One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University
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1922<br />
March 20: At Norfolk, Virginia, the Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier,<br />
the USS Langley (converted from the collier Jupiter).<br />
1923<br />
1922–23<br />
January 9: An autogiro aircraft designed by Juan de la Cierva made its first<br />
flight, in Spain, with Lt. Alejandro G. Spencer <strong>of</strong> the Spanish army at<br />
the controls. <strong>The</strong> revolutionary new aircraft looked like an airplane<br />
but depended on an overhead rotor instead <strong>of</strong> conventional wings for<br />
lift.<br />
March 27: A War Department board headed by Maj. Gen. William Lassiter<br />
recommended legislation to reorganize and expand the <strong>Air</strong> Service,<br />
including a suggestion to provide aviation forces that could operate<br />
under a general headquarters to accomplish strategic missions independent<br />
<strong>of</strong> surface forces.<br />
May 3: Flying a Fokker T–2 airplane, Lt. Oakley G. Kelly and Lt. John A.<br />
Macready completed the first nonstop transcontinental flight, traveling<br />
from New York to San Diego, a distance <strong>of</strong> 2,520 miles, in slightly<br />
less than 27 hours.<br />
May 14: <strong>The</strong> Army accepted delivery <strong>of</strong> the first PW–8 prototype, the progenitor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the famed Curtiss Hawk series <strong>of</strong> sturdy post–World War I<br />
biplane pursuit aircraft. <strong>The</strong> “W” designated a water-cooled engine.<br />
June 20: <strong>The</strong> Army’s first all-metal airplane, the Gallaudet CO–1, a monoplane<br />
with a Liberty-12 400-horsepower engine, made its initial flight.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Air</strong> Service Engineering Division designed it as an observation airplane,<br />
but only three were built.<br />
June 27: Lt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter, flying a DH–4, together<br />
with Lt. Virgil Hine and Lt. Frank W. Seifert, flying another DH–4,<br />
performed the first pipeline aerial refueling, which occurred over San<br />
Diego.<br />
August 22: <strong>The</strong> XNBL–1 Barling bomber, named after its designer, made its<br />
first flight. A six-engine (four tractor and two pusher engines) triplane, it<br />
was the <strong>Air</strong> Service’s largest bomber and carried heavier loads than previous<br />
U.S. bombers; however, its slow speed made it impractical.<br />
October 10: <strong>The</strong> Navy commissioned the first American-built dirigible, the<br />
Shenandoah, which used inert helium rather than explosive hydrogen<br />
gas for lift.<br />
23