The prototype de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, W4050, takes off on its first flight at Hatfield, 25 November 1940. (BAE Systems)
25 November 1940: De Havilland Aircraft Company’s Chief Test Pilot, Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland, Jr., and engineer John Walker, made the first flight of the DH.98 Mosquito prototype, E0234, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The prototype’s Royal Air Force identification was W4050. The multi-role combat aircraft was constructed primarily of layers of balsa covered with layers of birch, then a layer of doped cotton fabric. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engines.
Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr, with a DH.98 Mosquito, 14 October 1943. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images 3320005)
The construction materials took advantage of plentiful supplies of wood, and also made workers who were not in the standard metal aircraft industry able to take part.
The prototype was rolled out 19 November 1040, painted overall yellow.
The prototype de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, E0234, outside the Assembly Building, 19 November 1940. (BAE Systems)
The prototype had a wingspan of 54 feet, 2 inches (16.510 meters), and its gross weight was 19,670 pounds (8,922 kilograms). W4050 was powered by two liquid-cooled, supercharged, 1,648.96-cubic-inch-displacement (27.01 liter) Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk.21 single overhead camshaft (SOHC) 60° V-12 engines, producing 1,460 horsepower at 3,000 r.p.m. at 10,000 feet (3028 meters), with 10 pounds (0.69 Bar) of boost, and driving three-bladed de Havilland Hydromatic propellers through a gear reduction.
The prototype DH.98 Mosquito,now marked W4050, in the field behind Salisbury Hall (where it was designed and built) just before its first flight, 25 November 1940. (HistoryNet)
The DH.98 had been predicted to be 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour) faster than the Supermarine Spitfire, but was actually much faster. In testing, the prototype reached 392 miles per hour (631 kilometers per hour) at 22,000 feet (6,706 meters). Improvements were continuously made, and with 2-stage superchargers, W4050 reached a maximum 437 miles per hour (703 kilometers per hour). The DH.98 prototype had a service ceiling of 34,000 feet (10,363 meters) and range of 2,180 miles (3,500 kilometers).
The production fighter variant, the Mosquito F. Mk.II, was 41 feet, 2 inches (12.548 meters) long with a wingspan of 54 feet, 2 inches (16.510 meters) and height of 15 feet, 3 inches (4.648 meters) in 3-point position. The wings had 1½° incidence with approxmatey 2½° dihedral. The leading edges were swept aft 2½°. The total wing area was 436.7 square feet (40.6 square meters). The fighter’s empty weight was 13,356 pounds (6,058 kilograms) and the maximum takeoff weight was 18,649 pounds (8,459 kilograms). The Mk.II had a total fuel capacity of 553 gallons.
The Mk.II had a cruise speed of 265 miles per hour (426 kilometers per hour) at 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) and maximum speed of 380 miles per hour (612 kilometers per hour) at 21,400 feet (6,523 meters).
Mosquito bomber variants could carry four 500 pound bombs, or two 2,000 pound bombs, but were otherwise unarmed. Fighters were equipped with four Hispano Mk.II 20 mm autocannon and four Browning .303-caliber Mk.II machine guns in the nose.
6,411 DH.98 Mosquitoes were built in England, 1,134 in Canada and 212 in Australia. It was produced in bomber, fighter, night fighter, fighter bomber and photo reconnaissance versions.
The prototype DH.98 Mosquito, W4050, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. (Royal Air Force)
W4050’s (the prototype’s Royal Air Force identification) fuselage was damaged while taxiing at Boscombe Down, 24 February 1941, and had to be replaced with one intended for a second prototype, W4051. It remained at de Havilland and was used to test different engines, armaments and versions. After a series of tests conducted in December 1943, the prototype Mosquito was permanently grounded. It was used as an instructional airframe and later placed in storage.
In September 1958, W4050 was turned over to the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre. Today, the restored prototype DH.98 Mosquito is at the museum at London Colney, Hertfordshire, England.
The Mosquito prototype with camouflaged upper surfaces as it appeared at Boscombe Down, 1941. (de Havilland Aircraft Museum)
Test Pilot Russell Morgan Roth with the first production Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak, 51-1346. (Jet Pilot Overseas)
22 November 1952: At Farmingdale, Long Island, New York, Republic Aviation Corporation test pilot Russell Morgan (“Rusty”) Roth took the first production F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak, 51-1346, for its first flight.
The swept-wing F-84F fighter bomber was an improved version of Republic’s straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet series, designed to operate at high sub-sonic speeds. Originally designated XF-96A, the prototype, 49-2430, used the fuselage of the final F-84-15-RE Thunderjet under Air Force contract, and was powered by an Allison J35-A-25 turbojet engine, rated at 5,200 pounds static thrust (23.13 kilonewtons).
Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak 51-1346. (U.S. Air Force)
Redesignated XF-84F, the prototype was followed by two YF-84F pre-production airplanes which were powered by a more powerful Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire turbojet engine.
The first production Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak, 51-1346, with its predecessor, a F-84G Thunderjet. (Unattributed)
The F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak was 43.4 feet (13.23 meters) long, with a wingspan of 33.6 feet (10.24 meters) and overall height of 15.0 feet (4.6 meters). The wings were swept aft 40° at 25% chord. They had an angle of incidence of 1° 30′, and 3° 30′ anhedral. The total wing area was 324.7 square feet (30.17 square meters), a 25% increase over the straight-winged F-84E. The F-84F-1 had an empty weight of 13,645 pounds (6,189 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 27,000 pounds (12,247 kilograms).
The early variants used a horizontal stabilizer with elevators. This was soon changed to an “all-flying” stabilator.
Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak 51-1346, the first production airplane, at Farmingdale, New York, 1952. (Republic Aviation Corporation)
The first ten production aircraft were powered by the Wright J65-W-1 engine, a licensed variant of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire. These were later upgraded to the Buick-built J65-B-3. The J65-B/W-3 was a single-shaft axial flow turbojet with a 13-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. It was 10 feet, 8.6 inches (3.266 meters) long, 3 feet, 1.7 inches (0.958 meters) in diameter, and weighed 2,785 pounds (1,263 kilograms). The J65-W-3 had a normal power rating of 6,350 pounds of thrust (28.25 kilonewtons) at 8,000 r.p.m., and a maximum 7,220 pounds (32.12 kN) at 8,300 r.p.m. (5 minute limit). Additionally, the Thunderstreak was equipped with four Aerojet 14AS-1000 solid-fuel rocket engines for takeoff. These produced 1,000 pounds of thrust (4.45 kilonewtons), each, for 14 seconds.
Overhead view of one of the two YF-84F pre-production prototypes shows the airplane’s swept wings. This variant has the sliding canopy of the straight-wing Thunderjet. (Republic Aviation Corporation)
The F-84F-1 Thunderstreak had a maximum speed of 595 knots (685 miles per hour/1,102 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level (0.900 Mach). It could climb to 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) in 13.8 minutes, and had a service ceiling of 36,150 feet (11,019 meters). The fighter-bomber had a maximum ferry range of 2,150 nautical miles (2,474 statute miles/3,982 kilometers).
The Thunderstreak was armed with six M3 .50-caliber aircraft machine guns, with four mounted in the nose above the intake, and two in each wing root. Each gun was supplied with 300 rounds of ammunition.
The fighter bomber had a maximum bomb load of 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms). It could also carry eight 5-inch HVAR rockets, or twenty-four 2.75-inch FFARs. For tactical nuclear strike, the F-84F could carry one variable yield Mark 7 nuclear bomb.
Republic built 2,112 Thunderstreaks at Farmingdale, and 559 were built by General Motors in Kansas City, Kansas. The F-84F served with the United States Air Force and Air National Guard until 1972. It also served with a number of NATO countries.
NACA Research Test Pilot George E. Cooper with 51-1346 at NASA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, circa 1954. (NASA)
In 1954, 51-1346 was assigned to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, California. It returned to Edwards Air Force Base where it was used to test rocket-assisted takeoffs and zero-length launches (ZELL). It was then assigned to the Ohio Air National Guard.
Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak 51-1346 displayed at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio, circa 1995.
The first production Thunderstreak is on display at Columbus-Rickenbacker International Airport, Columbus, Ohio.
The first production airplane, Republic F-84F-1-RE Thunderstreak 51-1346 is on display at Columbus-Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio. (Photograph courtesy of Dave Peel. Used with permission.)Russell Roth, 1937. (The Re Echo)
Russell Morgan Roth was born at Emporia, Kansas, 7 October 1919. He was the youngest of three sons of Thaddeus Roth, a farm laborer, and Dorothy Amy Shipley Roth. Mrs. Roth died 25 November 1932. “Rusty” attended Emporia High School, Emporia, Kansas, graduating in 1937.
When Roth registered for the draft (Selective Service, or conscription), 16 October 1940, he was described as having a dark brown complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes. He was 5 feet, 6 inches (1.68 meters) tall and weighed 140 pounds. (63.5 kilograms)
Roth enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet, 30 October 1941. He was trained as a fighter pilot at Luke Field, Arizona, and was commissioned a second lieutenant 22 June 1943. Serving with the 80th Fighter Squadron (“Headhunters”), Fifth Air Force, in New Guinea and the Philippine Islands, he flew 132 combat missions with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. He was credited with shooting down two enemy airplanes and another two “probables.” Captain Roth was awarded the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters (five awards).
Rusty Roth with his Lockheed P-38 Lightning, “Half Pint.”
Following World War II, Captain Roth was assigned as assistant chief of the Flight Development Branch at Muroc Army Airfield in the high desert of southern California.He was involved in testing the Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster, the experimental Northrop N-9M flying wing, and the North American XP-86 Sabre.
Captain Roth graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1949. He then returned to Muroc, now renamed Edwards Air Force Base. On 11 January 1951, Captain Roth located the wreck of a B-50 Superfortress which had disappeared after departing March Air Force Base, near Riverside, California, the previous day.
Roth was released from active duty 1 October 1951, and joined Republic as a test pilot in 1952. On 9 December 1952 he flew the company’s XF-91 Thunderceptor, a turbojet/rocket-propelled fighter, to Mach 1.07 at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters). This was the first time that a U.S. fighter aircraft had exceeded Mach 1 in level flight. Republic’s president, Mundy I. Peale, described the XF-91 as “a combat-ready airplane.”
A Republic XF-91 at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station, Edwards Air Force Base, California, circa 1951. (NASA E-475)
On 7 May 1954, Roth made the first flight of the XF-84J, a re-engined variant of the Thunderstreak. The fighter bomber was equipped with a General Electric XJ73 engine.
In 1955, Roth wrote a three-page article, “Flying the F,” for Flying Safety, a U.S. Air Force publication. He described pre-flight checks, takeoff technique and airspeed and power management. He wrote, “I still say that you really have to try to make a bad landing.” ¹
On April 23 1955, Roth was promoted to chief experimental test pilot of the Republic Aviation Corporation.
On 22 October 1955, Rusty Roth made the first flight of Republic’s YF-105A Thunderchief. He described the 45-minute flight as “a very fine ride.” On 16 December 1955, YF-105A 54-098 made an emergency landing at Edwards AFB after one of its main landing gear assemblies was torn off when it failed to retract during a high speed flight. Roth was severely injured, but he survived.
Repiblic YF-105A 54-098 landing at Edwards Air Force Base. (Ray Wagner Collection, San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
Russell Morgan Roth died at Lancaster, California, 10 November 1972, at the age of 53 years. He was buried at Joshua Memorial Park in Lancaster.
¹ Flying Safety, Vol XI, No. 1, January 1955, at Pages 8–10. Directorate of Flight Safety Research, Norton Air Force Base, California.
McDonnell Douglas F-4E-67-MC Phantom II, 78-0744, the last of 5,057 Phantoms built at St. Louis, 25 October 1979. (McDonnell Douglas Corporation)
25 October 1979: The 5,057th and very last Phantom II—an F-4E-67-MC, U.S. Air Force serial number 78-0744—was rolled out at the McDonnell Douglas Corporation plant, Lambert Field (STL), St. Louis, Missouri, and the production line was closed.
78-0744 was transferred to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) under the Foreign Military Sales program Peace Pheasant II and assigned to the 17th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Cheongju International Airport (CJJ). One source says that it was “written off” but details are lacking.
McDonnell Douglas F-4E-67-MC Phantom II 78-0744 in United States Air Force markings. (U.S. Air Force)
Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., United States Navy, with record-setting Douglas YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820, at Edwards Air Force Base, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
15 October 1955: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Lieutenant Gordon L. (“Gordo”) Gray, Jr., United States Navy, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record For Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 500 Kilometers when he flew a pre-production Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk light attack bomber, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (Bu. No.) 137820, to an average speed of 1,118.7 kilometers per hour (695.128 miles per hour).¹
Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk, Bu. No. 137820. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
The Douglas A4D-1 Skyhawk is a single-place, single-engine, delta-winged light attack bomber designed for operation from aircraft carriers. It is 39 feet, 4 inches (11.989 meters) long with a wingspan of 27 feet, 6 inches (8.382 meters) and overall height of 15 feet (4.572 meters). Its empty weight is 8,400 pounds (3,810.2 kilograms). It was powered by a Curtiss-Wright J65-W-2, a licensed-production version of the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire axial flow turbojet engine, which had a 13-stage compressor and 2-stage turbine. It produced 7,200 pounds of thrust (32.03 kilonewtons).
The A4D was in production from 1956 to 1979. 2,960 one- and two-place aircraft were built. The Skyhawk remained in service with the United States Navy until 2003.
Lieutenant Gordon L. Gray, Jr., U.S. Navy (third from left) with the Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk team at Edwards AFB, California, 15 October 1955. (Navy Pilot Overseas)
North American Aviation F-107A S/N 55-5118 rolling out at Edwards Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force)Joel Robert Baker (1920–2011). (Photograph courtesy of Neil Corbett)
10 September 1956: North American Aviation test pilot Joel Robert (“Bob”) Baker made the first flight of the F-107A-NA 55-5118, a pre-production tactical fighter bomber, reaching a speed of Mach 1.03. On landing the drogue parachute did not deploy and due to the high speed on rollout, the nose gear strut collapsed, causing minor damage to the new aircraft.
The F-107A was designed as a Mach 2+ fighter bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The plan to carry a Mark 7 bomb in a centerline recess in the aircraft’s belly resulted in the radical appearance of the airplane, with the engine intake mounted above and behind the cockpit.
Based on the F-100 Super Sabre, it was originally designated F-100B, but this was changed to F-107A prior to the first flight.
The North American Aviation F-107A was a single-seat, single-engine supersonic fighter bomber. It was equipped with a very sophisticated stability augmentation system. The F-107A was 61 feet, 10 inches (18.847 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 7 inches (11.151 meters) and height of 19 feet, 8 inches (5.994 meters). Its empty weight was 22,696 pounds (10.295 kilograms) and had a maximum takeoff weight of 41,537 pounds (18,841 kilograms).
The airplane was powered by a Pratt & Whitney YJ75-P-11 afterburning turbojet which produced a maximum 24,500 pounds of thrust (108.98 kilonewtons).
This gave the F-107A a maximum speed of 890 miles per hour (1,432 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 1,295 miles per hour (2,084 kilometers per hour) at 36,000 feet (10,973 meters). It could climb at an initial rate of 39,900 feet per minute (202.7 meters per second) and had a service ceiling of 53,200 feet (16,215 meters).
North American Aviation F-107A 55-5118 in flight. (U.S. Air Force)
The Mark 7 was a variable-yield fission bomb that could be pre-set to detonate with ranges between 8 and 61 kilotons. It weighed approximately 1,700 pounds (771 kilograms).
The second F-107A, 55-5119, was the weapons test aircraft and was armed with four 20mm M39 cannon with 200 rounds per gun.
The F-107A was in competition with Republic’s F-105 Thunderchief, which was selected by the Air Force for production. Only three F-107A test aircraft were built.
After Air Force testing, two F-107s, 55-5118 and 55-5120, were turned over to the NACA High-Speed Flight Station for use as research aircraft. John Barron (“Jack”) McKay was assigned as the project pilot. 55-5118 made only 4 flights for NACA before being grounded. 55-5120 made 42 flights.
Today, 55-5118 is at the Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona. Its sister ship, 55-5119, is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The third airplane, 55-5120, was damaged on takeoff with test pilot Scott Crossfield in the cockpit, 1 September 1959. It was not repaired.
The second F-107A, 55-5119, turns from downwind to base leg for landing on Runway 4, Edwards Air Force Base. This was the only one of the three prototypes to be equipped with 20 mm M39 cannon.(U.S. Air Force)The first XF-107, 118 arrives at HSFS, 6 November 1957. (NASA E-57-3192)
