In search of Pancho Villa: On the Border with the 1st Aero Squadron, 1916
This Curtiss JN-2, Signal Corps No. 43, was the first aircraft assembled and flown after the 1st Aero Squadron arrived in Columbus, New Mexico, in March, 1916.
The man astride the Harley Davidson (one of six brought on the expedition) carries a dispatch bag bearing the markings of the 1st Aero Squadron.
The 1916 mission to bring Pancho Villa and his desperadoes to justice was the first military operation for the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. Despite the primitive conditions and seemingly frail aircraft, the 1st Aero Squadron proved invaluable for the Army’s operations.
Beginning in mid-March, 1916, the aircraft seen here, Signal Corps No. 43, flew many of the 1st’s early missions. Usually piloted by Lt. Herbert A. Dargue, No. 43 was considered one of the more reliable machines. However, aircraft reliability in 1916 was measured in weeks: No. 43 developed engine trouble on April 19, 1916, was forced to land in hostile territory, and was subsequently destroyed to prevent its capture. Hiking through the badlands of Mexico without food or water for two days and nights, Lt. Dargue and fellow pilot Robert H. Willis managed to avoid capture.
Shooting Stars
48-905 and 48-900 of Air Materiel Command.
This P-80A (44-85031) was, in all probability, the first jet aircraft that many in this crowd had ever seen.
85031 was assigned to the 71st Fighter Squadron when it crashed in 1947.
44-85044 of Wright Field’s Test Division.
44-85123 of the Test Division, Wright Field, won the Thompson Trophy in 1947. This aircraft is now stored at Edwards AFB.
44-85247 was another P-80A assigned to Wright Field’s Test Division.
45-8320 of the 61st Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled.
44-85460, Wright Field Test Division.
49-477 , Air Proving Ground, Eglin AFB.
44-85257 of the 56th Fighter Group
45-8310 of the 161st Reconnaissance Squadron, Jet Propelled.
45-8568 of the Indiana Air National Guard.
8568 was assigned to the 163rd Fighter Bomber Squadron.
44-85401 was another P-80 belonging to the 61st Fighter Squadron.
TV-1 (3841) of NAS Seattle. This aircraft is now on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight.
RB-66, Spangdahlem Air Base, 1961
The patches worn on the hats of these maintenance men tells us they are members of the 30th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Looks like a typical rainy day for Germany, and especially for Spangdahlem.
84th Bomb Squadron (Tactical)
With its tail number of 47-084, this B-45A was a natural choice for assignment to Langley AFB’s 47th Bomb Group, 84th Bomb Squadron. The unit later moved to RAF Sculthorpe in the UK.
The B-45 was, of course, America’s first jet bomber, and like many of those early jets it had a checkered career (of the 143 B-45s built, almost one-third of them were destroyed in crashes and other mishaps). There are very few survivors, and 47-084 is not one of them: it ended its days in 1958 at Ramstein Air Base as an instructional airframe for training firemen. In other words, a charred and smashed wreck.
Insignia of the 84th
France, 1918
Caproni Ca.5 at a French airfield.
Caudron G.3 at Châteauroux-La Martinerie, 1918.
From the shade of the hangar, French pilots take a look at an RFC Handley Page 0/400.
DH.4 of the US Air Service.
Last of the Shark Tails…for now
Still more early B-17s…
More B-17 Shark Tails
Another look at the pre-war B-17
Note that the aircraft is labeled the YB-18 – oops.
Shark Fin B-17s
Let’s take a look at the early birds of the B-17 world…
Boeing Model 299
A salute to the forerunner of the world’s most famous bomber. Most of the photos taken of the 299 are well known, but here at Jivebomber’s you not only get to see them again, but in many cases, they are original 1935 photographs from long-discarded Boeing archives. Enjoy.
The Seattle Star of July 17, 1935, tells us that Boeing’s “Mystery Bomber” had rolled out the factory door only the day before.
The 299 being ogled by appreciative onlookers at Boeing Field. Another famous product of that company can be seen in the hangar – the P-26.
The 299 takes to the skies.
Artist’s conception of the Model 299 over Wright Field, Ohio.
Stinson Vigilant
The Stinson L-1 Vigilant seen here has had a long and interesting life. Delivered to the Air Corps in 1941, 40-3012 served all over the United States before being purchased at the war’s end by legendary Hollywood pilot, Paul Mantz. After decades of work as a camera plane, this airworthy craft now resides in the Fantasy of Flight museum in Florida. This photo shows the plane shortly after its sale to Mantz. The aircraft had last been assigned to the Air Transport Command (ATC) division in Alaska (that is the difficult to see totem pole insignia below the cockpit).
This L-1 was a rare bird. Built as 41-18912 for the Army Air Force, it was equipped with floats and redesignated the L-1F. Only a handful were so converted.
Boeing XPB-1
First flown in 1925, the XPB-1 with its all-metal hull seemed promising enough, but was plagued by difficulties with its liquid-cooled engines.
Despite the engine problems, the rugged XPB-1 was retained for testing purposes by the navy who eventually replaced the original motors with radials. Still, there was only one built.
The 94th Pursuit Squadron
The 94th Pursuit Squadron of Selfridge Field out for a drive in the mid-1930s. Great photo – you can practically hear the engines roaring. The aircraft are, of course, P-26s.
Albatross D.III of the Polish Air Force
Poland’s fledgling air force began with top of the line machines such as the German-built Albatross. When war came with the Soviet Union in 1919, the untried Polish air force gave a good account of themselves and were instrumental in the victory over the USSR.
Curtiss P-36 Hawk, 1940-41
We see a rather rare photo here: a pre-war P-36 sporting a bare metal finish with national insignia on its fuselage. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that in late 1940, the Air Corps was conducting experiments with camouflage as well as the placement of the national insignia. This P-36 is assigned to Maxwell Field’s 23rd Composite Group – the unit that carried out such testing.
Junior Birdmen of 1959
T-34
When this photo was taken, T-37 58-1896 was fresh off the assembly line
A photo to show to the folks back home.
T-37A 56-3563 has a long life ahead of it. Today, it is on display in the appropriately named town of Jet, Oklahoma.
The number of pilots who trained in the “Tweet” is beyond counting.
Rainy (and humid) afternoon at Graham Air Base.
By the book, or “Buy the Farm”.
With bulging briefcases, students of the 3300th Pilot Training Group prepare to march.
He is about to be trusted with a multi-million dollar aircraft.
These shots were taken at Graham Air Base, Florida, in the latter half of 1959. The aircraft are the T-34 and, of course, the then new T-37 “Tweet”. Graham was an air force training base, but was operated primarily by civilian contractors and not air force personnel. As such, it did not carry the title “Air Force Base”. By 1959, the era of civilian operated training schools was coming to a close, and Graham Air Base closed the following year.
The Vickers Valiant
The third Valiant built, WP201 was used for training missions and testing with No. 1321 Bomber (Defence) Training Flight at RAF Wittering.
On the ground, the Valiant could be an ungainly-looking beast. Looks are deceiving things though – the Valiant was a highly respected aircraft and marked the RAF’s commitment to nuclear defense.
The VC-137A & B
- 58-6960 sports the VC-137’s original markings on an early test flight prior to its delivery to the USAF.
“Regular Army Officers”
The aircraft is, of course, a DH-4. The place is somewhere hot (note the sun’s x-ray effect on the wings). The date is sometime in the 1920s.
The man in the center is Hap Arnold who wears his Military Aviator badge beneath his wings.
Record setting flight!
Back in the 1920s, almost any routine event was automatically far more interesting when it was done in an airplane. Take a fashion show for instance. Appealing as such a venue would be on terra firma, it became much more newsworthy when it happened 5,000 feet in the air. That brings us to the photo. The aircraft is, of course, a Ford Trimotor. The location, Hollywood (also, of course). The woman is famed fashion designer Peggy Hamilton – and she was famed: Hamilton was the designer for all the big movie studios and top names in the film industry.
So, why is Madam Hamilton about to board the Trimotor? According to the photo’s caption, she is going to perform the “World’s first” fashion show in an airplane. Once airborne, she will model eight “gorgeous gowns” to an appreciative audience of club presidents from various organizations. Given that Hamilton was married at least 6 or 7 times (no one is exactly sure which) the gowns in question might be leftovers from her numerous matrimonial endeavors. Whatever the case, I am sure the club presidents were vastly entertained.
Note: Given the Trimotor’s low altitude and lack of insulation, I would venture to say that this event also set the record for the world’s bumpiest and noisiest fashion show.
F-102 Delta Daggers!
F-102A on a visit to Paine AFB, WA, circa 1959. Stationed just down the road at McChord AFB, 56-0972 bears the rather simple yet satisfying markings of the 317th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS).
Another 317th FIS bird (56-0958) poses with a predecessor, a replica Spad.
Early F-102A of the 327th FIS.
Another early bird, 53-1817 of the Air Proving Ground Command, 1956. This aircraft was withdrawn from service in 1962 and was then displayed for decades at Lackland AFB, Tx. It is now on exhibit with the Florida Air National Guard, Jacksonville, Fl.
The Washington Air National Guard’s 116th FIS flew the F-102 for only 3 years, 1966-69. This aircraft, 56-0985, is currently on display at McEntire Air National Guard Base, SC.
Speaking of South Carolina, here are a brace of 102’s from that state’s 157th FIS, 57-0859 and 57-0818.
Carl Ben Eielson, aviation pioneer
Carl Ben Eielson earned his wings during World War I with the Army Air Service, became a post-war barnstormer, then headed north to Alaska and began making a name for himself. He flew the mail to remote towns where only dog sleds had gone before, started an airline, became a polar explorer, and made the first flight over the North Pole from Alaska to Norway. He died on a rescue mission in 1929, but his legacy lives on (Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, is named in his honor).
Eielson’s aircraft of choice during his bush pilot days in Alaska was a Curtiss JN-4D “Jenny”, seen here. Weathered and beaten with the faded name “Fairbanks” emblazoned on its olive-drab fuselage, this aircraft (AS 47358) managed to survive and is now on display at Fairbanks Airport in Alaska.
His passenger is Mrs. Ladessa Nordale, wife of Fairbanks newsman Hjalmer Nordale. Mrs. Nordale later became a prominent Alaska judge. One her more interesting cases involved her ruling on whether an automobile constituted a whorehouse. Despite such establishments being illegal, a young lady (of easy virtue) was plying her trade in the back seat of her Cadillac (business must have been good). Judge Nordale ruled the Cadillac was indeed a den of ill-repute and put the motorized entrepreneur out of business. This provided some comedy given that the judge herself drove a Cadillac.
Major Muse and his P-12
When this photo was taken May 28, 1934, Major Muse was commanding officer of Crissy Field, San Francisco. A somewhat stout gentleman, Muse must have found the P-12 cockpit (or those of most pursuit ships of the day) a rather tight fit. There is what appears to be a pole or staff protruding from the aft fuselage – no idea what it’s for.
The short-lived Udet Flugzeugbau
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Famed German ace Ernst Udet could do just about anything in an airplane, but unfortunately, that did not translate into a successful aircraft company of his own. Still, the designs of such Udet aircraft as the U8 and U10 were hi-tech for the early 1920s.
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These are two of Udet’s original sales brochures from that period.
