Aviation History – Page 7 – Old Magazine Articles

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).

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.

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.

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.