Good Wednesday Morning March 24 .
A bit of history and some tidbits
Regards,
Skip.
March 24
1903
Adm. George Dewey is commissioned Admiral of the Navy, the only person to hold this rank. Upon his death Jan. 16, 1917, Congress deactivates the rank.
1919
The battleship USS Idaho (BB 42) is commissioned. Idaho serves with the Pacific fleet, participating in gunfire support of the Aleutian, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa Campaigns, and is in Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrenders.
1936
USS Balch (DD 363), named after Rear Adm. George B. Balch, is launched.
1944
USS Bowfin (SS 287) attacks a Japanese convoy, sinking both a transport and army cargo ship.
1986
The first operational use of a Harpoon missile in combat is used by A-6A aircraft from VA-34 against a Libyan Combatant II G-class fast-attack missile craft. The engagement occurs after Libyan armed forces fire missiles at U.S. Navy forces operating in the Gulf of Sidra. Retaliatory strikes by A-7E Corsair II aircraft put the SA-5 missiles out of action at Surt and VA-85 aircraft then sink the missile craft.
2009
Coastal patrol craft USS Chinook (PC 9) arrives at Umm Qasr, Iraq. During this port visit to Iraq, she is the first U.S. Navy ship to stay overnight.
This Day in Navy and Marine Corps History:
1952 - The winter of 1951–52 found the 1st Marine Division deployed along an 11-mile front just north of the Punchbowl. In mid-March, the division was reassigned from the X Corps' eastern position in Korea, to the I Corps area at the far western end of the U.N. line. On March 24, the division assumed responsibility for approximately 35 miles of the front, which overlooked Panmunjom and included the defense of the Pyongyang–Seoul corridor. The pace of the war now slowed, with small, localized actions replacing the earlier, large-scale offensives.
Thanks to CHINFO
Executive Summary:
• Local media reported on CNO Adm. Mike Gilday's visit to Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard.
• National, regional and trade press reported on Adm. John Aquilino's testimony before the SASC.
• National and international press reported on North Korea's short-range missile tests over the weekend.
This date in World history
March 24
1208 King John of England opposes Innocent III on his nomination for archbishop of Canterbury.
1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies which will bring into power James VI of Scotland.
1663 Charles II of England awards land known as Carolina in North America to eight members of the nobility who assisted in his restoration.
1664 In London, Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island.
1720 The banking houses of Paris close in the wake of financial crisis.
1721 In Germany, the supremely talented Johann Sebastian Bach publishes the Six Brandenburg Concertos.
1765 Britain passes the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private buildings.
1862 Abolitionist Wendell Phillips speaks to a crowd about emancipation in Cincinnati, Ohio and is pelted by eggs.
1900 Mayor Van Wyck of New York breaks ground for the New York subway tunnel that will link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1904 Vice Admiral Togo sinks seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthen their blockade of Port Arthur.
1927 Chinese Communists seize Nanking and break with Chiang Kai-shek over the Nationalist goals.
1938 The United States asks that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis.
1944 The Gestapo rounds up innocent Italians in Rome and shoots them to death in reprisal for a bomb attack that killed 33 German policemen.
1947 Congress proposes limiting the United States presidency to two terms.
1951 General Douglas MacArthur threatens the Chinese with an extension of the Korean War if the proposed truce is not accepted.
1954 Great Britain opens trade talks with Hungary.
1955 Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre in New York City.
1958 Elvis Presley trades in his guitar for a rifle and Army fatigues.
1965 The Freedom Marchers, citizens for civil rights, reach Montgomery, Alabama.
1967 Viet Cong ambush a truck convoy in South Vietnam damaging 82 of the 121 trucks.
1972 Great Britain imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.
1985 Thousands demonstrate in Madrid against the NATO presence in Spain.
1989 The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in Alaska's Prince William Sound.
1999 NATO planes, including stealth aircraft, attack Serbian forces in Kosovo.
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Thanks to Carl
Match Stick Art
Talent and patience!! Amazing pieces!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/HyuE1XnYO0I
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Thanks to Jim
Food for thought.
Special Group / Born Between 1930 & 1945.
Today 91 to 76
Interesting Facts: If you were born in the 1930s to 1945 , you exist as a very special age group.
You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900s.
You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war which rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.
You are the last to remember ration books for everything from gas to sugar to shoes to stoves.
You saved tin foil and poured fat into tin cans.
You saw cars up on blocks because tires weren't available.
You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the "milk box" on the porch.
You are the last to see the gold stars in the front windows of grieving neighbors whose sons died in the War.
You saw the 'boys' home from the war, build their little houses.
You are the last generation who spent childhood without television; instead, you imagined what you heard on the radio.
With no TV, you spent your childhood "playing outside"
There was no little league.
There was no city playground for kids.
The lack of television in your early years meant, that you had little real understanding of what the world was like.
On Saturday afternoons, the movies gave you newsreels sandwiched in between westerns and cartoons.
Telephones were one to a house, often shared (party lines) and hung on the wall in the kitchen (no cares about privacy).
Computers were called calculators, they were hand cranked; typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon.
The 'INTERNET' and 'GOOGLE' were words that did not exist.
Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and the news was broadcast on your radio in the evening by Gabriel Heatter and later Paul Harvey.
As you grew up, the country was exploding with growth.
The G.I. Bill gave returning Veterans the means to get an education and spurred colleges to grow.
VA loans fanned a housing boom.
Pent up demand coupled with new installment payment plans opened many factories for work.
New highways would bring jobs and mobility.
The Veterans joined civic clubs and became active in politics.
The radio network expanded from 3 stations to thousands.
Your parents were suddenly free from the confines of the depression and the war, and they threw themselves into exploring opportunities they had never imagined.
You weren't neglected, but you weren't today's all-consuming family focus.
They were glad you played by yourselves until the street lights came on.
They were busy discovering the post war world.
You entered a world of overflowing plenty and opportunity; a world where you were welcomed, enjoyed yourselves and felt secure in your future though depression poverty was deeply remembered.
Polio was still a crippler.
You came of age in the 50s and 60s.
The Korean War was a dark passage in the early 50s and by mid-decade school children were ducking under desks for Air-Raid training.
Castro in Cuba and Khrushchev came to power.
You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our homeland. The war was over and the cold war, terrorism, "global warming," and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life with unease.
Only your generation can remember both a time of great war, and a time when our world was secure and full of bright promise and plenty.
You grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better...
You are "The Last Ones." More than 99% of you are either retired or deceased, and you feel privileged to have "lived in the best of times!!!"
I remember all those things plus watching the coal come in the chute in the basement, watching my mom hang up the laundry. skip
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ROLLING THUNDER Thanks to the Bear
Wednesday, 24 March 2021... Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
LOOKING BACK 55-YEARS to the Vietnam Air War— 24 March 1966...
From the archives of Pete Fey's rollingthunderremembered.com ...
"Learning From the Birds"...
http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/subject-rolling-thunder-remembered-24-march-1966/
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
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This Day in U S Military History
1944 – 76 Allied officers escaped Stalag Luft 3. In 1949 Paul Brickall authored "The Great Escape." The story of Jackson Barrett Mahon (d.1999 at 78), an American fighter pilot, and the Allied POW escape from Stalag Luft III in Germany during WW II. The 1963 film "The Great Escape" starred Steve McQueen, was directed by John Sturges and was based on the true story.
1975 – The North Vietnamese "Ho Chi Minh Campaign" begins. Despite the 1973 Paris Peace Accords cease fire, the fighting had continued between South Vietnamese forces and the North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam. In December 1974, the North Vietnamese launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border. They successfully overran the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975. President Richard Nixon had repeatedly promised South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that the United States would come to the aid of South Vietnam if the North Vietnamese committed a major violation of the Peace Accords. However, by the time the communists had taken Phuoc Long, Nixon had resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's promises to Saigon. The North Vietnamese, emboldened by the situation, launched Campaign 275 in March 1975 to take the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders fought very poorly and were quickly overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. Once again, the United States did nothing. President Thieu, however, ordered his forces in the Highlands to withdraw to more defensible positions to the south. What started out as a reasonably orderly withdrawal degenerated into a panic that spread throughout the South Vietnamese armed forces. They abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting and the North Vietnamese pressed the attack from the west and north. In quick succession, Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang in the north fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast, defeating the South Vietnamese forces one at a time. As the North Vietnamese forces closed on the approaches to Saigon, the Politburo in Hanoi issued an order to Gen. Van Tien Dung to launch the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign," the final assault on Saigon itself. By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and by April 30, the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon and the Vietnam War came to an en
2003 – In the 6th day of Operation Iraqi Freedom US forces began strikes against the Medina Division of the Republican Guard guarding Baghdad. Hussein appeared on Iraqi TV as coalition forces held over 3,000 prisoners. 10 Marines were killed in combat around Nasiriya.
2003 – After Coalition forces have pushed further into Iraq securing most of the southern oilfields over the weekend, Kuwaiti fire fighters are able to enter Iraq and are able to extinguish one of the wellhead fires. Iraq's southern fields represent about 40% of the country's output. Damage is assessed to be relatively minimal. Some pockets or Iraqi resistance in the southern oilfields remain, however. Furthermore, heavy Iraqi resistance in some parts of Iraq gives rise to market speculation that the war could last longer than initially thought.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*PETERS, GEORGE J.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company G, 507th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Fluren, Germany, 24 March 1945. Entered service at: Cranston, R.I. Birth: Cranston, R.I. G.O. No.: 16, 8 February 1946. Citation: Pvt. Peters, a platoon radio operator with Company G, made a descent into Germany near Fluren, east of the Rhine. With 10 others, he landed in a field about 75 yards from a German machinegun supported by riflemen, and was immediately pinned down by heavy, direct fire. The position of the small unit seemed hopeless with men struggling to free themselves of their parachutes in a hail of bullets that cut them off from their nearby equipment bundles, when Pvt. Peters stood up without orders and began a l-man charge against the hostile emplacement armed only with a rifle and grenades. His single-handed assault immediately drew the enemy fire away from his comrades. He had run halfway to his objective, pitting rifle fire against that of the machinegun, when he was struck and knocked to the ground by a burst. Heroically, he regained his feet and struggled onward. Once more he was torn by bullets, and this time he was unable to rise. With gallant devotion to his self-imposed mission, he crawled directly into the fire that had mortally wounded him until close enough to hurl grenades which knocked out the machinegun, killed 2 of its operators, and drove protecting riflemen from their positions into the safety of a woods. By his intrepidity and supreme sacrifice, Pvt. Peters saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers and made it possible for them to reach their equipment, organize, and seize their first objective.
*BRYANT, WILLIAM MAUD
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. Place and date: Long Khanh Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1969. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Born: 16 February 1933, Cochran, Ga. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sfc. Bryant, assigned to Company A, distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer of Civilian Irregular Defense Group Company 321, 2d Battalion, 3d Mobile Strike Force Command, during combat operations. The battalion came under heavy fire and became surrounded by the elements of 3 enemy regiments. Sfc. Bryant displayed extraordinary heroism throughout the succeeding 34 hours of incessant attack as he moved throughout the company position heedless of the intense hostile fire while establishing and improving the defensive perimeter, directing fire during critical phases of the battle, distributing ammunition, assisting the wounded, and providing the leadership and inspirational example of courage to his men. When a helicopter drop of ammunition was made to re-supply the beleaguered force, Sfc. Bryant with complete disregard for his safety ran through the heavy enemy fire to retrieve the scattered ammunition boxes and distributed needed ammunition to his men. During a lull in the intense fighting, Sfc. Bryant led a patrol outside the perimeter to obtain information of the enemy. The patrol came under intense automatic weapons fire and was pinned down. Sfc. Bryant single-handedly repulsed 1 enemy attack on his small force and by his heroic action inspired his men to fight off other assaults. Seeing a wounded enemy soldier some distance from the patrol location, Sfc. Bryant crawled forward alone under heavy fire to retrieve the soldier for intelligence purposes. Finding that the enemy soldier had expired, Sfc. Bryant crawled back to his patrol and led his men back to the company position where he again took command of the defense. As the siege continued, Sfc. Bryant organized and led a patrol in a daring attempt to break through the enemy encirclement. The patrol had advanced some 200 meters by heavy fighting when it was pinned down by the intense automatic weapons fire from heavily fortified bunkers and Sfc. Bryant was severely wounded. Despite his wounds he rallied his men, called for helicopter gunship support, and directed heavy suppressive fire upon the enemy positions. Following the last gunship attack, Sfc. Bryant fearlessly charged an enemy automatic weapons position, overrunning it, and single-handedly destroying its 3 defenders. Inspired by his heroic example, his men renewed their attack on the entrenched enemy. While regrouping his small force for the final assault against the enemy, Sfc. Bryant fell mortally wounded by an enemy rocket. Sfc. Bryant's selfless concern for his comrades, at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
*COKER, RONALD L.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company M, 3d Battalion, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1969. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Born: 9 August 1947, Alliance, Colo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company M in action against enemy forces. While serving as point man for the 2d Platoon, Pfc. Coker was leading his patrol when he encountered 5 enemy soldiers on a narrow jungle trail. Pfc. Coker's squad aggressively pursued them to a cave. As the squad neared the cave, it came under intense hostile fire, seriously wounding 1 marine and forcing the others to take cover. Observing the wounded man lying exposed to continuous enemy fire, Pfc. Coker disregarded his safety and moved across the fire-swept terrain toward his companion. Although wounded by enemy small-arms fire, he continued to crawl across the hazardous area and skillfully threw a hand grenade into the enemy positions, suppressing the hostile fire sufficiently to enable him to reach the wounded man. As he began to drag his injured comrade toward safety, a grenade landed on the wounded marine. Unhesitatingly, Pfc. Coker grasped it with both hands and turned away from his wounded companion, but before he could dispose of the grenade it exploded. Severely wounded, but undaunted, he refused to abandon his comrade. As he moved toward friendly lines, 2 more enemy grenades exploded near him, inflicting still further injuries. Concerned only for the safety of his comrade, Pfc. Coker, with supreme effort continued to crawl and pull the wounded marine with him. His heroic deeds inspired his fellow marines to such aggressive action that the enemy fire was suppressed sufficiently to enable others to reach him and carry him to a relatively safe area where he succumbed to his extensive wounds. Pfc. Coker's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
*SINGLETON, WALTER K.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 March 1967. Entered service at: Memphis, Tenn. Born: 7 December 1944, Memphis, Tenn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Singleton's company was conducting combat operations when the lead platoon received intense small arms, automatic weapons, rocket, and mortar fire from a well entrenched enemy force. As the company fought its way forward, the extremely heavy enemy fire caused numerous friendly casualties. Sensing the need for early treatment of the wounded, Sgt. Singleton quickly moved from his relatively safe position in the rear of the foremost point of the advance and made numerous trips through the enemy killing zone to move the injured men out of the danger area. Noting that a large part of the enemy fire was coming from a hedgerow, he seized a machinegun and assaulted the key enemy location, delivering devastating fire as he advanced. He forced his way through the hedgerow directly into the enemy strong point. Although he was mortally wounded, his fearless attack killed 8 of the enemy and drove the remainder from the hedgerow. Sgt. Singleton's bold actions completely disorganized the enemy defense and saved the lives of many of his comrades. His daring initiative selfless devotion to duty and indomitable fighting spirit reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps, and his performance upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for March 24, 2021 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
24 March
1939: Jacqueline Cochran used a Beechcraft plane, with Twin Wasp engines, to set a women's national altitude record of 30,052.43 feet over Palm Springs, Calif. (24)
1945: Operation VARSITY. Eighth Air Force sent 1,000 bombers to support an Allied airborne and amphibious assault across the Rhine River. More than 2,000 transports and gliders from the IX Troop Carrier Command dropped two airborne divisions near Wesel, Germany, in daylight. Some 7,000 sorties supported the crossing. Ninth Air Force fighters provided reconnaissance, interdiction, and air support. (4) (21) Nearly 150 B-17s from Fifteenth Air Force, flying from Southern Italy, bombed Berlin for the first time. The aircraft dropped 357 tons of bombs on industrial targets. (24)
1951: KOREAN WAR. Far East Air Forces used an H-19 helicopter for the first time to evacuate wounded troops in Korea. Additionally, 52 C-119s and C-46s dropped an additional 264 tons of supplies to troops at Munsan-ni, because they could not depend on surface lines of communication for supplies. (21) (28)
1965: Alvin S. White and Van Separd broke the world records for weight and speed endurance in the XB-70A bomber. It weighed 534,000 pounds at takeoff, flew at a supersonic speed for 80 minutes, and cruised at a top speed of 1,400 MPH. (3) The Titan II completed its first operational test launch from Vandenberg AFB successfully. (5)
1970: Tyndall AFB completed the first launching of a BOMARC B guided missile, using the new BUIC computerized command and control equipment. (16)
1971: In the first operational test of Minuteman III, missile crews and maintenance technicians assigned to the 91 SMW at Minot AFB launched a missile from Vandenberg AFB. (1) (6)
1977: TAC's 552d Airborne Warning and Control System Wing at Tinker AFB received the first production E-3A AWACS aircraft. (12) (20)
1982: USAFE acquired Comiso Air Station, Sicily, for the ground-launched cruise missile. (16) (26)
1992: Last USAF fighter aircraft to be stationed in Spain left the country. They had served in Spain for 26 years. (16) (26) The US signed the Open Skies Treaty along with 24 other nations. The treaty permitted unarmed aerial reconnaissance flights over any member country. (16) (26)
1995: The last Atlas E missile launched a satellite from Vandenberg AFB into a polar orbit. (16) (26)
1998: An F-15E successfully launched a live AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile above Edwards AFB, Calif., to complete the aircraft's Suite 3 avionics upgrades for an air-to-air and air-to-ground capability. (3)
1999: Operation ALLIED FORCE/NOBLE ANVIL/PHOENIX DUKE II. To prevent the forced eviction and genocide of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo, NATO launched this operation against Serbia in the former Yugoslavian Republic. It was exclusively an air campaign and NATO's first combat operation against a sovereign nation. The U.S. named its part of the Operation NOBLE ANVIL. Additionally, the USAF used the B-2 for the first time in combat, while F-15 pilots shot down two MiG-29s on the first day of combat. Under Operation PHOENIX DUKE II, Air Mobility Command's role in the operation preceded the bombing and continued afterward. From 18 February when the first airlift mission was flown, through 3 July when the tanker redeployment came to an end, Air Mobility Command flew 2,130 airlift missions to transport 32,111 passengers and 52,645 short tons of cargo. In the air campaign, which ended on 9 June, KC-10s and KC-135s flew 9,001 missions to deliver 348.5 million pounds of fuel to receiving aircraft. KC-135 Stratotankers and crews from the Hawaii ANG's 203 AREFS, on a previously scheduled deployment to France, participated in the operations. Air Mobility Command's last air refueling aircraft returned to the US on 20 July, while the final airlift missions finished on 26 July. (21) (22) (32)
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Some interesting stuff from here in SOCAL
S/F
Chuck Z
INTERESTING EARLY AMERICAN AVIATION HISTORY
How many of you know that in 1910, mighty Martin Marietta got its start in an abandoned California church? That's where Glenn L. Martin with his amazing mother Minta Martin and their mechanic Roy Beal constructed a fragile biplane that Glenn taught himself to fly.
It has often been told how Douglas Aircraft started operations in 1920 in a barbershop's backroom on L.A. 's Pico Boulevard . Interestingly, the barber-shop is still operating.
The Lockheed Company built the first of their famous Vegas' in 1927 inside a building currently used by Victory Cleaners at 1040 Sycamore in Hollywood .
In 1922, Claude Ryan, a 24 year old military reserve pilot, was getting his hair cut in San Diego, when the barber mentioned that the 'town's aviator' was in jail for smuggling Chinese illegal's up from Mexico. Claude found out that if he replaced the pilot 'sitting in the pokey,' that he would be able to lease the town's airfield for $50 a month - BUT he also needed to agree to fly North and East - BUT not South!
Northrop's original location was an obscure So California hotel. It was
available because the police had raided the hotel and found that its
steady residents were money-minded gals entertaining transitory male hotel
guests.
Glenn Martin built his first airplane in a vacant church, before he moved
to a vacant apricot cannery in Santa Ana . He was a showman and he traveled the county fair and air meet circuit as an exhibitionist aviator From his exhibition proceeds, Glenn was able to pay his factory workers and
purchase the necessary wood, linen and wire.
His mother, Minta and two men ran the factory while Glenn risked his neck and gadded about the country. One of his workers was 22-year old Donald Douglas [who WAS the entire engineering department]. A Santa Monica youngster named Larry Bell [later founded Bell Aircraft which today is Bell Helicopter Textron] ran the shop.
Another part of Glenn Martin's business was a flying school with several
planes based at Griffith Park , and a seaplane operation on the edge of
Watts where his instructors taught a rich young man named Bill Boeing to fly.
Later, Boeing bought one of Glenn Martin's seaplanes and had it shipped back to his home in Seattle . At this same time, Bill Boeing hired away Glenn's personal mechanic. Later, after Boeing's seaplane crashed in Puget Sound , he placed an order to Martin for replacement parts.
Still chafing from having his best mechanic 'swiped,' [a trick he later
often used himself] Martin decided to take his sweet time and allowed Bill
Boeing to 'stew' for a while. Bill Boeing wasn't known to be a patient man, so he began fabricating his own aircraft parts, an activity that morphed into constructing entire airplanes and eventually the Boeing Company we know today.
A former small shipyard nicknamed 'Red Barn' became Boeing Aircraft's
first home. Soon, a couple of airplanes were being built inside, each of them
having a re mark able resemblance to Glenn Martin's airplanes .. that,
interestingly, had its own re mark able resemblance to Glenn Curtiss'
airplanes.
A few years later, when the Great depression intervened and Boeing
couldn't sell enough airplanes to pay his bills, he diversified into custom built speed boats and furniture for his wealthy friends.
After WWI, a bunch of sharpies from Wall Street gained control of the
Wright Brothers Co in Dayton and the Martin Company in L.A. and 'stuck them' together as the Wright-Martin Company.
Wright-Martin began building an obsolete biplane design with a foreign
Hispano-Suiza engine. Angered because he had been out maneuvered with a bad idea, Martin walked out .. taking Larry Bell and other key employees with him.
From the deep wallet of a wealthy baseball mogul, Martin was able to
establish a new factory. Then his good luck continued, when the future
aviation legend Donald Douglas, was persuaded by Glenn to join his team.
The Martin MB-1 quickly emerged from the team's efforts and became the Martin Bomber.
Although too late to enter WWI, the Martin Bomber showed its superiority
when Billy Mitchell used it to sink several captured German battleships and cruisers to prove it's worth. He was later court martialed for his effort.
In Cleveland , a young fellow called 'Dutch' Kindelberger joined Martin as
an engineer. Later, as the leader of North American Aviation, Dutch became justifiably well-known.
Flashing back to 1920, Donald Douglas had saved $60,000, returned to L.A. and rented a barbershop's rear room and loft space in a carpenter's shop
nearby. There he constructed a classic passenger airplane called the
Douglas Cloudster.
A couple of years later, Claude Ryan bought the Cloudster and used it to
make daily flights between San Diego and Los Angeles . This gave Ryan the
distinction of being the first owner/operator of Douglas transports.
Claude Ryan later custom built Charles Lindbergh's 'ride' to fame in the flying fuel tank christened: The Spirit of St. Louis .
In 1922, Donald Douglas won a contract from the Navy to build several
torpedo carrying aircraft. While driving through Santa Monica 's
wilderness, Douglas noticed an abandoned, barn-like movie studio. He stopped his roadster and prowled around. That abandoned studio became Douglas Aircraft's first real factory.
With the $120,000 contract in his hand, Donald Douglas could afford to
hire one or two more engineers. My brother, Gordon Scott, had been schooled in the little known science of aviation at England 's Fairey Aviation, so he hired Gordon.
My first association with the early aviation pioneers occurred when I paid
my brother a visit at his new work place. Gordon was outside on a ladder
washing windows. He was the youngest engineer. Windows were dirty. And
Douglas Aircraft Company had no money to pay janitors.
Gordon introduced me to a towhead guy called Jack Northrop, and another
chap named Jerry Vultee. Jack Northrop had moved over from Lockheed Aircraft. And all of them worked together on the Douglas Aircraft's world cruiser designs.
While working in his home after work and on weekends, Jack
designed a wonderfully advanced streamlined airplane. When Allan Loughead [Lockheed] found a wealthy investor willing to finance Northrop's new airplane, he linked up with Allan and together, they leased a Hollywood workshop where they constructed the Lockheed Vega. It turned out to be sensational with its clean lines and high performance. Soon Amelia Earhart and others flew the Vega and brokemany of aviation's world records.
I had the distinct pleasure of spending time with Ed Heinemann who later
designed the AD, A3D and A4D. He told me how my Dad would fly out to
Palmdale with an experimental aircraft they were both working on. They
would take it for a few hops and come up with some fixes. After having
airframe changes fabricated in a nearby machine shop, they would hop it
again to see if they had gotten the desired results. If it worked out, Mr.
Heinemann would incorporate the changes on the aircraft's assembly
line. No money swapped hands!
In May 1927, Lindbergh flew to Paris and triggered a bedlam where everyone was trying to fly everywhere. Before the first Lockheed Vega was built, William Randolph Hearst had already paid for it and had it entered in an air race from the California Coast to Honolulu .
In June 1927, my brother, Gordon, left Douglas Aircraft to become Jack Northrop's assistant at Lockheed. While there, he managed to get himself hired as the navigator on Hearst's Vega.
The race was a disaster and ten lives were lost. The Vega and my brother
vanished. A black cloud hung heavily over the little shop. However, Hubert
Wilkins, later to become Sir Hubert Wilkins, took Vega #2 and made a
successful polar flight from Alaska to Norway . A string of successful
flights after that placed Lockheed in aviation's forefront.
I went to work for Lockheed as it 26th employee, shortly after the disaster,
and I worked on the Vega. It was made almost entirely of wood and I
quickly become a half-assed carpenter.
At this time, General Motors had acquired North American consisting of
Fokker Aircraft, Pitcairn Aviation [later Eastern Airlines] and Sperry
Gyroscope and hired Dutch Kindelberger away from Douglas to run it. Dutch moved the entire operation to L.A. where Dutch and his engineers came up with the P-51 Mustang.
Interestingly, just a handful of young men played roles affecting the
lives of all Americans ..... as it initiated the So California metamorphosis,
from a semi-desert with orange groves and celluloid, into a dynamic complex, supporting millions.
Although this technological explosion had startling humble beginnings,
taking root as acorns in - a barber shop's back room - a vacant church -
and an abandoned cannery - but came to fruit on as mighty oaks.
Source: Denham S. Scott, North American Aviation Retirees' Bulletin.
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