Medal of Honor, Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, Air Corps, United States Army

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Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, United States Army Air Forces. (Photographed circa 1943, as a lieutenant colonel.) (U.S. Air Force)

          The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to

BRIGADIER GENERAL (AIR CORPS) FREDERICK WALKER CASTLE

UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES,

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

         “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 487th Bombardment Group (H), 4th Bombardment Wing, Eighth Air Force.

Brigadier General Castle was air commander and leader of more than 2,000 heavy bombers in a strike against German airfields on 24 December 1944. En route to the target, the failure of one engine forced him to relinquish his place at the head of the formation. In order not to endanger friendly troops on the ground below, he refused to jettison his bombs to gain speed maneuverability. His lagging, unescorted aircraft became the target of numerous enemy fighters which ripped the left wing with cannon shells, set the oxygen system afire, and wounded two members of the crew. Repeated attacks started fires in two engines, leaving the Flying Fortress in imminent danger of exploding. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the bail-out order was given. Without regard for his personal safety he gallantly remained alone at the controls to afford all other crewmembers an opportunity to escape. Still another attack exploded gasoline tanks in the right wing, and the bomber plunged earthward, carrying General Castle to his death. His intrepidity and willing sacrifice of his life to save members of the crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.”

/s/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

War Department, General Orders No. 22 (February 28, 1946)

Colonel Frederick Walker Castle, U.S. Army Air Corps (center) and Lieutenant Colonel Elliot Vandevanter, Jr. (left), speaking to Brigadier General Curtiss E. LeMay, 10 November 1943. (IWM, Roger Freeman Collection)

Brigadier General Frederick Walker Castle, commanding officer of the 4th Combat Bombardment Wing, Heavy, was flying the lead bomber of the 487th Bombardment Group, on Air Force Mission No. 760, which was an attack against German air fields. This was a “maximum effort” involving three air divisions—a total of 2,046 B-17 and B-24 bombers, escorted by 853 fighters. The 487th was leading the 3rd Air Division. The Group’s target, with a total of 96 bombers, was the airfield at Babenhausen, Germany.

As the Wing’s commander, General Castle flew as co-pilot aboard the lead ship, B-17G 44-8444 of the 487th, with pilot 1st Lieutenant Robert W. Harriman and his lead crew of 6 officers and 3 sergeant/gunners. As the leading Pathfinder, Treble Four carried three navigators.

The combat crew of “Treble Four.” Front row, left to right: Lt. Wilkinson, (not aboard for Mission 760); S/SGT Lowell B. Hudson, Waist Gunner; T/SGT Quentin W. Jeffers, Flight Engineer, Top Turret Gunner; T/SGT Lawrence H. Swain, Radio Operator, Top Gunner; Standing, left to right: 1st Lt. Robert W. Harriman, Pilot, Aircraft Commander; 1st Lt. Claude L. Rowe, Co-Pilot (Tail Gunner, Formation Observer for Mission 760); 1st Lt. Bruno S. Procopio, Radar Navigator; 1st Lt. Henry P. MacArty, Pilotage Navigator; 1st Lt. Paul L. Biri, Bombardier. Not included, Captain Edmund F. Auer, Navigator. Lt. Harriman, Lt. Rowe, T/SGT Swain, were killed in action 24 December 1944. (487thbg.org)

The group began taking off from RAF Lavenham at 0900 and assembled at 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) in what was described as “perfect weather.” En route to their target, the B-17s continued climbing to 22,000 feet (6,706 meters) and leveled off at 1223.

B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers of the 487th Bombardment Group, Heavy, circa 1944. (American Air Museum in Britain, Roger Freeman Collection FRE 6772)

At about this time, Treble Four‘s number four engine, outboard on the right wing, began losing oil and could not produce its normal power. As the bomber slowed, it dropped out of the formation, with General Castle relinquishing the lead to a second Pathfinder B-17. The airplane, now on its own, was quickly attacked by Luftwaffe fighters, putting two engines out of operation and setting the bomber on fire. Two crewmen were wounded in the first attack.

The Battle of the Bulge, a major land engagement, was under way, and Castle’s bomber was overhead American 1st Army formations. The General did not want it to come down among the friendly lines with its full load of bombs.

Lieutenant Harriman and General Castle continued to fly the disabled airplane as the crew was ordered to abandon ship. Six men bailed out. One man was machine-gunned in his parachute by an enemy fighter and was killed. Another lost his parachute and also died. A third died of his wounds at a hospital.

At about 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) the B-17’s right wing came off and Treble Four entered a violent spin. The fuselage broke into several sections. The largest remaining part of the airplane, the forward fuselage, including the bomb bay, left wing and inboard right wing, crashed approximately 300 yards (275 meters) from Chateaux d’Englebermont in Belgium. The wreck was on fire and bombs exploded.

Lieutenant Harriman and General Castle, still in the cockpit, were killed.

Lockheed Vega B-17G-65-VE 44-8444 Treble Four crash site
The wreckage of General Castle’s Lockheed Vega-built B-17G-65-VE Flying Fortress 44-8444, Treble Four. (U.S. Air Force)

Treble Four was a B-17G-65-VE Flying Fortress, built by the Vega Aircraft Corporation (a subsidiary of Lockheed) at Burbank, California. It was delivered to Dallas, Texas, 14 September 1944. After crossing the continent, the new bomber departed Bangor, Maine, 16 October 1944, and headed across the North Atlantic Ocean for England. On 20 November, 44-8444 was assigned to the 836th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy), at Air Force Station 137 (RAF Lavenham), near Sudbury, Suffolk, England.

The airplane was a “Pathfinder,” equipped with H2X ground-mapping radar which allowed a radar navigator to locate a target through cloud cover. The rotating antenna replaced the bomber’s ventral ball turret.

The two B-17s in this photograph, both Lockheed-Vega B-17G-20-VE Flying Fortresses, 42-97627 and 42-97555, are equipped with H2X ground-mapping radar. (U.S. Air Force)
Colonel Frederick Walker Castle (fourth from left) joins Major John J. McNaboe during the debriefing of 1st Lt. James A. Verinis and his combat crew of the 324th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy). Verinis had previously served as co-pilot of the B-17F Memphis Belle. (U.S. Air Force)

Frederick Walker Castle was born at Fort William McKinley, Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 14 October 1908. He was the first of three children of 2nd Lieutenant Benjamin Frederick Castle, United States Army, and Winifred Alice Walker Castle.

Castle attended Boonton High School, in Boonton, New Jersey, and the Storm King School at Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.

Castle enlisted in the New Jersey National Guard in 1924. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, as a cadet in 1926. Upon graduating, on 12 June 1930, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers, United States Army.

Castle transferred to Air Corps in 1931 and trained as a pilot at March Field, near Riverside, California.

12 September 1936, Castle was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, Air Corps, assigned to 27th Division Aviation.

Recalled to active duty at the rank of captain, January 1942. He was assigned to the staff of Major General Ira Eaker, engaged in forming Eighth Air Force in England. He was promoted to colonel, January 1943. He served as chief of staff for supply.

From 19 June 1943, Colonel Castle commanded the 94th Bombardment Group, Heavy, at RAF Bury St. Edmunds (USAAF Station 468), and in April 1944, took command of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing, Heavy. Castle was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, 20 November 1944.

Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle receives his insignia of rank from his staff, 14 December 1944. (IWM, Roger Freeman Collection)

General Castle’s remains was buried at the Henri Chapelle American Cemetery near Welkenraedt, Belgium.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, Brigadier General Castle was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters (four awards), and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics awarded him its Орден Кутузова (Orden Kutuzova, the Order of Kutuzov); Belgium, the Croix de Guerre avec palme; France appointed him an Officier de la Légion d’honneur and awarded its Croix de Guerre avec palme.

Merced Army Airfield was renamed Castle Field, 17 January 1946, in honor of General Castle.

NOTE: A detailed analysis of “The Crash of B-17 44-8444 Treble Four” by Paul M. Webber can be found at: https://web.archive.org/web/20170127032552/http://www.geocities.ws/pmwebber/castle_treble4.htm

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

23 December 1974

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The first prototype Rockwell B-1A Lancer, 74-0158, takes off at AF Plant 42, Palmdale, California, 23 December 1974. (U.S. Air Force)
The first prototype Rockwell B-1A Lancer, 74-0158, takes off at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, 23 December 1974. (U.S. Air Force)

23 December 1974: The first of four prototype Rockwell B-1A Lancer Mach 2.2 strategic bombers, serial number 74-0158, made its first flight from Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. The aircraft commander was company test pilot Charles C. Bock, Jr. (Colonel, U.S. Air Force, retired) with pilot Colonel Emil Sturmthal, U.S. Air Force, and flight test engineer Richard Abrams. After basic flight evaluation, the B-1A landed at Edwards Air Force Base, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) to the northeast of Palmdale.

Rockwell B-1A 74-0158 with a General Dynamics F-111 chase plane, landing at Edwards Air Force base. (U.S. Air Force)
Rockwell B-1A 74-0158 with a General Dynamics F-111 chase plane, landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

The Rockwell International B-1A Lancer was designed to operate with a flight crew of four. It was 150 feet, 2.5 inches (45.784 meters) long. With the wings fully swept, the span was 78 feet, 2.5 inches (23.838 meters), and extended, 136 feet, 8.5 inches (41.669 meters). The tip of the vertical fin was 33 feet, 7.25 inches (10.243 meters) high. The wings have an angle of incidence of 2°,  with 1° 56′ anhedral and -2° twist. The leading edges were swept to 15° when extended, and 67½°, fully swept. The total wing area is 1,946 square feet (180.8 square meters).

The empty weight of the B-1A was approximately 173,000 pounds (78,472 kilograms). The maximum takeoff weight was 389,800 pounds (176,810 kilograms), but once airborne it could take on additional fuel up to a maximum weight of 422,000 pounds (191,416 kilograms).

Rockwell International B-1A Lancer 74-0158 landing at Edwards Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force 171219-F-ZZ999-412)

The Lancer was powered by four General Electric F101-GE-100 afterburning turbofan engines. This is an axial-flow engine with a 2-stage fan section, 9-stage compressor and 3-stage turbine (1 high- and 2 low-pressure stages). It is rated at 16,150 pounds of thrust (71.839 kilonewtons), and 29,850 pounds (132.779 kilonewtons) with afterburner. The F101-GE-100 is 15 feet, 0.7 inches (4.590 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.2 inches (1.402 meters) in diameter, and weighs 4,165 pounds (1,889 kilograms).

The bomber’s maximum speed was 1,262 knots 1,452 miles per hour/2,337 kilometers per hour)—Mach 2.2—at an optimum altitude of 53,000 feet (16,154 meters), its combat ceiling. The B-1A’s combat range was 5,675 nautical miles (6,531 statute miles/10,510 kilometers) The maximum ferry range was 6,242 nautical miles (7,183 statute miles/11,560 kilometers).

The B-1A was designed to carry 75,000 pounds (34,019 kilograms) of bombs in an internal bomb bay. It could carry a maximum of 84 MK-82 conventional explosive bombs. For a nuclear attack mission, the Lancer could carry 12 B43 free-fall bombs, or 24 B61 or B77 bombs. For a stand-off attack, the bomber could carry 24 AGM-69 SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile) nuclear missiles.

Each of the four prototypes served its own role during testing. 74-0158 was the flight evaluation aircraft.

By the time that the B-1A program was cancelled, 74-0158 had made 79 flights totaling 405.3 hours. It was dismantled and used for weapons training at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.

The first prototype Rockwell B-1A Lancer, 74-0158, at Edwards AFB. Visual differences of the B-1A that distinguish it from the later B-1B are the long drag link on the nose landing gear, the vertical inlet splitter vanes, black wheels and a long tail cone. On the upper fuselage behind the cockpit are the "elephant ears" intended to stabilize the crew escape capsule. (U.S. Air Force)
The first prototype Rockwell B-1A Lancer, 74-0158, at Edwards AFB. Visual differences of the B-1A that distinguish it from the later B-1B are the long drag link on the nose landing gear, the vertical inlet splitter vanes, black wheels and a long tail cone. On the upper fuselage behind the cockpit are the “elephant ears” intended to stabilize the crew escape capsule. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

8–23 December 1941: Medal of Honor, Captain Henry Talmadge Elrod, United States Marine Corps.

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Captain Henry Talmadge Elrod, United States Marine Corps
Captain Henry Talmadge Elrod, United States Marine Corps

Wake Island is a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, located 2,298 miles (3,698 kilometers) west of Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, and 1,991 miles (3,204 kilometers) east of Tokyo, Japan. The atoll consists of three small islands with a lagoon, surrounded by a coral reef. As part of the American expansion in the Pacific, in 1899, unoccupied Wake Island was claimed by the United States under orders of President William McKinley.

In 1935, Pan American Airways constructed a fuel and maintenance station for its transpacific flying boats, with a 48-room hotel for passengers and employees of the airline. In 1941, the U.S. Navy established a base at the atoll, and constructed an airfield and port facilities. A battalion of U.S. Marines garrisoned the base. Approximately 1,100 civilian construction workers were also at Wake. A detachment of twelve Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters of VMF-211 were delivered by an aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CV-6), 4 December 1941.

Aerial reconnaissance photographic mosaic of Wake Island, 3 December 1941. (U.S. Navy)

On December 8, 1941 (Wake is west of the International Date Line; this was December 7 in Hawaii), the island was attacked by 36 Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 twin-engine bombers from the Marshall Islands. Eight of VMF-211’s Wildcats were destroyed. Nearly half of the detachment’s personnel were killed or wounded. Several air attacks followed.

On 11 December the Japanese invasion force arrived. Defense artillery sank a Japanese destroyer, Hayate, while VMF-211’s four remaining Wildcats sank another destroyer, Kisaragi. The invasion force flagship, light cruiser Yubari, was bracketed by the Marine’s shore-based guns, and the Japanese force withdrew.

On 23 December, a second invasion force, supported by two aircraft carriers, arrived and Japanese marines came ashore. The outnumbered defenders surrendered the island late in the day.

In January 1942, surviving American military personnel and most of the civilian workers were removed from the island aboard a Japanese passenger ship, Nitta Maru. They were taken to prison camps in China and Japan. On the night of 7 October 1943, 98 of the American civilians still on Wake Island were lined up on the beach and killed by machine gun fire.

Captain Henry T. Elrod's Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, Bu. No. 4019, with squadron markings 211-F-11, damaged beyond repair on Wake Island. This photograph was taken by the landing force of the Imperial Japanese Navy, sometime on or after 23 December 1941. (IJN)
Captain Henry T. Elrod’s Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, Bu. No. 4019, with squadron markings 211-F-11, damaged beyond repair on Wake Island. This photograph was taken by the landing force of the Imperial Japanese Navy, sometime on or after 23 December 1941. (IJN)

Henry Talmadge Elrod was born at Rebecca, Georgia, 27 September 1905, the son of Robert Harrison Elrod, a farmer, and Margaret Isabelle Rainey Elrod. After high school, Elrod studied at the University of Georgia and Yale University.

After three years of college, Henry T. Elrod enlisted as Private, United States Marine Corps, 1 December 1927, at San Diego, California. After recruit training, Private Elrod remained at San Diego for several years. Promoted to Corporal, he was assigned to Marine Observation Squadron 8 (VO-8M), in March 1930. This was a unit of the West Coast Expeditionary Force based at NAS San Diego.

In July 1930, Corporal Elrod was transferred to the Marine Barracks at the Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., where he was “under instruction,” training as an officer candidate. One 10 February 1931, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps.

2nd Lieutenant Henry Talmadge Elrod, United States Marine Corps. (U.S. Navy)

From 21 April 1933, Lieutenant Elrod was assigned to NAS Pensacola, Florida, undergoing flight training.

Lieutenant Elrod married Miss Elizabeth Hogun Jackson ¹ at St. John’s Church, Mobile, Alabama, 10 May 1933.

Elrod graduated from flight training and received his wings as a Naval Aviator in February 1935. He was promoted to First Lieutenant. On 1 September 1937 he was promoted to the rank of Captain.

Captain Elrod was again stationed at San Diego, from 5 July 1938. He and Mrs. Elrod resided at 432 E Avenue, Coronado, just south of the Naval Air Station.

In 1940, Captain Elrod was sent to to Hawaii, attached to Marine Fighter Squadron 211 (VMF-211). Up to this time, he was credited with 3 years, 5 months of sea service.

After his death in combat, Captain Elrod was buried on Wake Island. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major, 8 November 1946. His remains were exhumed and reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in November 1947.

On 6 July 1985, the United States Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class Guided Missile Frigate USS Elrod (FFG-55) was placed in commission, named in honor of Major Henry Talmadge Elrod.

USS Elrod (FFG-55). (U.S. Navy)

¹ Mrs. Elrod served as a Major, U.S. Marine Corps. She enlisted as a private, U.S.M.C.R.-W. in 1943, and was commisioned as a second lieutenant, October 1943. While at MCAS Miramar, July 1945, she was promoted to first lieutenant, and to captain, October 1946. By June 1947, Captain Elrod was one of only ten women Marine Corps officers still on active duty. She commanded Company E, Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps, 31 December 1946–19 December 1948. In 1950, Captain Elizabeth Elrod married Colonel Roger Carleson, U.S.M.C., who, like her first husband, was also a Naval Aviator. Her uncle was an Admiral, U.S. Navy. She died 7 May 1985 at Culpeper, Virginia, at the age of 79 years, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

23 December 1941

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A group of new Douglas C-47 Skytrains. The airplane closest to the camera is C-47-DL 41-18415. (Douglas Aircraft Company)

23 December 1941: Although hundreds of Douglas DC-3 commercial transports had been impressed into military service directly from the production line and designated C-48, C-49 and C-50, the first airplane of the type specifically built as a military transport, C-47 Skytrain 41-7722, made its first flight at Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California, on this date. More than 10,000 C-47s would follow. In service with the United States Navy, the Skytrain was designated R4D-1. In British service, it was called the Dakota Mk.I.

The initial contract for the C-47 was signed 16 September 1940.

The first DC-3-type airplane to be purchased by the Army Air Corps was this Douglas C-41A, serial number 40-070, (DC-3-253A s/n 2145) delivered 11 September 1939. It was used by General Hap Arnold, Chief of Staff, Air Corps.

The primary differences between the civil and military airframes was the addition of a cargo door on the left side of the fuselage, a strengthened cargo floor, a navigator’s astrodome and provisions for glider towing.

Douglas DC-3 (C-47B) three-view drawing. (NASA)

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain is an all-metal twin-engine, low wing monoplane transport with retractable landing gear. It was operated by a minimum flight crew of two pilots, a navigator and a radio operator. The wing is fully cantilevered and the fuselage is of semi-monocoque construction. Control surfaces are fabric-covered.

Early production C-47 Skytrain transports under construction at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, California. (Library of Congress)

The C-47 is 64 feet, 5½ inches (19.647 meters) long with a wingspan of 95 feet (28.956 meters) and height of 17 feet (5.182 meters). The wing center section is straight, but outboard of the engine nacelles there is 5º dihedral. The wings’ leading edges are swept aft 15.5°. The trailing edges have no sweep. Empty weight of the C-47A is 17,257 pounds (7,828 kilograms) and the maximum takeoff weight is 29,300 pounds (13,290 kilograms).

A Douglas employee at Long Beach, California works on a C-47’s Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp R-1830-92 radial engine. Stenciling shows that the propellers were inspected 10 October 1942. (Albert T. Palmer/Office of War Information)

The C-47 is powered by two 1,829.4-cubic-inch-displacement (29.978 liter) air-cooled, supercharged R-1830-92 (Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp S1C3-G) two-row 14-cylinder radial engines. These had a maximum continuous rating for normal operation was 1,060 horsepower at 2,550 r.pm., up to 7,500 feet (2,286 meters), and 1,200 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m., at Sea Level, for takeoff. Each engine drives a three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed full-feathering propeller with a diameter of 11 feet, 6 inches (3.505 meters) through a 16:9 gear reduction. The R-1830-92 is 48.19 inches (1.224 meters) long, 61.67 inches (1.566 meters) in diameter, and weighs 1,465 pounds (665 kilograms).

The C-47 has a cruising speed of 185 miles per hour (298 kilometers per hour) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and service ceiling of 24,100 feet (7,346 meters).

U.S. Army paratroopers jump from Douglas C-47-DL Skytrain 41-7805. This airplane was in the first production block of C-47s built at Long Beach, California. (U.S. Air Force)

The C-47 could carry 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of cargo, or 28 fully-equipped paratroopers. Alternatively, 14 patients on stretchers could be carried, along with three attendants.

U.S. Paratroopers board a Douglas C-47 Skytrain for Operation Husky, 9 July 1943. (U.S. Army)
U.S. Paratroopers board a Douglas C-47 Skytrain for Operation Husky, 9 July 1943. This airplane, Douglas C-47-DL 41-18341, was built at Long Beach, California. (U.S. Army)
Douglas C-47 Skytrains at the Midwest City Douglas Aircraft Plant. Douglas produced 13 C-47s a day at this facility. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

23 October 1906

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“The Santos-Dumont airplane in full flight at Bagatelle, October 23, 1906. (This photograph, unfortunately too retouched, is to our knowledge, the only one which appears to have actually been taken that day during the aerial journey.)” (Cliché Branger/L’Aerophile, October 1906, at Page 246)

23 October 1906: At 4:45 p.m., Albert Santos-Dumont climbed into his airplane, N° 14 bis, at the Château de Bagatelle, Paris, France. Starting its Antoinette engine, it  began rolling and quickly balanced on its two wheels. Passed an estimated 30 km/h and travelled approximately 100 meters on the ground before becoming airborne. for a while the height above the ground was minimal. The airplane gradually climbed, remaining perfectly balanced longitudinally. Lateral balance was also good. The airplane began to drift to the right, then more so to the left. Fearing this might become more pronounced, Santos-Dumont cut of the ignition and his airplane slowly descended. On touchdown, the wheels and rudder were damaged.

14 bis

N° 14 bis powered by a Antoinette 50 ch liquid-cooled V-8 engine two-bladed propeller by Léon Levavasseur, steel with aluminum airfoils. 2 meters in diameter, pitch 1 meter, 8 kg. Thrust: 146 kg.

took off and flew between 50 and 100 meters (164–328 feet) at an altitude of 3–5 meters (10–16 feet).

Unlike Wright Brothers flights, Santos-Dumont made his flights before the public. Flight was certified by

Sources vary as to the dimensions of the airplane. The Smithsonian reports that dimensions taken from the Official List of Records of the Aero Club of France Span 40 feet, length 33 feet, surface 860 sq feet, weight 352 pounds Antoinette 24 h.p.

direct-fuel-injected liquid-cooled 105mm x 105 mm, 50 ch (49.3 h.p.) @ 1,400 r.p.m. 132# (60 kg) 7.27 liters (443.86 cubic inches)

Jane’s All The World Aircraft 1913:  L: 31’10”, WS: 38’9″, wt: 661 pounds. pronoucned dihedral. canard, three-bay (Hargrave’s cells) boxkite/biplane, box elevators forward. standining in a wicker basket.

14 bis

bamboo poles covered with silk