One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1922
March 20: At Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier,
the USS Langley (converted from the collier Jupiter).
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1922–23
January 9: An autogiro aircraft designed by Juan de la Cierva made its first
flight, in Spain, with Lt. Alejandro G. Spencer of the Spanish army at
the controls. The revolutionary new aircraft looked like an airplane
but depended on an overhead rotor instead of conventional wings for
lift.
March 27: A War Department board headed by Maj. Gen. William Lassiter
recommended legislation to reorganize and expand the Air Service,
including a suggestion to provide aviation forces that could operate
under a general headquarters to accomplish strategic missions independent
of surface forces.
May 3: Flying a Fokker T–2 airplane, Lt. Oakley G. Kelly and Lt. John A.
Macready completed the first nonstop transcontinental flight, traveling
from New York to San Diego, a distance of 2,520 miles, in slightly
less than 27 hours.
May 14: The Army accepted delivery of the first PW–8 prototype, the progenitor
of the famed Curtiss Hawk series of sturdy post–World War I
biplane pursuit aircraft. The “W” designated a water-cooled engine.
June 20: The Army’s first all-metal airplane, the Gallaudet CO–1, a monoplane
with a Liberty-12 400-horsepower engine, made its initial flight.
The Air Service Engineering Division designed it as an observation airplane,
but only three were built.
June 27: Lt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter, flying a DH–4, together
with Lt. Virgil Hine and Lt. Frank W. Seifert, flying another DH–4,
performed the first pipeline aerial refueling, which occurred over San
Diego.
August 22: The XNBL–1 Barling bomber, named after its designer, made its
first flight. A six-engine (four tractor and two pusher engines) triplane, it
was the Air Service’s largest bomber and carried heavier loads than previous
U.S. bombers; however, its slow speed made it impractical.
October 10: The Navy commissioned the first American-built dirigible, the
Shenandoah, which used inert helium rather than explosive hydrogen
gas for lift.
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