Fairchild C-82 Packet
The C-82 Packet is a twin-engined, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft. It was used by the United States Army Air Forces and the successor United States Air Force following World War II; the aircraft was named as a tribute to the packet boats that hauled mail and freight in Europe and its colonies, including North American rivers and canals, for most of the 18th and 19th centuries. Developed by Fairchild, the C-82 was intended as a heavy-lift cargo aircraft to succeed prewar civilian designs like the Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47 Dakota using non-critical materials in its construction plywood and steel, so as not to compete with the production of combat aircraft. However, by early 1943 changes in specifications resulted in plans for an all-metal aircraft; the aircraft was designed for a number of roles, including cargo carrier, troop transport, parachute drop, medical evacuation, glider towing. It featured a rear-loading ramp with wide doors and an empennage set 14 feet off the ground that permitted trucks and trailers to back up to the doors without obstruction.
The single prototype first flew on 10 September 1944. The aircraft were built at the Fairchild factory in Hagerstown, with deliveries beginning in 1945 and ending in September 1948. Problems surfaced immediately as the aircraft was found to be underpowered and its airframe inadequate for the heavy lifting it was intended to perform; as a result, the Air Force turned to Fairchild for a solution to the C-82's shortcomings. A redesign was performed under the designation XC-82B, which would overcome all of the C-82A's initial problems. First flown in 1944, the first delivery was not until June 1945 and only a few entered service before the end of the war. In the end, only 223 C-82As would be built, a small number for a wartime production cargo aircraft. Most were used for cargo and troop transport, although a few were used for paratroop operations or towing military gliders. A redesign of the XC-82B would result in the production of the C-119 Flying Boxcar. In 1946, the United States Postal Service explored the concept of flying post offices using modified C-82s which would operate to those on trains where mail would be sorted by clerks and put in bags and transferred to trucks on landing.
In 1948, a C-82 was fitted with track-gear landing gear, similar to the tracks on a crawler tractor, that allowed landings on unpaved, primitive runways. During the Berlin Blockade, five C-82 aircraft carried large disassembled earthmoving equipment into the city to enable the construction of Berlin-Tegel Airport in the fall of 1948. Though unsuccessful, the C-82A is best considered as an early development stage of the much more successful C-119B Flying Boxcar; the C-82A saw limited production before being replaced by the Flying Boxcar. The C-82 was retired from the US Air Force inventory in 1954. After the C-82A became surplus to United States Air Force requirements, small numbers were sold to civilian operators in Brazil, Chile and the United States and these were utilized for many years as rugged freight aircraft capable of carrying bulky items of cargo; the last example was retired in the late 1980s. XC-82 Prototype, one built. C-82A Packet Initial production version, 220 built. EC-82A 1948, fitted with Firestone-designed tracked landing gear.
13 aircraft allocated for conversion from C-82A. XC-82B 1947, fitted with 2650hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines as a precursor to the C-119 series. One converted from a C-82A. C-82N 1946, Production aircraft built by North American Aviation. Only three were completed. Steward-Davis Jet-Packet 1600 1956, civil conversion of Fairchild C-82A with 1,600 pounds-force Westinghouse J30-W turbojet booster engine in pod above upper fuselage. At least three converted. Steward-Davis Jet-Packet 3200 Conversion of Jet-Packet 1600 with two J30-W engines in above-fuselage pod. One converted in 1957. Jet-Packet 3400 Jet-Packet with a 3,250 lbf Westinghouse J34-WE-34, or 3,400 lbf -36 booster engine. At least four converted from 1962. Steward-Davis Jet-Packet II Airframe weight reduction programme to increase cargo weights and increased power from Pratt & Whitney R-2800CB-16 engines. Application applied to at least three Jet-Packet 3400s, including the TWA C-82A Ontos. Steward-Davis Skytruck I 1964, C-82A aircraft with 60,000 lb takeoff weight, improved performance and a hot-air de-icing system, one converted.
The Skytruck brand-name was the inspiration for Elleston Trevor's Skytruck in the 1964 novel, The Flight of the Phoenix. Steward-Davis Skypallet 1965 A C-82A redesign with the fuselage floor separating from the aircraft from nose to tail for large cargoes and the installation of an internal hoist. Only one aircraft was converted. BrazilBrazilian Air Force – the Primeiro Grupo de Transporte de Tropa operated C-82s until 1969. Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul ChileLinea Aerea Taxpa Ltda HondurasHonduras Air Force MexicoCompania Mexicana de Aviacion United StatesInterior Airways Trans World Airlines – Used for transporting replacement engines United States Army Air Forces Brazil45-57783 – C-82A stored at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus; the aircraft is in poor condition. 48-0585 – C-82A stored at the Museu Aeroespacial at Campo dos Afonsos in Rio de Janeiro. It is an ex-Brazilian Air Force aircraft. United States44-22991 – C-82A fuselage only in storage in the Walter Soplata Collection in Newbury, Ohio.
44-23006 – C-82A on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. 45-57814 – C-82A on static display at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Hagerstown, Maryland. The aircraft was flown to the airport
World War II
World War II known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries; the major participants threw their entire economic and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China, it included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, the only use of nuclear weapons in war. Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with China by 1937, though neither side had declared war on the other. World War II is said to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and the United Kingdom.
From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Finland and the Baltic states. Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa and East Africa, the fall of France in mid 1940, the war continued between the European Axis powers and the British Empire. War in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz, the long Battle of the Atlantic followed. On 22 June 1941, the European Axis powers launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history; this Eastern Front trapped most crucially the German Wehrmacht, into a war of attrition. In December 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States as well as European colonies in the Pacific. Following an immediate U. S. declaration of war against Japan, supported by one from Great Britain, the European Axis powers declared war on the U.
S. in solidarity with their Japanese ally. Rapid Japanese conquests over much of the Western Pacific ensued, perceived by many in Asia as liberation from Western dominance and resulting in the support of several armies from defeated territories; the Axis advance in the Pacific halted in 1942. Key setbacks in 1943, which included a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, Allied victories in the Pacific, cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and turned toward Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in Central China, South China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands; the war in Europe concluded with an invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.
Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of Japan to surrender under its terms, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August respectively. With an invasion of the Japanese archipelago imminent, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria, Japan announced its intention to surrender on 15 August 1945, cementing total victory in Asia for the Allies. Tribunals were set up by fiat by the Allies and war crimes trials were conducted in the wake of the war both against the Germans and the Japanese. World War II changed the political social structure of the globe; the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The Soviet Union and United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia.
Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic expansion. Political integration in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities and create a common identity; the start of the war in Europe is held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred and the two wars merged in 1941; this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935; the British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the fo
Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs throughout the world. The company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace and naval systems, control, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, electronic warfare suites, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems and radios; the company focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial aviation applications and providing a range of support services, including training and simulation systems. In 2016, Elbit Systems had 13,895 employees, the majority of whom are engaged in engineering, mechanics and development, other computing and technical areas. Elbit Systems' shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Elbit Systems was founded in 1966 by Elron Electronic Industries, which combined the existing expertise within the Israel Ministry of Defense-Research Institute in special computer design with Elron's experience in electronic product design and management.
Elbit expanded developing and producing logistic-support weapon delivery and navigation systems for most Israeli aircraft, establishing a combat avionics package for the IAI Lavi fighter aircraft, producing a fire-control system for the Merkava tank. In 1996, Elbit spun off into three independent companies: Elbit Medical Imaging NASDAQ: EMITF – During 1999 to 2000 Elscint and Elbit Medical Imaging sold their imaging activities to General Electric Medical Systems and to Picker for $600 million. Elbit Systems – Created as the defence electronics arm of Elbit, the company had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock market with the symbol NASDAQ:ESLT and finished its first day of trading at a price of $7.75. Elbit Systems has a market cap of over $5 Billion. Elbit – which focused on communications activities and in 1999 led the consortium that founded Partner Communications Company, Israel's first GSM operator NASDAQ: PTNR. In 2002, Elbit was merged into Elron. Elron sold its shares in Partner during 2003–2006 for $160 million.
In 2000, Elbit Systems merged with El-Op, creating the largest non governmental defense electronics company in Israel and increasing Elbit Systems' value which in 2004 enabled Elron to sell its shares in Elbit Systems for $200 million. Following the merger with El-Op, Michael Federmann became the largest shareholder in the combined group. Following the merger with El-Op, Michael Federmann and CEO Joseph Ackerman led an aggressive growth by acquisitions strategy; the company acquired companies, including: Elisra Tadiran Communications Shiron Satellite Communications BVR Systems Assets of Israel Military Industries’ Aircraft Systems Division Innovative Concepts, Inc. Mikal Ltd Elbit subsequently announced a cash tender offer for the 12.15% remainder of ITL held by the public. In October 2014, Elbit Systems won a $12.7 million contract for the supply and provision of Apache Aviator Integrated Helmets for the US Army helicopter fleet. The contract would be delivered over a two-year period. On March 22nd 2018, Elbit Systems and Universal Avionics announced today that Elbit “is in the process of completing the acquisition of the owned U.
S. company Universal Avionics Systems Corporation through an asset acquisition agreement.” The deal is expected to close “in the coming weeks.” In the year of 2019, Elbit Systems purchased the night vision business of Harris Corp. in America for $350 million. Elbit Systems Intelligence and Electro-optics – Elop Ltd. Elbit Systems Land and C4I Ltd. Elbit Systems EW and SIGINT – Elisra Ltd. Elbit Systems – Cyclone Ltd. Elbit Security Systems Ltd. Kinetics Ltd. SCD – Semi-Conductor Devices Opgal – Optronics Industries Ltd. Elbit Systems of America, LLC IMI Systems Elbit Vision Systems – a developer and manufacturer of automated optical inspection solutions for textile manufacturing processes, founded in 1992 and had an initial public offering on the NASDAQ in 1996. Chip PC Technologies – a developer and manufacturer of thin client solutions for server-based computing. Everysight – a developer and manufacturer of an augmented reality smartglasses for cyclists, founded in 2016. Azerbaijan Belgium - On 1 July 2003, Elbit acquired OIP Sensor Systems.
France – On June 19, 2011, Elbit announced that its subsidiary Elisra Electronic Systems Ltd. was awarded a contract valued at €5 million to supply hundreds of units of its AN/PRC-684 Personal Locator Beacon to the French Ministry of Defense, equipping the French Air Force, Navy and DGA. The project is to be performed within 24 months. Italy – On June 22, 2011, Elbit announced that it was awarded a contract valued in excess of $15 million by Elettronica S.p. A to participate in a program to supply the ELT/572 DIRCM system for installation on various platforms of the Italian Air Force, including the C130J, C27J and AW101; the contract is to be performed over the next three years. Macedonia - In Feb
Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada
The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is a museum in Winnipeg, Canada. The museum is temporarily closed for relocation, is scheduled to reopen in 2020; the Western Canada Aviation Museum was incorporated in 1974 for the preservation and promotion of Canada's aviation history. The aircraft on display reflect the history of aviation development in Canada, more in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a major hub for aviation development in Canada, includes examples of aircraft and artifacts ranging from bush planes to transport, military and commercial aircraft; the museum received the Royal designation on 19 December 2014 to become The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. A enclosed flight deck to watch the landings and takeoffs at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is one of the other attractions; the collection is housed in an original Trans-Canada Air Lines aircraft hangar and includes a recreated terminal departure centre and several one-of-a-kind aircraft such as Canada's first helicopter, the CL-84 "Tilt-wing", Avrocar "flying saucer", historic military jets, bush planes, commercial aircraft.
Canada's first helicopter, built by the Froebe brothers in Homewood, Manitoba. Avro CF-100 Canuck interceptor Avrocar - Replica of the secret Cold War flying saucer built by Avro Canada for the American military. Beechcraft Expeditor - RCAF trainer and light transport Bellanca Aircruiser Eldorado Radium Silver Express - bushplane. Bristol Freighter - large twin engine cargo aircraft Canadair CL-84 - experimental VTOL aircraft. Canadair Sabre - jet fighter. Canadian Vickers Vedette replica built from three wrecks of first aircraft designed for Canadian conditions. De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver - Canadian designed bushplane. de Havilland Tiger Moth RCAF BCATP biplane trainer. Fairchild 71 bushplane. Fairchild Husky bushplane. Fairchild Super 71 all metal bushplane. Fokker Universal bushplane wreck. Fokker Super Universal bushplane Junkers Ju 52/1M modified as CF-ARM flown by Canadian Airways Ltd. Known as the "Flying Boxcar," this was the largest single-engine aircraft operated in North America. Lockheed Model 10 Electra - twin engine 1930s airliner McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo interceptor with training simulator.
North American NA-64 Yale RCAF radio trainer. Stinson Reliant - bushplane. Vickers Viscount - airliner which operated from the hangar that now houses the Museum. Waco YKC-S - small bushplane, under restorationThe Museum houses an exhibit on Canadian Women in Aviation, flight simulators, a Black Brant Rocket, other aviation memorabilia, such as a collection of first airmail covers. In 2012, an exhibit displaying Canada's role in coastal patrol was opened; the comprehensive aviation reference library housed at the Museum is one of the largest in the country, with holdings of books, technical manuals, drawings, as well as some 40,000 photographs and audiotapes, many of which cannot be found anywhere else. One item in the archives is a rare, five-minute film of Amelia Earhart embarking on her solo, trans-Atlantic flight from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on 21 May 1932; the library is open to the public on an appointment basis and photos and audiotapes are loaned or copied on request. The Museum has an active Restoration Department and has returned many damaged aircraft to full display condition.
A team of volunteers completed a full-scale replica of a Canadian Vickers Vedette Mark V aircraft in May 2002. The Museum has facilitated the recovery of several aircraft, including the "Ghost of Charron Lake" - a Fokker Standard Universal that has taken more than 30 years to locate, it is in a recovery and retrieval phase, after which it will begin its restoration. The Museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums Association, Canadian Heritage Information Network, the Virtual Museum of Canada. Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame List of aerospace museums List of Canadian organizations with royal prefix Official website
Fairchild BQ-3
The Fairchild BQ-3 known as the Model 79, was an early expendable unmanned aerial vehicle – referred to at the time as an "assault drone" – developed by Fairchild Aircraft from the company's AT-21 Gunner advanced trainer during the Second World War for use by the United States Army Air Forces. Two examples of the type were built and flight-tested, but the progress of guided missiles rendered the assault drone obsolete, the type was not produced. Development of the BQ-3 began in October, 1942, under a program for the development of "aerial torpedoes" and more referred to as "assault drones", instigated in March of that year. Fairchild was awarded a contract for the construction of two XBQ-3 prototypes, based on the AT-21 Gunner advanced gunnery trainer in United States Army Air Forces service; the XBQ-3 was a twin-engined, low-wing aircraft, fitted with retractable tricycle landing gear and a twin-finned empennage. Power was provided by two Ranger V-770 inline piston engines of 520 horsepower each.
Like the contemporary Fleetwings BQ-2, the aircraft would be destroyed in the act of striking the target. The first flight of the XBQ-3 took place in July 1944. Despite the accident, flight testing continued; as a result, the program was cancelled towards the end of 1944. Data from General characteristics Crew: 1 Length: 52 ft 8 in Wingspan: 37 ft Height: 31 ft 1 in Gross weight: 15,300 lb Powerplant: 2 × Ranger V-770-15 inline piston engines, 520 hp eachPerformance Maximum speed: 220 mph Range: 1,500 mi Armament 4,000 pounds warhead Related development Fairchild AT-21 GunnerAircraft of comparable role and era Fleetwings BQ-2 Interstate TDR
Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum
The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is an aviation museum located at Brandon Municipal Airport, Manitoba. It is dedicated to the memory of the airmen from the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, who trained at World War II air stations across Canada; the museum in stage 1 of redevelopment, which will see it restored to include the main hangar, medical building, chapel, H-hut aircrew barracks, motor pool building and interpretive center. The museum contains several World War II aircraft, displays of navigation, bombardier, ground crew and transport equipment, various artifacts and a gift shop; the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, Virtual Museum of Canada. Organization of Military Museums of Canada Military history of Canada History of the Royal Canadian Air Force Official Museum Website History of the Canadian Forces Museums 1919-2004
Richard E. Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a segment of the Arctic Ocean, a segment of the Antarctic Plateau. Byrd claimed that his expeditions had been the first to reach both the North Pole and the South Pole by air. However, his claim to have reached the North Pole is disputed. Byrd was born in Winchester, the son of Esther Bolling and Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr, he was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia. His ancestors include planter John Rolfe and his wife Pocahontas, William Byrd II of Westover Plantation, who established Richmond, Robert "King" Carter, a colonial governor, he was the brother of Virginia Governor and U. S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, a dominant figure in the Virginia Democratic Party from the 1920s until the 1960s.
On January 20, 1915, Richard married Marie Donaldson Ames. He would name a region of Antarctic land he discovered "Marie Byrd Land" after her, they had four children – Richard Evelyn Byrd III, Evelyn Bolling Byrd Clarke, Katharine Agnes Byrd Breyer, Helen Byrd Stabler. By late 1924, the Byrd family moved into a large brownstone house at 9 Brimmer Street in Boston's fashionable Beacon Hill neighborhood, purchased by Marie's father, a wealthy industrialist. On June 8, 1912, Byrd graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy. On July 14, 1912, he was assigned to the battleship USS Wyoming. During service in the Caribbean Sea, Byrd received his first letter of commendation, a Silver Lifesaving Medal, for twice plunging clothed to the rescue of a sailor who had fallen overboard. In 1914 he was assigned to the gunboat USS Dolphin, which served as the yacht of the Secretary of the Navy; this assignment brought Byrd into contact with high ranking officials and dignitaries including Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt.
During Byrd's assignment to Dolphin she was commanded by future Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations during World War II. On March 15, 1916, Byrd was medically retired for a foot injury, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assigned as the Inspector and Instructor for the Rhode Island Naval Militia in Providence, Rhode Island. On December 14, 1916, he was commissioned as a commander in the Rhode Island Naval Militia. In this position he was commended by Brigadier General Charles W. Abbot, the Adjutant General of Rhode Island, with making great strides in improving the efficiency of the Rhode Island Naval Militia. On April 25, 1928, by act of the Rhode Island General Assembly, he was promoted to captain in the Rhode Island Naval Militia in recognition of his flight to the North Pole in 1926. Shortly after the entry of the United States into the First World War in April 1917, Byrd was recalled to active duty and was assigned to the Office of Naval Operations and served as secretary and organizer of the Navy Department Commission on Training Camps and trained men in aviation at the aviation ground school in Pensacola, Florida.
He qualified as a Naval Aviator in June 1918. He commanded naval air forces at Naval Air Station Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada from July 1918 until the armistice in November. In that assignment he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant and the temporary rank of lieutenant commander. For his services during the war, he received a letter of commendation from Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, converted to a Navy Commendation Medal. After the war, Byrd's expertise in aerial navigation resulted in his appointment to plan the flight path for the U. S. Navy's 1919 transatlantic crossing. Of the three flying boats that attempted it, only Lieutenant Commander Albert Read's NC-4 aircraft completed the trip, becoming the first transatlantic flight. During the summer of 1923 Lieutenant Byrd, with the assistance of a group of volunteer Navy veterans of the First World War, helped found the Naval Reserve Air Station at Squantum Point near Boston, using an unused First World War seaplane hangar, which had remained more-or-less intact after the Victory Destroyer Plant shipyard was built on the site.
NRAS Squantum was commissioned on August 15, 1923, is considered to have been the first air base in the Naval Reserve program. Byrd commanded the aviation unit of the arctic expedition to North Greenland led by Donald B. MacMillan from June to October 1925. On May 9, 1926, Byrd and Navy Chief Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett attempted a flight over the North Pole in a Fokker F. VIIa/3m Tri-motor monoplane named Josephine Ford, after the daughter of Ford Motor Company president Edsel Ford, who helped finance the expedition; the flight went from Spitsbergen and back to its take-off airfield, lasting fifteen hours and fifty-seven minutes. Byrd and Bennett claimed to have reached a distance of 1,535 miles; when he returned to the United States from the Arctic, Byrd became a national hero. Congress passed a special act on December 21, 1926, promoting him to the rank of commander and awarding both him and Floyd Bennett the Medal of Honor. Bennett was promoted to the warrant officer rank of Machinist. Byrd and Bennett were presented with Tiffany Cross versions of the Medal of Honor on March 5, 1927 at the White House b
