Ohio Artifacts at the National Air Force Museum
Although the National Air Force Museum is not technically an Ohio History Museum, one can still find many Ohio related history within the museum. Therefore, the artifacts I have chosen only pertain to Ohio’s influence on the United States Airforce.
Wright 1909 Military Flyer
The Wright 1909 Military Flyer was the first military heavier-than-air flying machine. It was designated Airplane No. 1 and was the only U.S. Army airplane for nearly two years.The aircraft was capable of staying aloft for over one hour, carrying two people sitting upright. It could fly as high as 500 feet above the ground and as fast as 47 miles per hour.The Signal Corps purchased the machine for $30,000 on August 2, 1909. By October that same year Wilbur Wright was giving flying lessons to Lieutenants Frank P. Lahm and Federic E. Humphreys using Signal Corps. No. 1. In 1910 Lieutenant Benjamins D. Foulois then taught himself how to fly the Wright 1909 Military Flyer while stationed at Fort Sam Houston, TX in March 1910. After several crashes that were beyond repair, the Army retired the flying machine in March 1911.
Wright 1916 Wind Tunnel
“I have lately put up a small tunnel in my laboratory in which we have a wind velocity of over 160 miles per hour,” wrote Orville Wright to a friend in July 1918.
The Wright 1916 wind tunnel was designed by Orville Wright. The device was installed in his laboratory at 15 N. Broadway in Dayton, Ohio. Wright used this tunnel to conduct a variety of aerodynamic experiments during WWI.
Artifacts from Ohioans' Air Combat Stories from WWI
Captain William C. Lambert
Captain William C. Lambert was from Ironton, Ohio. He was the second ranking American ace of World War I. Captain Lambert was officially credited with 2 ½ air-to-air victories; this is only 4 ½ victories fewer than the 26 top American ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Lambert joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and arrived in Britain in December 1917. He was assigned to No. 24 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in France flying a S.E.54 fighter plane. He named his “Babe.” Unlike many others, he did not transfer to the U.S. Air Service after America entered the war, but remained with the RAF. However, he retained his citizenship. Following World War I, Captain Lambert joined the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve and served with the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1954 he retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.
Lietenant Stephen W. Thompson
The first man in U.S. military service to shoot down an enemy plane was Lietenant Stephen W. Thompson of Dayton, Ohio. Since his American squadron had not yet started flying missions, Thompson visited a nearby French bombing squadron on February 5, 1918, the observe preparations for a combat flight. A French observer became ill and Thompson was invited to replace him. Once inside German territory, Thompson Breguet bomber was attacked. While defending it, Thompson shot down an Albatros fighter over Saarbrucken. Because of Thompson’s unique status on this mission, he was not granted credit for his victory during the war. However, with the assistance of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, he was finally granted official recognition for the victory in 1967. The sock with bullet holes and the German bullet on display are momentoes of another of Thompson’s memorable flights. While Thompson was an observer of with the 12th Aero Squadron, German fighters attacked his Salmson airplane on July 28, 1918. He shot down two enemy planes before his own plane was shot down by the famous German ace Erich Lowenhart. Thompson’s pilot, Lt. John C. Miller, was able to land the Salmson inside friendly lines before he died of a bullet wound in the stomach. Thompson received a bullet in the leg and, because of the lack of immediate first aid in the front line area, he had to dig the bullet from his leg with a pocket knife.
Early Free-Fall Parachute, first tested in Dayton, Ohio
The first successful use of a free-fall parachute during an in-flight emergency took place over Dayton, Ohio on October 20, 1922. Lieutenant Harold R. Harris, Chief of the Flying Section at McCook Field, was testing experimental balance-type ailerons on a Loening PW-24 while engaging in mock aerial combat with lieutenant Muir Fairchild who was flying a Thomas-Morse MB-3. While pulling his Loening into a tight turn, Harris noted the control stick suddenly act erratically. The wings were then torn apart. Loening went into a dive at 2,500 feet. His only option was to bail out, putting his faith in a method that had not yet been proven to work. Harris pulled his ripcord at 500 feet; the parachute opened immediately, leaving Harris to land in a backyard. The Loening was found crashed a block away, completely destroyed. Lieutenant Harris was also the first pilot of the mammoth Barreling Bomber on August 1923, and the first to fly inside a pressure cabin.
Newspaper about the Emergence of Wright Field
McCook Field contributed to every new flying record established by the Air Service in the 1920s. Nevertheless, it was too small with no room for expansion. It was the citizens of Dayton who raised the $400,673 (that is $4,656,738.48 in today’s dollars according to http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi) for the purchase of 4,000 acres of land east of the city. This land included Wilbur Wright Field and was later renamed Patterson Field. On October 12, 1927 Wright Field was formally dedicated as the Air Corps’ new test site, as McCook Field “passed into history.”
Me, Myself, and I
*All information for this blog was obtained from the National Air Force Museum
