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WORLD WAR I AND AFTER |
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Fighter of World War I | Air Travel World War I | Airplane | Travel Air SpeedsSopwith Pup Precursor to the famous Sopwith Camel fighter of World War I, the Sopwith Pup was a light, maneuverable airplane. It traveled at speeds of 185 kmh (115 mph) and was among the first planes to use the new aileron wing design. Ailerons are hinged flaps on the tips of wings used to turn, or bank, the plane.During World War I both airplanes and lighter-than-air craft were used by the belligerents. The urgent necessities of war provided the impetus for designers to construct special planes for reconnaissance, attack, pursuit, bombing, and other highly specialized military purposes. 
Precursor to the famous Sopwith Camel fighter of World War I, the Sopwith Pup was a light, maneuverable airplane. It traveled at speeds of 185 kmh (115 mph) and was among the first planes to use the new aileron wing design. Ailerons are hinged flaps on the tips of wings used to turn, or bank, the plane. Because of the pressure of war, more pilots were trained and more planes built during the 4 years of conflict than in the 13 years since the first flight. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) Many of the surplus military planes released after the war were acquired and operated by wartime-trained aviators, who “barnstormed” from place to place, using such fields as were available. Their operations included practically any flying activity that would provide an income, including carrying passengers, aerial photography, advertising (usually by writing names of products on their airplanes), flight instruction, air racing, and exhibitions of stunt flying. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) Notable flights following World War I included a nonstop flight of 1170 km (727 mi) from Chicago to New York City in 1919 by Captain E. F. White of the U.S. Army. In 1920 Major Quintin Brand and Captain Pierre Van Ryneveld, of England, flew from Cairo to Cape Town, South Africa. In the same year, five U.S. Army Air Service planes, each carrying a pilot and a copilot-mechanic, with Captain St. Clair Streett in command, flew from New York City to Nome, Alaska, and returned. In other army exploits, Lieutenant James Harold Doolittle, in 1922, made a one-stop flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California.; Lieutenant Oakley Kelly and Lieutenant John A. Macready made the first nonstop transcontinental flight, May 2-3, 1923, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, to Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, and the first flight completely around the world was made from April 6 to September 28, 1924. Four Liberty-engined Douglas Cruisers, each with two men, left Seattle, Washington, and two returned. One plane had been lost in Alaska, the other in the North Sea; there were no fatalities. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) Transoceanic flying began with the flight of the NC-4, the initials denoting Navy-Curtiss. This huge flying boat flew from Rockaway Beach, Long Island, to Plymouth, England, with intermediate stops including Newfoundland, the Azores, and Lisbon, Portugal; the elapsed time was from May 8 to May 31, 1919. The first nonstop transatlantic flight was made by the British aviators John William Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown. They flew from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, June 14-15, 1919, in a little over 16 hours. The fliers won the London Daily Mail prize of $50,000. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) Amelia Earhart In 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937 she and a navigator, Frederick Noonan, attempted a flight around the world. Toward the end of their journey, while somewhere over the central Pacific Ocean, they disappeared; their fate remains a mystery. Here, Amelia Earhart speaks of the airplane’s rapid transformation from a novel invention into an ordinary part of everyday life. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) The first nonstop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was the flight of the American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh from New York City to Paris, a distance of 5810 km (3610 mi) covered in 33.5 hr on May 20-21, 1927. On June 28-29 of the same year Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland and Lieutenant Albert F. Hegenberger (1895-1983) of the U.S. Army made a nonstop flight from California to Hawaii, a distance of 3860 km (2400 mi) in 26 hr. Between August 27 and September 14 two other Americans, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, flew from Newfoundland to Japan, a trip of 19,800 km (12,300 mi). (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) The first nonstop westward flight by an airplane over the Atlantic was on April 12-13, 1928, by Captain Herman Köhl and Baron Guenther von Hünefeld, Germans, and Captain James Fitzmaurice, an Irishman. They flew from Dublin, Ireland, to Greenly Island, Labrador, a distance of 3564 km (2215 mi). Between May 31 and June 9, 1928, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles T. P. Ulm, Australian fliers, with Harry W. Lyon and James Warner, Americans, flew the Southern Cross from Oakland, California, to Sydney, Australia, 11,910 km (7400 mi) with stops at Hawaii, the Fiji Islands, and Brisbane, Australia. Three American fliers, Amelia Earhart with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, crossed the Atlantic from Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, to Burry Port, Wales, on June 17-18; and from July 3 to 5 Captain Arturo Ferrarin and Major Carlo P. Del Prete, Italian army pilots, made a nonstop flight of 7186 km (4466 mi) across the Atlantic from Rome to Point Genipabu, Brazil. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) In 1920 airlines were established for mail and passenger service between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, and between Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1921 scheduled transcontinental airmail service between New York City and San Francisco was inaugurated by the U.S. Post Office Department. Congress passed the Kelly Air Mail Act in 1925, authorizing the Post Office Department to contract with air-transport operators for the transportation of U.S. mail. Fourteen domestic airmail lines were established in 1926. Lines were also established and extended between the U.S. and Central and South America and between the United States and Canada. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) Between 1930 and 1940, commercial air transportation was greatly expanded, and frequent long-distance and transoceanic flights were undertaken. The transcontinental nonstop flight record was reduced by American aviators flying small planes and, subsequently, transport planes. In 1930 Roscoe Turner flew from New York City to Los Angeles in 18 hr 43 min; Frank Hawks flew from Los Angeles to New York City in 12 hr 25 min. In 1937 Howard Hughes flew from Burbank, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hr 28 min. In 1939 Ben Kelsey flew from Marsh Field, California, to Mitchell Field, New York, in 7 hr 45 min. (WORLD WAR I AND AFTER, Fighter of World War I, Air Travel World War I, Airplane, Travel Air Speeds) |
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