Page:Aeronautics and Astronautics Chronology 1915-1960.pdf/15

 October 26: First USN carrier landing made by Lt. Comdr. G. Chevalier in Aeromarine 39B on U.S.S. Langley off Cape Henry.

November 1: First engineer-in-charge appointed for NACA Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Leigh M. Griffith.

November 8: Air Service Medical Research Laboratory and School for Flight Surgeons was designated School of Aviation Medicine.

November 18: First catapult launching from carrier U.S.S. Langley (CV-1) by Comdr. Kenneth Whiting flying a PT seaplane.

December 4: President Harding requested there commendations of the NACA as to the most promising program for the Air Mail Service in the expenditure of its limited funds. The NACA, on December 20, recommended that $2,300,000 be appropriated to demonstrate feasibility of night flying on the mail service and to establish regular New York-San Francisco mail service in 36 hours or less.

December 18: DeBothezat helicopter, built by the Engineering Division of the Air Service at McCook Field, successfully testflown for 1 minute 42 seconds by Maj. F. H. Bane.

During 1922: Two wind tunnels (4 by 4 foot, and 8 by 8 foot) at the Washington Navy Yard, under the direction of A. F. Zahm, made tests on naval designs, the important results of which were usually published by NACA as technical reports.


 * As a result of Army-Navy conference, policy established that manufacturers and designers should be invited to compete in the design and construction of military aircraft, with engineers given a free hand. The only requirement was that the airplane have military utility and have a speed of more than 190 mph.


 * National Aeronautic Association was formed with Howard E. Coffin elected president.


 * U.S. Weather Bureau first prepared a "standard atmosphere" showing the relationship between pressure and temperature based on average conditions over the United States at 40° N. latitude.

1920-22: Goddard developed and unsuccessfully tested first liquid propellant engine, using liquid oxygen, and devised small high-pressure pumps to force fuel into the combustion chamber.

January 5: Cloud seeding over McCook Field, Dayton, accomplished by Prof. W. D. Bancroft of Cornell University, from Air Service aircraft.

February 6: Aeronautical Engine Laboratory transferred from Washington Navy Yard to the Naval Aircraft Factory, establishing the Naval Aircraft Factory as the center of naval aeronautical development.

February 21: DeBothezat helicopter achieved sustained altitude of 15 feet for 2 minutes and 45 seconds in flight tests at McCook Field.

March 5: Auxiliary jettisonable belly tank fitted to bomb rack of MB3A at Selfridge Field, Mich., increased flying radius to about 400 miles.

March 8: Lunar radiation observations at an altitude of 19,000 feet made by Russell M. Otis in DH-4B over San Diego, Lt. F. W. Seifert as pilot.

March 29: Lt. R. L. Maitland attained world speed record of 239.95 mph in Curtiss R-6 at Dayton, Ohio.

April 2: First flight of all-metal pursuit monoplane, Wright H-3, 400-hp engine, at Curtiss Field.

April 15: Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) reported equipment for radio control of an F5L was satisfactory to a range of 10 miles, and that radio control of aircraft during landing and takeoff was feasible.

April 20: First aerial refueling with hose, at Rockwell Field, San Diego, between two DH-4B aircraft, under the direction of Henry H. Arnold (USAS).

May 2-3: First nonstop transcontinental flight of 2,520 miles from New York to San Diego flown by Lts. O. G. Kelly and J. A. Macready, in a Fokker T2-Liberty 375 in 26 hours 50 minutes.

May 26: Chief of Navy BuAer agreed with Chief of Army Air Service that identical aeronautic specifications would be advantageous to both the aviation industry and the military services. Lt. R. S. Barnaby was ordered to McCook Field as BuAer representative on interservice committee on standardization in December, the first of a series of annual meetings held until 1937.

June 9: Juan de la Cierva made first successful autogiro flights in a rotary wing aircraft, at Madrid, Spain.

June 20: Initial flight of all-metal airplane (Gallaudet) designed by Engineering Division at Wright Field.

June 25: First International Air Congress, London, England, 450 delegates from 17 nations attended.

June 26: First complete midair pipeline refueling between two airplanes, made by Lts. L. H. Smith and J. P. Richter (USA) at San Diego.

August 22: World's largest airplane, the six-engine Barling bomber, underwent first tests at McCook Field, Lt. H. R. Harris as pilot.

August 27-28: Capt. L. H. Smith and Lt. J. P. Richter flew a DH-4B-Liberty 400 to a world refueled duration record of 37 hours and 15 minutes, as well as a distance record of 3,293 miles at Rockwell Field, San Diego, Calif.

September 4: Navy airship Shenandoah (ZR-1) made its first flight at NAS Lakehurst, the first of the Zeppelin type to use helium gas.

September 5: Army bombers sank two obsolete battleships, the U.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. New Jersey, off Cape Hatteras.

September 28: Navy aircraft won first and second places in Schneider Cup international seaplane races at Cowes, England, and established new world record for seaplanes with a speed of 169.89 mph for 200 kilometers. Flying CR-3's powered by Curtiss D-12 engines, Lt. David Rittenhouse achieved 177.38 mph in the race, while Lt. Rutledge Irvine placed second with 173.46 mph.

October 1: Goodyear Tire & Rubber acquired Zeppelin rights for manufacture of rigid airships.

October 6: Lt. A. J. Williams (USN) set new world speed records of 243.8 mph for 100 kilometers, and 243.7 mph for 200 kilometers over a closed circuit, flying a Curtis R2C-1 Racer in the Pulitzer Trophy Race, at St. Louis, Mo.

November 1: Robert H. Goddard successfully operated a liquid oxygen and gasoline rocket motor on a testing frame, both fuel components being supplied by pumps installed on the rocket.

November 2: Flexural fatigue machine for testing sheet duralumin stopped after 200 million alterations, on a 389-day nonstop run at the Bureau of Standards. Check calibration gave same reading as the original calibration on October 5, 1922.

November 4: Lt. Alford J. Williams (USN) established world speed record of 266.59 mph in Navy-Curtiss Racer over Mitchel Field, Long Island, which remained U.S. record until 1930.

November 5: Series of tests demonstrating feasibility of stowing, assembling, and launching a seaplane from a submarine were completed, which involved assembling a Martin MS-1 and launching it by submerging the submarine.

November 23: Concluding sentence of the annual report of the NACA for 1923 was: "Progress in aeronautics is being made at so rapid a rate that the only way to keep abreast of other nations is actually to keep abreast, year by year, never falling behind." [Italic in original.] 16