1.
Bristol, Pennsylvania
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Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,23 miles northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. All these factors spurred development of Bristol and nearby towns, explaining in part the industries which developed in the region, although its charter was revised in 1905, the original charter remains in effect, making Bristol one of the older boroughs in Pennsylvania. 7,104 people lived in Bristol in 1900,9,256 in 1910,10,273 in 1920, the population was 9,726 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Patrick Sabatini Sr. Samuel Clift founded Bristol, the grant became effective on March 14,1681 or March 4,1681 at the same time as William Penns Charter from Charles II became effective. Clift was required by the grant to maintain ferry service across the Delaware River to Burlington, New Jersey, the inn later became known as the George II. Bristol was platted in 1697, and named after Bristol, England and it was originally used as a port and dock. Bristol is rich in history, boasting many historic and restored houses that line the streets of Radcliffe, until 1725 Bristol served as county seat of Bucks County. From its earliest days Bristol was a center of mills, foundries, milling. Its docks also had regular services to New Jersey and other points east from as early as 1681 until 1931. Since Bristols long established docks were accessible to the Delaware, the town became the Delaware Canals southern terminal end. By the 1880s Bristol was home to factories, including companies manufacturing wall paper. In World War I, the Bristol docks had sufficient space for a shipyard to construct twelve building slips for the construction of merchant vessels. The residential area developed around the shipyards was soon named Harriman, Pennsylvania. In 1922 Harriman was annexed by Bristol, most of the shipping was finished too late to enter World War I, but some of the shipyards output was used post-war in relief and troop support missions. The majority of the contracts were canceled in 1919, and the ship yards rapidly became excess real estate, during World War II the old shipyards were used to build those and other airplanes, but most of the manufacturing in WW-II was not directly war related. In 1961, Bristol gained national attention when the song Bristol Stomp, the song remains a local favorite, and it is often played at ceremonies, parades, and sporting events. The Merchant Shipbuilding site returned to the news in the 1990s when the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority using state, the project also established a park with four monuments celebrating the towns past in the redevelopment. Various annual festivals, in particular keep a multi-ethnic cultural identity alive, Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal is also designated a National Historic Landmark District
2.
United States Army Air Corps
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The United States Army Air Corps was the military aviation arm of the United States of America between 1926 and 1941. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, the Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Armys middle-level command structure. The separation of the Air Corps from control of its combat units caused problems of unity of command that became more acute as the Air Corps enlarged in preparation for World War II. This was resolved by the creation of the Army Air Forces, the U. S. Army Air Service had a brief but turbulent history. In early 1926 the Military Affairs Committee of the Congress rejected all bills set forth before it on both sides of the issue. They fashioned a compromise in which the findings of the Morrow Board were enacted as law, while providing the air arm a five-year plan for expansion and development. The legislation changed the name of the Air Service to the Air Corps, thereby strengthening the conception of military aviation as an offensive, the Air Corps Act became law on 2 July 1926. Two additional brigadier generals would serve as assistant chiefs of the Air Corps, previous provisions of the National Defense Act of 1920 that all flying units be commanded only by rated personnel and that flight pay be awarded were continued. The Air Corps also retained the Prop and Wings as its branch insignia through its disestablishment in 1947, patrick became Chief of the Air Corps and Brig. Gen. James E. Fechet continued as his first assistant chief. The Air Corps Act of 2 July 1926 effected no fundamental innovation, the change in designation meant no change in status, the Air Corps was still a combatant branch of the Army with less prestige than the Infantry. The Air Corps Act gave authorization to carry out an expansion program. However, a lack of appropriations caused the beginning of the program to be delayed until 1 July 1927. The act authorized expansion to 1,800 airplanes,1,650 officers, none of the goals were reached by July 1932. Organizationally the Air Corps doubled from seven to fifteen groups, but the expansion was meaningless because all were seriously understrength in aircraft and pilots. Air Corps groups added 1927–1937 ¹Inactivated on 20 May 1937 ²Redesignated 17th Attack Group, 17th Bomb Group As units of the Air Corps increased in number, so did higher command echelons. The 1st Bomb Wing was activated in 1931, followed by the 3rd Attack Wing in 1932 to protect the Mexican border, the three wings became the foundation of General Headquarters Air Force upon its activation in 1935. In 1927 the Air Corps adopted a new scheme for painting its aircraft. The wings and tails of aircraft were painted yellow, with the words U. S
3.
Grumman
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The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U. S. producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6,1929, by Leroy Grumman and partners, factory in Baldwin on Long Island, New York. All of the early Grumman employees were former Loening employees, the company was named for Grumman because he was its largest investor. The company filed as a business on December 5,1929, keeping busy by welding aluminum tubing for truck frames, the company eagerly pursued contracts with the US Navy. Grumman designed the first practical floats with a landing gear for the Navy. The first Grumman aircraft was also for the Navy, the Grumman FF-1 and this was followed by a number of other successful designs. Grumman ranked 22nd among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts, Grummans first jet aircraft was the F9F Panther, it was followed by the upgraded F9F/F-9 Cougar, and the less well known F-11 Tiger in the 1950s. The companys big postwar successes came in the 1960s with the A-6 Intruder and E-2 Hawkeye and in the 1970s with the Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Grumman products were prominent in the film Top Gun and numerous World War II naval and Marine Corps aviation films. The U. S. Navy still employs the Hawkeye as part of Carrier Air Wings on board aircraft carriers, Grumman was the chief contractor on the Apollo Lunar Module that landed men on the moon. The firm received the contract on November 7,1962, as the Apollo program neared its end, Grumman was one of the main competitors for the contract to design and build the Space Shuttle, but lost to Rockwell International. The company ended up involved in the program nonetheless, as a subcontractor to Rockwell, providing the wings. In 1969 the company changed its name to Grumman Aerospace Corporation, the company built the Grumman Long Life Vehicle, a light transport mail truck designed for and used by the United States Postal Service. The LLV entered service in 1986, Gulfstream business jets continue to be currently manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace which is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. For much of the Cold War period Grumman was the largest corporate employer on Long Island, Grummans products were considered so reliable and ruggedly built that the company was often referred to as the Grumman Iron Works. At its peak in 1986 it employed 23,000 people on Long Island, a portion of the airport property has been used for the Grumman Memorial Park. Northrop Grummans remaining business at the Bethpage campus is the Battle Management and Engagement Systems Division, under the Grumman Olson brand it made the P-600 and P-6800 step vans for UPS. Grumman manufactured fire engines under the name Firecat and aerial tower trucks under the Aerialcat name, the company entered the fire apparatus business in 1976 with its purchase of Howe Fire Apparatus and ended operations in 1992. Grumman canoes were developed in 1944 as World War II was winding down, Company executive William Hoffman used the companys aircraft aluminum to replace the traditional wood design
4.
Apollo Lunar Module
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After completing its mission, the LM was discarded. It was capable of only in outer space, structurally and aerodynamically it was incapable of flight through the Earths atmosphere. The Lunar Module was the first manned spacecraft to operate exclusively in the vacuum of space. It was the first, and to date only, crewed vehicle to land on an object in the solar system other than the Earth. Six such craft successfully landed on the Moon between 1969 and 1972, a seventh provided propulsion and life support for the crew of Apollo 13 when their CSM was disabled by an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon. The LMs development was plagued with problems which delayed its first unmanned flight by about ten months, despite this, the LM eventually became the most reliable component of the Apollo/Saturn space vehicle, the only component never to suffer a failure that significantly affected a mission. The total cost of the LM for development and the produced was $21. 3B in 2016 dollars. At launch, the Lunar Module sat directly beneath the Command/Service Module with legs folded, there it remained through earth parking orbit and the Trans Lunar Injection rocket burn to send the craft toward the Moon. Soon after TLI, the SLA opened and the CSM separated, turned around, came back to dock with the Lunar Module, during the flight to the Moon, the docking hatches were opened and the LM Pilot entered the LM to temporarily power up and test its systems. Throughout the flight, he performed the role of an engineering officer, at this point, the engine was started again for Powered Descent Initiation. During this time the crew flew on their backs, depending on the computer to slow the crafts forward, Control was exercised with a combination of engine throttling and attitude thrusters, guided by the computer with the aid of landing radar. During the braking phase altitude decreased to approximately 10,000 feet, during final approach, the vehicle pitched over to a near-vertical position, allowing the crew to look forward and down to see the lunar surface for the first time. Finally the landing began, approximately 2,000 feet uprange of the targeted landing site. Beginning with Apollo 14, increased LM fuel was available for the powered descent and landing, by using the CSM engine to achieve the 50. After the spacecraft undocked, the CSM raised and circularized its orbit for the remainder of the mission. When ready to leave the Moon, the LM would separate the descent stage and fire the ascent engine to back into orbit. After a few course correction burns, the LM would rendezvous with the CSM and dock for transfer of the crew, having completed its job, the LM was separated and sent into solar orbit or to crash into the Moon. The Lunar Module was designed after NASA chose to reach the Moon via Lunar Orbit Rendezvous instead of the ascent or Earth Orbit Rendezvous methods
5.
Transatlantic flight
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A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from Europe, Africa or the Middle East to North America, Central America, South America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons, early aircraft engines did not have the reliability needed for the crossing, nor the power to lift the required fuel. There are difficulties navigating over featureless expanses of water for thousands of miles, since the middle of the 20th century, however, transatlantic flight has been routine, for commercial, military, diplomatic, and other purposes. Experimental flights still present challenges for transatlantic fliers, the idea of transatlantic flight came about with the advent of the balloon. The balloons of the period were inflated with gas, a moderate lifting medium compared to hydrogen or helium. In 1859, John Wise built an enormous aerostat named the Atlantic, the flight lasted less than a day, crash-landing in Henderson, New York. Lowe prepared a massive balloon of 725,000 cubic feet called the City of New York to take off from Philadelphia in 1860, the possibility of transatlantic flight by aircraft emerged after the First World War, which had seen tremendous advances in aerial capabilities. In April 1913 the London newspaper The Daily Mail offered a prize of £10,000 to The competition was suspended with the outbreak of war in 1914 but reopened after Armistice was declared in 1918. Between 8 and 31 May 1919, the Curtiss seaplane NC-4 made a crossing of the Atlantic flying from the U. S. to Newfoundland, then to the Azores and on to mainland Portugal, the whole journey took 23 days, with six stops along the way. A trail of 53 station ships across the Atlantic gave the points to navigate by. This flight was not eligible for the Daily Mail prize since it more than 72 consecutive hours. With the war over, there were four teams competing to be the first non-stop across the Atlantic and they were Australian pilot Harry Hawker with observer Kenneth Mackenzie-Grieve in a single engine Sopwith Atlantic, Frederick Raynham and C. W. F. Morgan in a Martinsyde, the Handley Page Group, led by Mark Kerr, each group had to ship its aircraft to Newfoundland and make a rough field for the take off. Hawker and Mackenzie-Grieve made the first attempt on 18 May, Raynham and Morgan also made an attempt on 18 May but crashed on take off due to the high fuel load. The Handley Page team was in the stages of testing its aircraft for the flight in June. During 14–15 June 1919, the British aviators Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight, Alcocks enthusiasm impressed Vickerss team, and he was appointed as its pilot. Work began on converting the Vimy for the flight, replacing its bomb racks with extra petrol tanks. Shortly afterwards Brown, who was unemployed, approached Vickers seeking a post, Alcock and Brown flew the modified Vickers Vimy, powered by two Rolls-Royce Eagle 360 hp engines
6.
Naval Aircraft Factory PN
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The Naval Aircraft Factory PN was a series of open cockpit American flying boats of the 1920s and 1930s. A development of the Felixstowe F5L flying boat of the First World War, variants of the PN were built for the United States Navy by Douglas, Keystone Aircraft and Martin. The chief long-range patrol flying boats of the United States Navy at the end of World War I were the Curtiss H.16, the F5L was a license-built version of the British Felixstowe F.5 using the American Liberty engine. The series of Felixstowe flying boats, developed by the Seaplane Experimental Station, had started with improving the hull of the Curtiss H12, in 1925, the Naval Aircraft Factory produced a version with new wings with an airfoil section of greater maximum lift coefficient. It was powered by experimental 525 hp Wright T-2 piston engines, further, similar aircraft were built as the PN-9 and PN-10, but the water-cooled V-12 Packard engines were disappointing and radial engines were substituted to produce the PN-12. As the production capacity of the Naval Aircraft Factory was limited, production was contracted out to aircraft companies, with versions being built by Douglas, Keystone Aircraft. The PN-12 was a biplane with fabric-covered metal-framed wings, its engines being mounted in nacelles between the wings. It had a crew of five, but was capable of carrying a relief crew for long patrols. The PN-11 featured a hull which eliminated the sponsons. It also used twin vertical tails, four of this variant were built. They were the basis of the Hall PH flying boats, some of which remained in service until World War II, the early prototypes of PN sea planes were used in a series of long-distance flights. The plane was unable to contact with the naval airplane tender USS Aroostook. With power lost, the plane was unable to send or receive radio signals, since seas were moderate, the decision was made to attempt to sail the plane to Hawaii. In the aftermath of the rescue, Commander Rogers was promoted to the position of Assistant Chief of the Navys Bureau of Aeronautics. The two PN-12s were also used to set records, including range and speed over circuit records. Three Martin PM-1s were also supplied to the Brazilian Navy in 1930, pN-5 Redesignated Felixstowe F5L PN-6 Redesignated F-6L. Last two Naval Aircraft Factory F5Ls, modified with revised tail surfaces, PN-7 Modified version with new wings with high-lift thick aerofoil section and reduced wingspan. Powered by two 525 hp Wright T-2 engines, powered by two 475 hp Packard 1A-2500 V-12 engines
7.
Orteig Prize
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The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa. Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the relatively unknown American Charles Lindbergh won the prize in 1927 in his aircraft Spirit of St. Louis, however a number of lives were lost by men who were competing to win the prize. Six men died in three separate crashes, and another three were injured in a fourth crash, the Prize occasioned considerable investment in aviation, sometimes many times the value of the prize itself, and advancing public interest and the level of aviation technology. The Orteig Prize was a $25,000 reward offered on May 22,1919, the offer was in the spirit of several similar aviation prize offers, and was made in a letter to Alan Ramsay Hawley, president of the Aero Club of America. Yours very sincerely, Raymond Orteig The Aero Club replied on May 26 with Orteig confirming his offer three days later and his offer was accepted by the Aero Club who set up a formal structure to administer the competition. On offer for five years, the goal of the prize seemed beyond the capacity of aircraft of the time, by then the state of aviation technology had advanced to the point that numerous competitors vied for the prize. In 1926 the first serious attempt on the prize was made by a led by French flying ace René Fonck, backed by Igor Sikorsky. Sikorsky, who put $100,000 towards the attempt, built an aircraft, the S-35, for the purpose, however the aircraft was hopelessly overloaded and crashed in flames attempting to take off. Fonck and his co-pilot, Curtin, survived, but his companions, Clavier, by 1927 three groups in the United States and one in Europe were known to be preparing attempts on the prize. Aviators Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta, backed by Charlie Levine, in April 1927 the various teams assembled and prepared for their attempts, but all suffered mishaps. Chamberlin and Acosta undertook a series of flights, increasing Columbias weight as they went to test the aircrafts capability and they also simulated the duration of the flight, setting an endurance record in the process. Wanamaker had the Roosevelt Field improved while Byrd had a built for America to roll down on takeoff. However, on 8 April Byrds team, in America, crashed during a test flight, Bennet was injured, on 26 April Davis and Wooster, in American Legion, also crashed on a test flight, this time both were killed. Lindbergh had chosen to fly solo, although this was not a requirement of the prize, following a period of bad weather, and before it had sufficiently cleared, Lindbergh took off for Paris, stealing a march on his rivals. Lindbergh pursued a strategy for the competition, instead of using a tri-motor, as favored by most other groups. The decision allowed him to save weight and carry extra fuel as a reserve for detours or emergencies and he also decided to fly the aircraft solo, so avoiding the personality conflicts that helped delay at least one group. The final factor in his success was his decision to fly into weather conditions that were clearing, Lindbergh was quoted as saying What kind of man would live where there is no danger. I dont believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished by not taking a chance at all
8.
Keystone LB-6
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The LB-6/LB-7 was the first operational service model of a 13,000 lb twin-tail biplane bomber of a series produced by Keystone. 35 served operationally between 1929 and 1934, a number of variants were built for test and evaluation purposes but never placed into production or service. The LB-10 variant became the basis for the B-3 to B-6 series of bombers that were the last biplane bombers ordered by the Air Corps. This produced a bomber with twice the rate of climb as the LB-5, Production LB-6s featured a five-foot longer fuselage. The LB-7 used the same extended-span LB-6 airframe powered by Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines, the remaining variants were ordered before the 1930 change of designators by the United States Army Air Corps from LB- to B-, but were delivered after the change. Although delivered as bombers, they saw service as cargo and observation aircraft, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun the XLB-12 Prototype was used on a refueling and bombing trial in April 1929. The flight is to be a demonstration by the Army Air Corp of the value of refueling airplanes in the air when engaged in bombing expeditions over a long distance. The aircraft was wrecked in August the same year, the nine remaining LB-6s were sent to the 23rd and 72nd Bomb Squadrons, attached to 5th Composite Group at Luke Field, Hawaii, between July and September 1929. The Hawaiian LB-6s served until 1934, when they too were surveyed in-situ, xLB-6 One LB-5 modified for evaluation. LB-6 Production version with Wright R-1750-1 Cyclone radial engines of 525 hp,17 built in 1929, LB-7 LB-6 with 525 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet A engines,18 built in 1929 and three LB-6s re-engined as LB-7s in 1930. LB-8 One LB-7 re-engined with 550 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hornet B engines for evaluation, lB-9 One LB-7 re-engined with 575 hp Wright GR-1750B geared engines for evaluation. XLB-10 One LB-6 re-engined with 525 hp R-1690-3 Hornet A engines, LB-10 Production version of the XLB-10,63 built, all redesignated B-3A prior to delivery. 36 built as B-3A with Pratt & Whitney engines, the remaining 27 became B-5s with Wright engines, LB-11 One LB-6 re-engined with 525 hp R-1750-3s for evaluation. LB-11A LB-11 re-engined with 525 hp GR-1750s for evaluation, lB-12 Similar to the LB-7, with 575 hp R-1860-1 Hornet B engines for evaluation. LB-13 Proposed version with 525 hp GR-1690 Hornet A engines, seven ordered, five delivered as the Y1B-4, two as the Y1B-6. LB-14 Proposed version with 575 hp GR-1860 Hornet B engines, three ordered, but re-engined and re-designated before production, zLB-61931 designation of two LB-6 and the LB-11 as training aircraft. U. S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, p.2255
9.
Curtiss-Wright
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The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American-based, global diversified product manufacturer and service provider for the commercial, industrial, defense and energy markets. S. It has since evolved away from final assembly of finished aircraft, becoming a component manufacturer specializing in actuators, aircraft controls, valves and it also is a supplier to commercial nuclear power, nuclear navy systems, industrial vehicles and to the oil and gas industries. With $75 million in capital, it was the largest aviation company in the country, after 1929, most engines produced by the new company were known as Wrights, while most aircraft were given the Curtiss name, with a few exceptions. Throughout the 1930s, Curtiss-Wright designed and built aircraft for military, commercial, but it was the Wright engine division and the longstanding relationship with the US military that would help the company through the difficult years of the Great Depression. In 1937, the developed the P-36 fighter aircraft, resulting in the largest peacetime aircraft order ever given by the Army Air Corps. Curtiss-Wright also sold the P-36 abroad, where they were used in the days of World War II. During World War II, Curtiss-Wright produced 142,840 aircraft engines,146,468 electric propellers and 29,269 airplanes, Curtiss-Wright employed 180,000 workers, and ranked second among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. Its most visible success came with the P-40, variously known as the Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, and Warhawk, which were built between 1940 and 1944 at the main production facilities in Buffalo, New York. During the war, a large plant was added at Buffalo, followed by new plants at Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri. Engine and propeller production was at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Louisville plant was converted to C-46 Commando production, eventually delivering 438 Commandos to supplement the roughly 2,500 C-46s produced at Buffalo. The C-46 cargo plane was fitted with two radial engines, and could carry more cargo at higher altitudes than any other Allied aircraft. Consequently, it was used extensively in the China-Burma-India Theater, from 1941 to 1943, the Curtiss Aeronautical plant in Lockland, Ohio produced aircraft engines under wartime contract destined for installation in U. S. Army Air Forces aircraft. Wright officials at Lockland insisted on high production levels, resulting in a significant percentage of engines that did not meet Army Air Forces inspection standards. These defective engines were nevertheless approved by inspectors for shipment and installation in U. S. military aircraft, Army Air Forces technical adviser Charles W. Bond was dismissed by the Army in 1943 for gross irregularities in inspection procedure. In 1944, three Army officers, Lt. Col. Frank Constantine Greulich of Detroit, former chief inspection officer for the material command, All three men were later convicted of neglect of duty. Arthur Millers play All My Sons is based on this incident, in 2011, columnist Richard J. Eskow, senior fellow with the Campaign for Americas Future and columnist for the Huffington Post, alleged that his uncle Jack Temple died in World War II. Temples death in a bomber crash was allegedly tied to engine failure due to improper manufacture and/or assembly. Eskow referenced a 2006 article by Sarah Anderson that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Anderson had alleged that Curtiss-Wright had sold leaky motors to the government and covered it up with forged inspection reports
10.
Huff-Daland TW-5
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The Huff-Daland Type XV Training Water-Cooled TW-5 was a biplane trainer designed by the Huff-Daland Aero Corporation in the early 1920s for the United States Army Air Service. It was a development of the TA-6 but powered by a 190 hp Wright-Hispano E2, in 1924, the letter-and-number system was revised, and the TW-5 became an Advanced Trainer AT-1. In 1927, Huff-Daland Aero Corporation became a division of Keystone Aircraft Corporation, versions of the AT-1 were built for the United States Navy as training and observation aircraft. TA-6 Powered by the 200 hp Lawrance J-1 air-cooled engine,1 built TW-5 Powered by the 150-hp Wright-Hispano 1 engine,5 built, AT-1 U. S. Army Advanced Trainer,10 built. AT-2 One aircraft tested in a number of single-seat and two-seat versions HN-1 United States Navy version of the AT-1 powered by a 180hp Wright-Hispano E2 engine,3 built, hN-2 United States Navy version of the AT-1 powered by a 200hp Lawrance J-1,3 built
