1919

January 2 In Washington, D. C., Major General Charles T. Menoher assumes office as director of the Air Service.

JANUARY 6 Four Army Curtiss JN-4H Jennies fly 4,000 miles during a cross­country flight to select airfields for the forthcoming airmail service.

January 18 A Loening monoplane flown by Major Rudolph W. Schroeder and powered by a 300-horsepower His – pano engine reaches a record altitude of 19,500 feet.

January 24 Over Issoudun, France, Lieutenant Temple M. Joyce performs 30 consecutive loops without mishap, impressing onlookers.

FEBRUARY 21 The prototype Thomas – Morse fighter (MB-3) makes its maiden flight; it is eventually accepted into pro­duction as the first American designed fighter aircraft. Because 200 will be con­structed, this constitutes the largest order for military aircraft for the next 17 years.

MARCH 10 In Washington, D. C., Briga­dier General William “Billy” Mitchell gains appointment as commander ofMili – tary Aeronautics under the Director of Air Service.

APRIL 19 At New York City, a De Havil – land DH-4B flown by Captain E. F. White and mechanic H. M. Schaefer arrives after traveling nonstop from Chicago, Illinois, in 6 hours and 50 minutes; an American distance record of 738.6 miles.

APRIL 28 At McCook Field, Ohio, civil­ian Leslie L. Irvin jumps from a DH-9 at 1,500 feet while wearing the experimen­tal Model AA backpack parachute. Despite the fact he fractures an ankle upon landing, the Army orders 400 para­chutes from his company.

MAY 17 In Washington, D. C., the War Department issues regulations making the national star a standard insignia on all American military aircraft.

MAY 19 Over McCook Airfield, Ohio, Sergeant Ralph W. Bottriell safely demonstrates the “Type A” parachute by jumping from an aircraft; he receives the Distinguished Flying Cross.

JUNE 1 In California, Major Henry H. Arnold, commanding Rockwell Field, California, begins the first fire patrol on the West Coast to assist the District For­ester of San Francisco.

July 24-November 19 At Bolling Field, Washington, D. C., a twin-engine Martin MB-2 bomber piloted by Lieu­tenant Colonel R. S. Hartz, Lieutenant

F. E. Harmon, and their crew, begins the first peripheral flight around the U. S. borders; the journey takes 155 hours and covers nearly 10,000 miles.

SEPTEMBER 1 At Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the first experiment in dive-bombing is conducted by a DH – 4B flown by Lieutenant Lester B. Sweely (Air Service Reserve), which drops a fuselage-mounted 300-pound bomb.

SEPTEMBER 6 At Dayton, Ohio, Major Rudolph W. Schroeder and Lieutenant

G. A. Elfrey set an unofficial two-man altitude record of 28,250 feet flying a Packard-LePere LUSAC II aircraft over McCook Field. To do so the aircraft was fitted with a special Moss Turbo Super­charger while Schroeder was fitted with an oxygen system.

SEPTEMBER 26 Near Arcadia, Florida, flight-testing begins on the Liberty Eagle pilotless flying bomb; of fourteen launches only five become airborne.

OCTOBER 7 At New York, a flight of 44 military aircraft departs for the West Coast on a reliability and endurance test; only 15 machines are available for the return flight, and only 10 of these actually complete the trip. Lieutenant B. W. Maynard wins the Mackay Trophy for coming in first, while Major Carl A. Spaatz registers the fastest west-east flight.

OCTOBER 12-15 At New York, a De Havilland DH-4 bomber flown by Lieu­tenant Belvin Maynard departs Roosevelt Field and flies roundtrip to San Francisco and back. He covers 5,400 miles in the first transcontinental flight.

OCTOBER 27 In Washington, D. C., Major General Charles T. Menoher, Director of the Air Service, rejects Congressional pro­posals to establish an independent air force that is free of Army control.

OCTOBER 30 At McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, the first experiments with a reversible-pitch propeller are successfully conducted. This device slows an aircraft down while landing, allowing aircraft to brake on shorter runways.