25–26 October 1944: The Divine Wind

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The Shikishima Kamikaze unit is offered a toast of water as a farewell, 25 October 1944. At left is Lieutenant Yukio Seki (with cup in his hands). Asaiki Tamai, with his back to the camera, is next to him. At center, also facing away from the camera, is Vice Admiral Takjiro Onishi.
The Shikishima Kamikaze unit is offered a toast of water as a farewell, 25 October 1944. At left is Lieutenant Yukio Seki (with cup in his hands). Commander Asaiki Tamai, with his back to the camera, is next to him. At center, also facing away from the camera, is Vice Admiral Takjiro Onishi.

25 October 1944: During The Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Divine Wind Special Attack Unit (Shinpū Tokubetsu Kōgekitai, or 神風特別攻撃隊) carries out its first mission, an attack on two task groups of United States Navy escort aircraft carriers near the island of Samar in the Philippine Sea.

Prior to the Kamikaze attack of 25 October 1944, there had been other suicide attacks by Japanese pilots, possibly beginning as early as the attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1941. But the idea of intentional suicide attacks was proposed by Captain Motoharu Okamura, IJN, and studies began 15 June 1944.

Midshipman Yukio Seji, IJN,1939.
Midshipman Yukio Seji, IJN,1939.

The first unit of 23 pilots, Unit Shikishima, was selected by Commander Asaichi Tamai. Lieutenant Yukio Seki (29 September 1921–25 October 1944) was appointed the unit’s commanding officer.

At 7:40 a.m., 25 October, six Japanese airplanes from Davao, Mindanao, attacked three Sangamon-class escort carriers of Task Group 77.4.1 (called “Taffy 1”), under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas Lamison (“Tommy”) Sprague, USN.

One airplane struck USS Santee (CVE-29) on the forward port side of the flight deck and continued through, blowing a 15 foot × 30 foot (4.6 × 9.1 meters) hole in the hangar deck. Fortunately eight 1,000 pound (454 kilogram) bombs located there did not explode. The resulting fire was extinguished by 7:51 a.m. In addition to the airplane’s pilot,16 sailors were killed and 27 wounded.

Five minutes later, at 7:57 a.m., Santee was hit on the starboard side by a torpedo launched by the Japanese Type B3 submarine, I-56.

USS Santee (CVE-29) being hit by a torpedo fired from the Japanese submarine I-56, 0757, 25 October 1944. (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 71526)
USS Santee (CVE-29) being hit by a torpedo fired from the Japanese submarine I-56, 0757, 25 October 1944. (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 71526)

Immediately after the crash aboard Santee, another Kamikaze circled USS Suwanee (CVE-27). It was hit by antiaircraft gunfire and headed toward USS Sangamon (CVE-26). A 5-inch shell fired by Suwanee brought it down short of Sangamon. At the same time, another Kamikaze nearly hit USS Petroff Bay (CVE-80), a Casablanca-class escort carrier, but was shot down by antiaircraft fire.

Suwanee shot down a second Zero and damaged a third. This airplane rolled over, and trailing smoke, hit the escort carrier’s flight deck forward of the aft elevator. Its bomb exploded between the flight and hangar decks.

"Effect of a crash dive on Suwanee flight deck. 250 kilogram bomb has just exploded between flight an dhangar decks and fire billows out, 25 October 1944. (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 71528)
“Effect of a crash dive on Suwanee flight deck. A 250 kilogram (551 pound) bomb has just exploded between flight and hangar decks and fire billows out, 25 October 1944. (Naval History and Heritage Command NH 71528)

Within two hours the flight deck damage had been repaired, though the elevator remained inoperative. Flight operations resumed at 10:09 a.m.

Five Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 Model 21 Reisen fighters (commonly referred to as the “Zero”, and also known by the Allied reporting name Zeke) led by Lieutenant Seki departed Malabacat, Luzon, and headed toward Task Force 77.4.3 (“Taffy 3”), under the command of Rear Admiral Clifton Albert Frederick (“Ziggy”) Sprague, USN. (Ziggy Sprague was not related to Tommy Sprague.)

Prior to this mission, Lieutenant Seki was interviewed by war correspondent Masashi Onoda. Seki is reported to have said, “Japan’s future is bleak if it is forced to kill one of its best pilots. I am not going on this mission for the Emperor or for the Empire. . . I am going because I was ordered to!”

Most of Taffy 3 had just survived an attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy’s overwhelming Center Force, consisting of the Japanese super battleship Yamato, battleships Nagato, Kongo, Haruna, cruisers Haguro, Chokai, Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone, and two destroyer squadrons, in The Battle off Samar.

The Kamikazes approached the task group at very low altitude, avoiding radar, then climbed to 5,000–6,000 feet (1,524–1,829 meters). They appeared so suddenly that the fleet’s combat air patrol was unable to intercept. At 10:50 a.m., the first Zero attacked USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71), apparently aiming for the carrier’s bridge. It missed, but passed over the island, crashed the port catwalk, and bounced into the sea. The bomb it carried exploded and seriously damaged the ship.

"A Japanese kamikaze pilot in a Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 ("Zero") crash dives on the U.S. Navy escort carrier USS White Plains (CVE-66) on 25 October 1944. The aircraft missed the flight deck and impacted the water just off the port quarter of the ship." (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-288882)
“A Japanese kamikaze pilot in a Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Reisen (“Zero,” or “Zeke”) crash dives on the U.S. Navy escort carrier USS White Plains (CVE-66) on 25 October 1944. The aircraft missed the flight deck and impacted the water just off the port quarter of the ship.” (Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-288882)

Two Zeros attacking USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) were shot down. Two more dived on USS White Plains (CVE-66) but were driven off by the carrier’s 40 millimeter Bofors antiaircraft guns. One, smoking from a hit, turned away and dived toward the escort carrier USS St. Lo (CVE-63). At 10:51, St. Lo‘s guns opened fire, but this fighter, identified as a Mitsubishi A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 Reisen, crashed through the flight deck and exploded in flames.¹

An explosion aboard USS St. Lo (CVE-63), immediately after being hit by a kamikaze, 10:51 a.m., 25 October 1944. Photograph taken from USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71). (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270513)
An explosion aboard USS St. Lo (CVE-63), immediately after being hit by a kamikaze, 10:51 a.m., 25 October 1944. Photograph taken from USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71). (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270513)

In his classic 15-volume History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, USNR, describes what followed:

“Quickly there followed seven explosions of torpedoes and bombs on the hangar deck. Great sections of the flight deck and elevator and entire planes were hurled hundreds of feet into the air. The ship blazed from stem to stern, and at 1125 the unluckily renamed ² St. Lo foundered under a cloud of dense smoke.

“The second member of this pair partly circled the formation, turned, and started a run on White Plains, which maneuvered to evade with hard left rudder. The plane came weaving under fire of all after guns; a torrent of blazing tracers could be seen entering its fuselage and wing roots. When only a few yards astern, it rolled over and dove, missing the port catwalk by inches and exploding between that level and the water. The flight deck was showered with debris and fragments of the pilot, and eleven men were injured.

RADM S. E. Morison, USNR, ca. 1953

“As Kitkun Bay was steaming on course 200° at 1110, she sighted 15 Judys [Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bombers] approaching the formation from astern, distant about five miles. She launched two Wildcats by catapult for combat air patrol, but not in time. She and the three remaining carriers, Fanshaw Bay, White Plains and Kalinin Bay were without screen, owing to rescue work. One of the three Kamikazes got through the C.A.P. and dove at Kitkun Bay from astern. Its wings were shot off as it neared the ship, and just in time, for the bomb struck the water 25 yards on the starboard bow and parts of the plane hit the forecastle. Kalinin Bay received a crash dive on her flight deck which damaged it badly, but the fires then started were quenched in less than five minutes. A second plane crashed after her stack and two others dove but missed. Admiral Sprague’s flagship, the lucky “Fannie Bee,” alone alone sustained no damage in this assault.”

—History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume XII, Leyte—June 1944–January 1945, by Rear Admiral Samuel Elliot Morison, USNR. Chapter XIII, Section 3, at Page 302. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1988

10:55 a.m. A major explosion occurs on USS St. Lo (CVE 63). (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-27051)
“10:55 a.m. A major explosion occurs on USS St. Lo (CVE 63).” (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-27051)

Of St. Lo‘s crew of 889 men, 113 were killed or missing, and another 30 later died of wounds.

Taffy 3’s remaining screening ships,³ the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Heerman (DD-531), with the Butler-class destroyer escorts USS John C. Butler (DE-339), USS Dennis (DE-405) and USS Raymond (DE-341), searched for survivors of the sunken St. Lo. They recovered 754 men.

USS St. Lo (CVE-63) burning in Leyte Gulf, 25 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-47041)
USS St. Lo (CVE-63) burning in Leyte Gulf, 25 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-47041)
The remains of a Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bomber aboard USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71), 25 October 1944. (United States Navy)
The remains of a Yokosuka D4Y Suisei dive bomber aboard USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71), 25 October 1944. (United States Navy)
Damage to the flight deck of USS Kalinin Bay (CVE-68), 25 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270510)
Damage to the flight deck of USS Kalinin Bay (CVE-68), 25 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270510)

Just after noon on 26 October, another group of Kamikazes attacked Taffy 1. The task group’s combat air patrol saved Santee from 12 Judys. Sangamon and Petroff Bay were narrowly missed.

A Zeke crashes into the flight deck of USS Suwanee (CVE-27), 26 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270613)
A Zeke crashes into the flight deck of USS Suwanee (CVE-27), 1240 hours, 26 October 1944. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270613)

At 12:40 p.m., a Zero crashed onto Suwanee‘s flight deck and hit a torpedo bomber which had just landed. Both airplanes exploded. Nine more of Suwannee‘s airplanes caught fire. 85 sailors were killed, 58 were missing and 102 wounded, some of whom later died of their injuries.

USS Midway (CVE-63) at San Diego, California, April 1944. The ship would be renamed USS St. Lo three months later. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-47028)
USS Midway (CVE-63) at San Diego, California, April 1944. It is painted in a three color disruptive camouflage. The ship would be renamed USS St. Lo three months later. (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-47028)

USS St. Lo (CVE-63) was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier. Originally designated an auxiliary aircraft carrier, USS Chapin (ACV-63), the ship was laid down by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Washington, 23 January 1943, under a Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1100). Chapin was renamed USS Midway (CVE-63) on 3 April 1943.

Midway was launched 17 August 1943, and commissioned 23 October 1943. Captain Francis Joseph McKenna, USN, was in command. The ship cost $6,033,429.05.

On 10 October 1944, Midway was renamed USS St. Lo (CVE-63), just 15 days before she was sunk.

St. Lo had an overall length 512 feet, 3 inches (156.14 meters), beam of 65 feet, 2 inches (19.86 meters) and maximum draft of 22 feet 4 inches (6.81 meters). The extreme width of the flight deck was 108 feet, 1 inch (32.95 meters). The ship had a full load displacement of 10,902 long tons (11,077 metric tons). It was powered by four Babcock & Wilcox boilers of 9,000 shaft horsepower (6,700 kilowatts), feeding two Skinner Unaflow vertical reciprocating steam engines, which turned two screws capable of driving it at 19 knots (22 statute miles per hour/35 kilometers per hour). The carrier had an unrefueled range of 10,240 nautical miles (11,784 statute miles/18,965 kilometers) at 15 knots (17 statute miles per hour/28 kilometers per hour).

"St. LO (CVE-63) slows to a stop as she is abandoned in an orderly manner. Note the men going down lines into the water." (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270511)
“St. LO (CVE-63) slows to a stop as she is abandoned in an orderly manner. Note the men going down lines into the water.” (National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-270511)

The flight deck was equipped with one steam catapult and two elevators.

St. Lo was armed by one 5-inch, 38-caliber (127 millimeter) dual purpose naval gun, sixteen 40 millimeter Bofors automatic antiaircraft guns, and twenty 20 millimeter Oerlikon autocannon. She carried 672 rounds of 5-inch, 3,298 rounds of 40 millimeter cannon shells, and 7,440 rounds of 20 millimeter shells. The carrier also carried 1,350 rounds of .45 ACP small arms ammunition.⁴

St. Lo carried 27 aircraft, including Grumman F4F or General Motors/Eastern Aircraft FM Wildcat fighters and Grumman TBF or General Motors TBM Avenger torpedo bombers.

The wreck of USS St. Lo is located near N. 11° 1′ 12″, E. 126° 2′ 24″.

¹ Historian John Toland named Lieutenant Seki as the pilot of this airplane, but Lieutenant Junior Grade Hiroshi Nishizawa, IJN, flying one of the A6M5 escorting fighters, reported that Seki’s airplane bounced off the deck of the carrier and its bomb did not explode. It crashed into the sea. He observed a second plane crash onto St. Lo, and its bomb did explode. Nishizawa was killed the following day, 26 October 1944.

² It is an old sailors’ superstition that it is unlucky to rename a ship. USS St. Lo had been laid down as USS Chapin Bay in January 1943. On 3 April 1943, it was renamed USS Midway. In order to free the name Midway for the new large aircraft carrier CVB-41, as well to commemorate the Battle of Saint-Lô, USS Midway was renamed USS St. Lo on 10 October 1944.

³ Along with USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73), Taffy 3’s escorting Fletcher-class destroyers, USS Hoel (DD-503) and USS Johnston (DD-557) and the Butler-class destroyer escort, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413), were sunk several hours earlier by enemy naval gunfire during The Battle off Samar, when they heroically counterattacked the Center Force.

⁴ Naval History and Heritage Command, “Midway II (CVE-63)”

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

24–25 October 1931

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Ruth Rowland Nichols (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale 12430–1)

24–25 October 1931: Ruth Rowland Nichols set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Distance in a Straight Line Without Landing when she flew from Oakland Municipal Airport, Oakland, California, to Bowman Field, Louisville, Kentucky. The official distance credited by the FAI was 3 182.65 kilometers (1,977.61 stature miles).¹

Flying a Lockheed Model 5 Vega Special, serial number 619, registered NR496M, Ruth Nichols took off from Oakland at 5:17:30 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (01:17:30 UTC), 24 October, after a takeoff roll of approximately 2,500 feet (762 meters). Present to observe her flight were National Aeronautic Association officials R. W. St. John and Eddie Cooper.

Her route took her to Reno, Nevada, where she was reported overhead at 6:35 p.m.; Salt Lake City, Utah, at 9:57 p.m.; and Cheyenne, Wyoming at 12:07 a.m., 25 October.

The flight had been in good weather until she passed Chicago, Illinois. Then with low ceilings and high winds, she was blown off course. After another hour, she decided to land at Louisville, Kentucky, to refuel. At 9:40 a.m., Central Standard Time (15:40 UTC), 25 October, she landed at Bowman Field, (now known as Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, LOU). Her flight took 14 hours, 23 minutes.

Nichols’ record broke the previous record which had been set by Maryse Bastié (née Marie-Louise Bombec) of 2 976,91 kilometers (1,849.77 statute miles), 29 June 1931, when she flew from Paris, France to Yurino, Mari Autonomous Oblast, USSR.²

Ruth Rowland Nichols with the Crossley Radio Corporation’s Lockheed Vega 1 NR496M, serial number 619, which she had named “Akita.” (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)

The Pomona Progress Bulletin had reported on 20 October that a shipment of 648 gallons of special aviation gasoline, along with 36 gallons of oil, consigned to Nichols, had arrived at Oakland from Baltimore, Maryland. There was speculation in several newspapers that she would fly from Oakland to Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Scranton Republican reported:

Society Flier Hangs Up New Distance Mark

Ruth Nichols Claims Record held by Frenchwoman Following Hop Of Over 2,000 Miles

     LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 25 (AP)—Ruth Nichols, Rye, N. Y., aviatrix who left Oakland, Ca., last night on a projected nonstop flight to New York, landed at Bowman field here at 9:40 a .m. today. Officials at the airport said she evidently had lost her way.

     Although some distance from the end of her flight, the aviatrix apparently had achieved her goal, a new distance record for women. Airport officials said they were positive she had flown more than 2,000 miles, although the sealed instruments of the plane had not been examined. The air mileage from Oakland to Louisville is approximately 2,000 miles in a direct line.

Takes Off Today

     The present woman’s distance record of 1.810 miles is held by Maryse Bastie, French woman.

     Miss Nichols planned to refuel here and proceed to New York in the morning.

     NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (AP) — Ruth Nichols, society aviatrix, Rye, N. Y., landed at Louisville, Ky., at 11 a. m. today, having flown from Oakland, Cal., somewhat more than 2,000 miles. In a long distance telephone message to her mother, at Floyd Bennett field here, she said she had said a new women’s distance record.

     Miss Nichols left Oakland at 8:17:30 p.m. (E. S. T.) yesterday.

     She planned to reach Floyd Bennett field tomorrow morning.

     The world’s distance flight for women at which Miss Nichols aimed was established June 30, last, by Mlle. Maryse Bastie, Paris flyer,who flew from the French capital across southern Europe into Russia, a distance of 1,810 miles.

     LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 25 (AP) — Ruth Nichols, who landed at Bowman field here today, plans to leave early Monday morning for New York, officials at the airport said. Miss Nichols was reported resting at the home of a friend.

     Breaking aviation records is nothing new to Miss Nichols. She already has established women’s records for a one-stop transcontinental flight, altitude and speed.

     She set the transcontinental mark in a flight from Los Angeles to New York, Dec. 10, 1930, with a stop at Wichita, Kans. Her time for the 2,300 miles coast-to-coast flight was 13 hours, 21 minutes and 43 seconds.

Holds Altitude Mark

     Her plane is credited with flying to a height of 28,743 feet last March 6, at Jersey City to create a women’s altitude record. He altimeter showed a height of 30,064 feet, but the national aeronautic association, in approving the new mark, fixed the height at the lower figure.

     The following month—April 13—Miss Nichols flew more than 210 miles an hour at Detroit for a new women’s speed record.

     Miss Nichols was severely injured June 22, when she damaged her plane in landed at St. John, N. B.,preliminary to a transatlantic flight. She had flown from Floyd Bennett field in Brooklyn and while trying to land in the face of the sun misjudged her distance.

     She was taken home a week later by airplane, the pilot being Clarence Chamberlin, transatlantic flier who had been Miss Nichols’ adviser in her aviation activities.

     Her managers announced last month that she had definitely postponed another attempt at spanning the ocean because of unfavorable weather conditions.

—The Scranton Republican, Vol. 157, No. 22, 26 October 1931, Page 1, Column 6 and Page 2, Column 6

The following day, 26 October, Nichols was preparing to depart Louisville enroute to Floyd Bennett Field, New York. Leaking fuel caught fire while she was warming up the Vega’s engine. The Oakland Tribune reported:

RUTH NICHOLS ESCAPES AS PLANE BURNS

Society Girl on Flight From Oakland Leaps Out of Flaming Ship in Kentucky

Gasoline Catches Fire After ‘Record’ Hop; Plans for Atlantic Trip Revealed

     Ruth Nichols’ monoplane, in which the aviatrix had just set an unofficial non-stop distance record for women in a flight from Oakland, was virtually destroyed by fire today at Louisville, Ky., according to dispatches received here.

     The Aviatrix escaped by leaping from the cockpit and was pulled away from the blazing plane by mechanics. She was not injured.

     The plane burst into flames as the society girl aviatrix was warming up the motor by taxiing the ship over the turf preparatory to taking off for New York.

     Spectators saw a burst of flame from gasoline pouring out of a valve and mechanics shouted to Miss Nichols to cut off the motor. She said she was unable to hear their voices but knew from their gestures that something was wrong and closed the throttle before leaping from the ship.

     Field attendants armed with extinguishers succeeded in putting out the fire.

VALVE RELEASED AND LETS OUT GASOLINE.

     Attendants at the field said they believed a dump valve had been released by the vibration of the motor as Miss Nichols was warming up the ship and that in some manner not determined the fuel flowing from the valve had been ignited.

     Miss Nichols was bespattered with liquid from the fire extinguishers. She said she was not frightened and would be in the air again as soon as she could get another plane. She estimated the loss at $10,000, explaining that the plane cost $25,000 but the motor and other parts could be salvaged.She said she would remain to supervise dismantling the ship for reconstruction if the factory so desired.

     The dump valve, she said, had given her some trouble in California but she had had a new one installed before starting.

     Miss Nichols landed at Bowman field, Louisville, at 7:40 a. m. yesterday, approximately 14 hours after leaving the Oakland airport in an attempt to set a new woman’s non-stop distance record.

     She and airport attendants were confident that she had achieved her goal, estimating the distance from Louisville to Oakland at 2000 miles and pointing out that the course flown by Miss Nichols was even longer. The official women’s distance record is 1810 miles held by Maryse Bastie, of France.

     The barograph from Miss Nichols’ ship, sealed here before she took off, was removed at Louisville for shipment to the bureau of aeronautics at Washington for computation.

LOW CEILING, WINDS BLEW HER OFF COURSE.

     The aviatrix said she had a “fine trip” from Oakland to Chicago but then encountered a low ceiling and winds which blew her from her course.

     “Wandering around used up lots of gasoline and I decided to land and refuel,” Miss Nichols said. “I flew around about an hour trying to get my bearings.”

     Miss Nichols spent the night at the home of Lieutenant Albert M. Moody and this morning telephoned to Clarence Chamberlain to meet her at Floyd Bennett airport in New York “to have a sundae.”

     The mishap today was the second the aviatrix has experienced in recent months. Last summer she wrecked her ship at St. John, N. B., on the first leg of  projected Atlantic flight and suffered several broken vertebrae. For a long time she wore a plaster cast and now wears a steel corset to protect her injured spine.

PLANS STILL CONSIDERED FOR ATLANTIC FLIGHT.

     Dispatches from Louisville said Miss Nichols apparently had not given up her plans for an Atlantic flight although she said she did not care to “talk about plans I might not be able to carry out.”

     “Possibly I will attempt the flight next summer,” she said. “I feel sure that I can make it and have absolutely no fear. The main obstacle to success is the wear and tear on nerves and body. While considerable skill is required, endurance is the more important qualification.”

—Oakland Tribune,  Vol. CXV, No. 118, 26 October 1931, Page 1, Column 1

Ruth Nichols’ Lockheed Vega. (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale 12340–2)

Nichols’ airplane was a 1928 Lockheed Model 5 Vega Special, serial number 619, registered NR496M, and owned by Powell Crosley, Jr.

Built by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, Burbank, California, the Vega was a single-engine high-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear. It was flown by a single pilot in an open cockpit and could be configured to carry four to six passengers.

The Lockheed Vega was a very state-of-the-art aircraft for its time. The prototype flew for the first time 4 July 1927 at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California. It used a streamlined monocoque fuselage made of molded plywood. The wing and tail surfaces were fully cantilevered, requiring no bracing wires or struts to support them.

The Model 5 Vega is 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) long with a wingspan of 41 feet (12.497 meters) and overall height of 8 feet, 2 inches (2.489 meters). Its empty weight is 2,595 pounds (1,177 kilograms) and gross weight is 4,500 pounds (2,041 kilograms).

Nichols’ airplane was powered by an air-cooled, supercharged 1,343.804-cubic-inch-displacement (22.021 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp C nine-cylinder radial engine with a compression ratio of 5.25:1. It was rated at 420 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. at Sea Level, burning 58-octane gasoline. The engine drove a two-bladed controllable-pitch Hamilton Standard propeller through direct drive. The Wasp C was 3 feet, 6.63 inches (1.083 meters) long, 4 feet, 3.44 inches (1.3-7 meters) in diameter and weighed 745 pounds (338 kilograms).

The standard Vega 5 had a cruising speed of 165 miles per hour (266 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 185 miles per hour (298 kilometers per hour). The service ceiling was 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). Range with standard fuel tanks was 725 miles (1,167 kilometers).

NR496M was destroyed by fire at Louisville, Kentucky 26 October 1931. The registration was cancelled in 1933.

¹ FAI Record File Number 12340

² FAI Record File Numbers 12345, 12346 and 14886

© 2023, Bryan R. Swopes

24–25 October 1928

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Harry Tucker’s Lockheed Vega, X4769. (National Archives)

24–25 October 1928: Captain Charles B.D. Collyer, Air Service, United States Army, and Harry J. Tucker flew Tucker’s Lockheed Vega, X4769, from New York to Los Angeles, non-stop, in 24 hours, 55 minutes.

A contemporary newspaper article reported the event:

YANKEE DOODLE SETS NEW MARK

Monoplane Flies Across Continent to Los Angeles in 24 Hours, 55 Minutes

Mines Field, Los Angeles, Oct. 25—(AP)—Setting a new record for a trans-continental non-stop airplane flight from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, the monoplane Yankee Doodle arrived here at 2:12 p.m. today from New York.

The unofficial time of the flight as announced by Capt. C.D.B. Collyer, pilot and Harry Tucker, owner and passenger, was 24 hours 55 minutes. The best previous time for the westward flight was 26 hours and 50 minutes, made in 1923 by Lieutenants John MacReady [John A. Macready] and Oakley Gelley [Oakley George Kelly].

530 Gallons Carried

The Yankee Doodle hopped off at Roosevelt Field at 4:16:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time yesterday. The little cigar-shaped white-winged plane was loaded with 530 gallons of gasoline, just about enough for a 24-hour flight, and a check began shortly after landing to determine how much of the fuel was left.

The westward flight covered approximately the course flown over by Col. Arthur Goebel when he piloted his plane to a new West-East non-stop trans-continental record of 18 hours and 55 minutes several weeks ago.

This was the fourth time Tucker has sent his plane into a coast-to-coast grind. The first West to East attempt was unsuccessful but on the second attempt Goebel piloted the machine through to the record.

—The Cornell Daily Sun, Ithaca, New York, Friday, October 26, 1928, Volume XLIX, Number 29 at Page 1, Column 5

Captain Charles B.D. Collyer

Charles Bascum Drury Collyer was born at Nashville, Tennessee, 24 August 1896, the son of Rev. Charles Thomas Collyer. He traveled throughout the world, and lived for a time in Seoul, Korea. Collyer attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a military college at Blacksburg, Virginia, as a member of the class of 1919.

Collyer served in the United States Army as a private, first class, being discharged 1 May 1919. He held a commission as a second lieutenant, Aviation Section, Signal Reserve Corps. He was employed as chief pilot, Liberty Flyers, Inc., at Savannah, Georgia.

From 28 June to 22 July 1928, Collyer had flown around the world with John Henry Mears. Collyer was president of the Aviation Services Corporation of New York, which had been formed “to do unusual things in aviation.”

Harry J. Tucker

Harry J. Tucker was variously described as an “auto tycoon” and a “wealthy Santa Monica, California, businessman.” He was born in 1891.

Charles B.D. Collyer and Harry Tucker were killed 3 November 1928 when Yankee Doodle crashed in fog near Venezia, in Yavapai County, Arizona. Collyer was buried at Arlington, National Cemetery, Virginia.

Yankee Doodle was the seventh Lockheed Vega produced (c/n 7). The Vega was a single-engine, high-wing monoplane designed by John Knudsen (“Jack”) Northrop and Gerrard Vultee. The prototype flew for the first time 4 July 1927 at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California.

The Vega was very much a state-of-the-art aircraft for its time. It used a streamlined monocoque fuselage made of strips of vertical-grain spruce pressed into concrete molds and bonded together with cassein glue. These were then attached to former rings. The wing and tail surfaces were fully cantilevered, requiring no bracing wires or struts to support them. They were built of spruce spars and ribs, covered with 3/32-inch (2.4 millimeters) spruce plywood.

Three-view drawing of the Lockheed Vega from a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics publication. (NASA)

The Lockheed Vega 1 was flown by a single pilot in an open cockpit and could carry up to four passengers in the enclosed cabin. It was 27.5 feet (8.38 meters) long with a wingspan of 41.0 feet (12.50 meters) and height of 8 feet, 6 inches (2.59 meters). The total wing area (including ailerons) was 275 square feet (25.55 square meters). The wing had no dihedral. The leading edges were swept slightly aft, and the trailing edges swept forward. The Vega 1 had an empty weight of 1,650.0 pounds (748.4 kilograms) and a gross weight of 3,200 pounds (1,452 kilograms).

The early Vegas were powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 787.26-cubic-inch-displacement (12.901 liter) Wright Whirlwind Five (J-5C) nine-cylinder radial engine. This was a direct-drive engine with a compression ratio of 5.1:1. The J-5C was rated at 200 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m., and 220 horsepower at 2,000 r.p.m. It was 2 feet, 10 inches (0.864 meters) long, 3 feet, 9 inches (1.143 meters) in diameter, and weighed 508 pounds (230.4 kilograms).

The Vega had a cruising speed of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour) with the engine turning 1,500 r.p.m., and a top speed of 135 miles per hour (217 kilometers per hour)—very fast for its time. The airplane had a rate of climb of 925 feet per minute (4.7 meters per second) at Sea Level, decreasing to 405 feet per minute (2.1 meters per second) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). Its service ceiling was 15,900 feet (4,846 meters), and the absolute ceiling was 17,800 feet (5,425 meters). The airplane had a fuel capacity of 100 gallons (379 liters), giving it a range of 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) at cruise speed.

Twenty-eight Vega 1 airplanes were built by Lockheed Aircraft Company at the factory on Sycamore Street, Hollywood, California, before production of the improved Lockheed Vega 5 began in 1928 and the company moved to its new location at Burbank, California.

The techniques used to build the Vega were very influential in aircraft design. It also began Lockheed’s tradition of naming its airplanes after stars and other astronomical objects.

Lockheed Vega NX4769 at NAS North Island, 1928. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Lockheed Vega X4769 at NAS San Diego, 1928. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

25 October 1923

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First Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith and First Lieutenant John Paul Richter, Air Service, United States Army. (U.S. Air Force)

25 October 1923: First Lieutenant Lowell Herbert Smith and First Lieutenant John P. Richter, Air Service, United States Army, flew a DH-4B from Sumas, Washington, to Tijuana, Mexico, non-stop.

The 1,280 mile (2,060 kilometer) flight was made possible by two air-to-air refuelings from tanker airplanes pre-positioned over Eugene, Oregon, and Sacramento, California. The DH-4B tanker over Eugene was flown by First Lieutenants Virgil Hine and Frank W. Siefert. The Sacramento tanker was flown by Captain Robert J. Erwin and First Lieutenant Oliver R. McNeel. At both locations, Smith and Richter made two refueling contacts before proceeding on their route.

On arrival over Mexico, they circled the Tijuana Customs House, then landed at Rockwell Field, San Diego.

The flight took approximately 12 hours.

On 27 June 1923, Captain Smith and Lieutenant Richter stayed aloft over Rockwell Field, (now, NAS North Island) at San Diego, California, with multiple refuelings. This photograph shows the DH-4B tanker, A.S. 23-467, and receiver on that endurance flight. (U.S. Air Force)

Lowell Herbert Smith was born 8 October 1892 in Santa Barbara County, California. He was the second of four children of Jasper Green Smith and Nora Maude Holland Smith. Beginning in 1915, he flew for the Mexican Army. (Another source says that he flew for the revolutionary bandit, Pancho Villa.) Smith graduated from San Fernando College in 1917. He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Corps, United States Army, 8 June 1917, and attended the Military School of Aeronautics at the University of California. Smith was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Signal Officers Reserve Corps, 13 December 1917. He was promoted to the rank of captain, Aviation Section, 23 October 1918. On 10 September 1920, that commission was vacated and he was commissioned a captain, Air Service. On 18 November 1922, Smith was discharged as captain and appointed first lieutenant.

On 27 June 1923, Smith and Richter accomplished the first air refueling over Rockwell Field, San Diego, using air techniques that they also used for the border-to-border flight of 25 October 1926. On 28–29 June, Smith and Richter remained airborne over San Diego for 37 hours, 15 minutes, 14½ seconds. For that flight, they were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

From 6 April to 28 September 1924, Lowell Smith was the pilot of Airplane No. 2, the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, on the first circumnavigation by airplane. After Major Frederick Martin crashed his DWC in Alaska, Smith assumed command of the remaining three aircraft for the rest of the 23,942 nautical mile (44,341 kilometers) flight. For this flight, Smith was awarded the Distinguished Service medal. He was again promoted to captain 4 December 1924.

Smith graduated from the Army Command and General Staff School in 1935. In 1936 he served on a War Department board that established airplane design standards and procedures for the military to order new aircraft.  He was promoted to major on 16 June 1936, and to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1940. Several months later, with the rapid expansion of the Army Air Corps, on 30 August 1940, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and then to colonel, 15 March 1941. During World War II, Colonel Smith commanded Davis-Monthan Army Airfield.

Colonel Lowell Herbert Smith, United States Army Air Corps, died as the result of falling from a horse near Tucson, Arizona, 4 November 1945. He was 53 years old. Colonel Smith is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

John Paul Richter was born in Virginia, 6 January 1991, the first of five children of Otto Frank Richter, a physician, and Nora Kinney Richter. In 1911 he graduated from the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.  He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps 22 May 1917, and was commissioned a first lieutenant 20 November 1917. His commission in the Aviation Section was vacated 12 October 1920 and he was appointed a first lieutenant in the Air Service, effective retroactively to 1 July 1920.

John Richter married Miss Frances K. Fisher in 1925.

Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Richter, United States Army Air Corps, was discharged 31 December 1943. He died 26 April 1964 at the age of 73 years. He is buried at the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Refueling in flight. (U.S. Air Force)
DH-4B A.S. 23-467 (top right) trails a refueling hose for Smith and Richter’s DH-4B near Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, 23 June 1923. (U.S. Air Force)

The Airco DH.4 was a very successful airplane of World War I, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. The DH.4 (DH-4 in American service) was a two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane with fixed landing gear. The fuselage and wings were constructed of wood and covered with doped-fabric. The airplane was produced by several manufacturers in Europe and the United States. The DH-4 was 30 feet, 5 inches (9.271 meters) long with a wingspan of 42 feet, 8 inches (13.005 meters) and height of 10 feet, 6 inches (3.200 meters). The DH-4 had an empty weight of 2,391 pounds, (1,085 kilograms) and gross weight of 4,297 pounds (1,949 kilograms). Fuel capacity was 67 gallons (254 liters).

Army Air Service DH-4s were powered by Liberty 12 aircraft engines in place of the Rolls-Royce Eagle VII V-12 of the British-built DH.4 version. The L-12 was water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.34-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter), single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine. It produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine and it turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 67.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 27.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 41.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).

The Liberty 12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and the Packard Motor Car Company. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.

The DH-4 had a maximum speed of 124 miles per hour (200 kilometers per hour), service ceiling of 19,600 feet (5,974 meters) and range of 400 miles (644 kilometers).

Many DH-4s were rebuilt as DH-4Bs. These can be identified by the relocated pilot’s cockpit, which was moved aft, closer to the observer’s position. The an enlarged fuel tank was place ahead of the pilot’s cockpit. Following World War II, many were rebuilt with tubular metal frames for the fuselage, replacing the original wooden structure. These aircraft were redesignated DH-4M.

The prototype American DH-4, Dayton-Wright-built airplane, is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Aviation and Space Museum.

© 2016, Bryan R. Swopes

24 October 2003

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Concorde G-BOAG lands at LHR
Concorde G-BOAG lands at LHR. (www.concordest.com)

24 October 2003: At 4:05 p.m. BST, the final commercial flight of the British Airways Concorde came to an end with the landing of G-BOAG at London Heathrow Airport. It landed third in sequence with G-BOAE and G-BOAF after all three supersonic airliners had made a low pass over London.

G-BOAG had flown from New York under the command of Captain Mike Bannister, with First Officer Jonathan Napier and Engineer Officer David Hoyle. There were 100 celebrity passengers on board.

“Alpha Golf,” British Aerospace serial number 100-214, was the final Concorde built in Britain, and, at its retirement, was the lowest-time Concorde in British Airway’s fleet. It first flew at Filton, 21 April 1978, registered G-BFKW. It was delivered to British Airways 6 February 1980. In 1981, 100-214 was re-registered as G-BOAG. During the early 1980s, it was taken out of service and used as a source for parts for the other Concordes, but returned to airworthy status in 1985.

After a series of farewell flights, G-BOAG was retired to The Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington. It had flown 16,239 hours, made 5,066 takeoffs and landings and had gone supersonic 5,633 times.

Captain Bannister with Concorde, London Heathrow Airport, 2016. (British Airways)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes