Aviation History Miniatures

[ttyymmnn]

7.92mm Parabellum MG 14 machine gun in a Rumpler C.IV two-seater reconnaissance biplane

Aircraft of the US 258th Aero Squadron lined up for inspection. The 258th provided reconnaissance for the US First Army on the Western Front.

An Atlas rocket is transported to its launch site. The Atlas was America's first ICBM, but only served for a short time in that role. However, it provided the lift for many of America's early space launches, notably Project Mercury. The original Atlas spawned an entire family of rockets, some of which are still in use today.

North American B-45 Tornado RATO takeoff. The Tornado was the first operational jet bomber to enter American service.

Boeing 80, a biplane trimotor developed by Boeing to transport mail and passengers. Boeing Air Transport (which would eventually become United Airlines), introduced the first stewardesses to commercial aviation. The group was led by Chief Stewardess Ellen Church, and all stewardesses were unmarried registered nurses.

WWI gunnery training targets at Kelly Field near San Antonio, Texas

WWI gunnery targeting training

Langley Research Center aircraft on display, including Bell UH-1H Iroquois, Boeing 737-100, Northrop T-38A Talon, Beechcraft BE-80 Queen Air, North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco, Beechcraft U-21A, Beechcraft T-34C Mentor, Boeing 757-200, General Dynamics F-16XL

North American FJ-3 Fury on board USS Kearsarge (CV 33). The FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury were navalized variants of the North American F-86 Sabre, with longer oleo front strut, arrestor hook, folding wings, and strengthened fuselage. The Fury was developed at a time when the US Navy had an urgent need for a swept wing fighter to counter the Soviet MiG-15.

Boeing Model 100, known in military service as the P-12 and F4B

Douglas Ithacus concept, which proposed using ballistic rockets to transport troops and materiel.

"The smaller Ithacus Jr. version depicted above would have had an intercontinental cargo capability of 33.5t or 260 soldiers. Douglas proposed to launch two Ithacus Jr. vehicles from an Enterprise-class nuclear aircraft carrier, which also would have produced liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellant from seawater. Power for the electrolysis process would have been taken from the carrier's nuclear reactor: 112MW would have been required to produce 1150t of oxygen and 164t of hydrogen from 1470t of water. The rocketships would be stored inside hangars. One Ithacus Jr. would serve as a troop carrier while the other would deploy unmanned cargo to the same military site." (via)

Original caption: "Mrs. Eloise J. Ellis has been appointed by civil service to be senior supervisor in the Assembly and Repairs Department at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1942." The aircraft is a Consolidated PBY Catalina.

No. 269 Squadron RAF wheel a Mark II Lifeboat to its parent aircraft, Vickers Warwick ASR Mark I, BV508 'HK-B', at Lagens. Though originally designed as a bomber, only 16 served in this role. The remaining 830 produced were used as transport, cargo, and air-sea rescue. The airborne lifeboat, complete with mast and sail, could be dropped to downed pilots.

Pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen at Ramitelli, Italy in March 1945

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is lifted into Dynamic Test Stand at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The 360-foot tall structure was built to perform vibration and other tests on the Saturn V rocket as part of the Apollo program. Two test Shuttles, Enterprise and Pathfinder, a steel and wood test simulator, were also tested at the DTS. The derrick at the top is capable of lifting 200 tons.

View from inside the cockpit of a Lockheed MC-130H Combat Talon II. According to the US Air Force, "The MC-130H Combat Talon II provides infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces and equipment in hostile or denied territory. Secondary missions include psychological operations and helicopter and vertical lift air refueling." (US Air Force)

All photos from the San Diego Air and Space Museum unless otherwise noted

[ForSweden]

@ttyymmnn
Yes, I will make sure to adhere to this instruction if the Commies are dropping bombs on my house.

[RamblinRover]

@ttyymmnn That ring on the Rumpler appears to be what amounts to a giant "lazy susan bearing" like a Scarff Ring, but with a fixed pivot and a left-hand hand hold to produce rotation.

Not anywhere near as convenient, and I'd argue the ammo storage is less convenient compared to a Lewis also.

[Skyfire77]

@ttyymmnn Huh, TIL they actually planned to build 5 other Enterprise-class carriers. Between the 8 reactors and the SCANFAR radar I always figured it was intended to be a one-off.

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@ttyymmnn

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

If you want peace, prepare for war.

Latin proverb that’s the origin of Parabellum. One of the few things that stuck from being forced to study Latin in high school.

[ttyymmnn]

@distraxi said in Aviation History Snapshots:

One of the few things that stuck from being forced to study Latin in high school.

I took two years of Latin in high school. Our teacher was the overnight DJ on the local AOR radio station. She was one of the most influential people in my life at the time, and what I learned in her class has found a very important place in my life as a writer, crossword puzzle enthusiast, and general word nerd.

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@ttyymmnn I took three years. I went to an old-school public high school. Streaming of students was not permitted by the Department of Education, but my school got around that by making sure certain combinations of subjects were timetabled in certain ways: basically, if you wanted to be with all the smart kids and get all the best teachers, you took Latin and French. So despite having zero aptitude for languages, that's what my folks enrolled me for. Dropped both of them (and English) like a hot potato as soon as I was allowed to.

Although I'd never admit it to my folks, 25 years on I'm glad I got the grounding in Latin - it gives you a great understanding of English grammar and a basic handle on all the romance languages. I picked up basic Spanish pretty easily when we backpacked through Latin America 15 years or so back given the headstart of "if the English word sounds like it has a Latin root, it's probably very similar in Spanish".

[ttyymmnn]

@distraxi said in Aviation History Snapshots:

@ttyymmnn I took three years.

I took two years of Latin and two years of French. My grandfather was a Latin scholar, which may have influenced my decision. And I really took to French as well, so much so that ten years later I could still make my way through Paris with my pidgin French skills.

I believe that any foreign language skill is a great benefit, and I'm pleased my oldest has taken four years of German. He is interested in a career in aviation logistics, so having that language can only help his chances.