|
| |
Balloons and Airships
Ref: 5-1
 The
first serious thoughts about flight were directed toward
lighter-than-air flight.
One of the most important inventions that led to flight was the
printing press. With the invention of the printing press the price of
books came down thus providing a wider range of distribution and
knowledge. This helped scientists throughout Europe benefit from the
knowledge of others.
Father Laurenco de Gusmao was
credited with invention the hot-air balloon.
Two brothers Joseph
and Etienne Montgolfier made manned,
lighter-than-air flight possible.
The brothers thought that when a fire was lighted it created a
gas. They called this gas "Montgolfier gas." The brothers
built and sent aloft a balloon with a crew of a sheep, a rooster, and a
duck
In 1783, Pilatre de Rozier and
Marquis d’Arlandes were the first men to fly a
lighter-than-air craft.
|
| Pilatre de Rozier later became the
first man killed in an aircraft accident. |
| J.A.C.
Charles was familiar with "flammable air"
(hydrogen) isolated by Henry Cavendish. He knew that hydrogen was
lighter than "Montgolfier gas". He built a balloon of
rubberized silk and along with another man made the first flight in a
hydrogen balloon. |
Advances In Ballooning
Ref: 5-2, 5-3 |
- In 1793 the French
government formed an air arm to the Army, and balloons
were used for reconnaissance during the French Revolution.
|
- Pierre Blanchard and Dr. John Jeffries flew
across the English Channel from England to France, thus becoming the
first persons to fly from one country to another.
|
- Blanchard also piloted the first balloon in the
United States. The flight took place in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and one of the many witnesses was President George
Washington.
|
Balloons for War
Ref: 5-4 5-5 |
 |
| Inflating a Civil War
balloon circa 1862 |
| The United
States first used balloons for military purposes during
the Civil War. Balloons
were used both by the North and the South and accomplished many
missions: however, the use of balloons stopped when the Union disbanded
its balloon corps. |
| After the Civil war ended, many of the
military balloonists became barnstormers. They traveled around the
country charging for rides, shooting off fireworks, dropping animals by
parachutes, and performing aerial trapeze acts. Balloons used by
barnstormers were dangerous. They did not carry their fuel source with
them. They held their balloons over a bonfire trapping the heated air
then lifting off. Many balloons ripped apart or cooled too fast. |
Balloons in this
Century
Ref: 5-4
In the early 1900s, unmanned scientific balloons were
helping increase mankind’s knowledge of the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of the
first studies of solar energy began.
In the 1920s high-altitude manned flights were making a come back.
Although the crew had oxygen, they were not safe. In the quest for knowledge
and competition to reach the highest possible altitude, many balloonists were
willing to risk their lives.
The flight of Explorer 2 reached an
altitude of 72,395 feet, setting a record that lasted for 20 years.
Because of the lack of money and the limit of balloon technology, the
scientific community reverted to unmanned stratospheric flights.
Balloons
and Sport
Ref: 5-4 through 5-5 |
 |
- The National Balloon Races
started October 11, 1919, in
St. Louis, Missouri.
|
- The International Gorton Bennett Race started in 1906. Races
were not held during the war, but started up again in 1920. The
races continued until the late 1930s.
|
- During World War II, Balloons were used for defense
purposes. The balloons were tethered with strong cables
attached to buildings, ships, and other structures to keep enemy
aircraft at a great distance making it more difficult for them to
hit their targets.
|
- Also, during World War II, the
Japanese used balloons to bomb the United States.
Their purpose for using balloon bombs was to cause fear and panic in
the American public. However, of the 9,300
launched only 200 landed in the U.S. starting a few grass fires.
|
Post
– World War II Use of Balloons
Ref: 5-5, 5-6 |
- The Man-High I Program tested
high-altitude escape equipment and
procedures that would later be used for high-altitude airplanes
|
- In the Man-High II Program experiments
were conducted to investigate the near-space environment
and its effects on humans in preparation for
space flight.
|
In the 1960s, the experiments continued with the Global
Horizontal Soundings Techniques (GHOST) Program.
GHOST was designed to trace air
circulation patterns.
|
- Double Eagle II was
the first manned balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
On August 10, 1978 Double Eagle II with the
crew of Ben Abruzzo, Larry Newman and Maxie Anderson was launched
from Presque Isle, Pennsylvania.
|
Airships
Ref: 5-6, 5-7 |
- An airship is a
lighter-than-air vehicle that is steerable and powered.
The problem with the hot-air, hydrogen and helium balloons was that
their flight directions was at the mercy of the wind.
|
- J.B.M. Meusnier made several suggestions on
how to improve the handling and flight characteristics. He suggested
changing the shape of the balloon from a sphere to the shape of a
football in order to reduce air resistance and also establish a
front and rear. He also suggested an envelope made of several
compartments and a passenger car shaped like a boat attached to the
bottom of the airship.
|
- Henri Giffard built a cigar-shaped balloon
114 feet long and 39 feet in diameter. The airship was powered by a
three- horsepower steam engine which could propel it at a speed of
approximately 5 mph.
|
Airships (1900 - 1990)
Ref: 5-7 |
- Ferdinand von Zeppelin built
and flew the world's first rigid airship, the LZ-1.
|
- Zeppelin continued to build large rigid airships for the
German Government.
|
- This began a long period of German domination of this type of
aircraft. In fact, Germany so dominated the rigid airships that they
became known as zeppelins.
|
- On June 22, 1910, the Deutschland became the world's first
commercial airship.
|
World War I
Ref: 5-7, 5-8 |
- During World War I, the Germans
used rigid airships on both the Eastern and Western Fronts
as bombers.
|
- The airships were too
slow and cumbersome to be used as offensive weapons.
Several were shot down by fighters; they were simply no
match for fighter aircraft
|
- Although airships were not effective as
offensive weapons, they proved to be adequate as defensive weapons
|
- Airships were used by the British to
patrol their coasts and for convoy protection.
|
Post - World War I
Ref: 5-8 |
| Following World War I, the Germans were
forced to surrender all their zeppelins to the Allies. |
- The LZ-126 was brought to the United States and renamed the
Los Angeles.
|
 |
- The U.S. Navy used it for eight years before they scrapped
it.
|
| In 1926, the Treaty of Versailles allowed
the Germans to resume constructing airships. They build three giant
rigid airships. |
 |
 |
| The LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin
launched in 1928 was probably the largest airship to fly. During its
10 years of service it logged 590 flights including 144 trips across the
ocean. It flew more than one million miles, carried 13,100 passengers
and retired in 1939. |
The LZ-129 Hindenburg
was launched in 1936, and made ten successful round-trips between
Germany and the United States. While preparing for landing in Lakehurst,
New Jersey it exploded, crashed to the ground, and burned, killing 36
people. |
| The LZ-130 Graf Zeppelin II was
built but it was never placed into commercial service because of World
War II. |
World War II
Ref: 5-8, 5-9 |
 |
- During World War II, the U.S. Navy continued to
operate non-rigid airships. After the attack on Pearl
Harbor, the Navy asked Congress for an increase in the number of
non-rigid airships. By June 1942, Congress authorized construction
of 200 airships. The airships were used in the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Of the 89,000 ships escorted by
airships, none were lost due to enemy action. In addition to
convoy protection, airships were also used for search and rescue,
photographic and mine-clearing missions.
|
- Only one airship was lost due to enemy action and that was
the K-74. The K-74 was shot down by a German submarine; however, the
submarine was damaged so badly by the airship, it could not
submerge. The German sub was later sunk by British bombers.
|
Post World War II
Ref: 5-9, 5-10 |
- The Navy continued to use
airships until 1964 and attempted to revive them
again in the 1980s, but Congress terminated funds for the project in
1989.
|
- Goodyear uses airships to cover major sporting events
and also for aerial advertising. During the 1984 and 1988
Olympics, airships were used for surveillance.
|
- Airship Industries and Westinghouse are working jointly on
the Sentinel 5000 airship. This 400-foot-long, all-weather airship,
carrying radar, could patrol for 30 days with a crew of 15. In 1989,
the Russians began work on a disk-shaped airship capable of lifting
several tons.
|
Rocketry
Ref: 5-10 |
 |
- Although it cannot be substantiated, credit is usually given
to the ancient Chinese as the inventors of the rocket. It
is documented that the Chinese
were the first to use rockets as weapons of war.
|
- The Europeans didn't become seriously interested in the
military aspect of rockets until the eighteenth century was almost
over.
|
- The United States first
used rockets in 1847 during the Mexican War.
|
- Rockets were also used
during the Civil War by the Union and Confederate forces.
|
Rocket
Pioneers
Ref: 5-10, 5-11 |
 |
Dr. Robert H. Goddard
was a physics professor. He conducted research and experiments in
rocketry using liquid fuels. On March 16, 1926, he launched the world's
first liquid-fuel rocket. Because of his extensive knowledge of rockets,
he is known as the "Father of Modern
Rocketry" |
| Another rocket pioneer during this same
period was Hermann Oberth. His
research led to the German rocket program of World War II and the development
of the liquid-fuel V-2 rocket. |
Rockets In
World War II
Ref: 5-11, 5-12 |
V2 |
During World War II, every
major power had a rocket program. Some like Japan, had a limited rocket
program while Germany had a major program with plans
for space flight. The rockets that the general public heard the most
about were the German V-1 and V-2 which were used
extensively to bombard England. |
| The Russians used
the six-foot-long Katyashu barrage rocket |
| The Navy also used barrage
rockets. |
The Army used the
bazooka, used primarily to destroy tanks and
fortifications.
|
| The Germans used the V-1 rocket and the more advanced
V-2 rocket. |
| The V-2
rocket carried a 2,000 pound warhead at
speeds up to 3,600 miles per hour and had a range of 220 miles. |
Postwar Developments
Ref: 5-12, 5-13 |
- After World War II, Russia and the United States continued to
improve on the German V-1 and V-2 rockets. Dr.
Wernher von Braun and most of his German Scientists
surrendered to the United States and formed the nucleus of
America’s research in rocketry. The Russians also
captured German scientists and V-1 and V-2 rockets.
|
- The difference in the pace of development was that Russia
placed a high priority on the development of rocketry and the United
States did not. The United States believed that it would take
several years for Russia to develop a missile. At the time, Russia
didn’t have nuclear weapons so the United States didn’t see much
of a threat coming from them.
|
- Dr. von Braun and his team of scientists conducted
experiments at White Sands, New Mexico. They helped the
Army improve the V-2. In 1950, Dr. von Braun was transferred to the
Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama and became director
of guided missile development.
|
- After World War II, the Americans were content just
to build V-2 rockets and cruise missiles; however, the Russians were
busy building larger and more powerful missiles.
|
- It was not until 1955 that the Atlas program was given the
highest priority and later became the United States’ first
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
|
The Space Age Begins
Ref: 5-13 |
Sputnik |
| The Soviet Union
surprised the United States and most of the other countries when they
launched Sputnik,
the world’s first artificial satellite. |
The launching of Sputnik had a great impact on the United
States and the rest of the Western powers. They realized that if
Russia had rockets capable of carrying a satellite into space, they
could also deliver nuclear weapons anywhere in the world. American
scientists were given top priority on placing an American satellite
into space and developing an operational long-range missile.
|
 |
The United States launched its first satellite, Explorer
1, in 1958.
Dr. William H. Pickering, Dr. James A. Van Allen and Dr. Wernher von
Braun (left to right) hoist a model of Explorer I and the final stage
after the launching Jan. 31, 1958. Explorer I, the first U.S. earth
satellite was launched by a Jupiter-C with U.S. earth - IGY scientific
experiments of Dr. James A. Van Allen, which discovered the radiation
belt around the earth.
|
Military ICBM
Development
Ref: 5-13, 5-14 |
- The Titan I replaced the Atlas. The Titan I
was only slightly better than the Atlas, so the Titan II was
developed.
|
- By 1966, American’s land
based ICBM force consisted of Atlas Fs, Titan IIs, Minuteman and the
Peacekeeper ICBMs.
|
- Liquid-fuel rockets were too dangerous to put aboard ships;
therefore the Navy used solid-fuel Polaris missiles.
|
- The Navy has a Submarine
Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) program
|
In 1983, the Polaris system
was replaced by the Poseidon.
|
In 1979, the Trident I became
operational aboard the U.S.S. Francis Scott Key.
|
NASA and Launch-Vehicle
Developments
Ref: 5-14, 5-15 |
| In 1958, the United States split its aerospace
research into two parts. |
NASA,
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was formed to carry
out the peaceful exploration of space and to conduct basic aeronautics
research.
|
The Department
of Defense became responsible for
research and development in the area of military aerospace activities.
|
| The rockets that were designed
for ICBMs were not powerful enough for manned space flights. Rocket
scientists modified the Jupiter and Redstone rockets. Work produced the
Saturn class of rockets, culminating with the Saturn V which launched
Apollo missions 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Mission 11 was launched on July
16, 1969 and landed men on the moon for the first time in history. |
| America’s major launch vehicles include Atlas 2
Centaur, Scout, Titan II, Titan 34D, Titan IV, Delta II, and the Space
Transportation System (Space Shuttle). |
Wings
Ref: 5-15, 5-17 |
- Leonardo da Vinci made
the first scientific experiments in the field of aviation. His
descriptions and pictures are the world’s first known designs of
the parachute and the helicopter. His writings include the
importance of the center of gravity, center of pressure and
streamlining.
|
- Sir George Cayley identified the
forces of lift, drag, and thrust as they applied to aviation. He
also developed the cambered (curved) upper surface on a wing
to increase lift
|
- W.S. Henson and John Stringfellow drew up
plans and received a patent for a man-carrying, powered aircraft
named the Ariel.
|
- Otto Lilienthal
has been called the "Father of
Modern Aviation." He built and flew many single-wing
and bi-wing gliders.
|
- Octave Chanute performed gliding experiments
on the sand dunes around Lake Michigan.
|
- Samuel Pierpont Langley successfully built a
steam-powered glider which flew for three-quarters
of a mile before running out of fuel
|
The Wright Brothers
Ref: 5-17, 5-19
Wright Flyer
The Wright brothers approached powered flight in a very organized and
systematic fashion. Their first step of development was to build an aircraft
which could fly and be controlled in flight and then to add an engine. They
worked for five years on the basic unpowered research before adding the engine.
During this time, they turned failures into discoveries by analyzing what had
gone wrong and correcting it. From this, wing warping and the rudder evolved.
 |
The
first manned flight in history: December 17, 1903. At 10:35 a.m.
Orville Wright takes off into a 27 mph wind. The distance covered was
120 feet.
Time aloft was 12 seconds. Wilbur is seen at right.
Picture was taken with Orville's camera by John T. Daniels. |
The Wright brothers' first attempt at flight was made on December 14,
1903 in a powered aircraft, which they named the Flyer. With Wilbur at
the controls, the Flyer became airborne but stalled and fell back into the sand.
Three days later Orville flew the aircraft for 12 seconds. On December
17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, man’s age old dream of powered,
sustained and controlled heavier-than-air flight was finally a reality.
Aviation
Developments In The United States
Ref: 5-19, 5-21 |
- The Wright brothers changed and improved their aircraft
through constant testing and performance. They were persistent and
eventually convinced the United States and foreign governments that
the airplane had great potential for military purposes.
|
- Glen Curtiss
designed and built the famous June Bug. He also
made the first public flight before a large audience in New York in
1908.
|
- Also in 1911, Pilot Calbraith P.
Rodgers made the first transcontinental flight across the
United States. He flew from New York to Pasadena in a
special-built Wright biplane named the Vin Fiz Flyer. The trip took
49 days.
|
- In August of 1911, Harriet
Quimby became the first
woman to receive a pilots certificate.
|
Aviation
Progress In Europe
Ref: 5-21 |
| Aviation in Europe became an instant success both
with the people and the various European governments. |
- 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont
flew the first powered aircraft in Europe.
|
- 1907, Louis Bleriot built and
flew the world’s first powered monoplane.
|
Bleriot Monoplane |
- 1909, two European events
attracted worldwide attention to aviation.
|
One was the first aircraft to
fly across the English Channel, performed by Bleriot
in his small monoplane.
|
The second was the first
International Air Meet held in Reims, France. This was the
first occasion where aviation pioneers from all over the world were
in one location where they could share ideas and experiences. The
air meet at Reims demonstrated to the world that the airplane
was here to stay.
|
Vertical
Flight
Ref: 5-22 |
Early Helicopter |
- In 1907, a Frenchman named Louis
Breguet built and flew the first
helicopter to lift a man into the air. Although
it lifted him into the air under its own power, it had to be held
steady by four men on the ground.
|
- In 1909 a father-and-son team, Emile
and Henry Berliner, became the first Americans to
build and fly a helicopter. Controlling the helicopter in
flight was one of the major problems with the first helicopters.
|
World War I
(1914-1918)
Ref: 5-22, 5-23
World War I was the first major war in
which aircraft were used. Prior to the war, aircraft were
primarily used for observation; but, as the war progressed, the role of the
aircraft changed. They became fighters and bombers. With the development of the
fighter, a new type of hero emerged. The French developed a method of
recognition for pilots who shot down enemy planes. The pilot who shot down ten
aircraft was recognized as an ace. The British and Germans established the same
number of kills as the French. However, the United States entered the war late
and thought the war would end before an American pilot could shoot down ten
enemy aircraft, so they changed the number of kills to five.
An important lesson learned from World War I was: If the
fighting forces control the air, they will win the war; if the fighting forces
lose control of the air, they will lose the war.
The Golden Age
(1919-1939)
Ref: 5-23, 5-25
The 20-year period between the end
of World War I and the beginning of World
War II has been called the "Golden Age of
Aviation". During this period, the airplane changed from a
slow, wood-and-wire-framed and fabric-covered biplane to a fast, sleek,
all-metal monoplane.
The greatest challenge faced by aviation
immediately after World War I was to demonstrate to the nonflying public the
capabilities of the airplane. The
first barrier was the Atlantic Ocean. In 1919, the U. S. Navy’s NC-4
Flying Boat became the first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The
first aviators to fly nonstop across the Atlantic were two Englishmen, Captain
John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown. Many nations were "turned on"
by aviation. The main exception was the United States. Barnstormers and Army
aviators are what kept the airplane from disappearing completely. Barnstormers
brought aviation to the small cities in the United States.
Army Aviation
Ref: 5-25, 5-26
 
General William "Billy" Mitchell
returned from World War I convinced that the air services should be
separated from and be equal to the Army and Navy. He
strongly supported using the airplane for strategic warfare (destroying
military and industrial targets deep inside an enemy's homeland). Mitchell and
his pilots attempted to demonstrate the capability of the airplane as a military
weapon by bombing and sinking the captured German
battleship Ostfriesland. This demonstration and his other efforts
failed to convince U.S. military and congressional leaders, so he decided
to take his case to the American public.
He planned to demonstrate the value of the aircraft to the
public through a series of spectacular flights. Included in these were
the first nonstop, transcontinental flight; the first round-the-world flight;
and many altitude, distance and duration flights. When these efforts failed to
produce the desired results, he began making public speeches against the Navy
and Army, and other defenses. This resulted in his
court-martial and forced retirement.
National
Air Races
Ref: 5-26, 5-27 |
|
 
|
- Air racing got its start in the
United States when newspaperman Ralph Pulitzer offered a trophy to
promote high-speed flight.
|
He did this because American aircraft were making such a
poor showing in European air races. The air races grew so large that
the name was changed to the National Air Races.
|
- Today, the National Air Races are held annually at Reno,
Nevada.
|
Commercial Aviation
Ref: 5-27, 5-29
- The Post Office Department started airmail service using aircraft and
pilots borrowed from the Army. Three months later it had its own planes and
pilots. The first airmail route was between
Washington, D.C. and New York City in 1919.
The Kelly Act of 1925 authorized
the Post Office Department to contract for airmail service.
This was the incentive needed to get big business into the aviation field and
really marked the beginning of commercial aviation in America.
- On May 20, 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh crossed
the Atlantic from the United States to France.
- Ryan Aircraft built the airplane that Lindbergh named the "Spirit
of St. Louis."
 |
In 1928
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross
the Atlantic by air (as a passenger). Four years later, she
became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her
disappearance during a round-the-world flight in 1937 is still one of
aviation's great mysteries. |
General Aviation – A
Beginning
Ref: 5-29
Piper Cub
It was during the "golden years" that general aviation came
into being. It was easy for people to learn to fly during the years following
World War I. Individuals could buy a war-surplus airplane and teach themselves
to fly or find a former Army aviator to teach them. During this period, there
were no licenses or government regulations and aircraft did not have many
instruments.
Some of the aircraft manufacturers during this period were Travel Air
Manufacturing Company, Taylor Aircraft Company and Piper Aircraft Corporation.
Aeronautics
Ref: 5-29, 5-30
The late 1920s saw the science of aeronautics take its place as a true
and recognized science.
President Woodrow Wilson
formed an organization named the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (NACA).
- In 1926 Daniel Guggenheim
founded the School of Aeronautics at New York University.
More efficient wing shapes and cowlings to enclose the engines
were developed by NACA scientists. Lt James H.
Doolittle did a lot of research on aircraft instruments to
make flying at night and in bad weather safer.
|
|
|
The helicopter became a successful aircraft
during this period.
bbbb Igor
Sikorsky.
|
| Commercial
Aviation Matures
|
- The greatest incentive to the development of
commercial airliners in the United States was the passage
of the NcNary-Watres Act of 1930.
|
- The McNary-Watres Act was an amendment to the Kelly Act.
|
- Kelly Act, airmail carriers were paid according to the weight
of the mail carried
|
- McNary-Watres Act, contractors would be paid according to
the available cargo space. In addition, a bonus would be paid to
operators flying multi-engine aircraft equipped with the latest
instruments.
|
- In addition to flying mail and passengers within the United
States, the airlines also began looking for overseas routes.
Aircraft technology had not yet developed to the point of producing
airplanes capable of flying non-stop across the oceans; therefore, the
first overseas flights were made in the Clipper flying boats.
|
- The Pan American
Clipper made the first commercial airline
crossing of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
| Military
Advancements |
| Until the early 1930s, our national policy regarding
military aviation was that the airplane was primarily a defensive weapon
used to protect our homeland. However, the Army Air Corps realized that
the airplanes could be used as offensive weapons and eventually the B-17
evolved |
 |
| On July 28, 1935, a
four-engine giant designated the Boeing 299, made its first flight-test.
This aircraft not only won the competition, but it proved it could
out fly any fighter airplane flying during this period. The Army Air
Corps made an initial order for 13 of these B-17s and soon after ordered
39 more. |
| World War II |
|
Rather than discuss the entire history of World War II, this
section will give the definition of air power’s four combat functions:
The text gives examples of each.
- Air Superiority –
when an air force has greater combat effectiveness than the opposing
air force, especially if the superiority permits the conduct
of air operations without prohibitive interference from the opposing
air force. Example: During the aerial Battle of
Britain it appeared the British would lose; however, the stout
defense of the British, coupled with German tactical errors, enabled
the British to win.
- Strategic Bombing
– bombing of a selected target or targets
vital to the war-making capacity of a nation, e.g., oil
center, factories, cities, etc. Example: The battle of the Bulge was
lost in large part because of the lack of fuel for armored forces.
- Interdiction
– the prevention or destruction of,
or interference with, enemy movements, communication, lines of
communications which makes it difficult for the enemy to
move from one place to another.
- Close air support (CAS) –
air attacks against enemy ground
forces so close to friendly forces as to require detailed
coordination between the friendly air and ground forces.
|
The
Postwar Years (1945-1958)
|
| The need for new and
better aircraft for the military and larger and more modern aircraft for
the commercial airlines results in tremendous advanced in aeronautics. |
  |
| In October 1947, flying a
Bell X-1, Capt. Charles Yeager broke the sound barrier flying at 760
mph.
In 1947 the U.S. Air Force became a
separate military service.
The use of aircraft to haul cargo was demonstrated during the Berlin
Airlift, forcing the Russian to lift the
blockade.
|
| The Korean War |
| This was the first of the limited wars and it ended
with a negotiated settlement rather than a victory for either
side. Air power again proved to be a dominant factor in the strategy of
the Allied forces. |
 |
 |
| MIG-15 |
F-86 Saberjet |
| The backbone of the Chinese
Air Force was the Russian-built MIG-15 jet fighter and was superior to
the F80 and F84. The arrival of the F-86 allowed the U.S. to regain
control of the air.
The Chinese pilots also had an advantage because their
airfields were located north of the Korean border. American planes were
prohibited from bombing targets across the border. Despite this
advantage, American pilots proved superior. Using close-air-support and
interdiction mission pilots could operate at will. Thousands of enemy
troops were killed and air power hampered the Communists’ ability to
move troops and supplies.
|
| Commercial
Aviation Developments |
| The British built the
first commercial jet – the DeHavilland
Comet.
In 1958 the Boeing Company introduced the
first American commercial jet – the 707.
The following year, the Douglas
DC-8 went into service. Both aircraft were safer and
carried twice as many passengers as propeller-driven airplanes.
The jets were an instant success, and in the 1960s additional
smaller jets like the Boeing 727 and 737 and the Douglas DC-9
were built to serve the shorter-range market.
|
| The
Arms Race |
| In 1949, the Soviet
Union exploded its first atomic bomb,
and in 1953 they set off their first hydrogen bomb. This meant that the United
States had lost its monopoly on nuclear weapons. In order for
the United States to keep up with the Soviets, they had to come up with
a new delivery system for nuclear weapons. The result was the
development of new bombers like the B-52 and B-58 as well as new
fighters to counter the Soviets’ buildup in bombers. |
The
Aerospace Age (1958-Present)
Ref: 5-38, 5-40 |
 The
X-15 was a joint Air
Force, Navy, and NACA project aimed at building an aircraft that could
fly at a speed of 4,500 mph and reach an altitude of 250,000
feet. To accomplish this, the aircraft would have to withstand
a temperature of 1,200 degrees F. The contract was awarded to North
American Aviation. Before flight-testing ended the X-15 had exceeded
both of its design goals.
|
 The
XB-70 was powered by six
turbojet engines, each producing 30,000 pounds of thrust. The plane did
what it was designed to do. However, Congress decided
that the Air Fore did not need a supersonic bomber and cancelled
the program. |
- Research into airfoils in recent years has produced some
revolutionary new concepts and with new technology revived old ideas.
Commercial
Aviation
Ref: 5-40 |
| Commercial aviation has
made tremendous progress in the past two decades. The industry is now
flying safer and more fuel-efficient aircraft. Some of the new
aircraft currently being used are the DC-10, L-1011, DC-9 Super 80,
Boeing 767, Boeing 757, MD-11 and the latest model of the Boeing 747,
the 747-400. |
 |
The Boeing
747 first flew in 1969 and flew its first commercial
flight for Pan American on January 22, 1970. |
|
|
The DC-9 super 80 |
|
|
The Boeing 767 |
|
and the Boeing 757 are
three aircraft which were developed to improve efficiency
through the use of advanced technology. The newest
high-technology airliner, is the McDonald-Douglas 11 (MD-11). |
|
The Vietnam
Conflict
Ref: 5-40, 5-41
MIG
|
 The
initial use of air power in Vietnam was to boost the morale of the South
Vietnamese armed forces and to contain the military advances of the Viet
Cong until ground troops could arrive. The air power was restricted in
Vietnam because of the gradualist policy and the politicians in
Washington, D.C. who seemed to control the day-to-day was activities.
Because of this gradualist policy, we were never able to launch
an all-out attack on North Vietnam targets. It was not until 1972 that
air power was used to its fullest potential when President Nixon ordered
massive bombings of North Vietnam.
Capt Hoot Gibson (left) completes a combat tour
In January of the following year, North Vietnam signed a
cease-fire agreement.
|
|
