#aviation firsts

The Age of Airships!

On this day, July 13 in 1919, the British airship R34 landed in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight. It had begun its journey at Pulham, England on July 2 and arrived at Mitchell Field in Mineola, Long Island, on July 6 in 108 hours, a distance of 4700 miles. This was the first East-West aerial crossing of the Atlantic and was achieved weeks after the first non-stop transatlantic airplane flight (West to East, St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, June 14-15, 16h 12m). On the return journey, the R34 left on July 10 and with favorable winds arrived on July 13 in 74 hours.

The flight is also notable for Major J. E. M. Pritchard becoming the first person to arrive in the United States from Europe by air (he parachuted from the R34 before it moored), and for its two stowaways, William Ballantyne (a crew member who was supposed to stay home to save weight) and Wopsie the tabby kitten.The R34 was scrapped in 1921 after sustaining damage during a routine flight.

We commemorate the anniversary of this achievement with two books from our  George Hardie Aviation and Aerospace History Collection, The Aerial Age by American journalist, explorer, and aviation pioneer Walter Wellman, published in 1911 by A. R. Keller & Co., and the 8th edition of The Story of the Airship, by Hugh Allen, public relations officer for Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, originally published in 1931 by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Aviation Firsts

The First Indian Fighter Pilot: Hardit Malik

In 1917 Hardit Singh Malik became not only the first Sikh but also the first Indian to fly with the Royal Flying Corps. Born in Punjab in 1894 to Indian nobility he was sent to England at the age of 14 for school attending prep school before enrolling at Oxford. He was a keen sportsman during his time at university proving to be an accomplished golfer and cricket player. 

In 1915, following his graduation from Oxford he applied to join the Royal Flying Corps but was denied, no doubt on racial grounds. Instead he volunteered for the French Red Cross before being offered a commission in the French Aéronautique Militaire. While on leave in England he told one of his former Oxford tutors about being turned down by the Royal Flying Corps and his tutor appealed to General David Henderson, commander of the Royal Flying Corps, on his behalf.

A Sopwith Camel fighter plane (source)

In early 1917, he was commissioned as 2nd Lt. Hardit Singh Malik and began training in April. In the summer of 1917 he  No. 26 Squadron and began flying Sopwith Camels. As an observing Sikh Malik continued to wear his turban while flying sorties, his superiors ordered him to wear a flying helmet and he had one which would fit over his turban made by a hatter in Piccadilly, London.

While with Major George Baker VC’s No. 28 Squadron Malik flew in an engagement with Manfred von Richthofen’s Jagdgeschwader 1 Malik suffered two bullet wounds in the right leg when he was hit by machine gun fire. Having shot down two enemy fighters his Sopwith Camel was unable to effectively climb and Malik was forced to run for home, flying at treetop level while being pursued by German fighters. He reached allied lines and was forced to crash land, upon inspection his plane was found to have ~400 bullet holes in the fuselage. After months of recuperation with shrapnel from the machine gun fire which had hit him still in his leg Malik joined a fighter squadron defending London from possible Zeppelin attacks.

Newsreel of Malik in Manchester accepting a new fighter plane (source)

In 1918, he was sent to Manchester to accept the gift of a new Sopwith Camel given by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce in honour of India’s contributions to the war (see image #1). 

Malik remained with the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force until April 1919 when he returned home to India. He went on to become an accomplished civil servant later becoming a trade commissioner and was later first India’s High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to France. He died in 1985 at the age of 91. Malik holds the distinction of being the first Sikh and the first Indian to become a commissioned pilot with the Royal Flying Corps and sadly he was the only Indian fighter pilot to survive the war.

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Lt. Hardit Singh Malik (source)

A Camel for India: Hardit Singh Malik (source)

The Nuclear Powered Plane

As early as 1946, the US Air Force was considering the practicalities of using a nuclear reactor to power aircraft.  The removal of the limitations of fuel was a strong lure and a project studying the feasibility of creating a nuclear plane began.  Running through to 1961, the Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft program began in May 1946, later becoming the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program in 1951.  Convair began experiments which culminated in the NB-36H (see above - note the ‘nuclear roundel’ on the aircraft’s tail).  

The research and development took place at the Convair plant in Fort Worth, Texas and a B-36 Peacemaker was retrofitted with a redesigned nose section to create the NB-36H. It had a 12-ton lead and rubber shield surrounding the reactor and lead glass. The plane was designated the Nuclear Test Aircraft and was modified to carry a three megawatt, air-cooled nuclear reactor in its bomb bay to the rear of the nose section. The reactor, named the Aircraft Shield Test Reactor, was operational but did not power the plane.

NB-36H,  Nuclear Test Aircraft on the runway, note the ‘atom’ roundel on the nose section (source)

The Nuclear Test Aircraft completed 47 test flights and 215 hours of flight time (during 89 of which the reactor was operational) between July 1955 and March 1957, flying over New Mexico and Texas.   The aim of these test flights was to measure the amount of radiation which escaped the reactor shield and what dosage, if any, reached crew compartments. Scientists hoped that from these readings the lightest possible radiation shield could be designed.

Convair designed the X-6, which was to be the first truly nuclear powered plane. However, the USAF cancelled the project before the X-6 could be built and test flown.  The Convair tests are the only known airborne reactor experiments made by the US with an operational nuclear reactor on board. The USAF scrapped the NB-36H at Fort Worth in September 1958, when the Nuclear Aircraft Program was abandoned and all tests with nuclear aircraft propulsion ended in 1961 with a total overall cost of $7 Billion.

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Aviation Firsts: The First Transcontinental Flight by Black Airmen

In 1932, pilot James Banning and mechanic Thomas C. Allen became the first Black airmen to fly across the continental United States. In the 1920s Banning had been the first Black man to receive a pilots license making his living giving flying lessons and barnstorming.  In 1932 Banning and Allen began their trans-continental flight flying from Los Angeles to New York in a 14 year old Alexander Eaglerock biplane (see image #1). 

The 3,300 mile journey took them 21 days with 42 non-consecutive hours in the air.  Short on money they landed frequently to refuel and repair the aircraft. Relying on the donations, generosity and help of people along the way, Banning and Allen often referred to themselves as the 'Flying Hobos' as they often slept in the open near their plane.  In return for their help people were able to sign the wings of the plane, Banning wryly called this 'The Gold Book'.    

After 21 days the pair arrived in New York sadly little is known about their reception and the reaction to the flight. Tragically, on the flight back to California the original plane was grounded in Pennsylvania unsafe to fly and the 'Gold Book' of donors who had helped Banning and Allen was lost.  Banning returned to San Diego where he continued flying.  He was killed in 1933 at the age of 34, in an accident while flying in a plane as a passenger.  The inexperienced Navy pilot flying the plane stalled the aircraft's engine causing it to spiral to the ground killing both Banning and the pilot.

Their flight is little known today but it represented a turning point for Black aviation. Banning and Allen were early pioneers in overcoming US aviation's racial barriers paving the way for later Black aviators.  

More from the Aviation Firsts series

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Vertical Envelopment: The Beginnings of the Heliborne Air Assault

In 1946, the US Military began considering the practical applications of helicopters.  The USMC formed its first experimental helicopter squadron, HMX-1, at the Marine Base at Quantico, Virginia in December 1947.  

It was intended that the use of helicopters to insert troops and supplies ahead of a Marine Expeditionary Force would minimise the risk of losing a large force if it were attacked while massing at a beachhead.  It was envisioned that Marine Corps heliborne troops could land inland and open up potential beachheads rapidly allowing landing forces to fan out as soon as they landed.  This tactic was termed 'Vertical Envelopment' by the USMC.  Marine Corps Commandant General Alexander Vandegrift supported the concept summarising the concept:

"With a relatively unlimited choice of landing areas, troops can be landed in combat formations and under full control of the flanks or rear of a hostile position.  The helicopter's speed makes transport dispersion at sea a matter of no disadvantage and introduces a time-space factor that will avoid presenting at any one time a remunerative atomic target."

While the helicopter had been experimented with by a number of other US Military service branches it was the USMC which first began experimentation for combat operations.  HMX-1, commanded by Colonel Edward C. Dyer, began training and experimentation with a variety of helicopters including Piasecki HRP-1s (see image #1), Sikorsky H-5s and later Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaws (see image #2). 1948 saw a number of field exercise incorporating the use of helicopters and the publishing of the first manual to look at deploying helicopters entitled: 'Amphibious Operations--Employment of Helicopters (Tentative)'. 

Navy Sikorsky H-5 in action in Korea (source)

The limited lift capacities of the early helicopters, the Piasecki HRP-1 for example could carry only 6 men or 2,000 lbs of cargo, meant that the number of troops deployable was limited unless used in large numbers. However, the Sikorsky H-19 doubled this and was used extensively during the Korean War.

With the outbreak of the Korean War and the rushing of US troops to defend the Pusan Perimeter in August 1950, elements of HMX-1 squadron were dispatched to support US Marines fighting along the perimeter.   Four helicopters of HMX-1 were initially deployed as observer and medical evacuation aircraft as well as on various transport missions.  HMX-1 did not perform any 'Vertical Envelopment' operations during 1950-51 however, its role was seen as vital and the squadron was used as a cadre to train further helicopter crews.   These trainee crews went on to form Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 161 (HMR-161) who saw extensive action during the Korean War.   

Between 1951 and 1953 the United Nations forces in Korea held a defensive line across the Korean Peninsular called the Jamestown Line. With the arrival of the fully trained and equipped HMR-161 in September 1951 preparations began for the USMC's first Vertical Envelopment operation.  On the 13th September HMR-161 assisted a battalion-sized operation codenamed Operation Windmill I, flying 28 flights in just under three hours delivering 18,848 lbs of supplies and evacuating 74 seriously wounded troops.  Later the same month HMR-161 launched its first combat air insertion mission during Operation Summit landing a company of 224 Marines on Hill 884.  The operation began with the landing of a security element at the proposed landing zone followed by a two landing site preparation teams.   Twelve helicopters then began ferrying in troops, five at a time, and supplies taking just over four hours to complete the insertion. 

In October the most ambitious insertion yet was attempted during Operation Bumblebee with the twelve helicopters of HMR-161 transporting an entire battalion.  In just under 66 hours almost 1,000 men were airlifted 15 miles to Hill 702.  By the end of the war in July 1953, HMR-161 had transported 60,046 people and approximately  7,500,000 lbs of cargo.

HMX-1 and HMR-161 proved the concept of 'Vertical Envelopment' during their operations in Korea.  The lessons learnt would be built upon by other militaries engaged in Algeria, Egypt, Africa and Vietnam.  The first combat helicopter assault was completed during Operation Musketeer by Royal Marines' 45 Commando in November 1956 during the Suez Crisis.  

Today, the HMX-1 squadron is famous for providing the Marine One helicopter which is at the disposal of the US President and his cabinet.

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Whirlybirds: US. Marine Helicopters in Korea, R.J. Brown (2003)

Aviation Firsts: First Take-Off from a Warship

On 14th November 1910, Eugene Ely became the first pilot to take-off from the deck of a warship.  Ely, a civilian demonstration pilot, flew a Curtiss Model D biplane (see image #3) from the bow of a Chester-Class Cruiser USS Birmingham commissioned in 1907.  The Birmingham was at anchor at Norfolk Navy Yard in Hampton Roads, Virginia when Ely took off from a temporarily erected runway platform.  

The runway platform was 57-feet long and angled down over the Birmingham's forecastle and bow (where her forward 5-inch gun was usually positioned) to gravity assist the launch.    At 3:15 on the afternoon of the 14th Ely started his plane's engine and minutes later he rolled down the runway as he left the ship his plane seemed to plummet down towards the sea before it skipped along the water's surface and began to climb later landing on a nearby beach.  Ely, a non-swimmer, became the first man to fly a plane off a ship.  Two months later he became the first man to land an aircraft on a ship when he landed on a purpose built deck on the USS Pennsylvania in January 1911.

Ely landing on the USS Pennsylvania (source)

Sadly, Ely was killed later the same year at the age of 24 during a flying exhibition.  He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1933 for his contributions to the advancement of naval aviation.

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