Page:Aeronautics and Astronautics Chronology 1915-1960.pdf/24

 duction of the Spitfire Mark I beginning at Supermarine factory in early 1937. Spitfire's classic design was work of R. J. Mitchell, responsible for the Supermarine racing seaplanes which first won the Schneider Trophy for Great Britain in 1931. 18,298 Merlin-engined Spitfires of all Marks were built by 1945.

March 16: Robert H. Goddard's classic report on "Liquid Propellant Rocket Development," reviewing his liquid-fuel rocket research and flight testing since 1919, was published by the Smithsonian Institution.

April 29: Orville Wright was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

May 6: Construction authorized for what later was named the David W. Taylor Model Basin, to provide a facility for use by the Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair in investigating and determining shapes and forms to be adopted for U.S. naval vessels, and including aircraft.

May 9: George W. Lewis, Director of NACA Aeronautical Research, received Daniel Guggenheim Medal for 1936 for direction of aeronautical research and for the development of original equipment and methods.

May 12: World's largest high-speed wind tunnel (8-foot throat) placed in operation at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, under Russell G. Robinson.

May 22: Herrick Vertiplane, embodying characteristics of both airplanes and autogiros, underwent tests at Floyd Bennett Field.

June 6: Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., at Paulsboro, N.J., began production of aviation gasoline (100 octane) by the catalytic cracking method.

June 7: Maj. Ira C. Eaker (AAC) made first transcontinental blind flight, from New York to Los Angeles.

June 15: Vickers Wellington prototype RAF bomber made its first flight, while flight of first production model was made on December 23, 1937.

July 18: Spanish Civil War began, which was to involve German, Italian, and Russian air units as well as aircraft of France and the United States.

July 21: Lt. Comdr. D. S. Fahrney (USN) ordered to implement recommendation made to Chief of Naval Operations to develop radio-controlled aircraft for use as aerial targets. Reporting to BuAer and NRL, Fahrney subsequently reported on procedure to obtain drone target planes, but also recognized the feasibility of using such aircraft as guided missiles.

July 23: Navy awarded contract for XPB2Y-1 flying boat to Consolidated, which became the prototype for four-engined flying boats used throughout World War II.

September 2: Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky was refused permission by Army Air Corps to enter his pursuit plane in Bendix Trophy Race to Los Angeles "due to features considered a military secret."

October 15: Lt. John Sessums (AAC) visited Robert H. Goddard to officially assess military value of Goddard's work. He reported that there was little military value, but that rockets would appear useful to drive turbines.

October 24: First transpacific passenger service completed by Pan American Airways, with Martin four-engined China Clipper in a round trip to Manila.

November 7: Robert Goddard flew gyro-controlled rocket to 7,500-foot altitude, near Roswell, N. Mex.

December 19: New world speed record for amphibians of 209.4 mph over a closed course set by Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky.

During 1936: Theodore von Karman, Director of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology at Pasadena, founded group which began experiments in design fundamentals of high-altitude sounding rocket. The group, named the Cal Tech Rocket Research Project, consisted of Frank J. Malina, Hsue-Shen Tsien, A. M. O. Smith, John W. Parsons, Edward Forman, and Weld Arnold. This was the origin of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.


 * First practical helicopter flight, German German Focke-Achgelis, FA-61; in the following year it made first helicopter flight of over 1 hour.

January 1: First physiological research laboratory completed at Wright Field by Air Corps to investigate and devise means to alleviate distressing symptoms occurring in flight.

March 1: First operational Boeing B-17 delivered to the GHQ Air Force at Langley Field, Va.

During Spring: Single-engine Heinkel (He-112) with Junker 650-pound thrust, liquid-fuel rocket motor successfully flown at Neuhardenberg, Germany, Capt. Erich Warsitz as pilot.

April 12: Frank Whittle's first gas turbine engine, the U-type, was static tested.

May 6: German dirigible Hindenburg destroyed at Lakehurst, N.J., an event which ordained the death of the large dirigibles.

May 9: H. F. Pierce launched liquid propellant rocket to 250-foot altitude at Old Ferris Point, N.Y.

During May: Joint German Army-Air Force rocket research station opened at Peenemünde on Baltic Sea; Army Ordnance rocket program under Capt. Walter Dornberger moved his staff from Kummersdorf.

June 30: Navy issued contract to Martin for XPBM-1 two-engine flying boat, the initial prototype for the PBM Mariner series used during and after World War II.

July 1: Weather Service of the Signal Corps was transferred to the Army Air Corps.

July 2: Amelia Earhart Putnam and co-pilot lost near Howland Island in the Pacific.

July 4: FA-61 helicopter flown in fully controlled, free flight by Hanna Reitsch, at Bremen, Germany.

July 5-6: Pan American Airways (PAA) and Imperial Airways make joint survey flights across the North Atlantic prior to establishment of transatlantic service. Both flights were successful, marking the 11th and 12th successful nonstop transatlantic flights completed out of 85 attempts.

July 15: Three Soviet fliers established world distance nonstop record, flying across the North Pole from Moscow to San Jacinto, Calif., in 62 hours.

July 27: Japanese began aerial bombing of Chinese cities.

August 5: First experimental pressurized-cabin airplane, a Lockheed XC-35, made its first flight at Wright Field.

August 23: The first wholly automatic landings in history were made at Wright Field by Capt. Carl J. Crane, inventor of the system; Capt. George Holloman, pilot; and Raymond K. Stout, project engineer.

October 15: Boeing XB-15 made its first flight.

During November: Low turbulence wind tunnel for investigation of laminar flow airfoil constructed at NACA's Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.

{bar|2}}: Navy Grumman F4F Made its first test flight, standard carrier-based fighter in early World War II operations.

December 23: Successful unmanned radio-controlled flight made by Navy JH-1 drone, at Coast Guard Air Station, Cape May, N.J.

During December: Initial rocket thrust chamber tests by R. C. Truax at Annapolis, Md., using compressed air and gasoline as fuels.

During 1937: World's scheduled airlines carried 2,500,000 passengers in 1937, with an average number of 5.3 passengers per aircraft, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization.

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 * U.S.S.R. established rocket test centers at Kazan, Moscow, and Leningrad.