Category AIRFORCE

JANUARY 10 Near Los Angeles, California, the Aero Club of California hosts the first American air meet. Present in the audi­ence is James H. Doolittle, who is inspired to join the U. S. Army and become a pilot.

JANUARY 19 Over Los Angeles, California, Lieutenant Paul Beck conducts the first “bomb run” when he drops three sand­bags from his Farman biplane during a flying meet.

FEBRUARY 15 In an attempt to avoid wintry conditions, the U. S. Army Signal Corps transfers flight training operations from College Park, Maryland, to Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, further south. Gusty winds en­countered there, however, severely limit flying time.

MARCH 2 Over Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois is the first military aviator to fly west of the Mississippi River when he performs his solo flight. Foulois remains the only pilot assigned to the Aeronautical Divi­sion, Army Signal Corps.

MARCH 19 At Montgomery, Alabama, Orville Wright opens a flying school; years hence, this becomes the future Maxwell Field (and Air Force Base).

JUNE 30 On Keuka Lake, New York,

Glenn Curtiss conducts history’s first aer­ial bombing test by dropping several dummy weapons. His target is a series of buoyed flags laid out in the shape of a battleship and 15 of his 17 projectiles score “hits.” Several admirals observing the proceedings blithely dismiss any potential threat to capital vessels.

JULY 1 Captain Arthur S. Cowan gains appointment as head of the Aeronautical Division, Army Signal Corps.

AUGUST 18 At Fort Sam Houston, Texas, civilian mechanics add wheels to Signal Corps Airplane No. 1, therefore eliminat­ing the need for rails and catapults while launching.

AUGUST 20 Over Sheepshead Bay Race Track, New York, Lieutenant Jacob E. Fickel is the first man to fire a weapon from an airplane when he shoots a.30-caliber Springfield rifle at targets from a Curtiss biplane; four passes result in two hits.

OCTOBER 10 At College Park, Mary­land, Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling takes his Wright Flyer aloft to test a bomb-sighting and -dropping device cre­ated by Riley E. Scott.

OCTOBER 11 Over St. Louis, Missouri, ebullient Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first former commander in chief to pilot an airplane.

JANUARY 8 Over Scott Field, Illinois,

Lieutenant Orvil Andersen pilots the RS-1, then the world’s largest semi-rigid airship, being 282 feet long, 70 feet in diameter, and displacing 755,500 cubic feet when inflated. Andersen and his crew of eight circle the airfield at speeds of 40 miles per hour.

JANUARY 27 Brigadier General William G. Mitchell resigns from the Army, intend­ing to champion American air power as a civilian. This move costs him retirement benefits commensurate with his rank, but he presses his beliefs with urgency.

JANUARY 29 At Dayton, Ohio, a XCO – 5A flown by Lieutenant John A. Macready reaches 38,704 feet over McCook Field, a world record.

MARCH 8 At Clark University, Massa­chusetts, Dr. Robert H. Goddard tests an oxygen-pressure-fed rocket motor on a static stand for the first time.

MARCH 16 Near Auburn, Massachusetts, Dr. Robert H. Goddard successfully launches his first liquid-fueled rocket, a major technological development. The propellant burns but 2.5 seconds, yet pro­pels the missile 184 feet. However, mili­tary implications for such new technology remain pending.

July 2 In Washington, D. C., Congress, cognizant of the growing importance of military aviation and recommenda­tions of the Morrow Board, founds the Army Air Corps (AAC) as a separate branch of the service. This new arm is authorized at 16,650 men and 1,800 air­craft, and includes a new assistant secre­tary of war for air. Major General Mason M. Patrick is also appointed chief of the new Army Air Corps. Congress further mandates that no less than 20 percent of all military pilots must be drawn from enlisted ranks.

The Distinguished Flying Cross medal is established for all military individuals who distinguish themselves through some aerial activity; the award is retroactive to April 6, 1917.

July 16 In Washington, D. C., F. Trubee Davidson gains appointment as the first assistant secretary of war for air within the War Department.

December 7 Flight surgeon Captain Charles T. Buckner, in the world’s first study in aerospace medicine, flies a DH-4B to 28,000 feet without an oxygen tank to study the effects of high altitudes.

December 21 At Kelly Field, San Anto­nio, Texas, five Loening AO-1A

Amphibians under Major Herbert A. will Tour of South and Central America,

Dargue commence a Pan-American Good – covering 25 nations and 22,000 miles.

JANUARY 15 Flying in a Wright biplane at 1,500 feet, Lieutenant Myron S. Crissy drops a live 36-pound bomb on a target. The aircraft in question is flown by Philip O. Parmalee.

JANUARY 16 Over the San Bruno Hills, California, a Wright Flyer piloted by Lieutenant G. E. M. Kelly conducts the first aerial reconnaissance mission when he tries unsuccessfully to photograph and detect camouflaged troops from 2,000 feet.

JANUARY 17 At San Diego, California,

Glenn H. Curtiss opens an aviation school on North Island, which sub­sequently serves as the Signal Corps Avia­tion School.

JANUARY 21 Over Selfridge Field, Michigan, a Wright Flyer piloted by Lieutenant Paul W. Beck relays the first radio-transmitted message while airborne. The test is conducted at an altitude of100 feet and picks up a message 1.5 miles away.

FEBRUARY 7 Over Tijuana, Mexico, a biplane flown by Harry S. Harkness delivers a message to U. S. Army forces; the trip from San Diego, California, 25 miles distant, took only 25 minutes.

FEBRUARY 27 Near Fort McIntosh, Laredo, Texas, a Wright B Flyer piloted by Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois and Philip O. Parmalee demonstrates the potential of aircraft to cooperate with ground forces.

MARCH 3 In Washington, D. C., the Sec­retary of War authorizes the Army’s first aviation appropriation of $125,000 to fund 51 members of its Aviation Section.

Over Texas, a biplane flown by civilian pilot Philip Parmalee and Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois travels between Laredo and Eagle Rock to demonstrate the utility of such technology for relaying military communications.

MARCH 17 A Curtiss D pusher aircraft becomes the first machine adopted by the U. S. Army Signal Corps to utilize tricycle landing gear and it receives the designa­tion Aeroplane No. 2.

MARCH 21 Over Fort William McKinley, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm flies Signal Corps No. 7, a Wright Flyer, in the first overseas flight of an American warplane.

MARCH 31 In Missouri, the National Guard Signal Corps detachment organizes
an air section to teach aviation and ballooning for the first time.

April 5 At Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the first provisional aero company is organi­zed by the U. S. Army.

April 11 At Augusta, Georgia, the Army

establishes its first, permanent flying school outside College Park, Maryland, and seeks permission to build four hang­ars. Fliers train there during winter months, although the school eventually relocates to San Diego, California.

APRIL 21 Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold is

ordered to Dayton, Ohio, for flight instructions at the Wright Flying School; he is accompanied by another early avia­tor, Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling.

April 27 At Fort Sam Houston, Texas, a Curtiss IV Model D and a Wright Type B become the second and third Signal Corps small aircraft.

May 4 In Washington, D. C., the War Department approves the transfer of Signal Corps Aeroplane No. 1, the Wright Military Flyer, to the Smithsonian Institution, where it will be put on display.

May 7—13 In Dayton, Ohio, Lieutenants Henry H. Arnold and Thomas DeWitt Milling arrive for flight instruction at the Wright Flying School. They graduate six days later.

May 10 At Fort Sam Houston, Texas, a Curtiss D pusher aircraft piloted by Lieu­tenant George E. M. Kelly crashes, killing him. His becomes the first fatality in Army aviation history, and Kelly Field, San Antonio, is named in his honor in 1917.

May 13 At Dayton, Ohio, Lieutenants Henry H. Arnold and Thomas DeWitt Milling graduate from the Wright avia­tion school.

June 7 At College Park, Maryland, Lieu­tenant John P. Kelly becomes the first medical officer assigned to the Signal Corps Aviation Field.

June 20 Captain Charles DeForest Chan­dler replaces Captain Arthur S. Cowan as head of the Aeronautical Division, Army Signal Corps.

July 3 At College Park, Maryland, the Signal Corps Aviation School is formally established under Captain Charles DeForest Chandler. He employs two lieutenants, Henry H. Arnold and Thomas DeWitt Milling, who recently earned their wings at the Wright aviation school at Dayton, Ohio.

September 4 Over Boston, Massachu­

setts, Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling is the first army pilot to finish the 160- mile tri-state air race. He arrives at night, guided by the light of gasoline flares out­lining the landing zone.

September 26 Flying a Burgess-Wright biplane, Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling wins the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy by flying a three-man flight for a duration of 54 minutes and 42 seconds.

September 30 Over Nassau Boulevard, New York, Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold serves as a “stunt pilot” during filming of the movie The Military Air Scout.

OCTOBER 10 Lieutenant Thomas DeW­itt Milling is the first army pilot to test drop live bombs from an aircraft while using a primitive bombsight invented by Riley E. Scott.

OCTOBER 18 Captain George W. McKay of the Michigan National Guard is the first member of that branch of service to become qualified as a pilot.

November 5 Calbraith R. Rodgers completes the first-ever cross-country flight by touching down at Long Beach California in a Burgess biplane. It has taken him seven weeks to cover 3,220 miles and he remains airborne for a total of 82 hours and four minutes— Rodgers only glided in after his engine completely failed.

November 28 The Signal Corps Army Aviation School temporarily relocates from College Park, Maryland, to Barnes Farm in Augusta, Georgia, to enjoy better flying conditions. However, the region suffers from one of its worst blizzards on record and operations are suspended until the spring.

May 2 At Bolling Airfield, Washington, D. C., President Calvin Coolidge awards eight Army pilots the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying from San Antonio, Texas, to South America, and back. The so-called “Goodwill Flight” lasted 122 days and covered 20,000 miles. The fliers also receive the Mackay Trophy for that year.

May 4 At Scott Field, Illinois, Captain H. C. Gray pilots an untethered balloon to an unofficial world record of 42,479 feet.

May 20—21 In Paris, France, Captain

Charles A. Lindbergh, 110th Observation

Squadron, Missouri National Guard, lands his Ryan monoplane named The Spirit of St. Louis after a historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York. His flight covered 3,648 miles in 33 hours and 39 minutes and he receives the Distinguished Flying Cross and a special Congressional Medal of Honor.

May 25 Lieutenant James H. Doolittle performs the first outside loop in his Cur­tiss P-18 fighter.

June 28—29 The Fokker C-2 Bird of Paradise piloted by Lieutenants Lester J. Maitland and Albert F. Hegenberger flies 2,407 miles between Oakland, California, to Oahu, Hawaii, in 25 hours and 50 minutes. They receive the Distin­guished Flying Cross and the Mackay Trophy for their efforts.

October 12 In Dayton, Ohio, McCook Field closes and is replaced by Wright Field, where aeronautical testing and development continues apace.

NOVEMBER 4 An Army hydrogen bal­loon flown by Captain Hawthorne C. Gray breaks all altitude records by reaching 42,470 feet, but he dies from lack of oxygen. His demise highlights the need for pressure suits and oxygen systems.

December 10 In Washington, D. C., Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh is voted a Congressional Medal of Honor for his epic transatlantic crossing.

December 14 Major General James to a command position, gains appoint-
Fechet, who rose from the enlisted ranks ment as chief of the Army Air Corps.

January 20—22 In Augusta, Georgia, the Signal Corps air detachment is visited by Wilbur Wright, who is seeking feed­back to be used in the construction of a follow-on aircraft for the U. S. Army. In this capacity he thoroughly grills Captain Charles DeForest Chandler and Lieuten­ant Henry H. Arnold.

January 25 Over Augusta, Georgia, Army Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold estab­lishes an altitude record by reaching 4,674 feet; it took him 59 minutes to reach that altitude in his Wright Flyer.

January 27 Clarence H. Mackay com­missions the annual aviation trophy in his name, stipulating that it can be awarded by the War Department for the most meritorious flight of the year.

February 17 The U. S. Army publishes

its first physical examination require­ments for pilots.

February 23 In Washington, D. C., as the Army becomes more firmly wedded to airplanes, it issues War Department Bul­letin No. 32 to establish new ratings for “military aviator,” which also stipulate that prospective candidates must reach and hold an altitude of 2,500 feet in a 15 mile per hour wind, and also make a dead-stick landing within 150 feet of des­ignated areas.

MARCH 1 Over Jefferson Barracks, Mis­souri, Captain Albert Berry jumps from a Bleriot pusher airplane and deploys a par­achute for the first time; he lands safely from an altitude of 1,500 feet.

MARCH 11 In the Philippines, Lieuten­ant Frank P. Lahm opens an air school at Fort McKinley and accepts in two volun­teer pilots, Lieutenant Moss L. Love and Corporal Vernon L. Burge, as his initial students.

MARCH 21 Over Fort William McKinley, the Philippines, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm is the first American mili­tary pilot to fly in his Wright Model B, Signal Corps No. 7. Lahm commences instruction at the first air school in that region by taking Lieutenant Moss L. Love and Corporal Vernon L. Burge as stu­dents; the latter is the first enlisted man to receive flight training.

APRIL 15 In Marblehead, Massachusetts, the Burgess Company receives its first air­plane order from the U. S. Army Signal Corps.

May 6 Over Maryland, three Signal Corps aircraft fly from College Park to Chevy Chase in the first multi-plane cross-country mission.

May 7 At College Park, Maryland, a Wright Flyer flown by Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling is armed with a Lewis machine gun for the first time and Lieutenant Charles DeForest Chandler serves as his gunner.

June 1 Over College Park, Maryland, Captain Charles DeForest Chandler per­forms the first official night flight. Con­currently, Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold also takes his Burgess-Wright biplane to a record-breaking 6,540 feet.

June 5 In Augusta, Georgia, Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Winder of the Ohio National Guard becomes the first guard officer to receive flight training.

June 7 Captain Charles DeForest Chan­dler becomes the first person to fire an automatic weapon in flight when he looses off several rounds from a Lewis machine gun while flying with Lieuten­ant Thomas DeWitt Milling. However, the U. S. Army never adopts the flexible Lewis as a standard weapon.

June 11 A Wright C pusher aircraft crashes, killing Lieutenant Leighton W. Hazelhurst and civilian Arthur L. Welsh. This is the earliest-known accident attrib­uted to stalling.

June 14 In the Philippines, Army Corpo­ral Vernon Burge is the first American enlisted man to qualify as a pilot after passing through the Army Air School.

July 5 Captain Charles D. Chandler and Lieutenants Thomas D. Milling and Henry H. Arnold become the Army’s first “Military Aviators,” the first recipi­ents of a new golden badge. Arnold becomes closely associated with the growth and maturation of American military air power in subsequent decades.

July 29—August 1 Lieutenant Benja­min D. Foulois, flying a Wright B Flyer, successfully concludes a series of airborne radio transmission tests, whereby his sig­nals were received at distances of up to 10 miles away.

AUGUST 10—17 Over Bridgeport, Connecticut, Lieutenants Benjamin D. Foulois and Thomas DeWitt Milling participate in army maneuvers. This is the first time that aircraft have flown in conjunction with ground forces. Specifi­cally, the craft is tested as a radio and reconnaissance platform for close co­operation with troops below.

September 28 Over College Park, Maryland, the first fatal accident occurs when Signal Corps No. 4 (Wright B Flyer) crashes, killing Lieutenant Lewis C. Rockwell and Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted man to die in an airplane accident.

OCTOBER 1 A Wright Flyer flown by Lieutenants Henry H. Arnold and Alfred L. P. Sands experiences a series of stalls and nearly crashes, but pilot Arnold pulls out at the last minute and lands safely.

OCTOBER 9 At College Park, Maryland, Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold wins the first Mackay Trophy by successfully com­pleting a triangular reconnaissance course. He comments that the trophy is so large it could easily hold four gallons of beer!

NOVEMBER 5—13 Over Fort Riley, Kansas, several aircraft employ direct communica­tions (by radio, dropping cards, or smoke signals) in concert with artillery units; this is the origin of artillery “spotting.”

NOVEMBER 27 The Army Signal Corps acquires three Curtiss F biplane flying boats; these also serve in the Navy under the designation C-1.

December 8 At San Diego, California, the flying school established by Glenn H. Curtiss officially becomes the U. S. Army Signal Corps Aviation School. The first personnel to arrive there have all trained on Curtiss aircraft and are jocularly known as the “Curtiss Contingent.”

February 3 At Wright Field, Ohio, Lieutenant H. A. Sutton receives a Mackay Trophy for his work testing spin characteristics of aircraft to improve avia­tion safety.

February 15 In Washington, D. C.,

President Calvin Coolidge authorizes construction of a new Army Air Corps training facility at San Antonio, Texas. This is an innovative circular design allowing squadrons to fly, train, and work close to each other in different quadrants of the housing circle and is subsequently christened Randolph Field.

MARCH 1—9 A Loening OL amphibian piloted by Lieutenants Burnie R. Dallas and Beckwith Havens makes the first transcontinental flight of an amphibious aircraft; they complete their task in 32 hours and 45 minutes.

MAY 12 At Bolling Field, Washington, D. C., a pair of Boeing PW-9 pursuit air­craft piloted by Lieutenants R. W. Doug­las and J. E. Parker set a distance record for fighter aircraft after arriving from France Field, Panama Canal Zone.

Over Florida, Army Air Corps lieuten­ant Julian S. Dexter finishes a two-month mapping mission photographing 65,000 square miles of the Everglades.

June 9 At Langley Field, Virginia, Lieu­tenant Earle Partridge wins his third con­secutive Army Air Corps aerial gunnery match.

June 15 An Air Corps blimp flown by Lieutenants Karl S. Axtater and Edward H. White delivers a mail satchel to the clerk of a moving train, thereby completing the first aircraft-to-train mail transfer.

June 16 Over Wright Field, Ohio, a new supercharger allows improved engine performance at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet. Previously, aircraft engines were sus­ceptible to power loss owing to the thin­ness of the air.

June 28 Langley Field, Virginia, is ordered to serve as an experimental air station for developing new aircraft and technologies.

June 30—July 1 In Detroit, Michigan, Captain W. E. Kepner and Lieutenant W. O. Eareckson win the Gordon Ben­nett International Balloon Race. The distance covered is 460 miles; this is the third consecutive victory by American aircrews.

AUGUST 18 Randolph Field, San Anto­nio, Texas, is turned over to the Army by city officials and quickly establishes itself as a leading aviation center.

October 10 At Wright Field, Ohio, Captains St. Clair Streett and A. W. Stevens set a world’s record for aircraft with more than one person in flight by climbing to an altitude of 37,854 feet.

February 11 In Washington, D. C., West Virginia congressman James Hay introduces the first bill mandating an inde­pendent aviation corps, but it is defeated.

February 17 An autopilot device (gyro – stabilizer) invented by Elmer Sperry is tested for the first time on a U. S. Army aircraft.

MARCH 2 The Army establishes flight pay at 35 percent over base pay for pre­scribed aviation duties, given the inherent risks of flying. Presently, only 30 officers qualify for such emoluments. The Army also mandate that not more than 30 offi­cers could be involved in flying at any given time, and rank no higher than major.

MARCH 5 At Augusta, Georgia, the 1st Provisional Aero Squadron is formed with 5 pilots, 7 Wright pushers, and 21 enlisted men. The unit subsequently ships to Texas City, Texas, in response to a possible border crisis with Mexico, where it submits to additional training. This unit is also the lineal predecessor of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, the oldest for­mation in the U. S. Air Force.

MARCH 31 Over Texas, Lieutenant W.

C. Sherman draws the first aerial map on a plane flown by Lieutenant Tommy Milling as he flies between San Antonio and Texas City.

May 27 In Washington, D. C., the War Department issues General Order No. 39, requiring all qualified pilots to receive a Military Aviator’s Certificate, along with a badge. Presently, there are only 24 qualified army pilots.

MAY 28 Over Texas, Army Lieutenants Thomas D. Milling and W. C. Sherman set a flight endurance record of four hours and 22 minutes while flying between Texas City and San Antonio.

May 30 In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Institute of Techno­logy (MIT) initiates one of the first aero­dynamics courses under the aegis of navy officer Jerome C. Hunsaker.

June 12 The first Curtiss tractor-type (pro­peller in front) aircraft is accepted by the Army Signal Corps. Aerodynamically, this is a vast improvement over earlier pushers.

AUGUST 8 In Hawaii, Lieutenant Harold Geiger pilots a Curtiss E airplane over the island for the first time; he is the first graduate of the new aviation school at Fort Kamehameha.

SEPTEMBER 10 Command of the Aero­nautical Division, U. S. Army Signal Corps, reverts to Major Samuel Reber.

OCTOBER 1 In Massachusetts, Dr. Robert H. Goddard finishes the paperwork to patent his “rocket apparatus.”

December 4 In Washington, D. C., General Order No. 75 is issued by the War Department to establish the Aero Squadron as a standard formation within the Aeronautical Division.

December 18 Lieutenant Henry B. Post, flying Signal Corps airplane No. 23, establishes a new Army solo altitude record of 10,600 feet.

December 29 A reconnaissance compe­tition near San Diego, California, is won by Lieutenants C. J. Carberry and Fred Seydel, which results in their receipt of a Mackay Trophy.

JANUARY 1 —7 Over Los Angeles, California, the Fokker C-2 Trimotor Question Mark, piloted by Army Major Carl Spaatz, Captain Ira C. Eaker, and Lieutenants Elwood Quesada and Harry Halveson, establishes a flight endurance record of 150 hours and 40 minutes. They are refueled 37 times by a pair of specially rigged Douglas C-1 transports.

JANUARY 9—16 A Fokker C-2 transport piloted by Major Paul Beck flies 3,130 miles from Wright Field, Ohio, to France Field, Panama Canal Zone, becoming the first military aircraft ferried abroad by the Army Air Corps.

February 23 At Wright Field, Ohio, the perfection of heated goggles, gloves,
and oxygen bottles is announced by the laboratory there.

April 14 In a major development, Edward A. Link patents his “flight trainer” (or flight control simulator), which becomes part of every pilot’s basic flight instruction. By the advent ofWorld War II, over half a million American and Allied pilots train on these devices en route to getting their wings.

May 16 In Hollywood, California, the World War I aerial drama Wings receives the first Oscar award for best picture. The film was shot with many real and reconstructed World War I fighter craft and highlights the nation’s continuing interest in aviation.

May 21—22 In response to a directive from Assistant Secretary of War for Avia­tion Turbee Division, the Army Air Corps directs a Keystone bomber to fly roundtrip and nonstop from Dayton, Ohio, to New York. However, the mis­sion is scrubbed when bad weather grounds the refueling aircraft. The bomber continues on to Washington, D. C., and, on the following day, rendez­vous with the tanker.

May 30 In Washington, D. C., a Liberty – powered DH-4 completes cross-country air refueling tests while flying in from New York.

July 17 Near Auburn, Massachusetts, Dr. Robert H. Goddard successfully test launches a liquid-propelled rocket that carries a camera aloft which takes photos of a barometer and a thermometer on board.

AUGUST 15 In Spokane, Washington,

Lieutenants Nicholas B. Mamer and Arthur Walker fly their Buhl Sesquiplane Spokane Sun God nonstop to the East

Coast and back. They cover 7,200 miles while being refueled in the air 11 times.

September 24 At Mitchel Field, New York, Lieutenant James H. Doolittle makes aviation history by successfully completing the first “blind” airplane flight. He flies his Consolidated NY-2 biplane for hours in a canvas-covered canopy using only instruments and no radio. Years later, Doolittle considered this feat his greatest contribution to aviation.

NOVEMBER 23 In New York, the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics awards Dr. Robert H. God­dard a $50,000 grant to assist his research with rockets.

November 29 Over Antarctica, a Ford Trimotor flown by Navy Com­mander Richard E. Byrd, Bernt Balchen, and Harold June makes an epic flight across the South Pole for the first time. They are accompanied by Army captain Ashley McKinley, who serves as the trip photographer.