Author: thejivebombers

Boom to Bust: The Alexander Aircraft Company

In the late 1920s, the future looked promising to J. Don Alexander and his aircraft business. In the years 1928-29, Alexander sold more planes than anyone else in the world, but unfortunately, the company became plagued with troubles. A 1928 fire destroyed their manufacturing plant killing eleven workers (J. Don Alexander and his brother were found liable), and even after constructing another facility,  new aircraft projects ran into problems as well. The Great Depression finished off Alexander in 1932. The company’s most successful product, the Eaglerock, is seen in these photos.

No Secrets Here

From the official (and heavily redacted) CIA history of their U-2 operations, published in 1998.

The Air Force/U.S. Government has long insisted that the U-2 is a reconnaissance aircraft, not a “spy plane”. That sounds very nice and pretty too. But back in 1957, the U-2 seen here belonged to the CIA and that meant it was very much in the business of spying. No doubt the CIA would call that “intelligence gathering”, but to scoop up such info, they still needed to do what is known as the age-old act of “spying”. 

Thanks to Max Pashnev for this photo taken from the original negative.

The “Hoppi-Copter”

Horace T. Pentecost posing proudly with his invention, the HX-1.
The world envisioned by Mr. Pentecost.

On this Pentecost Day, it is only fitting we mention a man whose name is linked with taking to the heavens and returning to earth: Horace T. Pentecost. In the postwar era, Pentecost toiled on what he thought was sure to be an invention of great value to the people and the military, a lightweight/personal helicopter. A fine idea, but their were difficulties.  Among those challenges confronting Pentecost and his HX-1 backpack helicopter was the fact anything less than a perfect takeoff or landing resulted in a disastrously dangerous event involving shards of rotor blades screaming in a hundred different directions.  The HX-1 was also very difficult to control, so much so, the only flights made had the machine and its pilot tethered to the earth.

Later models were more stable due to the incorporation of wheels and place to sit, but the late 1940s public (and military) were drawn to the helicopters that were coming off the line from such big name companies such as Bell and Sikorsky.

Mr. Pentecost was no crank inventor; he was an educated man, a wartime Boeing engineer. His dream of a small, lightweight personal means of flight was no different than those who later invented the Ultralight.

The HX-1 was donated to the Smithsonian, and is now on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona.

Boeing’s Forgotten Bomber, the B-50

The B-50’s R-4360 radials were the culmination of piston engine technology.
49-360 was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Wing.
The “Lucky Lady II” of the 43rd Bomb Group was famous for its non-stop flight around the world.

Although a solid aircraft in every respect, the B-50 was overshadowed (figuratively and literally) by the giant B-36, and the newer and more exciting jet aircraft then taking to the skies.  

World War 1 USN Airship Operations

Caption reads “The original 15 airship pilots and USN enlisted men at Royal Airship Station, Cranwell, England, winter or 1917-18”. Two of those pilots, R. Keily, and C.D. Anderson (2nd row, 4th & 5th from the left) wear Royal Flying Corps pilot wings.
This photo’s caption states that this “British Patrol Dirigible”, the R-31 was flown by Lt. (j.g.) Eugene Wolfe and other American pilots.
Another airship flown by USN naval aviators in WW1 was the French Chalais-Meudon T-2.
Home base for the USN airship pilots in France was Naval Air Station Paimbœuf.

Boeing Model 40

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NC 5390 of Pacific Air Transport hauled mail on the CAM (Contract Air Mail) 8 route (Seattle-Los Angeles) before crashing in 1931.
NC 10339 of Boeing Air Transport parked at its home base in Seattle.
First Class accommodations.
Model 40s were also built by Boeing Canada as the Model 40H-4. CF-AMQ stayed busy flying the skies of British Columbia before crashing at Dawson Creek in 1937.
NC 269 was a Model 40B that flew the skies for Boeing Air Transport/United Airlines. CAM 18 was the mail route between San Francisco and Chicago.
A Model 40B of United Air Lines.
NC 292 obviously had an “eventful” arrival, but it was repaired and put back into service.

Skyraiders Before The Storm

An A-1H of VA-215 while on a visit to NAS Whidbey Island. This Skyraider, 135366, was shot down in 1967.
AD-5 (133929) at NAS Seattle in 1961. The aircraft crashed later that year.
AD-5 ( 132669) of NAS Seattle in 1961. This plane later transferred to the SVNAF, then to the USAF before being shot down in 1965.
Another AD-5 of NAS Seattle that later transferred to the USAF. 132412 was shot down in 1966 while serving with the 602nd Air Commando Squadron.
A-1H (13539) of VA-215 was also transferred to the USAF for service in Vietnam. It was shot down in 1969.
AD-5 (133876) at Seattle before going off to the SVNAF, USAF, and being destroyed in combat.
A-1H (139797) of VA-215 before it was transferred to the USAF, and then to the SVNAF where it was lost during the war.
The first AD-7 (142010) was not lost in Vietnam, however, it crashed in 1962 while operating from USS Ranger.

Pictured in peacetime, none of these Skyraiders survived the 1960s or the Vietnam War.

The “Flying Whale”

B-10B of the 31st Bomb Squadron roars into Boeing Field in 1936.
Still wearing its flight to Alaska markings from the previous year, a B-12A coasts in to Boeing Field, August 7, 1935.
Another B-12A arrives at Boeing Field on the same date.
B-10B of the 11th Bomb Squadron, Boeing Field, July 1936.
August 1936, and another B-10B arrives at Boeing Field.
Martin’s revolutionary bomber attracted instant attention everywhere it went. (Once again, Boeing Field, and once again, August 1936.
B-10B of the 11th Bomb Squadron.
This B-10B seen at Boeing Field wears the markings of the 7th Bomb Group and was the personal plane of LtCol. Clarence Tinker. (Again, the photo’s location is Boeing Field)
Bolling Field.
Aircraft of the 9th Bomb Group, Mitchel Field, NY.
Same aircraft as before. Below them is the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge.

Despite its unflattering name, the Martin B-10/12 was an absolutely outstanding aircraft for its time. This is especially so when one considers the bombers it replaced: The Keystone series with its (standard for the period) fabric-covered, open cockpit and double-winged aircraft. Whereas most aircraft eased into the transition from the earlier designs (thinking of the P-26), Martin dispensed with the in-between and went next generation.

“Miss Sonic Boom”

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According to this photo’s caption, actress Debra Paget was in Las Vegas, and when asked if she would like a tour of nearby Nellis AFB  she simply could not resist. (Obviously, she would only take part in the tour if she could wear a bathing suit and high heels.) Upon her arrival, the Nellis pilots were so impressed with their visitor that they immediately named her “Miss Sonic Boom.” Miss Paget/Sonic Boom was quite the starlet back in the day featuring in films like The Ten Commandments and a movie opposite Elvis. She is now 90 years old.

The “Ideal costume for Aviator”

Dreadnaught Safe Suit 1919

Such survival suits are still in use today with the Air Force, Navy, etc. (“Poopy Suits,” we called them). This ad poses a bit of a question: what type of mechanical difficulties might necessitate “getting into cold water” some “10 miles off coast” to effect repairs to your aircraft? You would be in the open sea; what are you going to fix bobbing around like a cork?  But this ad dates from 1919; flying machines had a bad habit of suddenly not working, and one had to be ready for anything.

The “Aluminum Overcast”

Yes, it was the biggest.
Skimming the rooftops, a 7th Bomb Wing bird arrives at the Consolidated plant in San Diego.
RB-36E (44-92023) of the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron.
Another RB-36E (44-92020) of the 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron.
B-36J (52-2820) of the 95th Bomb Wing.
B-36H (51-5718) of the 11th Bomb Wing.

An aluminum suppliers dream, a single B-36 rolled and flattened to the thickness of household aluminum foil, would cover over 20 million square feet of property. Many thanks to Mr. Del Chasteen, a good ol’ Texas boy, who supplied most of the photos.