Category: Army Air Corps & Army Air Service
Already a legend in aviation, on January 23, 1930, Lieutenant Doolittle was in New York as the Air Corps advisor on construction of Floyd Bennett Field. Happily enough, he signed the back of his calling card for an admirer. Only three weeks later, Doolittle resigned from the active duty Air Corps and went to work for Shell Oil. He retained a commission in the Reserves, and was, of course, back in uniform for World War II and further exploits.Time to fly
Engines were already running when this crew arrived to build their nests and get their bird moving. This B-3A (30-301) was assigned to March Field’s 31st Bomb Squadron.
Berliner-Joyce OJ
The prototype XOJ-1 (A8359) seen at NAS Anacostia. Note the machine gun mounted in the upper wing. The hangars of the Air Corp’s Bolling Field are in the background. It was not unusual at the time for the Army and Navy to have a patch of ground they practically shared but were in fact distinctive and separate airfields. Those days are over; today the 100 year old facilities are known as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
Two views of an immaculate OJ-2 (A9196) at Boeing Field. Aircraft was assigned to Naval Air Reserve Base Seattle just a few miles up the road.
Hawaii, February 26, 1932, 10:36 AM
Keystone LB-5’s of the 72nd Bombardment Squadron drone past downtown Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii. Based out of Luke Field in Pearl Harbor, the 72nd’s LB-5’s – like any Keystone Bomber – never went anywhere in a hurry. The photo was hand-tinted way back when and they did a pretty good job too.
Douglas B-23
I believe this group photo was taken upon delivery of the first B-23 to the 17th Bomb Group. Although only 38 B-23’s were built, fully 21 percent of them survive to this day. Doing some quick comparison math, if that same percentage of B-17’s survived, there would be 2,673 of them still around.
Open house at CGAS St. Petersburg
Above: B-18’s of the 32nd Bomb Squadron have flown cross-country from there home at March Field Ca. The B-18 would become a familiar sight to locals when MacDill Field opens nearby in 1941.
Douglas O-25
Classy mom and dad. The hangar still stands, and the base is still in use today, but is no longer an air station; it is now USCG Sector St. Petersburg.
Remembering December 7 1941.
Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii.
C-47 and B-36’s at Carswell AFB
This photo, among other things, illustrates just how flat the world can be – that is downtown Dallas in the far distance. The C-47 says MATS (Military Air Transport Service), but is also assigned to Airways and Air Communication Service (AACS). MATS was higher up the totem pole than AACS, hence the wing markings) The B-36’s are of Carswell’s 7th Bomb Wing.
The XB-19 buzzing the field
Lesson of the day: Do not always trust the caption on a photo. This one states the photo was taken at Long Beach, California, in 1941. A sharp-eyed reader noted something in the photo that puts that caption in doubt: There appears what seems to be piles of melting snow. For those not familiar with the climate of Southern California, there is about as much a chance of it snowing in Long Beach as there is in Miami Beach. Further reflection makes me guess this photo was not taken in 1941, but rather 1942. The aircraft is painted, and still has radial engines (It was re-engined with Allisons in 1943).
But, where then was the photo taken? I took a guess, looked at some old photos for verification, and can confirm the aircraft is approaching the west side of Wright Field, Ohio. (And hey: It snows there often.)
The 零式艦上戦闘機 of the US Navy
The “零式艦上戦闘機” (or, “rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki”) is better known to the rest of the world as the Mitsubishi Zero. The first image is the intact Zero brought back from the Aleutian Islands in 1942. It is seen here at NAS North Island in that same year. The second image is of what I assume to be a different aircraft some six or seven years later at NAS Whidbey Island.
I was quite surprised to find this photo showing a Zero still around well after the war. It is at least 1948: There are P2V Neptunes in the background as well as an R5D coded “RS” of VR-5. That tail code entered service in 1948.
66th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
The patch on the left was worn by Lt Col J.D. Collinsworth when he commanded the 66th FIS from 1951-55. Collinsworth was a WWII ace who had six kills while flying Spitfires with the 307th Fighter Squadron. Flown by the 66th from 1951-53, the aircraft is, of course, the F-94 Starfire.
Martin B-10’s pay a call at Boeing Field in 1935
Aircraft are from several units: 11th & 31st Bomb Squadrons, and one more I am unable to identify. One plane sports the marking of the famous Alaskan flight from the year before.
Foulois, Arnold, and Spaatz
Foulois was Air Corps boss when he dropped in at March Field in 1932. Arnold commanded the base, Spaatz commanded the March Field based 1st Wing. Given Foulois’s snappy knickers and argyle socks, Arnold seems under-dressed for the occasion. Spaatz, on the right, looks for all the world like a mafia hit-man.
The Boeing XB-15
One could be pardoned for thinking this is the fuselage interior of the XB-15. It’s not; it is the interior of the wing.
49th Bomb Squadron insignia, 1929
91st Observation Squadron, 1926
Aircraft is a Douglas O-2 which was flown by the 91st from 1926-30.
8th Attack Squadron
Aircraft is a Curtiss A-3 Falcon flown by the 8th from 1928-34.
LB-7’s of the 20th Bomb Squadron
Aircraft in foreground is 28-393. Typical of the short life-span for aircraft of the era, 393 was delivered in 1929, and five years later scrapped as obsolete.
20th Bombardment Squadron, 1930
The aircraft on whose nose this insignia is applied belongs to the Keystone series of bombers flown by the 20th.
Busy doings at Langley Field, circa 1930
On hand are a gaggle of Keystone bombers and support aircraft. All are assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group. The aircraft in the lower photo are from the 20th Bomb Squadron.
P-1D of the 43rd School Squadron, Kelly Field
Back in the early 1930’s, the 43rd trained fledgling pursuit pilots for the Air Corps. One of them, Lt. Taylor, is seen here leaning jauntily against his ship. The sign in the background states that “Ships will not be taxied on or north of this road.”
O-46’s of the 12th Observation Squadron
The aircraft are from Gray Army Airfield, Fort Lewis. Mount St. Helens in its pre-eruption glory is in the foreground, its bigger brother, Mount Rainier looms in the distance.
O-1 Falcons of the 5th Observation Squadron
September 1932, Mitchel Field. One was taking off, the other landing. The result: an eventful take-off, and an eventful landing.
Close-up of the insignia of the 5th Observation Squadron.
But wait – there is more to the story. The above photos are near & dear to me because a piece of an O-1 of the 5th Observation adorns my wall. Scrawled on it: “Fifth Observation Squadron, U.S.A. Crack-up at Trumbull Field, Groton Conn., August 21, 1931.” Research reveals that Lt. Elmer Tapley was the pilot and that he crashed on landing (but he walked away).
Given the time frame, the insignia seen on the mishap aircraft and on my wall were probably painted by the same man.
Keystone B-3’s of the 28th Bomb Squadron
Given that the 28th was stationed at Nichols Field in the blazing hot Philippines, it’s no surprise the rest of the bomber’s crew are taking a siesta under the wing.
The locals come to gawk at the the largest aircraft that they (and pretty much everyone else) had ever seen. They join the crew in taking advantage of the shade offered by the 74-foot wingspan of the B-3. Both photos were taken circa 1933.
Frederick Martin, the Douglas DWC, and the first flight around the world.
Major Frederick L. Martin and his crewman, S/Sgt Alva L. Harvey. They are about to set off in the “Seattle” to begin the famed first flight around the world in 1924.
Fellow pilots on the upcoming journey, Lt.’s Lowell Smith and Leigh Wade, assist Frederick.
Harvey & Frederick. Alva Harvey retired as a full colonel in the USAF. Frederick was moving smartly up the ladder until December 7, 1941 when it was his misfortune on that fateful day to be in command of the Hawaiian Air Forces.
Harvey and Frederick crashed in Alaska on the first leg of the world flight. After an eventful 10 days in the wilds, they returned.
The Jive Bomber 