Between the wars 1918-1939Discuss USAAC: Pre-war aircrafts in the Other Eras forums; At the time of its entry into the war, the United States Army Air Service lacked any aircraft suitable for ...
At the time of its entry into the war, the United States Army Air Service lacked any aircraft suitable for front line combat. They therefore procured various aircraft from the British and French, one being the DH.4. As the DH-4, it was manufactured mostly by Dayton-Wright and Fisher Body for service with the United States from 1918, the first American built DH-4 being delivered to France in May 1918, with combat operations commencing in August 1918. The powerplant was a Liberty L-12 of 400 hp (300 kW) and it was fitted with two .30 in (7.62 mm) Marlin machine guns in the nose and two .30 in (7.62 mm) Lewis guns in the rear and could carry 322 lb (146 kg) of bombs. it could also be equipped with various radios like the SCR-68 for artillery spotting missions. The heavier engine reduced performance a little compared with the Rolls-Royce powered version, but as the "Liberty Plane" it became the Americans' standard general purpose two-seater, and on the whole was fairly popular with its crews.
Aircrew operating the DH-4 were awarded four of the six Medals of Honor awarded to American aviators, with First Lieutenant Harold Ernest Goettler and Second Lieutenant Erwin R. Bleckley receiving posthumous awards after being killed on 12 October 1918 attempting to drop supplies to the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division, cut off by German troops during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, while Second Lieutenant Ralph Talbot and Gunnery Sergeant Robert G. Robinson of the US Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor for beating off attacks from 12 German fighters during a bombing raid over Belgium on 8 October 1918. The type flew with 13 U.S. squadrons by the end of 1918.
Following the end of the First World War, America had a large surplus of DH-4s, with the improved DH-4B becoming available, although none had been shipped to France. It was therefore decided that there was no point in returning aircraft across the Atlantic, so those remaining in France, together with other obsolete observation and trainer aircraft were burned in what became known as the "Billion Dollar Bonfire". With limited funds available to develop and purchase replacements, the remaining DH-4s formed a major part of American air strength for several years, using them for many roles, with as many as 60 variants produced. DH-4s were also widely used for experimental flying, being used as engine testbeds and fitted with new wings. They were used for the first trials of air-to-air refueling on 25 June 1923, and carried out an endurance flight of 37 hours, 15 minutes on 27–28 August, being refueled 16 times and setting 16 new world records for distance, speed and duration. The DH-4 remained in service with the United States Army until 1932.
DH-4s were also used by the United States Navy and Marine Corps, both during the First World War and postwar. The Navy and Marines received 51 DH-4s during the First World War, followed by 172 DH-4B and DH-4B-1 aircraft postwar and 30 DH-4M-1s with welded steel-tube fuselages (redesignated O2B) in 1925. They remained in service with the Marines until 1929, being used against rebel factions in Nicaragua in 1927, carrying out the first dive-bombing attacks made by U.S. military forces. The U.S. Navy converted some DH-4M-1s into primitive air ambulances which could carry one stretcher causality in an enclosed area behind the pilot.
The P-26 Peashooter was Boeing's first and last production monoplane fighter. Some 111 P-26A, 2 P-26B and 23 P-26C were built for the USAAC. The type had monoplane wings, the outer panels of which were externally braced with front and rear wires. The centre-section spars were constructed of steel with ribs and skin covering of aluminium alloy. Split-type trailing-edge flaps were later added to P-26A and were manually operated from the open cockpit. The semi-monocoque fuselage was also of aluminium alloy construction. A fixed, heavily trousered landing gear was fitted and power was provided by a 447kW Pratt & Whitney R-1340-27 or -33 radial engine. Armament comprised two forward-firing machine-guns of 7.62mm and/or 12.7mm calibre and two 55kg or five 15kg bombs could be carried.
Although never used in action by the USAAC, ex-Army P-26 acquired by the Philippine Air Force fought the Japanese during World War II and the 11 Model 281 export fighters for China must also have seen action against Japanese forces. In addition Panama and Guatamala received ex-USAAC P-26 and Spain received an export model.
The BT-1 was a pre-war dive bomber used by the US Navy. It was a product of the first Northrop air craft company, formed by John Northrop in 1932 with support from Douglas Aircraft. The XBT-1 was designed in 1934 in response to a navy request for a dive bomber. It was a low wing monoplane, of all metal construction apart from fabric covered control surfaces. The prototype was powered by a 700hp Pratt & Whitney R-1535-66 Twin Wasp Jr. engine, later replaced by a 825 hp R-1535-94. Powered by the latter engine the BT-1 was capable of carrying a 1000lb bomb, had a service ceiling of 22,500ft and a top speed of 212 mph.
The US Navy placed an order for 54 BT-1s in 1936. The aircraft entered service during 1938, and served on the USS Yorktown and USS Enterprise. The aircraft was not a success in service. It had poor handling characteristics, especially at low speeds, a fatal flaw in a carrier based aircraft. It was also prone to dangerously unexpected roles. A number of aircraft were lost in crashes. Aware of the failings of the BT-1, Northrop soon began work on an improved XBT-2. The new aircraft was given a more powerful Wright XR-1820-32 Cyclone engine, providing 1,000 hp, combined with a redesigned control system. It first flew on 25 April 1938, but was not a significant improvement on the BT-1. Northrop flew his aircraft to NACA to use their full sized wind tunnel.
Six months of tests followed, resulting in a significantly better aircraft. However, during this process Northrop resigned from his company, which by now was a fully owned subsidiary of Douglas. The new aircraft was thus given the designation XSBD-1 (eXperiment, Scout Bomber, Douglas). It would go on to be the most successful American dive bomber of the war. Northrop would also go on to greater success, founding Northrop Aircraft Inc. in August 1939.
The Army Air Corps ordered three tri-motor aircraft from Atlantic, a subsidiary of Fokker Aircraft, in 1926. The type was essentially an improved version of the Fokker F-VIIA, a civilian passenger plane. The engines were upgraded to 220-hp Wright J-5s. The first aircraft (S/N 26-202) was extensively modified for a long distance flight from Oakland, Calif., to Wheeler Field, Hawaii. The most significant changes were the addition of a larger wing of 71 feet and long range fuel tanks. This aircraft was named "Bird of Paradise" and retained the C-2 designation even after the modification program. The C-2s were assigned to various transport and liaison duties into the early 1930s. One aircraft was temporary converted as an airborne radio test lab. Various communications and navigation equipment was installed and tested during the program conducted at Wright Field, Ohio.
The SOC was ordered for production by the United States Navy in 1933 and first entered service in 1935. The first order was for 135 SOC-1 models, which was followed by 40 SOC-2 models for landing operations and 83 SOC-3s. A variant of the SOC-3 was built by the Naval Aircraft Factory and was known as the SON-1. The first ship the SOC was assigned to was the USS Marblehead in November 1935; by the end of the decade, the SOC had replaced its predecessor throughout the fleet. Production came to an end in 1938. By 1941, most battleships had transitioned to the Vought OS2U Kingfisher and cruisers were expected to replace their aging SOCs with the third generation SO3C Seamew. The SO3C, however, suffered from a weak engine and plans to adopt it as a replacement were scrapped. The SOC, despite being a craft from an earlier generation, went on to credibly execute its missions of gunfire observation and limited range scouting missions.
Through the first six months of naval service, the SOC was known as the XO3C-1, The designation was changed to SOC when it was decided to merge its scouting and observation roles. The SOC was not called the Seagull until 1941, when the U.S. Navy began the wholesale adoption of popular names for aircraft in addition to their alpha-numeric designations. The name 'Seagull' had earlier been given to two civil Curtiss aircraft, a Curtiss Model 18 and a Model 25, both converted Curtiss MF flying boats. When operating as a seaplane, returning SOCs would land on the relatively smooth ocean surface created on the sheltered side of the vessel as it made a wide turn, after which the aircraft would be winched back onto the deck. When the SOC had been replaced by the OS2U Kingfisher, most remaining airframes were converted into trainers, and were used until 1945. But in a strange twist of history, with the failure of the Curtiss SO3C Seamew, many SOCs in second line service were returned to front line units starting in late 1943 and saw service aboard warships in the combat zone for the rest of World War II. This is one of the few instances in aviation history of an older aircraft type that was retired or sent to second line service, replacing the new aircraft type, that was supposed to replace it!
The S-38 was a nine-seat commercial amphibian powered by two 313kW Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engines. A sesquiplane wing arrangement was employed and the tail unit was carried on two outriggers running aft from the main wing and braced to the heel of the hull by two struts. It was a successful design and many were built for airline use (including Pan American Airways, entering service in October 1938), private use and for the US Navy/USAAC. The type also set several world records for speed and altitude with specific loads.
Initially created to compete for a U.S. Navy contract dated February 28, 1928, the prototype Model 9, XPY-1, was designed by Captain Dick Richardson and Isaac M. 'Mac' Laddon. Beginning construction in March 1928, the aircraft was ready for its first flight by the end of the year. Lieutenant A. W. Gorton made the first flight out of Anacostia NAS, Washington, D.C.. The production contract was opened to other bidders, and the Glenn L. Martin Company undercut and was awarded the contract to construct the plane as the Martin P3M-1 and P3M-2. Three P3M-1s and six P3M-2s were built. A new contract was placed by the U.S. Navy on May 26, 1931, for a prototype of a developed version of the Model 9, XPY-1, designated the Model 22 Ranger by Consolidated. Incorporating features of the Model 16 Commodore such as the enclosed flight deck,[2]designated the XP2Y-1 by the Navy, this new prototype had the same 100 ft parasol wing, but became a sesquiplane with a smaller wing mounted lower, at the top of the hull, replacing the booms that had supported the stabilizing pontoons on the XPY-1. Two Wright R-1820-E1 Cyclone engines were located close below the top wing and had narrow-chord cowlings. A third similar engine was mounted on a strut along the centerline above the wing, but removed after the first test in April 1932. The Navy ordered 23 P2Y-3s as production models similar to the P2Y-2s that were modified from the original batch of P2Y-1.
The Navy ordered 23 P2Y-1s on 7 July 1931. They were serving by mid-1933 with VP-10F and VP-5F squadrons which made a number of classic long-range formation flights."At least 21 P2Y-1s were modified to P2Y-2s in 1936 and flown by VP-5F and VP-10F until 1938, when they were transferred to VP-14 (later VP-52) and VP-15. The first P2Y-3s reached VP-7F in 1935, and this version was flown by VP-4F at Pearl Harbor and in 1939 was in operation with VP-19, VP-20, and VP-21 (these three squadrons being redesignated VP-43, VP-44, and VP-14 respectively). By the end of 1941 all the P2Y-2s and P2Y-3s had been withdrawn from operational use and were at Pensacola Naval Air Station. The Colombian Air Force used one Commodore P2Y as a bomber in the Colombia-Peru War in 1932–1933. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service evaluated the Consolidated P2y as the "Consolidated Navy Experimental Type C Flying-Boat".
The Douglas O-38 was an observation airplane used by the United States Army Air Corps. Between 1931 and 1934, Douglas built 156 O-38s for the Air Corps, eight of which were O-38Fs. Some were still in service at the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941.
The sole surviving example of an O-38 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. For several decades it was believed that no examples of this aircraft survived, until the wreckage of an O-38F was located in Alaska in the late 1960s. This aircraft was the first airplane to land at Ladd Field near Fairbanks, Alaska, in October 1940. It had gone down on June 16, 1941 as a result of engine failure, and made a soft landing in the Alaskan wilderness about 70 miles (110 km) southeast of Fairbanks. Both crewmen survived the landing unhurt, and hiked to safety after supplies were dropped to them, but the aircraft's location was considered too remote for it to be salvaged. The wreckage was eventually rediscovered nearly thirty years later during an aerial survey of the area, and the plane's type was soon identified. The staff of the Air Force Museum recognized it as the last surviving example, and quickly assembled a team to examine the aircraft for possible retrieval and restoration. Upon arriving at the crash site they found the aircraft surprisingly well preserved, with only the two seats and the tail wheel curiously missing. The team was even able to light their campfires using the aircraft's remaining fuel. Plans were soon made to remove the aircraft by helicopter, and in June 1968 it was transported back to Dayton, Ohio. Meanwhile, the missing seats were found in the shack of a local frontiersman where they were being used as chairs. The missing tail wheel was taken because he thought he might build a wheelbarrow someday. The restoration by the museum's staff took several years, and many structural pieces of the wings had to be reverse engineered from original plans and damaged parts. The finished aircraft with its original engine was completed and placed on display in 1974. It is currently displayed hanging in the museum's Interwar Years Gallery.
The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed "The Tin Goose") was an American three-engined transport plane that was first produced in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and that continued to be produced until June 7, 1933. Throughout its time in production, a total of 199 Ford Trimotors were produced. Although it was designed for the civil aviation market, this aircraft was also used by military units, and it was sold all over the world.
Although it was intended that the Delta would be sold in both airliner and executive transport (initially named "Victoria") versions, a change to the regulations governing commercial air transport in the United States in October 1934, prohibiting the use of single-engined aircraft to carry passengers at night or over rough terrain which would prevent a forced landing, stopped the market for single-engined airliners in the United States, and only three aircraft, all ordered before the passing of this regulation, were built. These consisted of the prototype, leased to Trans World Airlines for use to carry airmail, which crashed on 10 November 1933, one sold to Pan-Am for use by its Mexican subsidiary, destroyed by a fire in May 1934 and one sold to AB Aerotransport of Sweden, delivered in April 1934. AB Aerotransport purchased a second Delta, but this was a dedicated mailplane which more closely resembled the Gamma, with a slim fuselage carrying its cargo in a compartment ahead of the cockpit.
A single aircraft was built for the United States Coast Guard. Designated the Northrop RT-1, this was used as the personal transport of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., the Secretary of the Treasury and as a staff transport. Seven more aircraft were built as executive transports for private owners. Of these, three were purchased by the Spanish Republicans for use in the Spanish Civil War. Two of these aircraft were captured by the Nationalists when the ship carrying them (along with four Vultee V-1s, a Fairchild 91 and a Lockheed Electra) was captured at sea. These two Deltas were used as Transports by Franco's forces, while the third Delta was used by the Republican airline Lineas Aéreas Postales Españolas (LAPE) until the end of the civil war when it was handed over to Franco's air force.
In 1935, Canada selected the Delta for use as a photographic survey aircraft for use by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), to be built by Canadian Vickers under license.[2] One aircraft, the last Delta built by Northrop, was supplied as a part assembled pattern to Canadian Vickers, first flying on 16 August 1936 and being delivered to the RCAF on 1 September that year. It was followed by a further 19 aircraft built wholly by Canadian Vickers, production continuing until October 1940. The Northrop Delta was the first all metal stressed skin aircraft built in Canada.
The Deltas, which were capable of being operated from wheeled, ski or float undercarriages, proved capable survey aircraft, well suited to operations in the North of Canada, but in August 1939, when the outbreak of the Second World War loomed, Canada found itself short of coastal patrol aircraft, and the Deltas were diverted to this role, being fitted with floats and carrying out long anti-submarine missions. The Deltas were less successful as patrol floatplanes, as they were damaged by ocean swell and by salt water corrosion, and they were forced to revert to landplane use after two months. The Delta was withdrawn from operations in late 1941, then being used as instructional airframes in training schools.
By 1924 the U.S. Army Air Service needed a new primary training aircraft, and the Army chose the PT-1 designed by Consolidated Aircraft Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y. Deliveries began in 1925, and the PT-1 became the first training airplane purchased by the Army Air Service in substantial quantity following World War I. All totaled, Consolidated delivered 221 PT-1s to the Army Air Service, and aviation cadets in Texas and California flew it extensively during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Developed from the Dayton-Wright TW-3 airplane, the PT-1 featured a welded fuselage framework of chrome-molybdenum steel tubing. A departure from the all-wood structures found in other trainers, the structure proved so sturdy and dependable that the PT-1 earned the nickname "Trusty." Easy to fly, the Trusty made some students overconfident, and they received a shock when they advanced to faster airplanes with more difficult handling characteristics.
Installation of the new 600hp Curtiss V-1570-1 Conqueror engine in a P-2 airframe for participation in the September 1927 air races at Spokane led to the application of the designation XP-6. A similarly-powered aircraft utilising a P-1A fuselage, XPW-8A wings and surface radiators became the XP-6A. A third Conqueror-powered conversion of a P-1C airframe for a New York-Alaska flight, in July 1929, was assigned the designation XP-6B. Although these aircraft were intended purely to prove the Conqueror engine, the success of this power plant prompted a USAAC order for 18 P-6s on 3 October 1928, these being powered by the 600hp water-cooled V-1570-17. Although generally similar to the P-1 in construction, they embodied extensively revised fuselage contours. Deliveries commenced in October 1929, but with the 11th aircraft Prestone (ethylene glycol) cooling was introduced, the designation changing to P-6A. The V-1570-23 engine in the P-6A had a similar rating to that of the -17 that it supplanted; armament remained unchanged at two 7.62mm guns. In service, eight of the Army Air Corps P-6s were brought up to P-6A standards. Eight additional P-6s were delivered to the Netherlands East Indies and one to Japan under the export designation Hawk I. Subsequent to being converted as a P-6A, the first production P-6 was fitted with a side-mounted turbo-supercharger on its V-1570-23 engine as the XP-6D, and, in 1932, 10 P-6As were fitted with F-2F superchargers as P-6Ds. In addition, two aircraft originally ordered as P-11s (P-6 airframes with the unsatisfactory 600hp Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain engine) were completed as P-6Ds. The P-6D was 122kg heavier than the P-6A and featured a three-bladed propeller, and its performance included max speeds of 306km/h at 3050m and 317km/h at 3960m, service ceiling being 9755m.
The Dolphin originated in 1930 as the "Sinbad," a pure flying boat without wheels. The Sinbad was intended as a luxurious flying yacht. The Great Depression had curtailed demand for such extravagance, but Douglas managed to interest the United States Coast Guard who not only bought the Sinbad, but 12 Dolphins. Undaunted by the lack of demand, Douglas improved the Sinbad in 1931 so that it was amphibious, and could land on water or land. The improved aircraft was named "Dolphin", however this did not represent the end of development, as many detail improvements were made, including an increase in the length of over a foot and several changes were made to the empennage, engine nacelles and wings.
The first two were purchased by Wilmington-Catalina Airlines to fly passengers between Los Angeles and Santa Catalina Island, becoming the first successful Douglas airliners. Subsequent examples were ordered by the United States Navy and US Coast Guard for use as transports and search and rescue craft. The US Army Air Corps ordered several under the designations C-21, C-26, and C-29. Many were eventually ordered for their original purpose as luxury transports. Owners included William Boeing, the founder of the Boeing Company, and Philip K. Wrigley, the son of the founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. William K. Vanderbilt bought two with custom interiors for use from the Vanderbilt yacht Alva as flying tenders. One was procured by the US Navy as a transport for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although never used by Roosevelt, this was the first aircraft procured to provide transportation for the President of the United States.
Nine versions of this aeroplane were built for the US Navy and Coast Guard, the first appearing for the Navy in 1933 as the JF-1, powered by a 521.6kW Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine. This was followed by the JF-2 Coast Guard version, powered by a 559kW Wright Cyclone radial, and the JF-3. A number of JF-2s were also delivered to Argentina. By the beginning of 1941 about 115 JF and J2F-1 to J2F-4 Ducks were in service as general/utility amphibians for photographic, target-towing, scouting and rescue work. These were followed by J2F-5s and J2F-6s, the latter produced in 1944 by the Columbia Aircraft Corporation of Valley Stream, Long Island, under licence from Grumman, bringing the total number of JF/J2Fs built to over 600.
The Grumman JF "Duck" first flew on 24 April 1933 and was manufactured from 1934 until 1936, when production switched to the J2F Duck and later variants. The more obvious external appearance clue to distinguish a JF from an early J2F is the deletion of the inter-aileron strut between the wings on the J2F; less noticeable perhaps is the J2F's slightly longer rear fuselage/float joining fillet beneath the tail. The Duck's main pontoon was part of the fuselage, almost making it a flying boat, though it appears more like a standard aircraft with an added float. This general configuration was shared with the earlier Loening OL.
The JF-1 that was first ordered, had the same Pratt & Whitney R-1830-62 engine as the XJF-1 prototype. The US Navy ordered 27 JF-1s with the first Ducks delivered beginning in May 1934 to Norfolk NAS. These early production series had provisions for mounting a machine gun at the rear seat facing aft, a single bomb rack mounted under each wing, capable of carrying a 100 lb (45.4 kg) bomb or depth charge on each. The main float was also a Grumman design (Grumman Model "A") and like the prototype, it included retractable main landing gear, making the Duck a true amphibian. Ducks served as general/utility amphibians for photographic, target-towing, scouting and rescue work.
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