News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office
News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office
News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office
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THE BIG BABY SOLOED<br />
B,19 Test Flights Under Way<br />
l<br />
The Flight<br />
\ Arter weeks of delay<br />
aased by dU'f'iculty in<br />
erfecting the brake Etystem,<br />
all the multitude of detailled<br />
preparations for this<br />
~<br />
long-aw~ited f~ight at last<br />
were complete. The new runway,<br />
4,000 feet of concrete<br />
built especially for this<br />
moment, was finished and<br />
waiting. The day was clear<br />
and a rising sea breeze gave<br />
evidence that by noon a<br />
brisk wind, most favorable<br />
for a take-off, would be<br />
blowing.<br />
Word had circulated by<br />
grapeVine, telephone and<br />
personal contact that this<br />
day, June 27, <strong>1941</strong>, was to<br />
be the day. A final check<br />
was completed and the airplane was searched<br />
thoroughly for evidence of subversive activities,-stowaways<br />
seeking a brief moment of<br />
fame, and any previously undiscovered defects<br />
or maladjustments.<br />
Everything was reported in order. The<br />
Douglas Company, manufacturers of the huge<br />
ship, secured the final, complete approval<br />
of the Army inspectors. The crew was read~<br />
The chief pilot, Major Stanley Umst~ad, and<br />
his crew were sure that they were now at the<br />
end of What had long since come to be considered<br />
an endless vigil.<br />
Li eut. Co L dalles G. fay lo r<br />
on this page describes the<br />
fi-rst night of the B-19, the<br />
wor~d/s lar g e s t: bOllber, and<br />
gives a history of its deve~opllent<br />
as he persona~~y sees<br />
it. Tfhi~e Chief of the .Hrcraft<br />
Branch of the Naterie~<br />
Division, at fright lie~d,<br />
Co~one~ Tay~or p~ayed an illportant<br />
ro~e in the work<br />
which ~ed to the huge JrllY<br />
~ir forces bOllbers of ,oday -<br />
in the deve~opllent Of which<br />
the United States has ~ed the<br />
world. the B-19, ~atest record-breaking<br />
product of the<br />
ArllY <strong>Air</strong> 10rces, was his particu~ar<br />
"baby," since he was<br />
head of the board of officers<br />
which gave final consideration<br />
to and apProva~ of its<br />
construe ti on.<br />
At 11:30 a.m., the crew got aboard. Major<br />
Howard Bunker climbed into the co-pilot's<br />
seat. At their places were the other members<br />
of the crew - Jack Grant, flight engineer;<br />
Herle Steel, hydraulic engineer;<br />
kwul Escallier, electrical engineer, all<br />
of the Douglas Company; Mark Koogler, civlltan<br />
employee from Wright Field, who actedas<br />
erE'Wchief, and the writer as Army observers.<br />
EqUipment was checked and tons of air mail<br />
taken aboard.<br />
Quickly the engines were started. Major<br />
Umstead taxied to the far end of the runwa~<br />
pausing but a moment. The minute hand crept<br />
upward as it neared 12:00, the 8ppo1.nted<br />
hour. The brakes were set and the engines<br />
checked individually.<br />
Here She ComesI<br />
At 12:02 the engines were opened wide<br />
(Continued on Page 20) .<br />
-3-<br />
The History<br />
In the late 1920's it was<br />
becoming apparent that unless<br />
new and more suitable designs<br />
could be worked out as prototypes,<br />
the Doubet theory regarding<br />
employment of aerial<br />
bombardment would prove to be<br />
a fallacy. The eXisting<br />
bombing airplanes were so<br />
slow and had such little<br />
range that many people were<br />
convinced that their employment<br />
in unassisted formations<br />
against fighter aircraft was<br />
hopeless.<br />
To disprove this, the Materiel<br />
Division in 1929 worked<br />
out a new basicliesignfor<br />
a light, fast bomber which<br />
was produced in two formsas<br />
the B-9 by Boeing and the<br />
B-IO by Martin. When these two airplanes<br />
were type tested, the results startled the<br />
world, and everyone began to see that size<br />
was not important in airplane design, but<br />
that for a given horsepower a predetermined<br />
result could be secured provided real aerodynamic<br />
research had been completed prior<br />
to construction.<br />
One could secure either a small fast plane<br />
or a large efficient weight carrier - both<br />
having a relatively high performance if the<br />
aerodynamic solutions were cor~ect. Everyone<br />
began to incorporate the monoplane idea<br />
due to its now-proven high efficiency for<br />
any size of airplane. Large,' I:Ilgh~speed<br />
wind tunnels became a necessity. Military<br />
people began to set up requirements for<br />
their national air forces, depending upon<br />
their geography, national policy, etc.<br />
Germany elected to build many fast, highflying<br />
airplanes, including light bomb~~~<br />
which sacrificed range and defense fur<br />
speed. This was due to the closeness of<br />
England and France, where it was thought<br />
shor-t.-j-ange fighter craft could help their<br />
bombers drive their way to Victory. The<br />
G.A.F. underestimated the ability of their<br />
airplanes to fight off attacking fighters<br />
when both their bombers and fighters lacked<br />
rear armament and, therefore, could not<br />
fight a position fight as is required of<br />
formation f'ighters. The value of a true<br />
escort fighter airplane was not "at reRlized.<br />
(Continued on Page 19)<br />
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