World War 2 was fraught with 100’s, possibly even 1,000’s of aerial battles. From the skies over France, the UK, and Germany, to the air combat in the Pacific, a number of fighter pilots became legendary aces. These aces of Word War II were not limited to American fighter pilots, as you’ll find out shortly. Read More…
History of Flying Wings
History of the British Flying Wing The tailless aircraft concept was present in Britain throughout World War II, and many of the designs came from Handley Page, Armstrong Whitworth, General Aircraft Ltd., and de Havilland. The Handley Page Manx was designed by Dr. Gustav V. Lachman, and it had a single vertical fin on the Read More…
The Flight of the NC-4
Before World War I, there were no planes capable of flying from Newfoundland to Ireland. This was the shortest route across the Atlantic Ocean. It was a distance of 1,900 miles, or 3,057 kilometers, and no engine available at the time could reliably make the 20- to 30-hour-long journey. In 1913, Lord Northcliffe had put Read More…
The Great Aerial Races
Aerial racing in the United States began in 1910, when Glenn Curtiss and Louis Paulhan won races in Los Angeles. Paulhan also won the notoriously difficult London-to-Manchester race. Newcomer Claude Grahame-White won the Gordon-Bennett race on Long Island in late 1910. In Europe, a number of aerial races gave Andre Beaumont the opportunity to race Read More…
The Schneider Cup
In France, Jacques Schneider was one of the people who pushed for advances in aviation. He argued that planes should be able to land on both water and land because many large cities are located close to large bodies of water. To encourage experiments with seaplanes and flying boats, Schneider created an international competition in Read More…