Tag Archives: Aircraft Accident

23 August 1938

August 23, 2024AviationAircraft Accident, Frank Monroe Hawks, Gwinn Aircar, Gwinn Aircar Co. Inc., Gwinn Model I, Joseph Hazard Campbell, NX16921, Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft Ltd, Pobjoy Niagara Mark II, Pobjoy Niagara Mark V, s/c 502, Wire StrikeBryan Swopes

Gwinn Aircar NX1271. (Wright State University)

23 August 1938: Frank Monroe Hawks had given up air racing and speed record attempts. As vice president of the Gwinn Aircar Co., Inc., he was demonstrating the company’s Model I prototypes to potential investors and customers.

At about 5:00 p.m., Tuesday afternoon, Hawks landed the airplane on the polo field at the E.F. Rogers estate, near East Aurora, New York. He offered to take J. Hazard Campbell for a flight.

Mr. Rogers later said, “Commander Hawks landed on our field about 5 p.m., and offered to take myself or any of our guests for a ride. Campbell climbed in first.

“The plane lifted in the air and Hawks tilted it 50 feet above the ground to enable it to pass between two tall trees. As he passed out of sight it looked as though he had not been able to gain sufficient altitude and was trying to bring the plane down.

“Just as he disappeared we heard a loud crash and a flash of flame from behind the trees and we knew he had struck the electric wires and telephone poles.

“Myself and members of the family ran to the plane and found Hawks inside the burning machine on the seat. His clothes were on fire so we stripped him and pulled him away.

“Campbell was thrown from the plane and pinned under a crumpled and burning wing.”

George Scheneckenburger of E. Aurora was also quoted, “The wheels of the ship appeared to have stripped electric wires from poles, plunging the craft into the field. We examined the wreckage, what little there was, and found one of the fire extinguishers had blown up and another one had not been used. The flames ate everything but the bare skeleton of the plane.”

—Pottstown Mercury, Vol. 7, No. 284, Wednesday 24 August 1938, at Page 1, Columns 2 and 3; and Page 3, Column 6

Los Angeles Times, Vol. LVII, Wednesday 24 August 1938, at Page 3, Columns 3–6

Hawks and Campbell were taken to a hospital in Buffalo, New York. They were extensively injured and had suffered third-degree burns. Both men died within hours.

The first prototype Gwinn Model I Aircar, serial number 501, NX1271. (Niagara Aerospace Museum)

3-view drawing of Gwinn Aircar. (L’Aérophile, October 1937, Page 223)

Frank Hawks’ airplane was the second of two Gwinn Model I Aircars, NX16921, serial number 502. The airplane’s Civil Aviation Authority certificate had been issued only the previous week, 16 August 1938.

The Gwinn Aircar had been designed by Joseph Marr Gwinn, Jr., a graduate of Tulane University. Gwinn was World War I pilot and former engineer for Reuben Fleet’s Consolidated Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, New York.

Gwinn had designed his airplane to be simple to fly. Its flight controls were intentionally similar to the controls of an automobile, with a steering wheel that controlled the ailerons and elevators, a foot pedal throttle, operated by the pilot/driver’s right foot. A pedal to the right of the “steering column” operated the brakes, while one to the left (in the position of a car’s clutch pedal) operated the wing flaps. Control movement was limited. The airplane was reportedly “impossible” to stall.

The Aircar has been described as “stubby”, or “squat,” and other words perhaps less complementary. A noteworthy contemporary aeronautical publication said that the Gwinn Aircar, “resembled a Jersey cow in appearance.”

The Aircar was a two-place, single-engine, single-bay strut-braced biplane, with fixed tricycle landing gear. A French aeronautical publication, L’Aérophile, gave the Aircar’s length as 4.95 meters (16.24 feet), and its wingspan as 7.315 meters (23.999 feet). The total wing area was 15.70 square meters (168.99 square feet). The airplane’s empty weight was 225 kilograms (496.0 pounds), and its maximum gross weight was 725 kilograms (1,598.35 pounds).

Both wings had significant dihedral, with that of the lower being greater. The lower wing was staggered significantly behind the upper. Both wings used the NACA 4418 airfoil.

The first prototype Gwinn Model I Aircar, serial number 501, NX1271. (Unattributed)

The Aircar’s engine was produced by Pobjoy Airmotors and Aircraft, Ltd., Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom. It was an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 2.836 liter (173.056 cubic inch displacement) Pobjoy Niagara Mark II seven-cylinder radial engine with a compression ration of 6:1. The Mark II was rated at 84 horsepower at 3,200 r.p.m. at Sea Level, and a maximum 90 horsepower at 3,500 r.p.m. The engine required a minimum 73-octane gasoline. It turned a two- or four-bladed fixed pitch propeller through a 0.39:1 gear reduction. The Neptune Mark II weighed 145 pounds (65.8 kilograms).

Some sources state that both Gwinn Aircars were re-engined with the redesigned Pobjoy Niagara Mark V. The Mark V had the cylinder bore diameter increased, giving a displacement of 3.138 liters (191.503 cubic inches), and the compression ratio raised to 8:1. This required a change to 80-octane gasoline. The new engine was rated at 125 horsepower at 4,000 r.p.m. at Sea Level. The cruising power was 100 horsepower at 3,700 r.p.m., and it produced a maximum of 130 horsepower at 4,400 r.p.m. The propeller gear reduction ratio was increased to 0.468:1. The Niagara Mark V weighed 175 pounds (79.4 kilograms).

Gwinn Aircar NC1271, 1937 National Air Races. (Unattributed)

When equipped with the Niagara Mark II engine, the Aircar had a cruising speed of 175 kilometers per hour (109 miles per hour), and maximum speed of 193 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour). Its range was 800 kilometers (497 miles). With the Niagara Mark V, the cruising speed increased to 198 kilometers per hour (123 miles per hour), and the maximum to 220 kilometers per hour (137 miles per hour). The airplane’s range decreased to 655 kilometers (407 miles).

After NX16921 was destroyed, Gwinn gave up on the idea. He took the first prototype to San Diego, California, when he rejoined Conslidated. As of 16 April 1945, NX1271 was registered to him at an address in Dearborn, Michigan. The registration was cancelled 12 July 1948.

Frank Monroe Hawks, 1932 (Edward Steichen)

Francis Monroe Hawks was born at Marshalltown, Iowa, 28 March 1897. He was the son of Charles Monroe Hawks, a barber, and Ida Mae Woodruff Hawks. He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California, graduating in 1916. The school’s principal described him as the finest Shakespeare reader the school ever had. Hawks studied briefly at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.

Frank Hawks enlisted as a flying cadet, Air Service, United States Army, at Love Field, Dallas, Texas, 6 April 1917. After being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was assigned as a flight instructor until March 1919. He rose to the rank of Captain. Released from active duty, Hawks retained his commission as a reserve officer. Hawks transferred to the U.S. Naval Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, with date of rank 27 May 1932.

Hawks’ flying had made him a popular public figure. He starred in a series of Hollywood movies as “The Mysterious Pilot.”

Poster advertising Episode 5 of the movie serial, “The Mysterious Pilot.” (Columbia Pictures)

The Los Angeles Times reported, “This fire-scorched photograph of Commander Frank Hawks was recovered yesterday from his burned airplane.”

On 28 December 1920, Miss Amelia Earhart took her first ride in an airplane at Long Beach Airport in California. The ten-minute flight began her life-long involvement in aviation. The airplane’s pilot was Frank Monroe Hawks.

Francis M. Hawks married Miss Newell Lane at Lewiston, Montana, 7 August 1918. They had a daughter, Dolly (Polly?) but later divorced. He next married Mrs. Edith Bowie Fouts at St. John’s Church, Houston, Texas, 26 October 1926.

Frank Hawks set over 200 speed records. He flew a series of airplanes sponsored by Texaco, including the Travel Air Type R “Mystery Ship.”

Frank Hawks’ remains were cremated and interred at Redding Ridge Cemetery, Redding, Connecticut.

Frank Monroe Hawks with the Texaco 13 Travel-Air Mystery Ship at East Boston Airport, 1930. (Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)

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Joseph Hazard Campbell (commonly known as J. Hazard Campbell) was born at Providence, Rhode Island, 23 September 1900. He was a stock broker and “socialite.” He was the second child of Frederic T. Campbell, a bill collector, and Mary Hoxsie Liscomb. Campbell married Miss Marjorie Millard Knox in Paris, France, 7 June 1927. They had a daughter, Gracia. Mrs. Campbell was an heiress to the F.W. Woolworth stores.

***************

Joseph Marr Gwinn, Jr., was born at Joplin, Missouri, 16 October 1897. He was the son of Joseph Mar Gwinn, a school teacher, and Ellis Gwinn.

Gwinn attended Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, as a member of the Class of 1917. he studied mechanical and electrical engineering. During his senior year, he was an Officer of Instruction in Mathematics. Gwinn was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity (ΔΣΦ), the Mandolin and Guitar Club, the Tulane Quartette. He was Secretary of the Engineering Society, Class Treasurer, and competed with the Technology Track Team.

Joseph Marr Gwinn, Jr., married Miss Mildred Curran in New York, 5 October 1920. They would have two children.

Gwinn was employed as an aeronautical engineer for the Consolidated Aircraft Company of Buffalo, New York. When, the company relocated to San Diego, California, he remained in Buffalo to work on his Aircar design, but rejoined the company, now the Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation.

Following World War II, Gwinn became chief engineer of Garwood Industries in Dearborn, Michigan.

Joseph Marr Gwinn, Jr., died in Dearborn, in July 1965.

22 August 1953

August 22, 2024Aviation48-1386, Aircraft Accident, Bell Aircraft Corporation, Bell X-1D, Boeing EB-50A Superfortress, Edwards Air Force Base, Flight Test, Frank Kendall Everest, Pete Everest, Reaction Motors XLR11-RM-5, Test PilotBryan Swopes

Lieutenant Colonel Frank K. Everest, USAF, rides in the nose of a Boeing EB-50D Superfortress mothership before a rocketplane flight. He is wearing a David Clark Co. capstan-type partial pressure suit with a K-1 helmet. This scene was portrayed by William Holden in Toward The Unknown". (LIFE Magazine via jet Pilot Overseas) — Lieutenant Colonel Frank K. Everest, USAF, rides in the nose of a Boeing EB-50D Superfortress mothership before a rocketplane flight. He is wearing a T-1 capstan-type partial-pressure suit with a K-1 helmet. This scene was portrayed by William Holden in “Toward The Unknown”. (LIFE Magazine via Jet Pilot Overseas)

22 August 1953: After one successful glide flight with Bell Aircraft Corporation test pilot Skip Ziegler, the X-1D rocketplane, serial number 48-1386, was scheduled for its first powered flight with the Air Force project officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest.

Bell X-1D 48-1386. (Bell Aircraft Corp./U.S. Air Force)

The Bell X-1D was one of four second-generation X-1 rocketplanes, each designed and built to investigate a different area of supersonic flight. The X-1D was instrumented for aerodynamic heating research.

A Boeing EB-50D Superfortress carries the Bell X-1D. (Edwards Flight Test.com) — The Boeing EB-50A Superfortress carries the Bell X-1D. The band of white frost around the rocketplane’s fuselage shows the location of the liquid oxygen tank. (EdwardsFlightTest.com)

A Boeing EB-50D Superfortress carries the Bell X-1D at high altitude. (U.S. Air Force) — The Boeing EB-50A Superfortress carries a Bell X-1 at high altitude. (U.S. Air Force)

After being carried to altitude by the Boeing EB-50A Superfortress mothership, Pete Everest saw that the rocketplane’s nitrogen pressure was dropping. (Pressurized nitrogen was used to push the ethyl alcohol/liquid oxygen propellant to the Reaction Motors XLR11-RM-5 engine.) With insufficient pressure, the X-1D’s flight had to be cancelled. Everest tried to jettison the fuel so that a landing could be made safely. There was an internal explosion.

Fearing that a larger explosion or fire would jeopardize the bomber and its crew, Everest abandoned the X-1D, climbing up into the bomber. The X-1 was then dropped. It crashed onto the desert floor and exploded.

Wreckage of Bell X-1D 48-1386. (U.S. Air Force)

At first it was assumed that vapors from a fuel leak had exploded from contact with an electrical source inside the rocketplane. There had been three similar explosions which resulted in the destruction of the X-1A, X-1-3 and the number two Bell X-2. That explosion, which occurred while the X-2 was on a captive test flight near the Bell Aircraft Corporation Factory, Buffalo, New York, 12 May 1953, killed test pilot Skip Ziegler and flight test engineer Frank Wolko aboard the B-29 mothership.

Investigators discovered that leather gaskets which were used in the rocketplanes’ fuel systems had been treated with tricresyl phospate (TCP). When this was exposed to liquid oxygen, an explosion could result. The leather gaskets were removed from the other rocketplanes and the explosions stopped.

Colonel Everest’s close call was dramatized in the 1956 Toluca Productions motion picture, “Toward The Unknown,” which starred Academy Award-winning actor William Holden as “Major Lincoln Bond,” a fighter pilot, test pilot and former prisoner of war, all of which could describe Pete Everest.

Major Frank K. Everest, U.S. Air Force gives some technical advice to William Holden ("Major Lincoln Bond") with Bell X-2 46-674, on the set of "Toward The Unknown", 1956. — Major Frank K. Everest, U.S. Air Force, gives some technical advice to William Holden (“Major Lincoln Bond”) with Bell X-2 46-674, on the set of “Toward The Unknown”, 1956. (bellx-2.com)

Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest, Jr., was born 10 August 1920, at Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia. He was the first of two children of Frank Kendall Everest, an electrician, and Phyllis Gail Walker Everest. He attended Fairmont Senior High School, Fairmont, West Virginia, graduating in 1938, and then Fairmont State Teachers College where he was a member of the Tau Beta Iota (ΤΒΙ) fraternity. Everest also studied engineering at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown.

Pete Everest enlisted as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Corps at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, 7 November 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. His enlistment records indicate that he was 5 feet, 7 inches (1.70 meters) tall and weighed 132 pounds (60 kilograms). Everest graduated from pilot training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Air Reserve, 3 July 1942.

Lieutenant Everest married Miss Avis June Mason in Marion County, West Virginia, 8 July 1942. They would have three children, Frank, Vicky and Cindy.

Lieutenant Everest was appointed first lieutenant, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), 11 November 1942. He was assigned as a Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk fighter pilot. Everest flew 94 combat missions with the 314th Fighter Squadron, 324th Fighter Group, in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He was credited with shooting down two Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-52 transports, 18 April 1943, and damaging a third. Everest was promoted to the rank of captain, A.U.S., 17 August 1943.

Pete Everest with his Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk, North Africa, 1943. (West Virginia State Archives)

In 1944, Captain Everest was returned to the United States to serve as a flight instructor. He requested a return to combat and was then sent to the China-Burma-India theater of operations, commanding the 17th Provisional Fighter Squadron at Chenkiang (Zhenjiang), China, where he flew 67 missions in the North American P-51 Mustang, and shot down four Japanese airplanes. He was himself shot down by ground fire in May 1945. Everest was captured by the Japanese and suffered torture and inhumane conditions before being freed at the end of the war. He was promoted to the rank of major, A.U.S., 1 July 1945. He was returned to the control of the United States military 3 October 1945.

After the war, Major Everest was assigned as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, before going west to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Everest’s permanent rank was advanced from second lieutenant, Air Reserve, to first lieutenant, Air Corps, 19 June 1947, with date of rank retroactive to 3 July 1945.

At Edwards, Pete Everest was involved in nearly every flight test program, flying the F-88, F-92, F-100 (he flew the YF-100A prototype to an FAI world speed record, 29 October 1953 ¹), F-101, F-102, F-104 and F-105 fighters, the XB-51, YB-52, B-57 and B-66 bombers. He also flew the pure research aircraft, the “X planes:” the X-1, X-1B, X-2, X-3, X-4 and X-5. Pete Everest flew the Bell X-1B to Mach 2.3, and he set an unofficial world speed record with the Bell X-2 at Mach 2.87 (1,957 miles per hour, 3,150 kilometers per hour), which earned him the title, “The Fastest Man Alive.” He was the pilot on thirteen of the twenty X-2 flights.

Major Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., U.S. Air Force, with the Bell X-2 supersonic research rocketplane, on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, California, 1955. (U.S. Air Force)

Frank Everest returned to operational assignments in March 1957, commanding the 461st Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Wing, equipped with the F-100 Super Sabre, at Hahn Air Base, Germany. Later, Colonel Everest commanded the 4453rd and 4520th Combat Crew Training Wings, and was assigned staff positions at the Pentagon. On 20 November 1963, Colonel Everest, commanding the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron, flew one of the first two operational McDonnell F-4C Phantom II fighters from the factory in St. Louis to MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

On 1 November 1965, Pete Everest was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. Between 1966 and 1972, General Everest flew 32 combat missions over Southeast Asia.

He served as commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service from 1970 to 1973. He retired from the Air Force 1 March 1973 after 33 years of service. Pete Everest later worked as a test pilot for Sikorsky Aircraft.

During his military career, General Everest was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Purple Heart; Air Medal with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards); Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster (two awards); Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze oak leaf clusters (three awards); Air Force Gallant Unit Citation; Prisoner of War Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with four bronze stars; Asiatic-Pacific campaign Medal with two bronze stars; World War II Victory Medal; national Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (eight awards); Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon; and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960– device. General Everest was rated as a Command Pilot, and a Basic Parachutist.

Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., United States Air Force, died at Tucson, Arizona, 1 October 2004, at the age of 84 years.

Bell X-2 46-674 is airdropped from the EB-50D Superfortress, 48-096. U.S. Air Force) — Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., United States Air Force

¹ FAI Record File Number 8868: World Record for Speed Over a Straight 15/25 Kilometer Course, 1,215.298 kilometers per hour (755.151 miles per hour)

16 August 1927: The Dole Air Race

August 16, 2024AviationAircraft Accident, Aloha, Alvin Hanford Eichwaldt, Angel of Los Angeles, Arthur Cornelius Goebel, Arthur Vickers Rogers, Auggy Pedlar, Breese-Wilde 5 Monoplane, Bryant Monoplane, Buhl CA-5 Air Sedan, Dallas Spirit, Dole Foods Company Inc., Edmund Richard Gibson, El Encanto, Goddard Special, Golden Eagle, Gordon Macalister Scott, HAPCO, Hawaiian Pineapple Company, Hoot Gibson, International Aircraft Corporation F-10, J.D. Dole, Jack Frost, James Drummond Dole, John August Pedlar, John William Frost, Lieutenant Richard Stokely Waggener USN, Lieutenant Vilas Raymond Knope USN, Lockheed Vega 1, Lt. (j.g.) George William Daniel Covell USN, Lt. (j.g.) William Virginius Davis Jr. USN, Martin Jensen, Mildred Alice Moran, Miss Doran, NX2915, NX5074, NX705, NX896, NX911, NX913, NX914, NX941, Oakland Field, PABCO Pacific Flyer, Pacific Aircraft Company J-30, Paul Henry Schlüter, Pride of Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Swallow Monoplane, The Spirit of John Rodgers, Trans-Pacific Flight, Transoceanic Flight, Travel Air 5000, Tremaine Hummingbird, Wheeler Field, William Portwood Erwin, WoolarocBryan Swopes

The start of the Dole Air Race, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — The start of the Dole Air Race at Oakland Field, California, 16 August 1927. In starting position is Oklahoma. Waiting, left to right, are *Aloha*, *Dallas Spirit*, *Miss Doran*, *Woolaroc*, *El Encanto*, *Golden Eagle*, *Air King* and *PABCO Pacific Flyer*. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

16 August 1927: Not long after Charles A. Lindbergh had flown solo across the Atlantic Ocean, James D. Dole, founder of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO, now the Dole Foods Company, Inc., Westlake Village, California) offered a prize of $25,000 to the first pilots to fly from Oakland Field, Oakland, California, to Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, a Great Circle distance of 2,406.05 miles (3,872.16 kilometers). A $10,000 prize was offered for a second-place finisher.

James Drummond Dole, 28 June 1927. (Library of Congress)

There were 33 entrants and 14 of these were selected for starting positions. After accidents and inspections by the race committee, the final list of starters was down to eight.

Accidents began to claim the lives of entrants before the race even began. A Pacific Aircraft Company J-30 (also known as the Tremaine Hummingbird) flown by Lieutenants George Walter Daniel Covell and Richard Stokely Waggener, U.S. Navy, named The Spirit of John Rodgers, took off from North Island Naval Air Station, San Diego, California, on Wednesday, 10 August, en route to Oakland Field. They had drawn starting position 13. 15 minutes later, in heavy fog, they crashed into the cliffs of Point Loma. Both naval officers were killed.

British aviator Arthur Vickers Rogers was killed in his Bryant Monoplane, Angel of Los Angeles, when it crashed just after takeoff from Montebello, California, 11 August.

One airplane, Miss Doran, made an emergency landing in a farm field, and a fourth, Pride of Los Angeles, flown by movie star Hoot Gibson (Edmund Richard Gibson), crashed into San Francisco Bay while on approach to Oakland. The occupants of those two airplanes were unhurt.

Wreckage of the Pacific Aircraft J-30, Spirit of John Rodgers, at Point Loma, 10 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Wreckage of the Pacific Aircraft J-30, *The Spirit of John Rodgers*, at Point Loma, 10 August 1927. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Spirit of Los Angeles, an International F-10 triplane, crashed on approach to Oakland. The crew were not hurt. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — *Hoot Gibson’s Pride of Los Angeles*, an International Aircraft Corporation F-10 triplane, crashed on approach to Oakland Field. The crew were not hurt. I.A.C. advertised its products as *“Airplanes That Fly Themselves.”* (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

The first airplane to take off from Oakland for the Dole Air Race was Oklahoma, a Travel Air 5000, NX911. The crowd of spectators was estimated to number 50,000–100,000 people. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives. — The first airplane to take off from Oakland for the Dole Air Race was *Oklahoma*, a Travel Air 5000, NX911. The crowd of spectators was estimated to number 50,000–100,000 people. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

By the morning of 16 August, there were eight entrants remaining. Their starting positions had been selected by a random draw. A little before 11:00 a.m., the first airplane, a Travel Air 5000, registered NX911 and named Oklahoma, took off, but soon aborted the flight because of engine trouble. El Encanto, a Goddard Special, NX5074, crashed on takeoff. A Breese-Wilde Monoplane, PABCO Pacific Flyer, NX646, crashed on takeoff. The crews of these three airplanes were not hurt.

The Goddard Special, NX5074, El Encanto, which had been favored to win the race, crashed on takeoff. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — The Goddard Special, NX5074, *El Encanto*, which had been favored to win the race, crashed on takeoff. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Lockheed Vega 1, Golden Eagle, NX913, takes off from Oakland, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Lockheed Vega 1, NX913, *Golden Eagle*, lifts off from Oakland, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

The next airplane to take off was Golden Eagle, the prototype Lockheed Vega. Registered NX913, it was flown by Jack Frost with Gordon Scott as the navigator. It soon disappeared to the west.

The Lockheed was followed by the Buhl CA-5 Air Sedan, NX2915, named Miss Doran. Repairs from its unscheduled landing in the farmer’s field had been accomplished. It was flown by John “Auggy” Pedlar with Lieutenant Vilas Raymond Knope, U.S. Navy, as navigator.

Also aboard was a passenger, Miss Mildred Alice Doran, the airplane’s namesake. She was a 22-year-old fifth-grade school teacher from Flint, Michigan. She knew William Malloska, owner of the Lincoln Petroleum Company (later, CITGO), who had sponsored her education at the University of Michigan. Miss Doran convinced him to enter an airplane in the Dole Air Race and allow her to fly along. Two local air circus pilots reportedly flipped a coin for the chance to fly the airplane in the Dole Air Race. John August (“Auggy”) Pedlar won the toss. Just ten minutes after takeoff from Oakland Field, Miss Doran returned with engine problems.

Next off was Dallas Spirit, a Swallow Special, NX941, with William Portwood Erwin, pilot, and Alvin Hanford Eichwaldt, navigator. It also quickly returned to Oakland.

The Travel Air 5000 NX896, Woolaroc, being prepared for the Trans-Pacifc flight at Oakland, California, 16 August 1927. The airplane has been placed in flight attitude for calibration of its navigation instruments and to be certain the fuel tanks are filled to capacity. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — The Travel Air 5000 NX896, *Woolaroc*, being prepared for the Trans-Pacific flight at Oakland, California, 16 August 1927. The airplane has been placed in flight attitude for calibration of its navigation instruments. The airplane is painted “Travel Air Blue” with orange wings. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

The last two entrants, a Breese-Wilde 5 Monoplane, NX914, Aloha, with Martin Jensen, pilot, and Captain Paul Henry Schlüter, a master mariner, as navigator; and Woolaroc, a Travel Air 5000, NX869, took off without difficulty.

Miss Doran made a second attempt and took off successfully. PABCO Pacific Flyer also tried again, crashing a second time.

Miss Moran, Buhl CA-5 Air Sedan NC2915, takes off from Oakland, California, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — *Miss Doran*, a Buhl CA-5 Air Sedan, NX2915, takes off from Oakland, California, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Woolaroc, the Travel Air 500, NX869, arrives at Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, 17 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum archives) — Woolaroc, the Travel Air 5000, NX869, arrives at Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, 17 August 1927. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Woolaroc, with Arthur Cornelius Goebel as pilot and Lieutenant (j.g.) William Virginius Davis, Jr., U.S. Navy, as navigator, flew across the Pacific and arrived at Honolulu after 26 hours, 17 minutes, to win the race. Aloha arrived after 28 hours, 16 minutes of flight. Lieutenant Davis (later, Vice Admiral Davis) was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Arthur C. Goebel won the Dole Air Race. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Arthur C. Goebel won the Dole Air Race. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Golden Eagle and Miss Doran never arrived. A search by more than forty ships of the United States Navy was unsuccessful. Dallas Spirit was repaired and Erwin and Eichwaldt took off to join the search for their competitors. They, too, were never seen again.

Lieutenant (j.g) George D. Covell, U.S. navy, and Lieutenat R.S. Waggener, U.S. Navy, were killed when their airplane crashed in fog, 10 August 1927, while flying to Oakland to join the Dole Air Race. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Lieutenant (j.g) George W. D. Covell, U.S. Navy, and Lieutenant Richard S. Waggener, U.S. Navy, were killed when their airplane crashed in fog, 10 August 1927, while flying to Oakland to join the Dole Air Race. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Arthur V. Rogers was killed 11 August 1927, shortly after taking off on a test flight for his Dole Air Race entry, pride of Los Angeles, a twin-engine Bryant monoplane, NX705. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — British aviator Arthur Vickers Rogers was killed 11 August 1927, shortly after taking off on a test flight for his Dole Air Race entry, *Pride of Los Angeles*, a twin-engine Bryant monoplane, NX705. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

The crew of Miss Moran, left to right, Auggy Pedlar, Mildred Doran and Lieutenant Vilas R. Knope, U.S. Navy. (Sand Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — The crew of Miss Doran, left to right, John August “Auggy” Pedlar, Mildred Alice Doran and Lieutenant Vilas R. Knope, United States Navy. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Miss Mildred Doran. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Miss Mildred Alice Doran: *“Life is nothing but a chance.”* (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

John W. "Jack" Frost and Gordon Scott, crew of Golden Eagle. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — John William “Jack” Frost and Gordon Macalister Scott, crew of *Golden Eagle*. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Alvin H. Eichwaldt, navigator, and William P. Erwin, pilot, took their repaired Dallas Spirit to join the search for Golden Eagle and Miss Moran. They, too, disappeared over the Pacific ocean, 16 August 1927. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Alvin Hanford Eichwaldt, navigator, and William Portwood Erwin, pilot, took their repaired *Dallas Spirit* to join the search for *Golden Eagle* and *Miss Moran*. They, too, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Swallow Monoplane NX914, Dallas Spirit. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives) — Swallow Special NX914, *Dallas Spirit*. (San Diego Air & Space Museum)

Woolaroc, the race-winning Travelair 5000, is at the Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve, 12 miles southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

The Travel Air 5000, Woolaroc, NX869, in the collection of the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve. (Tyler Thompson/Wikipedia)

15 August 1939

August 15, 2024AviationAircraft Accident, Dive Bomber, Junkers Flugzeug-und-Motorenwerke Aktengesellschaft Dessau, Junkers Ju 87 B-1 Stuka, Luftwaffe, Neuhammer-am-Queis, Rudolf Braun, World War IIBryan Swopes

Junkers Ju 87 B-1 Sturzkampfflugzeug (“Stuka”) photographed before World War II. Note the extended dive brake under the wing. (Unattributed)

15 August 1939: As Nazi Germany prepared for a war now just weeks away, the Luftwaffe gave a demonstration of its Junkers Ju 87 B-1 Stuka dive bombers for a group of generals at a test range near Neuhammer-am-Queis, Silesia:

. . . scores of generals were assembled at the training area at Neuhammer to watch a dive-bombing demonstration. Already, said Rudolf Braun, who took part with his unit (I St. G 3) there was a feeling of war in the air.

Hauptmann Rudolf Braun, Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross

Normally the order of attack was the Kommandeur’s Stab Kette (Staff Flight) first, followed by Staffels 1, 2, and 3. For some unknown reason Staffel I, led by Oberleutnant Peltz, was this time ordered to attack last. It would save Rudolf Braun’s life.

The Met. reported cloud from 6,000 feet down to 2,500 with clear visibility below. At 6.00 a.m. Hauptmann Sigel led his Gruppe into attack at 12,000 feet. Half-rolling his Ju. 87 he plunged nearly vertically earthwards, with Oberleutnants Eppen and Mueller on each side.

On the ground below, the generals (including Wolfram von Richthofen, the Stuka’s chief) listened to the whining crescendo of the dive-bombers as they plummeted towards the ground. Horrified, they knew that nothing could avert disaster. The Met. report was wrong. Cloud base was at three hundred feet.

Hauptmann Sigel, yelling into his microphone, “Pull out!” managed to do so himself a few feet above the trees. But Eppen went in, Mueller went in, and both burst into flames. The nine Ju. 87s of Staffel 2 and two of Staffel 3 all went in.

Rudolf Braun and his comrades of Staffel I had heard Sigel’s warning and remained circling above the cloud layer through which columns of black smoke were now rising from the wreckage of thirteen dive bombers. I St. G 3 lost twenty-six young aircrew that day.

— Duel of Eagles, Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, C.V.O., D.S.O., D.F.C. and Bar, Royal Air Force. Castle Books, Edison, New Jersey, 2003, Chapter 14 at Pages 171–172.

The Junkers Flugzeug-und-Motorenwerke AG Ju 87 B-1 Sturzkampfflugzeug (“diving combat aircraft”) was a two-place, single-engine, low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear, designed as a dive bomber. The airplane, commonly known as the “Stuka,” has a blocky, unstreamlined appearance. Its most identifiable feature is its sharply-tapered, inverted “gull wing.” ¹

The Ju 87 made its first flight 17 September 1935. Among the tests pilots who flew it during pre-production testing were Hanna Reitsch and aeronautical engineer Gräfin Melitta Schenk von Stauffenberg.

The Stuka was used in the murderous attack on Wieluń, Poland, 1 September 1939, just 18 days after the accident at Neuhammer-am-Queis. This was the very first combat action of World War II. In just over one hour, 75% of the town was destroyed and more than 1,200 people were killed. The death rate was twice that of the infamous attack on the Spanish town of Guernica by the Nazi Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War.

The Ju 87 B-1 was the first variant to be produced in large numbers and was in service at the beginning of World War II. The airplane is 11.000 meters (36.089 feet) long with a wingspan of 13.800 meters (45.276 feet) and height of 3.770 meters (12.369 feet). The total wing area is 31.9 square meters (343.4 square feet). The B-1 variant had an empty weight of 2,745 kilograms (6,052 pounds), and gross weight of 4,235 kilograms (9,337 pounds).

Two-view illustration of the Junkers Ju 87 B-1, with dimensions in millimeters. (Junkers Ju 87 B-1 Betriebsanleitung, at Page 0 05)

The Ju 87 B-1 was powered by a liquid-cooled, supercharged 34.989 liter (2,135.190 cubic-inch-displacement) Junkers Jumo 211 A inverted 60° V-12 engine. The 211 A had direct fuel-injected and the cylinder heads were machined for four spark plugs per cylinder. The compression ratio was 6.57:1, requiring 88-octane gasoline. It was rated at a maximum 900 Pferdestärke at 2,200 r.p.m. at 5,500 meters (18,045 feet). The engine turned a three-blade Junkers-Verstelluftschraube propeller with a diameter of 3.4 meters (11.2 feet) through a 1.55:1 gear reduction. The Jumo 211 A weighed 660 kilograms (1,455 pounds).

The Stuka B-1 had a maximum dive speed of 600 kilometers per hour (373 miles per hour). The Ju 87 B-1 had a service ceiling of 8,000 meters (26,247 feet), and range of 550 kilometers (342 miles).

The B-1 was armed with two fixed 7.92 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig MG17 machine guns with 1,000 rounds of ammunition per gun, and one MG 15 machine gun on a flexible mount with 900 rounds of ammunition. It could carry a single 500 kilogram (1,102 pound) bomb under the fuselage.

Junkers Ju 87 V-4 prototype, D-UBIP, WNr 4924, circa 1936.

An interesting feature the the Stuka was its automatic pull-out system. Once the bomb had been dropped, the airplane automatically began a 5–6 g recovery. This could save the airplane if the pilot became target-fixated, or blacked out.

The Ju 87 was equipped with a Zeiss gyro-stabilized bomb sight. According to an article in Air Force Times, the Stuka was a very accurate dive bomber. “. . . even the worst drops typically landed within 100 feet [30.5 meters] of the target. Good hits were either on target or no more than 15 feet [4.6 meters]off-center.”

In the same article, the legendary Royal Navy test pilot, Captain Eric Melrose Brown, C.B.E., D.S.C., A.F.C., K.C.V.S.A., Ph.D., Hon. F.R.Ae.S., R.N., is quoted:

“A dive angle of 90 degrees is a pretty palpitating experience, for it always feels as if the aircraft is over the vertical and is bunting, and all this while terra firma is rushing closer with apparent suicidal rapidity. In fact I have rarely seen a specialist dive bomber put over 70 degrees in a dive, but the Ju 87 was a genuine 90-degree screamer. . . the Ju 87 felt right standing on its nose, and the acceleration to 335 mph [539 km/h] was reached in about 4,500 feet [1,372 meters], speed thereafter creeping up to the absolute permitted limit of 375 mph [604 km/h], so that the feeling of being on a runaway roller coaster experienced with most dive bombers was missing. I must confess that I had a more enjoyable hour’s dive-bombing practice than I had ever experienced with any other aircraft of this specialist type. Somehow the Ju 87D did not appear to find its natural element until it was diving steeply. Obviously the fixed undercarriage and large-span dive brakes of the Junkers were a highly effective drag combination.”

Only two Stukas still exist, one, a Ju 87 G-2, at the RAF Museum at Hendon, and the other, a Ju 87 R-2, is at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois.

¹ TDiA has not found any source that provides the details of the Ju 87’s most characteristic feature: the angles of anhedral and dihedral of its wings. TDiA estimates that the wings’ inner section has -12° anhedral, while the outer wing panels have approximately 8° dihedral.

15 August 1935

August 15, 2024AviationAircraft Accident, Float Plane, Lockheed Aircraft Company, Lockheed Model 7 Explorer, Lockheed Model 9E Orion, NC12283, NR12283, Pacific Airmotive, Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1, s/n 5778, Walakpa Bay, Walakpa Lagoon, Wiley Hardeman Post, Wiley Post, Will Rogers, William Penn Adair RogersBryan Swopes

Will Rogers and Wiley Post with the Lockheed Model 9E Orion hybrid at Renton, Washington. The pontoons have just been installed on the airplane in place of its fixed landing gear. (Unattributed) — Will Rogers and Wiley Post with the Lockheed Model 9E Orion hybrid at Renton, Washington. The pontoons have just been installed on the airplane in place of its fixed landing gear. (Seattle Post Intelligencer Collection/Museum of History & Industry)

15 August 1935: Two of the most famous men of their time, Wiley Hardeman Post and William Penn Adair (“Will”) Rogers, were killed in an airplane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska.

Post, a pioneering aviator who had twice flown around the world—once, solo—and helped develop the pressure suit for high altitude flight, was exploring a possible air mail route from the United States to Russia. His friend, world famous humorist Will Rogers, was along for the trip.

Transcontinental and Western Airlines' Lockheed Model 9E special, NC12283. This airplane would be modified by Pacific Airmotive, Burbank, California, for Wiley Hardeman post. (Ed Coates Collection) — Transcontinental & Western Air Incorporated’s Lockheed Model 9E Special, NC12283. This airplane would be modified by Pacific Airmotive, Burbank, California, for Wiley Hardeman Post. (Ed Coates Collection)

Post’s airplane was a hybrid, built from the fuselage of a former Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc., Lockheed Model 9E Orion Special, NC12283, combined with a wing from a Lockheed Model 7 Explorer. T&WA operated the Orion for two years before selling it to Charles Babb, Glendale, California. Babb installed the salvaged wing from a modified Lockheed Model 7 Explorer, Blue Flash, NR101W, which had crashed in Panama in 1930.

The Orion’s standard 450 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp SC1 engine was replaced with an air-cooled, supercharged, 1,343.8-cubic-inch-displacement (22.021 liter) Pratt & Whitney Wasp S3H1 nine-cylinder radial engine (serial number 5778), rated at 550 horsepower at 2,200 r.p.m. to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters), and 600 horsepower at 2,250 r.p.m. for takeoff. A three-bladed Hamilton Standard variable-pitch propeller was used. Both the SC1 and S3H1 were direct drive engines. The S3H1 was 3 feet, 7.01 inches (1.093 meters) long and 4 feet, 3.60 inches (1.311 meters) in diameter. It weighed 865 pounds (392 kilograms).

Post also wanted to replace the retractable landing gear with pontoons for water landings.

Lockheed engineers were of the opinion that the hybrid aircraft and the other modifications which were requested by Post were dangerous and refused to do the work. Pacific Airmotive, also located in Burbank, California, however, agreed to modify the airplane. Several names were used to describe the hybrid airplane, such as “Lockheed Aurora,” as well as others perhaps less polite. It was given the restricted registration NR12283.

NR12283 was 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) long with a wingspan of 48 feet, 6 inches (14.783 meters). The wing area was 313 square feet (29.079 square meters).

Wiley Post’s red Lockheed Orion/Explorer hybrid, NR12283, at Renton, Washington.

Post had the pontoons installed at Renton, Washington. The floats that he had ordered did not arrive on time so he installed a larger set intended for another aircraft.

NR12283, Wiley Post's hybrid Lockheed Orion/Explorer float plane, at Fairbanks, Alaska. (PBS) — NR12283, Wiley Post’s red hybrid Lockheed Orion/Explorer float plane, at Fairbanks, Alaska. (PBS)

After several days of flying from Seattle and through Alaska, Post and Rogers were nearing Point Barrow on the northern coast of the continent. They encountered dense fog and landed on Walakpa Bay, about 13 miles (21 kilometers) southwest of the village of Barrow.

“August 15, 1935 2:00 p.m. — Harding Lake, Alaska. Wiley Post and Will Rogers taxi for take-off. Last photo before their 6:30 p.m. crash near Barrow. Patton Collection #13 ” (Harding Lake Association)

After talking with a local resident, Clair Okpheah, they taxied back on the lagoon and took off to the north. Post banked to the right, but at about 50 feet (15 meters) the engine stopped. NR12283 pitched down, rolled to the right, and then its right wing struck the mud. The right wing and pontoon were torn off and the airplane crashed upside down. Post and Rogers died.

Clair Okpheah ran to Barrow for help. When a rescue party arrived 16 hours after the crash, the men recovered the bodies of Post and Rogers. It was noted that Wiley Post’s wristwatch had stopped at 8:18 p.m.

Wiley Post's hybrid airplane, NR12283, after the crash, 15 August 1935. (UPI) — The wreckage of Wiley Post’s Lockheed Model 9E Orion hybrid airplane, NR12283, after the crash at Walakpa Lagoon, Alaska, 15 August 1935. (UPI)

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