Zeppelin Diagram
(L’Illustration, 1917)
A schematic plan of a German World War One Zeppelin that illustrates the airship’s bombay, crew quarters and gondola.
Aviation History
Find archive articles on Aviation. Our site has great information from old magazine newspaper articles about Aviation history.
One of the First Bomb Sights
(Popular Mechanics, 1914)
Attached is a photograph and short description of One of the latest bomb-dropping devices that were available to French and British pilots during the earliest days of World War One.
French Dirigible
(Popular Mechanics, 1914)
Pictured herein is the French dirigible ADJUDANT REAU as it appeared during the first months of the First World War.
Also depicted are two early tri-planes which were used to help elevate the craft.
Dirigible Accident: ROMA
(The Literary Digest, 1922)
Two LITERARY DIGEST articles, printed seven days a part, addressing the topic of the destruction of the U.S. military’s semi-rigid airship, ROMA; much attention is paid as to where the blame for the disaster must be placed. The journalists concur that the U.S. Congress was answerable for the loss due to that body’s unwillingness to pay for the necessary helium, rather than the less expensive, and highly flamable, hydrogen gas. Thirty-four lives were lost.
ZMC-2: The First All Metal Airship
(Literary Digest, 1929)
1929 saw the creation of the U.S. Navy airship ZMC-2, the first metal dirigible (aluminum alloy) of its kind:
Heretofore, the trend in dirigible construction has been toward larger and longer ships; the egg-shaped ZMC-2 can withstand the buffeting of the winds much better than her larger and more unwieldy sister ships.
Built by the Aircraft Development Corporation (Detroit), ZMC-2 was in use by the U.S. Navy until her retirement, in 1941.
World War I Zeppelins at War
(L’Illustration, 1917)
Attached are two wartime illustrations from a French magazine that depict the artist’s understanding of the frantic life on board a zeppelin that is under attack from enemy aircraft.
The Interior of a Zeppelin’s Gondola
(L’Illustration, 1917)
A black and white photograph depicting the gondola interior of the German zeppelin 49, that was brought down over Bourbonne-les-Bains, France in 1917. At the center of the image is the pilot’s wheel and off to the right sits the zeppelin’s bombsite.
General Billy Mitchell: Advocate of American Airpower
(American Legion Weekly,1921)
This is one of the editorials written by U.S. Army General Billy Mitchell (1879 – 1936) that only served to annoy the senior army leadership and their civilian overlords in Washington. On these pages General Mitchell made his case for the creation of a unique branch of the military confined entirely to air power that was distinct and independent of the Army. He points out that numerous armies are doing just this and the U.S. would be wise to do the same. He was particularly keen on seeing to it that everyone know that that the Imperial Japanese Army was doing the same thing.
French Pilot Glides Under the Arc de Triomphe
(Popular Mechanics, 1919)
A great picture of Lieutenant Charles Godefroy flying his Nieuport under the great arch of Paris during the Autumn of 1919. The stunt was performed three weeks after the French Victory parade that marked the end of the First World War and was intended to serve as a salute to the French pilots who died during the course of that blood bath.
The First Folding Wing Monoplane
(Popular Mechanics, 1912)
A passing glance at aviation magazines from the early Twentieth Century reveals that that particular sub-culture was very concerned with the ability to allow for trouble-free ground transport of aircraft. There were many magazine articles picturing how biplanes could be deconstructed for this purpose and up until 1912, or so we are led to believe by the editors of Popular Mechanics, the de Marcay-Mooney monoplane was the first flying machine that was able to have it’s wings fold back (much like a bird or a beetle) and when re-set at 90 degrees for take-off, could fly successfully.
Lindbergh’s Movie Contract
(Photoplay Magazine, 1939)
This article originally appeared in a well-known Hollywood fan magazine and was written by Lindbergh’s pal and business partner, Major Thomas G. Lanphier (1890 – 1972). It concerns the story of how one of the most ambitious movies of all times, starring America’s hero, Charles Lindbergh, was not made. The story goes that in 1927, the Lone Eagle signed a $1,000,000.00 Hollywood contract to make a movie about the history of aviation and would not be persuaded to do otherwise by any of his flying-peers, who all tended to believe that no good could come out of it. Slim finally saw the light and was released from his contractual obligations by non other than William Randolph Hearst (1863 – 1951):
Mr. Hearst asked no questions… He brought out the contract and tore it up in Lindbergh’s presence.
You are as much a hero to me, as to anyone else in the world…
1910: Gains and Losses in Aviation
(The Review of Reviews, 1910)
Attached are four short articles from THE REVIEW of REVIEWS concerning what had happened in the world of aviation during the summer months of 1910. Of particular concern was the bloody month of July, which happened to be the month in which a large number of pilots met their end. Among the dead was the Honorable Charles Stewart Rolls (b. 1877), Daniel Kinet (b. 1885) and Charles Wachter (dates?). Also lost that summer was the daring aviatrix, Baroness de la Roche (b. 1886, as Elsie Raymonde Deroche). The third and fourth articles list the advances in altitude and endurance records made by such men as Walter Brookings (1889 – 1953), Jan Olieslegers (1893 – 1942), Clifford B. Harmon (dates?) and Count de Lesseps (1882 – 1916).
Katherine Stinson Offers Her Services to the Army
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)
Katherine Stinson wants to carry letters up to Third Army.
By the time Katherine Stinson (1891 – 1977, a.k.a. the Flying Schoolgirl) had applied for the job of carrying the mails to the occupying American forces in post-war Germany, she already had the distinction of being the fourth American woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first woman to ever deliver air-mail for the U.S. Post Office. She didn’t get the job…
Storming the Skies : The Story of Katherine & Marjorie Stinson , Pioneer Women Aviators
Katherine Stinson Offers Her Services to the Army
(The Stars and Stripes, 1919)
Katherine Stinson wants to carry letters up to Third Army.
By the time Katherine Stinson (1891 – 1977, a.k.a. the Flying Schoolgirl) had applied for the job of carrying the mails to the occupying American forces in post-war Germany, she already had the distinction of being the fourth American woman to earn a pilot’s license and the first woman to ever deliver air-mail for the U.S. Post Office. She didn’t get the job…
Storming the Skies : The Story of Katherine & Marjorie Stinson , Pioneer Women Aviators
The Round-Winged Monoplane
(Popular Mechanics, 1914)
This is a small illustrated page about an early monoplane popularly known on the English isles as the Flying Teatray. A peculiar looking machine, it apparently was able to get off the ground for a while (see illustration) but it was passed by for service during the First World War, which had been raging for some three months by the time this article was published.
The WASPs of W.W. II
The WASP program, for as such the Women Airforces Service Pilots became known, was begun in August, 1943. In addition to providing women fliers who could take over certain jobs and thereby release their brothers for front-line duty, the program was designed to see if women could serve as military pilots and, if so, to serve as a nucleus of an organization that could be rapidly expanded…The women who took part in the pilot program proved of great value to their country, flying almost every type of airplane used by the AAF, from the Thunderbolt fighter, to the C-54 transport, they flew enough miles to reach around the world 2,500 times at the Equator.
The WASPs were fortunate enough to have pioneering aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran (1906 – 1980) serve at their helm.
The Experiences of a Bombardier in the Young French Air Corps
(Vanity Fair, 1916)
In this letter from the artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel (1884 – 1949) the fellow explains thoroughly his thoughts and adventures as a bombardier in a Vosin bi-plane; experiences which contrast greatly with his days in the trenches and he writes well on the feelings of loneliness that an aviator can experience at 2000 feet.
For those who are interested in learning about the living conditions and daily life of World War One pilot officers this article can only help you.