new home for this great site!

ttyymmnn > AnalogMan 11/10/2020 at 12:23

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Thank you. I appreciate that. I will be continuing over on the new Hyphen site, as well as DriveTribe. It might take a little time to figure out how to make it all work. I think, though, that rather than copying and pasting and formatting everything into Hyphen, I will use this to kickstart my ambitions to get all this on my own website. Then I can just share a link to other places. We shall see. It’s a rather massive undertaking that I really don’t have time for....

Hope to see you on the road ahead.