Category: Army Air Corps & Army Air Service

John B. Brooks, Aerial Pioneer

Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces.

One of the unsung trailblazers of flight, Major General John Bernard Brooks initially served in the U.S. Cavalry (the kind with horses) along the Mexican border hunting banditos way back in 1915. He went off to pilot training, then returned to the border in 1916 with the Punitive Expedition chasing Pancho Villa & co.

He went on to serve in Hawaii, where he was among the first aviators in the islands, as well as the commander of Luke Field on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. He also spent time in the Philippines and Alaska. In fact, “Johnny” Brooks wore just about every title one could back in the early years of American military aviation. His is a story worth studying.

Griffith Park, Wednesday, June 19, 1935

Los Angeles’ Griffith Park Aerodrome/Airport/Field, home to the 115th Observation Squadron, California National Guard, was one of countless airfields that dotted the area in the 1920s & 30s (note Glendale Airport in the upper right of the photo). As a military airfield, Griffith Park was host to a variety of different aircraft, such as the ones seen in these photos, Douglas Y10-35/Y1B-7s. Only a dozen of these planes were built, and most of them are seen here, parked along the runway’s edge. The aircraft are visitors from the 88th Observation Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas, the occasion is the “1st Wing Concentration”, an Air Corps exercise that involved numerous airplanes and airfields assigned to that Wing. A close inspection of Glendale Airport in photo #1 shows that they, too, have a line-up of Air Corps planes.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the next day, June 20th.  On that Thursday, a Y10-35 lost a right engine on takeoff and slewed toward the line of tents seen in the photo. Soldiers in the onrushing plane’s path scattered to safety, but at 70 MPH, the aircraft crashed through a fence and struck a parked car, killing three people. The victims, Daniel Krauss, his wife Freda, and two-year-old daughter Donna, had simply stopped by to watch the goings-on at the airfield. A four-year-old son survived, he being with relatives in Washington State. Congress later approved a bill that provided a princely $60 a month for that orphan’s upbringing.

The death of this family no doubt served to heighten ongoing concerns over Griffith Park Airport location, namely because it was built on the edge of, well, an actual park. The kind with green trees, nature paths, a zoo, etc. The field closed around the outset of World War II; today, it is buried under acres of freeway.

An Army Air Service Photo Album

DH-4s of the 22nd Observation Squadron.
Different DH-4, same squadron.
Close-up of previous photo shows the pilot stripped down to his underwear.
Martin NBS-1 (MB-2) of Langley Field’s 96th Bomb Squadron.
This (I believe) is a Martin torpedo bomber, the MBT.
No aviation photo album from the 1920s is complete without the wreck of a JN-4
“The hapless pilot stands helplessly by as mechanics…” – this was the standard photo caption for such events as seen here.
This was a mystery plane…
…assumed it was a bomber, but couldn’t find a match…
…that’s because it’s a TC class airship. Probably taken at Langley Field.
Our photographer gets in the act (he’s on the left).

Taken a century ago, these photos came from a “soldier of the air” stationed at Langley Field and Maxwell Field in the early/mid-1920s.  Aircraft seen in these photos include the DH-4, NBS-1, JN-4, and a couple others. Enjoy!

Aloha To “Hawaii Mars”

“Hawaii Mars” takes a break.
It only took three round-trip flights, Alameda – Honolulu, to rack up 80+ hours of flying time.

Yesterday, August 12th, one of the world’s great flying boats, the Martin JRM-1 Mars, was taken on its final ride to its new home in Victoria, British Columbia. This particular Mars, 76823, will always be known by its nickname that was bestowed a lifetime ago, “Hawaii Mars”. As the logbook depicted here shows, that island location was a frequent destination for Martin’s big seaplane. 

The duration of yesterday’s last flight was about 3 hours. As seen by the logbook entries, a trip to the aircraft’s namesake islands required about ten additional hours.

XB-19A

The first three photos show the gigantic bird at Miami Army Airfield, Florida.
Showing a photo of oneself standing next to the XB-19 was always a conversation starter. Note the patch on the wing underside.
Post-war found the XB-19 languishing at Clinton County Field in Ohio, where it served with the USAAF’s All Weather Flying Center.
In its early days, everything about the aircraft’s size was worth a photo. The XB-19’s gigantic tail looms in the background.

“O” Is For Observation

The Douglas XO-31 was the company’s first observation aircraft with a monoplane design.
O-46 of the 118th Observation Squadron, Connecticut National Guard
O-43 of the 22nd Observation Squadron.
Exactly one YO-31C was built. (Its cantilever landing gear was the most noticeable feature).
An O-35 at Boeing Field.
The lone O-31 “B” model was used by the War Department Militia Bureau (note the two stars on the fuselage).
O-38B of the 116th Observation Squadron, Washington National Guard.
O-31A of the 5th Observation Squadron.
O-38B (30-419) of Ohio’s 112th Observation Squadron.

As seen here, Douglas Aircraft Company pretty much owned the observation aircraft market for the US Army Air Corps back in the 1930s.

1930s Candler Field (Atlanta Airport)

No 1930s Air Corps visit was complete without a gaggle of A-12 Shrikes.
O-1 Falcons
Keystone Bombers were always on hand whenever the Air Corps wanted to impress the locals.

The Army Air Corps pays a visit to Candler Field in Atlanta sometime around 1935-36. Although renamed Atlanta Municipal Airport in 1929, one can see by the title of the photo album page that the “Candler” moniker was still unofficially in use. 

There is absolutely nothing left of the scenery captured in these photos – the last of these hangars were demolished decades ago.

From the “Looks are Deceiving” Dept.

Loening Model 23 of the New York – Newport Air Service.
Army Air Service S-1 (24-1) seen at Langley Field in the mid-20s.

The Loening Model 23/S-1 of the early 1920s is a testament that one cannot judge an aircraft solely by its appearance. Yes, the Model 23 looked somewhat ungainly in its design. Yes, it looked far more hydrodynamic than aerodynamic (This outward form would explain the origins of the Model 23’s official name:  “The Flying Yacht”). 

But, as they say in the Looks are Deceiving Dept…

In actuality, the awkward-appearing “Flying Yacht”, was an amazingly efficient airplane. First taking to the sky in 1921, Loening’s bird won multiple awards for its design – including the Collier Trophy. It also set world records for speed, distance, and altitude. To top it off, the Model 23 was one of the first monoplane-configured seaplanes to go into production. 

Loening’s “Flying Yacht” was quickly eclipsed by the rapid advances in 1920s aviation, but for a brief shining moment, it was unquestionably among the top seaplanes in the world. 

One of Curtiss’s Countless Hawks

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Over the years, Curtiss built the following:

Hawk, Hawk I, Hawk II, Turkeyhawk, Goshawk, Seahawk, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk (again), Hawk III, Hawk IV, Mohawk, Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, Warhawk, Seahawk (also again). Oh, and Curtiss also built a Hawk I for the Gulf Oil Company. It was named, you guessed it, the Gulfhawk.

The aircraft seen here is the P-3A (Hawk).

If “Hawk” could be tacked onto a word (or supplemented with Roman numerals) then Curtiss would immediately do so.

Randolph Field, 1930s

A BT-8 with its distinctive “hunchback” design.
PT-13 is ready for the next flying cadet.
This PT-13 is no doubt already well-aquainted with the budding birdmen of Randolph.
A BT-9 taxis along while airmen gaze at the distant A-12s and A-17s of the visiting 3rd Attack Group.
A-17s taxiing out. In the foreground is part of Randolph’s airfield lighting. Some of these lights are still at the base today.
A visiting C-33.
A Texas National Guard O-43.
A-17s of the 13th Attack Squadron.
More A-17s. These birds belong to the 90th Attack Squadron.
A-12 Shrike of the 13th Attack Squadron.
Another visitor: B-18 of the 32nd Bombardment Squadron.
No 1930s collection of Air Corps aircraft would be complete without a P-26 (or two). These are probably from the 20th Pursuit Group.
And of course, a visiting B-10 of the 30th Bombardment Squadron.

A small collection of photos from a flying cadet at Randolph Field in the mid-1930s. 

Boeing 314 #1

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It’s 1938, and Boeing’s new baby, the 314, makes its appearance in Seattle.
The first Model 314 sticks its tail over the Duwamish River. Note that the cockpit has yet to be completed.
Seen afloat on Seattle’s Elliot Bay, the first 314, now numbered NX18601, is ready to begin testing.
NX18601 was initially built with a single vertical stabilizer.
The single tail did not provide adequete directional control…
…and a fix was devised in the form of a double tail.
The short-lived double tail/no center stabilizer.
Even two tails were not doing the trick and thus the three-tailed 314 was born.
In the spotlight.

These photographs feature the first Model 314 produced by Boeing (later registered as NX18601). As with most prototypes, the first 314 model encountered some challenges during its development. One of the primary issues was related to lateral control. Although the aircraft was built with a standard single centerline vertical fin, early test flights revealed a need for more lateral control. To address this problem, a growing number of vertical stabilizers were installed on the aircraft. Initially, the solo center tail was removed and replaced with a pair of endplates. However, this dual arrangement proved insufficient, and a centerline fin was once again added to the aircraft, which proved to be effective in providing the necessary lateral stability. once again the 314 was provided with a centerline fin (Hey, good thing they didn’t throw that item away when they did the initial redesign of the tail)

The Inconspicuous Banshee

Douglas A-24

The term “one of the unsung aircraft of WWII” is a sobriquet that, in my opinion, is often overused. Namely, most of the planes tagged as unsung/neglected/overlooked were aircraft either built in very few numbers, were ineffective (see: built in very few numbers), or worse, lousy at their job. For such machines, being labeled “unsung” would imply they had done things worth singing about but were somehow overlooked by ill-informed or biased critics.

Then we have the A-24 Banshee, an airplane that did plenty to sing about but is indeed as non-sung of a WWII aircraft as they come.

Based on the A-24’s record as a frontline combat aircraft, it should be very well known then and now: They were in service throughout America’s involvement in the war and every theater of operations. They were rugged, reliable, and effective. Lastly, they were built in sufficient quantities (almost 1,000) to make a difference.

Nevertheless, the A-24 is little known outside the world of WWII airplane aficionados/geeks. The reasons are simple: Mustangs, Lightnings, Thunderbolts, and other pursuit ships also made excellent multi-role fighter bombers and eventually took away much of Banshee’s reason for being. Furthermore, when discussing WWII light bombers, the Marauders, Havocs, and Mitchells will always come first to mind.  Moreover, all of these planes – fighters and bombers – were built in the tens of thousands. Yes, almost 1,000 Banshees were built, but that number pales compared to the volume of better-known aircraft manufactured during WWII. The A-24 – despite its effectiveness – was simply not going to be as famous as many other aircraft.

Unfortunately, the A-24 Banshee has never received the attention it deserves. Not only has it long been overshadowed by the other fighters and bombers of the Army Air Forces, it also had the misfortune to have a far more famous look-alike cousin, the preeminent ship-killing aircraft of WWII, the SBD Dauntless.

B-3A in the P.I.

Keystone PI - Copy

Judging by their dirty coveralls, these mechanics of the 28th Bomb Squadron at Nichols Field in the Philippines deserve some shady rest. And, as seen by the helmet and goggles of the nearest man to the camera, the mechanics did not spend all their time on the ground. The plane is a Keystone B-3, and these men, having gotten the plane ready for flight, will serve aboard as aircrew.