List Of Accidents And Incidents Involving Military Aircraft (1925–1934)
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This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. For more exhaustive lists, see th
Aircraft Crash Record Office
or th
Air Safety Network
or th

Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances. :See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft before 1925 This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. For more exhaustive lists, see the Bureau of Air ...
:See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1925–1934) :See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1935–1939) :See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1940–1944) List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft include all types of accident and incident, including mechanical failures, pilot error and military action. They include chronological lists, lists by conflict, lists by aircraft model an ...
:See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1945–1949) This is a list of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft from 1945 to 1949, grouped chronologically by year. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. For more comprehensive lists, see the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Arch ...
:See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1950–1954) This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. Combat losses are not included except for a very f ...
:See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1955–1959) This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. Combat losses are not included except for a very ...
:See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1960–1974) :See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1975–1979) :See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1980–1989) :See: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1990–1999) :See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (2000–2009) This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. For more exhaustive lists, see the baaa-acro.com ...
:See:
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (2010–present) List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft include all types of accident and incident, including mechanical failures, pilot error and military action. They include chronological lists, lists by conflict, lists by aircraft model an ...


Aircraft terminology

Information on aircraft gives the type, and if available, the serial number of the operator in italics, the constructors number, also known as the manufacturer's serial number (c/n), exterior codes in apostrophes, nicknames (if any) in quotation marks, flight callsign in italics, and operating units.


1925

;10 February :The 1030 hrs. crash of a
Curtiss JN-6H The Curtiss JN-6H (Model 1F) was an American biplane trainer aircraft built by Curtiss for the United States Army Air Service during World War I. Design and development Developed from the one-off JN-5H advanced trainer, the 6H had a superior ...
, ''AS-44806'', ~ E of Brooks Field, Texas, kills instructor 1st Lt. Arthur L. Foster along with Maj. Lee O. Wright. Foster Field at
Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...
is later dedicated to the pilot on 22 February 1942. Foster's widow, Mrs. Ruth Young Foster, of
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
, unveiled a plaque that read "Dedicated to the memory of Lieut. Arthur Lee Foster, a pioneer in aviation who gave his life teaching others to fly." Foster Field was designated
Foster Air Force Base Foster Air Force Base (1941–1945, 1952–1959) is a former United States Air Force facility in Texas, located in Victoria County, approximately east-northeast of Victoria. A flying training airfield during World War II, it was part of ...
on an inactive status on 1 September 1952, by Department of the Air Force General Order No. 38, dated 29 August 1952. ;16/17 April :British airship '' R33'' is torn loose from the mooring mast at RAF Pulham by gale force winds. Blown over to the Dutch coast, it rides the storm out with minor damage, finally returning more than a day later. ;7 May :Maj. Charles Calvert Benedict, ( USMA, 1915), flying from
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, is killed in Eberhart S.E.5e, ''22–320'', of the Air Corps Tactical School, when he collides with a balloon. Maj. Carl "Tooey" Spatz recorded in his diary on 10 May 1925, "Benedict was killed Friday last by colliding with a balloon he was attacking. Inference: at our age muscle reactions lag behind mental impulses. Aviators after 30 years of age must allow a large majority of safety in their flying." Capt. Benedict was the first commander of
Chanute Field Chanute may refer to: * Chanute, Kansas, United States ** Chanute High School *Octave Chanute (1832–1910), American civil engineer and aviation pioneer *Chanute Air Force Base Chanute Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force ...
, Illinois, and succeeded Spatz as training officer at the
Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east ...
, France, training centre when Spatz took command of the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center a second time. ;13 June :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Lieutenant Frank White, out of
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, develops engine trouble, attempts landing on
Burlington Island Burlington Island is a island located in the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the United States. Burlington Island is officially part of the city of Burlington, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. It is an un ...
, overshoots the island and crashes his De Havilland DH-4B fighter plane, ''22-1186'', into the Delaware River outside
Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. It antedates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorpora ...
. Was rescued alive and in good spirits but died two weeks later in Harriman Hospital shortly after surgery due to internal damages. ;11 July :" EL SEGUNDO, July 11 - Two aviators were killed when their airplane fell and burned near here today. The dead are: Lieutenant Hugh R. Denny, of the Aerial Reserves,
Clover Field Santa Monica Airport (Santa Monica Municipal Airport) is a general aviation airport largely in Santa Monica, California, United States. The airport is about from the Pacific Ocean ( Santa Monica Bay) and north of Los Angeles International Ai ...
,
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...
, and M. D. McClennan, of Santa Monica, son of County Supervisor R. F. McClennan." In an unusual circumstance, the records of the
United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...
did not record, nor do they reveal the type of aircraft involved in this incident, nor a serial number for the lost ship. "Neil D. McClellan" is listed as the pilot in this case, however. ;31 August :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9, BuNo ''A-6878'', '1', flying boat disappears on flight from San Francisco to Hawaii with reported loss of crew. The PN-9 was not actually lost, it was just overdue. After staying in the air for 25 hours and covering of the to Pearl Harbor, it landed safely at sea, the crew under command of Commander
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...
, Naval Aviator No. 2, rigged sails from fabric from the lower wing and sailed the final , reaching Kauai on 10 September. This stood as a seaplane distance flight record for several years. Aircraft is repaired and shipped to
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. ;3 September :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
, ''ZR-1'', crashes after encountering thunderstorms near
Ava, Ohio Ava is an unincorporated community in northwestern Noble Township, Noble County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and pa ...
after an in-flight break up due to
cloud suck Cloud suck is a phenomenon commonly known in paragliding, hang gliding, and sailplane flying where pilots experience significant lift due to a thermal under the base of cumulus clouds, especially towering cumulus and cumulonimbus. The vertical ex ...
about 0445 hrs. Fourteen of 43 aboard are killed. The ship's commanding officer, Lt. Cdr. Zachary Lansdowne, is killed on what was to have been his final flight before reassignment to sea duty. ;23 September :The
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
flies 23 Curtiss CS-1 floatplanes to Bay Shore Park on the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
, SE of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, on a Friday with intention of an airshow demonstration before the 1925
Schneider Cup The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...
Race on Saturday, but that night gale force winds break mooring and anchor ropes on 17 of the biplanes and they are blown onto shore or dashed against seawalls, destroying seven and damaging ten. The next afternoon's ''
Baltimore Evening Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tri ...
'' runs the headline "Plane Disaster in Harbor Called Hard Blow to Navy" and quotes the ever-outspoken General William "Billy" Mitchell calling the loss of the CS-1s "staggering", and blaming it on Navy mismanagement of its aviation program. ;24 September :During the 1925
Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...
race, British entry Supermarine S.4 loses control, is seen to side-slip, then pancakes into the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
, landing on the front of its floats and overturning. Pilot Henri Biard swims free of airframe and is rescued. British officials intimate that the pilot banked too steeply and stalled, but designer
R.J. Mitchell Reginald Joseph Mitchell (20 May 189511 June 1937) was a British aeronautical engineering, aircraft designer who worked for the Southampton aviation company Supermarine from 1916 until 1936. He is best remembered for designing racing seaplan ...
suspected that the
cantilever wing A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...
design may have been partially at fault. Another British entry,
Gloster III The Gloster III was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s intended to compete for the Schneider Trophy air race. A single-engined, single-seat biplane, two were built, with one finishing second in the 1925 race. Design and development In 19 ...
A, suffers broken strut between float and fuselage during taxi after landing from first run which allows nose to drop, propeller cuts into duralumin float, making airframe unable to compete. Lt.
Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
in
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
Curtiss R3C-2, BuNo ''A6979'', '3', wins competition with top speed of . ;9 December :The 111th Observation Squadron,
Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest eco ...
, suffers its first casualties when Capt. Emil Wagner and Lt. Luke McLaughlin put a
Curtiss JN-6H The Curtiss JN-6H (Model 1F) was an American biplane trainer aircraft built by Curtiss for the United States Army Air Service during World War I. Design and development Developed from the one-off JN-5H advanced trainer, the 6H had a superior ...
, ''38105'', into a steep dive, whereupon the port wing collapses and the airframe plummets to the ground at
Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis ...
, Texas. Both crew survive the impact but die later in a
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
hospital.


1926

;28 February :"
SEATTLE Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Feb. 28. - Lieutenant Alonzo E. Bell was killed and his mechanician 'sic'' Charles Casincros, seriously hurt when their airplane went into a nose dive and dropped 100 feet to a concrete roadway at Sand Point field 'sic''near here today. Two hundred persons witnessed the accident." ;10 March :U.S. Army airship ''TA-5'', operating from
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, loses helium pressure in its non-rigid envelope and drops into the
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
, nose first. No injuries to the crew who are quickly picked up by a rescue boat. ;22 March :On its seventh test flight during tests at Taura Beach, Yokosuka, Japan, the Kaibo Gikai KB experimental flying boat is seen in a glide with both engines stopped, which steepens until it strikes the water in a near-vertical attitude, killing all four crew. Cause attributed to a malfunction of the flight control system. ;10 May :Maj. Harold C. Geiger is slightly injured in a collision between two planes at
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, near Hampton, Virginia. While attending the
Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...
at Langley Field, his Eberhart S.E.5e, ''22-317'', collides in mid-air during a flight formation with fellow student,
Horace Meek Hickam Horace Meek Hickam (August 14, 1885 – November 5, 1934) was a pioneer airpower advocate and an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is named in his honor. Background The son of a lawyer, Hickam was born ...
's Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, ''SO-8044''. Hickam parachutes to safety, and narrowly escapes death. Hickam is initiated into the famed
Caterpillar Club The Caterpillar Club is an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. After authentication by the parachute maker, applicants receive a membership certificate and a distinctive lape ...
, a fraternal order with membership based on surviving an emergency parachute jump. Geiger was also a member of the
Caterpillar Club The Caterpillar Club is an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. After authentication by the parachute maker, applicants receive a membership certificate and a distinctive lape ...
. ;11 August :Second Lieutenant
Eugene Hoy Barksdale Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale (November 5, 1896 – August 11, 1926) was a noted aviator and was a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Service and Army Air Corps. The new Barksdale Field (now Barksdale Air Force Base) in Bossier City ...
was killed when the
Douglas O-2 The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Development The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420 hp ...
observation plane, ''25–350'', McCook Field project number P-441, he was testing went into an uncontrollable spin over
McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named f ...
,
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
. His parachute snagged on the wingstruts, preventing escape from the aircraft.
Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Forc ...
, later Barksdale Air Force Base, is named for him upon establishment at the Military Reservation, Bossier Parish,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
on 2 February 1933. ;27 August :Commander
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...
, Naval Aviator No. 2, Assistant Chief of the
Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...
, on a flight from NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C., crashes in the Delaware River near the
Naval Aircraft Factory The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...
dock,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, when his aircraft suddenly nose-dives and receives injuries from which he dies on the same day. ;12 September : Curtiss XP-6, ''25-423'', the fourth Curtiss P-2 reengined with a Curtiss V-1570-1 Conqueror, suffers heavy damage in a landing that results in a ground loop at
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
,
Mount Clemens, Michigan Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,314 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of government of Macomb County. History Mount Clemens was first surveyed in 1795 after the American Revolutionary War by Christi ...
. Pilot was George C. Price. Repaired, the aircraft will finish second in the 1927 Pursuit Plane Race at the National Air Races, at . To
McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named f ...
, Ohio, with project number P-494. Will crash on 25 February 1929. ;20 September :The
Great Miami hurricane The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mil ...
makes landfall for the second time near Perdido Beach, Alabama, at ~ 22:00 UTC with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h). At
NAS Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...
, Florida, the storm destroys 30 seaplanes, several hangars, "and other equipment for a total damage of about $1,000,000."


1927

;19 January :Second of two Naval Aircraft Factory PN-7 flying boats, BuNo ''A-6617'', delivered 6 June 1924, is wrecked this date at
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, with total flight time of 423:32 hours. ;February :
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Cierva C.6C
autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
, ''J8068'', based on an
Avro 504K The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...
fuselage, constructed by Avro at Hamble, Hampshire, flown by test pilot Frank T. Courtney, suffers spectacular crash at Hamble in which two opposing rotor blades come loose in flight after failure of tubular rivet fitted in the rotor blade spar root, coming down adjacent to rail line crossing the airfield. Pilot survives. ;February :RAF Vickers Virginia Mk II ''J6857'' of 7 Squadron is damaged in a forced landing at
Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north west of Norwich. The town is the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norw ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. The aircraft is subsequently repaired and rebuilt to Mk VII standard. ;27 February :Capt. Clinton F. Woolsey, a
Northport, Michigan Northport is a village in Leelanau Township within Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 526 according to the 2010 U.S. census. When Leelanau County was formed in 1863, Northport served as the first county seat from 1 ...
native born in 1894, was considered one of the nation's best pilots in the Army Air Corps in the 1920s. He died a hero when he and his co-pilot, Lt. John W. Benton, were killed in a 1927 mid-air collision over Palomar Field near
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
during the first-ever U.S. international goodwill flight to 23 Central and South American countries. The tour took two months. Buenos Aires was the halfway mark. Woolsey probably could have parachuted to safety but apparently chose to ride his amphibian biplane down in an attempt to land because Benton was on the wing, without his chute, attempting to lower the landing gear by hand. "I have never witnessed a more courageous sacrifice," said Capt. Ira Eaker, who witnessed the crash from his plane. Flight Commander
Herbert Dargue Herbert Arthur "Bert" Dargue (November 17, 1886 – December 12, 1941) was a career officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of major general in the Army Air Forces. He was a pioneer military aviator and one of the first ten recip ...
and Lt.
Ennis Whitehead Ennis Clement Whitehead (September 3, 1895 – October 12, 1964) was an early United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. Whitehead joined the U. S. Army after the United States entered World War I ...
bailed out of Loening OA-1A "New York", while Woolsey and Benton rode OA-1A "Detroit" in. ;13 March :First of two Naval Aircraft Factory PN-8 flying boats, BuNo ''A-6799'', delivered 8 May 1925, intended for a flight by the Navy from San Francisco to Hawaii, is wrecked while being transported fully assembled on the deck of the . Hit by heavy seas, the plane is lifted against its tie-down cables, which cut through the hull, airframe written off with 32:48 flying hours. ;21 March :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9, BuNo ''A-6878'', flying boat which executed record trip from San Francisco to Hawaii in August–September 1925, repaired and shipped to
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, crashes and sinks in the ocean this date with total flight time of 190:28 hours. ;21 April :Their Royal Highnesses visit Australia to open the new Parliament House in Canberra. On this date, during their official visit to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, "and just as the royal procession was turning from St Kilda Road into the grounds of
Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...
, two DH.9 aircraft of the
RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
flypast collided. The crowd of many thousands watched as ''A6-5'' and ''A6-26'' disintegrated and plummeted to earth in the vicinity of Sturt Street, South Melbourne. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the crowd but all four RAAF aircrew were killed making it the worst aircraft accident in Australia to that time."Article title
;9 May :Their Royal Highnesses, still in Australia, have the misfortune to witness the crash of SE-5a, ''A2-24'', during the opening ceremony of Parliament House in Canberra. The pilot F/O F.C. Ewen is killed. "The following day, while returning from Canberra to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
with photographs of the opening ceremony, SE-5a ''A2-11'' suffered an engine failure and crashed in remote bushland near Whitfield, Vic. The pilot, Sgt Orm Denny, walked 25 miles to secure assistance." ;17 May :Major Harold C. Geiger (7 October 1884 – 17 May 1927), born in East Orange, New Jersey, a pioneer in Army aviation and ballooning, and commander of Phillips Field,
Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimor ...
, is killed in the crash of his Airco DH.4B plane, ''25-078''. Six mechanics and officers at the Middleton Air Station, at
Olmsted Field Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard facility is site ...
, Pennsylvania told ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Geiger's plane took a nose dive. Geiger managed to jump out just as the plane struck and burst into flames. He made desperate efforts to get clear of the wreckage and, according to the onlookers, half crawled and ran as far as the tail of the machine before he was overcome. There he dropped and the flames prevented the watchers from getting near enough to rescue him. When the U.S. Army Air Corps purchases Sunset Field near
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
in 1941, it is named Geiger Field in his honor. The
Spokane International Airport Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes area ...
is designated with the
International Air Transport Association airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the I ...
GEG in his memory. ;16 June :A RAF
Vickers Virginia The Vickers Virginia was a biplane heavy bomber of the British Royal Air Force, developed from the Vickers Vimy. Design and development Work on the Virginia was started in 1920, as a replacement for the Vimy. Two prototypes were ordered on 13 ...
makes an emergency landing at
Shipbourne Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent. It is located i ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
following an engine failure. The aircraft was later dismantled and removed by road. ;6 July :The crash/ditching in the Pacific Ocean ~ off of Fort DeRussy, Territory of Hawaii, of
Boeing PW-9A The Boeing Model 15 was a United States single-seat open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the 1920s, manufactured by the Boeing company. The Model 15 saw service with the United States Army Air Service (as the PW-9 series) and with the Unit ...
, ''26-353'', c/n 778, of the
19th Pursuit Squadron The 19th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force fighter jet squadron and is a part of the Pacific Air Forces' (PACAF) 15th Wing based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air ...
, from
Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...
, Oahu, kills Arizona native 1st Lt. Charles Linton Williams (1898–1927). Higley Field, at Mesa, Arizona, is renamed Williams Field on 24 February 1942, and
Williams Air Force Base Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contamin ...
in January 1948. The base was closed on 30 December 1993. ;29 September :
Georg Wulf Georg Wulf (1895-1927) was a German aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer. Biography Wulf was born 17 May 1895 in Bremen. He was the son of a customs agent. He attended the high school on Dechanat Street. Around 1910, Henrich Focke, with th ...
, co-founder of Focke-Wulf, is killed in the crash of the first Focke-Wulf F 19 Ente ("Duck"), ''D-1960''. Second airframe is constructed, eventually put on display in Berlin air museum, destroyed in bombing raid in 1944. ;27 October :"
SAN ANTONIO ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
, Tex., Oct. 27. - Two student fliers, who made successful parachute jumps after their planes had collided 2500 feet above Kelly field (''sic'') today face possible court martial charges because of the accident. Kelly field (''sic'') officials said that the two pilots, J. D. Cleveland of
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and E. A. Sanburn of Upper Lake, Cal., were engaged in unauthorized ‘dog-fighting’ at the time of the accident. They were flying in a three-ship formation of pursuit planes in a manoeuver designed to perfect them in flying solo planes. Officials said, however, that they were supposed to adhere to their formation, and not simulate actual dual combat in the air. According to the officers this was what caused the accident. After the planes interlocked and plunged together toward the earth, the two pilots made perfectly timed parachute jumps. The planes did not become disengaged until they were 500 feet above the ground. Both were demolished, even the motors being hopelessly wrecked. The matter will be referred to an investigating board Friday, which will decide on the advisability of putting the case before a court martial." Curtiss AT-4 Hawk, ''27-219'', flown by J. B. Cleveland, according to the Aviation Archeology Data Base, collided with AT-4, ''27-215'', flown by E. A. Sanborn, NW of Kelly Field. (Note slight spelling differences of names.) ;4 November :
US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
Capt. Hawthorne C. Gray succeeds in setting new altitude record in a silk, rubberized, and aluminum-coated balloon out of Scott Field,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, reaching , but dies when he fails to keep track of his time on oxygen, and exhausts his supply. The record is recognized by
National Aeronautical Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Un ...
, but not by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale because the dead aeronaut "was not in personal possession of his instruments." Gray is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his three ascents on 9 March, 4 May and 4 November. ;8 December :Prototype Curtiss XB-2 Condor, ''26-211'', assigned to
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, Ohio in October 1927, crashes at
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
after having logged only 58 hours, 55 minutes flying time.


1928

;13 February :Sole prototype Blackburn F.1 Turcock, the firm's first fighter project in some eight years, an attempt to produce an aircraft equally suited as a land-based interceptor and as a ship-borne fighter, found no interest from the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, but Blackburn built one as a private venture. It first flew (without guns) on 14 November 1927, piloted by Flt. Lt. Arthur George Loton, AFC, and having been purchased by the Turkish government was named the Turcock. Allocated the British registration ''G-EBVP'' for test and delivery purposes, it was destroyed in a flying accident this date. No other models of the type were built. ;17 February :Capt. William Millican Randolph, a pioneer aviator, a 1916 graduate of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, and adjutant of the Air Corps Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas, is killed in the crash of a Curtiss AT-4 Hawk, ''27–220'', three miles NW of
Gorman, Texas Gorman is a city in Eastland County, Texas, United States. Its population was 1,083 at the 2010 census, down from 1,236 at the 2000 census. Geography Gorman is located in southeastern Eastland County at (32.211956, –98.671281). Texas State Hig ...
after take off from Gorman Field. In September 1929, the Army Air Corps names its field north of
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
,
Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...
for the
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
native. Randolph was interred at
Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
, Texas. Ironically, Captain Randolph had been a member of the committee assigned to select a name for the new airfield. Randolph had survived wrecking a
Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...
at
Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...
, California, on 19 April 1920. ;27 February :Commander
Theodore Gordon Ellyson Theodore Gordon Ellyson, USN (27 February 1885 – 27 February 1928), nicknamed "Spuds", was the first United States Navy officer designated as an aviator ("Naval Aviator No. 1"). Ellyson served in the experimental development of aviation i ...
, the first Naval Aviator, Lieutenant Commander Hugo Schmidt and Lieutenant Rogers Ransehounsen, crash to their deaths in the sole Loening XOL-7 amphibian, ''A7335'', (an OL-6 modified with an experimental thicker wing), in the lower
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
while on a night flight from Norfolk, Virginia, to Annapolis, Maryland. The Navy searches for the lost aircraft for a month without success. On 11 March the office of the Secretary of the Navy cables Helen Ellyson, "Very reluctantly yesterday the Secretary came to the conclusion that it was necessary for us to declare the officers who were lost in the plane with your husband officially dead. We had hoped against hope that something might be found of those officers living but it does not seem now that there is any hope left." On 11 April, Ellyson’s body washed ashore in the lower Chesapeake Bay. ;May: Sumitoshi Nakao becomes the first Japanese aviator to save his life by parachute when he bails out of one of two Mitsubishi 1MF2 Hayabusa-type fighter prototypes when it disintegrates during a diving test during official Army trials at
Tokorozawa is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...
. Pilot uninjured. Because of the accident, further flight evaluations of the type are suspended and the other airframe is statically tested to destruction.Mikesh, Robert C., and Abe, Shorzoe, "Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1990, , pp.179–180. ;1 May: Curtiss O-1B Falcon, ''27-279'', assigned at Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania,1928 USAAC Accident Reports
/ref> crashes at
Whitney Point, New York Whitney Point is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 964 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name comes from Thomas and William Whitney, early developers. The vill ...
, this date. Pilot Lt. Bushrod Hoppin is uninjured, but his passenger, Congressman Thaddeus Campbell Sweet is killed. Sweet becomes the first sitting member of the U.S. Congress to die in a plane crash. He and the pilot had departed
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
shortly after breakfast "in a new Army observation plane" to fly to Oswego, New York, where he was to make a speech. Lt. Hoppin, known as a careful pilot, flew into a storm between Binghamton, New York and
Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western bo ...
. He thought it best to land and selected a field on a stock farm near Whitney Point. The field was knobbly, and the airplane bounced and turned a somersault. Sweet, having unbuckled his
safety belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt redu ...
, was pitched against the cockpit wall, and killed by a head injury. Lt. Hoppin, belted in his seat, was unbruised. Sweet was buried at the Rural Cemetery at Phoenix, New York. ;28 May : U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker CO-4A, ''23-1206'', based at
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, piloted by Major George H. Brett, is damaged in a take off accident at Quantico, Virginia. ;6 July :
Douglas C-1 The Douglas C-1 was a cargo/transport aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation for the United States Army Air Service starting in 1925. Design and development Douglas received an order for nine single-engined transport aircraft in 1 ...
C, ''26-427'', c/n 372, assigned at
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, Washington, D.C., piloted by 1st Lt. Myron Ray Wood, suffers engine failure and ditches in the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
near the west shoreline, Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Wood (4 December 1892 – 29 October 1946) will head the 9th AAF Service Command in Europe in 1944. ;9 September: During events held during the National Air Races at
Mines Field Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, the program "was marred by the crash of Lieut. George E. Hasselman, U.S.Navy, of the VB-2B Squadron, who crashed 50 feet to the ground in a side slip and was seriously injured." VB-2B operated Boeing F2B-1s in 1928. ;10 September: While performing aerobatics at the air races held at
Mines Field Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, Lt. John J. "Johnny" Williams, leader of the Three Musketeers Air Corps stunt trio, crashes in Boeing PW-9D, ''28-29'', c/n 1013, of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, out of
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
, California, and is killed "almost instantly. Despite their comrade's untimely death, Lieuts. Woodring and Cornelius carried on. Colonel
Charles A. Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
volunteered his services, and the show continued."Valentine, A. L., Private, U.S. Army Air Corps, 7th Bombardment Group Headquarters, "Army Aviation Heroes of the Past", ''Air Corps News Letter'', Information Division, Air Corps, Munitions Building, Washington, D.C., 15 July 1936, Volume XIX, Number 14, page 14. ;20 September :First prototype
Parnall Pipit The Parnall Pipit was a single-engined, single-seat naval Fighter aircraft, fighter designed to an Air Ministry specification in 1927. Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter. Design and development The Pipit was Par ...
, ''N232'', suffers structural failure of port tailplane in flight, crash lands at
Martlesham Heath Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and t ...
,
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its wo ...
(A&AEE) test pilot Sqn. Ldr. Jack Noakes (AFC, MM) survives, despite suffering broken neck when thrown from the somersaulting airframe.Mason, Francis K., "The British Fighter since 1912", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1992, , , p. 207. ;25 September: Boeing PW-9D, ''28-31'', flown by Lt. Roger V. Williams, suffers mid-air collision with PW-9D, ''28-36'', piloted by Lt. William L. Cornelius, both of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, at
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
,
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, California. Williams bails out and survives but Cornelius is killed. Cornelius was one of the Three Musketeers Air Corps stunt trio pilots. "SAN DIEGO, Sept. 26. - Military services will be held either tomorrow or Friday for Lieutenant W. L. Williams, of 'Three Musketeer' fame, killed in a crash with another plane in the air yesterday," (Note the name discrepancy in the United Press dispatch, which is in error.) ;30 October : 1st Lt. Myron R. Wood has his second adventure in a
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
-based aircraft in four months when he ground loops Curtiss P-1A Hawk, ''26-279'', upon landing at the base on the Potomac River's east side, Washington, D.C. Aircraft receives moderate damage. ;3 December :The prototype Curtiss XF8C-2, BuNo ''A7673'', crashes during a terminal-velocity dive, just days after its first flight. Another source cites the loss date as 23 December 1928.


1929

;24 January :Surplus Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, (original serial unknown), presented to ''Aviación Naval'' (Argentine Naval arm), ''E-11/AC-21'', written-off in crash landing at Campo Sarmiento, Base Naval
Puerto Belgrano Port Belgrano Naval Base ( es, Base Naval Puerto Belgrano - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Be ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
when pilot Alferez de Fragata Alberto Sautu Riestra approaches field too flat and lands short, collapsing undercarriage. Pilot uninjured. As the airframe was an obsolescent one-only on strength design, with no supporting plans or parts, it is scrapped. ;25 February : Curtiss XP-6 Hawk (fourth P-2, ''25–423'', converted with
Curtiss V-1570-1 The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46. Design and deve ...
engine), of the 27th Pursuit Squadron, is destroyed in crash at
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
, Michigan, after structural failure in a spin/stall with only 80 flying hours, killing pilot Andrew D. Knox.1929 USAAC Accident Reports
/ref> This airframe had won the Pursuit Plane Race in the 1927 National Air Races with a speed of 189.608 mph. ;21 April :A
U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
Boeing PW-9D, ''28-037'', c/n 1022, collided with a Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor, ''NC9636'', c/n 5-AT-10, operated by
Maddux Air Lines Maddux Air Lines was an airline based in Southern California that operated Ford Tri-motors in California, Arizona, and Mexico in the late 1920s. Founding In 1927 Jack L. Maddux, an owner of a Los Angeles Ford and Lincoln car dealership ...
over
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, California, killing all 6 on board both aircraft. ;18 May :During the 1929
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
maneuvers, two
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
s of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, operating out of
Norton Field Norton Field was an aviation landing field, located in Columbus, Ohio, that operated from 1923 until the early 1950s. It was the first airport established in Central Ohio, and was named for World War I pilot and star Ohio State University athlete ...
(the first airfield to be built in central Ohio), collide over the Linden neighborhood on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, the propeller of 2nd Lt. Andrew F. Solter's XP-12A, ''29-362'', cutting into the rear fuselage of 2nd Lt. Edward L. Meadow's P-12 (possibly ''29-361''). Meadow is killed but Solter bails out and lands safely. Gen.
Benjamin Foulois Benjamin Delahauf Foulois (December 9, 1879 – April 25, 1967) was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achi ...
tells newsmen, "It's all in a day's work of the Air Corps. Although an unhappy occurrence, the accident will cause no change in the maneuver plans, which will be carried out as scheduled."Maurer Maurer, "Aviation in the U.S. Army, 1919–1939", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1987, , pp.243–244. ;4 September :First prototype, of three,
Gloster Gorcock The Gloster Gorcock was a single-engined single-seat biplane fighter aircraft produced to a United Kingdom Air Ministry contract completed in 1927. Only three were built. Development In May 1924 Glosters received an Air Ministry contract for th ...
s, ''J7501'', experimental single-seat, single-bay biplane interceptor, first delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment on 16 May 1928, breaks up in the air near
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
this date, the pilot bailing out successfully.Mason, Francis K., "The British Fighter since 1912", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1992, , , pages 174–175. ;15 October : Martin XT5M-1 divebomber, BuNo ''A-8051'', during terminal dive test at 350 IAS at 8,000 feet, lower starboard wing caves in, ripping extensive hole.
NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
test pilot Bill H. McAvoy staggers aircraft back to the Martin field north of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, landing at 110 mph with full-left stick input. Aircraft will go into production as the Martin BM-1. ;14 November :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Naval Aircraft Factory PN-11, BuNo ''A-7527'', delivered 26 October 1929, catches fire at NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C., and is destroyed after only 13:06 flight hours. ;29 November :
Bristol Type 101 The Bristol Type 101, was a British two-seat fighter prototype of the 1920s. Development Designed as a private venture, the 101 was a single-bay biplane, two-seat design of mixed construction. The fuselage was a spruce box-girder covered wi ...
, a single-bay, biplane two-seat fighter design powered by a 450 hp Bristol Jupiter VI, and later, VIA radial engine, is rejected outright by the Air Ministry due to its all-wooden construction. Continued as a private venture, it first flies at
Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church ...
on 8 August 1927, piloted by Cyril Uwins, registered ''G-EBOW''. With the VIA powerplant, Uwins achieves second place in the 1928 King's Cup race at an average speed of 159.9 mph. Subsequently used as a company hack and as a test bed for the 485 hp Bristol Mercury II nine-cylinder radial, it suffers wing centre section failure on this date while being subjected to engine overspeeding tests, the pilot, C. R. I. Shaw, bailing out successfully. This was the last wooden fighter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. ;4 December :
Curtiss B-2 Condor The Curtiss B-2 Condor was a 1920s United States bomber aircraft. It was a descendant of the Martin NBS-1, which was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the Glenn L. Martin Company. There were a few differences, such as stron ...
, ''29-28'', assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron,
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, crashes at
Goodwater, Alabama Goodwater is a town in Coosa County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,291. It is part of the Talladega-Sylacauga Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Goodwater is located near the northeast corner of Coosa C ...
, with 69 total flight hours on airframe. Pilots 2nd Lt. James M. Gillespie and Ernest G. Schmidt KWF. This was the second of four crashes of the 13 total B-2s the
USAAC The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
acquired.


1930

;24 February :Replacement second prototype
Parnall Pipit The Parnall Pipit was a single-engined, single-seat naval Fighter aircraft, fighter designed to an Air Ministry specification in 1927. Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter. Design and development The Pipit was Par ...
, ''N233'', also suffers failure of tail unit in flight, this time losing both fin and rudder,
Martlesham Martlesham is a village in Suffolk, England about two miles (3 km) South-West of Woodbridge and East of Ipswich. It is often referred to as "old Martlesham" by locals in order to distinguish this old village from the much more recent Martl ...
test pilot Sqn. Ldr. Sydney Leo Gregory Pope (DFC, AFC) bails out at under 1,000 feet over the Parnall
Yate Yate is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It lies just to the southwest of the Cotswold Hills and is northeast of Bristol city centre and from the centre of Bath, with regular rail services to Bristol and Gloucester. ...
airfield, successfully parachuting down. Flutter of rudder due to heavy tail lamp in its trailing edge which both counteracted the large horn balance as well as substantially increased the moment of inertia about an unsupported hinge tube is cause, exacerbated by a lack of rigidity in the rear fuselage. Air Ministry regards the Pipit as wholly unacceptable, and this will represent the
Parnall Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England and was originally known a ...
firm's last attempt to produce an effective fighter design. ;3 March : Ford C-9, ''29-221'', c/n 81, assigned to the AC Detachment,
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, Washington, D.C., piloted by Newton Longfellow, suffers damage in taxi accident in which it went up on its nose at
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...
, New York. ;18 March: Sole Vought XO-28, ''29-323'', a U.S. Navy Vought O2U-3 Corsair taken on charge by USAAC for evaluation. To
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, Ohio, with Project Number 'P-547'. Destroyed in a hangar fire at Wright Field this date. Joe Baugher notes that the USAAC record card does not mention any former Navy identity. ;24 March: RAF Vickers Virginia Mk X ''J7709'' of 58 Squadron is written off in a crash at
RAF Worthy Down RAF Worthy Down was a Royal Air Force station built in 1918, north of Winchester, Hampshire, England. After it was transferred to Royal Navy control in 1939 as RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), the airfield remained in use throughout the Second W ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
. ;Mid-April :The prototype Hawker Hornet, ''J9682'', crashes near
Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...
while testing with No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron at
RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...
when it loses its upper wing after a mid-air collision with an
Armstrong Whitworth Siskin The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a biplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RA ...
of No. 43 Squadron. ;22 April: Lt. Irvin A. Woodring, of the 95th Pursuit Squadron, the last surviving member of the Three Musketeers Air Corps demonstration team, while simulating combat with Capt. Hugh M. Elmendorf, commanding officer of the 95th, in view of thousands of spectators at the Army Air Corps Maneuvers at
Mather Field Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Pennsyl ...
, California, finds his
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
B, ''29-436'', c/n 1186, uncontrollable and bails out as it spins in. "While his ship was falling, and Lieut. Woodring was bailing out, Lieut. Hayden P. Roberts, flying a transmitting plane a short distance away, watched Lieut. Woodring jump, drew a sketch of the field and marked the spot where pilot and ship landed. This was immediately transmitted to the ground station by means of the Westinghouse electrical invention which was being tested by the Army at that time." Ironically, both Elmendorf and Irvin will die, one week apart, in crashes of prototypes of the
Consolidated P-30 The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2) was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with two Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals. The P-30 is significant for being the f ...
in January 1933. ;7 May :
Curtiss B-2 Condor The Curtiss B-2 Condor was a 1920s United States bomber aircraft. It was a descendant of the Martin NBS-1, which was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the Glenn L. Martin Company. There were a few differences, such as stron ...
, ''29–30'', of the
11th Bomb Squadron The 11th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force, 2d Operations Group, 2d Bomb Wing located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 11th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. The 11th is one of the oldest units in ...
, 7th Bombardment Group, is wrecked at
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
,
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, but is repaired and serves until it is surveyed in December 1933. This was third accident involving the 13 total B-2 Condors acquired by the Air Corps. ;30 June :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Douglas PD-1 flying boat, BuNo ''A-7989'', of
VP-6 VP-6 was a long-lived Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy, nicknamed the ''Blue Sharks''. Originally established as Bombing Squadron VB-146 on 15 July 1943, it was redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron VPB-146 on 1 October 1944, redesignated VP-146 on ...
in the Hawaiian Islands, is lost in the Pacific off Hawaii, only six months after delivery. Airframe had only 42:40 hrs. flight time.Bowers, Peter M., "''Sea Wings – Pt, II''", Wings, October 1975, Volume 5, Number 5, p. 46. ;15 July :1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall (1894–1930) is killed in a crash of a Curtiss P-1F Hawk, ''28–61'', out of
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, near
Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...
. Lieutenant Tyndall was a World War I pilot, Silver Star recipient, and commander of the
22d Aero Squadron The 22nd Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 2nd Pursuit Group, First United States Army. ...
. Lieutenant Tyndall shot down four enemy airplanes in combat over France during World War I.
Tyndall Field Tyndall (the original spelling, also Tyndale, "Tindol", Tyndal, Tindoll, Tindall, Tindal, Tindale, Tindle, Tindell, Tindill, and Tindel) is the name of an English family taken from the land they held as tenants in chief of the Kings of Engla ...
, Florida, opened on 13 January 1941 as a gunnery range, is named for him. With the establishment of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
in 1947, the facility was renamed
Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...
on 13 January 1948. Tyndall was the second Air Service pilot to survive by parachuting, when his MB-3A broke up on 11 November 1922 over the Boeing factory, Seattle, Washington. ;16 July :"MANAGUA, Nicaragua, July 17. – ( AP) – Walter Lee Pounders, U. S. Marine gunner and pilot, and Chalmers Lewis Martin, U. S. Marine aerologist, were killed while making an aerological flight 10 miles south of
Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicar ...
yesterday. Pounders came from
Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
, Arkansas, and his next of kin was given as his brother, James S. Pounders. Martin came from Barlow, Ohio. His next of kin was given as his mother, Mrs. Sadie Martin. The cause of the accident was not known here." ;18 August :Capt.
Ira C. Eaker General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and ...
takes
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
B, ''29-441'', c/n 1189, of the AC Detachment,
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, Washington, D.C., up for tests to see how the ship handles with 70 lbs. of ballast – the weight of period radios and their battery – loaded behind the cockpit. After initiating a spin to the right from 7,000 feet, the fighter enters a flat spin which no control inputs can stop. Eaker bails out at low altitude, skinning his nose and leg as he strikes the stabilizer, but his partially opened chute fetches up on the steep roof of a house with the pilot going over the other side, breaking his fall somewhat. He suffers an injured foot when he slams into a concrete stoop, but survives. The P-12 destroys a henhouse and burns in an apple orchard. ;1 September : Curtiss XF6C-6 racer, ''A-7147'', crashes during the Thompson Trophy race in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, killing U.S. Marine Corps pilot Capt. Arthur H. Page. The only military entry, Page gained and increased an early lead but on the 17th of 20 laps, crashed to his death, a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Marine flying field at Parris Island, South Carolina, is named Page Field in his honor. ;7 September :Capt.
John Owen Donaldson Captain John Owen Donaldson (May 14, 1897 – September 7, 1930) was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. Early life Donaldson was born in Fort Yates, North Dakota, the son of General Thomas Quinton Donaldson. He left ...
, World War I ace (eight victories), after winning two races at an American Legion air meet in Philadelphia, is killed when his plane crashes during a stunt-flying performance. He had shared the MacKay Gold Medal for taking first place in the Army's transcontinental air race in October 1919. Greenville Army Air Field, South Carolina, is later renamed
Donaldson Air Force Base Donaldson Air Force Base is a former facility of the United States Air Force located south of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base; it was deactivated in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport. It ...
for the Greenville native. ;5 October :British rigid airship ''
R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...
'', ''G-FAAW'', completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. After initial flights and two enlargements to the lifting volume, it crashed this date, in Beauvais, France, during its maiden overseas voyage, killing 48. Amongst airship accidents of the 1930s, the loss of life surpassed the
LZ 129 Hindenburg LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' (; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the ''Hindenburg'' class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was desi ...
, disaster of 1937, and was second only to that of the ''ZRS-4'', crash of 1933. The demise of ''R101'' effectively ended British employment of rigid airships; the girders of the comparatively successful ''
R100 His Majesty's Airship R100 was a privately designed and built British rigid airship made as part of a two-ship competition to develop a commercial airship service for use on British Empire routes as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. The ot ...
'' were destroyed by steamroller, and sold for scrap. ;29 December:"On Dec. 29th, the word was received that Lieut. W.H. Sherwood of this squadron, ( 16th Reconnaissance Squadron) who was on an extended cross-country to his home in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, crashed and was killed near
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
, Penna., about a quarter of a mile from his parents' home. Lieut. Sherwood was a graduate of Kelly Field, Texas, with the July, 1929 class." Lt. William H. Sherwood, assigned at
Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...
,
Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
, Kansas, had departed Rodgers Field, Pittsburgh's first municipal airport, in
Douglas O-2 The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Development The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420 hp ...
5A, ''30-186''.


1931

;18 January :"Electrical trouble in the insulation of their D.H. plane developing suddenly and without warning almost proved the deaths of two Brooks Field officers, Major C. E. Baker, Surgeon, and Lieut. Richard E. Cobb, Supply Officer, 52nd School Squadron, on Saturday, January 18th, as the two officers were making a cross-country flight from Brooks Field to
Matagorda Island Matagorda Island (), ''Spanish for'' "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. The traditional homeland of ...
for the week end. Smoke pouring from the overheated insulation wiring first gave indication of serious mechanical trouble, and Lieut. Cobb, the pilot, hastened to land. Blinded and almost overcome by smoke, however, he was unable to make a proper landing, and the airplane crashed to the ground, rendering his passenger and himself unconscious. To aggravate a situation already precarious, the gasoline tank developed a leak shortly after the plane had landed. When Major Baker and Lieut. Cobb regained consciousness, they found that had another five minutes elapsed, they would have become trapped in the flames that completely consumed the airplane. Major Baker sustained a badly lacerated forehead, and Lieut. Cobb a wrenched back. Officers of Brooks Field who investigated the accident were unable to determine the source of the electrical trouble." Aeromarine DH-4M-2T, ''22-1142'', was destroyed. Joe Baugher and the Aviation Archeology sites both list the accident date as 17 January. ;4 February :The first of three Blackburn Iris III flying boats, ''S238'', of
No. 209 Squadron RAF Number 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)Rawlings 1978, p. 324. and saw active servic ...
, based at
RAF Mount Batten RAF Mount Batten was a Royal Air Force station and flying boat base at Mount Batten, a peninsula in Plymouth Sound, Devon, England. Originally a seaplane station opened in 1917 as a Royal Navy Air Service Station Cattewater it became RAF Catte ...
, crashes into the waters of Batten Bay,
Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abou ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, U.K., while on firing practice, when the mirror-flat surface causes the pilot to misjudge his landing approach with the result that the three-engined biplane strikes the water, explodes and sinks. Nine of twelve aboard are killed, including Wing Commander C. G. Acker, "who had a splendid war record." Flying Officer F. K. Wood is recovered alive but dies soon afterward of his injuries. Lt. M. H. Ely is rescued with serious injuries, while Flying Officer C. Ryley is not badly hurt. Of eight enlisted men aboard, all but one were missing and assumed trapped in the overturned hull. Corporal W. M. Barry was unhurt. Divers are sent down to try to recover the bodies. ;7 February :Sole Boeing XP-15, ( Boeing Model 202), ''NX270V'', c/n 1151, accepted by the U.S.Army for testing at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
but never actually purchased, so no USAAC serial, suffers propeller blade failure during a high-speed dash, unbalanced engine tears from mounts. ;28 February : The sole Vought XO4U-1, BuNo ''A-8641'', first flown in February 1931, crashes this date, when test pilot Carl Harper is unable to recover from a spin. Initially trapped in the cockpit by the inertia of the spin, he escapes to parachute safely as the airframe comes down. ;6 March :Following landing trials on a simulated carrier deck at
NAS Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...
, Virginia, the sole Vought XF2U-1, BuNo ''A-7692'', was turned over to the
Naval Aircraft Factory The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...
at
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, where it operated from
Mustin Field Henry C. Mustin Naval Air Facility (IATA code MUV), also known as NAF Mustin Field, is a former military airfield located at the United States Navy Naval Aircraft Factory on board the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was ...
until it was damaged in a crash landing this date and struck off charge the same month. ;10 March :
Lockheed Y1C-17 The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very l ...
, ''31-408'', Vega Model DL1B Special, c/n 159, assigned at
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, Washington, D.C., cracks up during forced landing at Tolu, Kentucky during attempted transcontinental record flight by Capt.
Ira C. Eaker General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and ...
, pilot unhurt. Specially rigged gas lines had leaked air which shut off fuel flow to engine. Wreckage taken to
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, scrapped 22 April 1931. Was the fastest USAAC aircraft of its time at 221 mph. Total airframe flight time 33 hours. ;15 April : Keystone XOK-1, BuNo ''A-8357'', disintegrates in dive during tests this date, during a demonstration before naval officials when a piece of its
NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
-style engine
cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...
detached itself, smashed into the wings and tailplane, causing the airframe to break up in flight. Although the test pilot successfully bailed out, with the Berliner-Joyce XOJ-1 and Vought XO4U-1 (built to a slightly different specification) nearly ready for trials, BuAer decided to discontinue XOK-1 development. Sole example of Keystone-built variant of BuAero design no. 86 for a light-weight observation biplane, 40 of which were built by
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Berliner-Joyce Aircraft was an American aircraft manufacturer. History The company was founded on the February 4, 1929, when Henry Berliner and his 1922 company, Berliner Aircraft Company of Alexandria, Virginia, joined with Maryland Aviati ...
as the XOJ-1 or OJ-2. ;17 April :The second of two
Westland Westbury The Westland Westbury was a British twin-engined fighter prototype of 1926. Designed by Westland Aircraft it never entered service but played a useful role in the testing of the COW 37 mm gun. Only the two prototypes were completed. Developmen ...
twin-engine test bed fighter prototypes, ''J7766'', retrofitted with Bristol Jupiter VIII engines with reduction gearing, suffers engine-start accident at
Martlesham Heath Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and t ...
this date. With
Hucks starter A Hucks starter is an auxiliary power unit, almost always a lorry or truck, that provides initial power to start up piston aircraft engines. Invented by Royal Flying Corps Captain Bentfield Hucks, for whom it is named, the device served as a m ...
turning over engine, with the throttle accidentally wide open, the aircraft suddenly jumps the chocks and collides with the Hucks vehicle, being damaged beyond economical repair: struck off charge. ;5 May :A Royal Air Force
Hawker Horsley The Hawker Horsley was a British single-engined biplane bomber of the 1920s. It was the last all-wooden aircraft built by Hawker Aircraft, and served as a medium day bomber and torpedo bomber with Britain's Royal Air Force between 1926 and 1935 ...
fitted with a non-standard engine for tests crashed at Farnborough when the pilot Richard Waghorn lost control. Waghorn died two days later from his injuries. ;9 May :
Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
light bomber prototype, ''J9052'', modified as a naval fleet spotter-cum-fighter
Hawker Osprey The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
to Specification O.22/26, returned to Hawker after trials, is wrecked this date at
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...
in take off accident with crossed aileron controls. Pilot Gerry Sayer survives, Orders for 133 are placed, in four Marks, serving in operational units until May 1939, as well as small orders for Portugal, Spain and Sweden. ;22 May: Two
Consolidated PT-3 The Consolidated Aircraft Company, Consolidated Model 2 was a training airplane used by the United States Army Air Corps, under the designation PT-3 and the United States Navy under the designation Consolidated NY, NY-1. Development Seeing the ...
trainers, of the 53d School Squadron, collide in mid-air near
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, causing one to crash, killing one crew. "Ralph A. Murphy, second lieutenant of the air corps stationed at March field, 'sic''and Cadet Lawrence Welch, student pilot, seriously hurt yesterday (22 May) when the army training plane in which they were riding crashed at the
Riverside county Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...
'sic''air base yesterday. Lieutenant Murphy died while arrangements were being made to rush him by air to the Letterman hospital in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. During a training flight the wing of another airplane touched Murphy's ship, a training type biplane, and it nose-dived to earth from 500 feet. Lieutenant Murphy was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Murphy of Kansas City. He was a graduate of the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
and entered the air service several year ago at Brooks field, 'sic''
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
. The student pilot's home address is
East Chicago East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing act ...
, Ind." Murphy and Welch were flying in PT-3, ''28-230'', when they were struck by PT-3, ''28-251'', flown by Lewis J. Connors, 1¾ mi SE of March Field. ;27 May :Second prototype, of three,
Gloster Gorcock The Gloster Gorcock was a single-engined single-seat biplane fighter aircraft produced to a United Kingdom Air Ministry contract completed in 1927. Only three were built. Development In May 1924 Glosters received an Air Ministry contract for th ...
s, ''J7502'', experimental single-seat, single-bay biplane interceptor, first delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1928, written off in a landing crash at Farnborough this date. ;25 September : Douglas O-38B, ''31-427'', piloted by Lt. Robert Richard, collides in midair with another plane in a flight of three from
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, Riverside, California, to Crissy Field, San Francisco. Richard and observer Pvt. Ralph Farrington bail out as the plane breaks up and are rescued by the other plane in the collision, undamaged, which lands safely 15 mi SE of
Mendota, California Mendota is a U.S. city in Fresno County, California. The population was 11,014 at the 2010 U.S. Census. CA State Routes 180 and 33 run through the agricultural city. Mendota is located south-southeast of Firebaugh, at an elevation of 174 feet ...
. The remaining two planes reach San Francisco without incident. ;9 October :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Keystone PK-1 flying boat, BuNo ''A-8516'', is forced down in heavy seas and sinks. ;19 October :Sole Lockheed-Detroit YP-24, ''32–320'', crashes during tests at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. During evaluation flight, landing gear extension system fails with gear only partly deployed when in-cockpit crank handle breaks off. Through a series of violent maneuvers, test pilot Lt. Harrison Crocker managed to get the gear retracted and was planning to attempt a belly-landing, but upon orders from the ground, sent aloft written on the sides of Boeing P-12D And Douglas O-25C aircraft, he bails out. Four Y1P-24 pre-production models cancelled due to Detroit Aircraft's shaky financial situation. Two will be built as Consolidated Y1P-25s after Detroit's chief designer Robert Wood joins that firm. Second Y1P-25 completed with a supercharger as Y1A-11. ;14 December :
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
pilot
Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared p ...
(21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982), undertaking a low-level roll in
Bristol Bulldog The Bristol Bulldog is a British Royal Air Force single-seat biplane fighter designed during the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. More than 400 Bulldogs were produced for the RAF and overseas customers, and it was one of the most fam ...
Mk. IIA, '' K1676'', of 23 Squadron at RAF Woodley, Great Britain, hooks a wingtip, rolls the biplane into a ball, and loses both his legs. Undeterred, he returns to the air and becomes a renowned World War II fighter pilot with 22 credited "kills" before being downed over France, 9 August 1941. As a POW, he has such determination to escape that he is eventually sent to
Colditz Castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...
for recidivist escapees. ;17 December:
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
C, ''31-164'', of the
17th Pursuit Squadron 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
,
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
, Michigan, has midair collision with
Consolidated PT-3 The Consolidated Aircraft Company, Consolidated Model 2 was a training airplane used by the United States Army Air Corps, under the designation PT-3 and the United States Navy under the designation Consolidated NY, NY-1. Development Seeing the ...
A, ''29–115'', of the same unit, 2 miles W of
New Baltimore, Michigan New Baltimore is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,117 at the 2020 census. New Baltimore is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is located along the northern shores of Lake St. Clair. History Ne ...
, this date. Lawrence W. Koons in the P-12 and Charles M. Wilson in the PT-3 are both KWF. The trainer had previously been assigned at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, Ohio, as the sole XPT-8A, project number 'P-564', converted with a 220 h.p.
Packard DR-980 The Packard DR-980 is an American nine-cylinder air-cooled aircraft Diesel engine first certificated in 1930. The engine was unpopular despite its economy and reliability due to the unpleasant nature of its diesel exhaust fumes an ...
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
engine, but was restored to PT-3A configuration.


1932

;11 January : Great Lakes TG-1, BuNo ''A-8469'', of VT-2B, USS ''Saratoga'', on approach to Border Airport, San Ysidro, California, crashes at ~0850 hrs., killing Chief Aviation Pilot Clarence Martin Carter, and injuring Chief Aviation Pilot Robert T. Thompson. ;1 February :"An army airplane with William A. Cocke Jr. and Edward D. Hoffman aboard left Crissy field in San Francisco for Los Angeles Monday and the plane and Hoffman vanished in a storm. Cocke jumped to safety with a parachute and was found by
Sequoia National park Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief ...
rangers."Associated Press, "Harassed Air Routes Made Tragedy Trails By Slashing Weather", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 3 February 1932, Volume 38, page 1. They were flying in
Douglas O-2 The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Development The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420 hp ...
5C, ''32-182'', of the
91st Observation Squadron The 91st Cyberspace Operations Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, currently assigned to the 67th Cyberspace Wing at Kelly Annex, part of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The 91st delivers cyber warfare capabilities to combata ...
. "Lieutenant William A. Cocke Jr., who 'bailed-out' of the army bombing plane icwith Hoffman, fell in his parachute from an altitude of 13,000 feet through a blinding snow storm and landed, rangers said, on the only safe spot in Sequoia National park. Cocke said he believed Hoffman went on toward Hockett meadow, an isolated spot, 9,000 feet in altitude, about 50 miles east of
Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...
." The action code for this accident is Killed- bailed out due to weather. Cocke will go on to set a glider duration record of 21 hours, 34 minutes. ;29 April : Fairchild Y1C-24, ''32-289'', c/n 6709, of Headquarters Flight, one of four Pilgrim Model 100-Bs acquired by the USAAC and used as an air ambulance into the late 1930s, piloted by James R. Williams, is moderately damaged in a ground loop on landing at
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia.1932 USAAC Accident Reports
/ref> Repaired, it will later be wrecked 5 miles SE of
Front Royal, Virginia Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. History The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become F ...
on 28 January 1937. ;30 April : Douglas BT-2B, ''31-51'', an hour into a 1500 hrs. local flight out of
Chicago Municipal Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...
, Chicago, Illinois, suffers engine failure. Lts. Charles H. Fargo and Henry C. Sandusky try to make for open ground behind the car barns at 77th Street and Vincennes Avenue, but stay with the plane as they are over a densely populated area instead of bailing out when it becomes obvious that the glide will be short. The plane strikes a Surface Lines trolley wire on Michigan Avenue, glances off the roof of a laundry truck (whose driver leapt out uninjured) and struck the porch of a two flat house at 174 East 75th Street. The plane and house burn and both crew are killed. Six escape from the house but one man is burned when he returns inside to retrieve hidden money. The plane had departed from the 32d Division hangar, Illinois National Guard, at the Municipal Airport, and although pre-flight showed no problems, the fuel feed line apparently failed as witnesses reported seeing gas streaming from the plane before the crash. Lt. Fargo was a Chicago native whose
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
is well known in society, while Lt. Sandusky was a wartime combat pilot and a salesman for an automobile concern. ;10 May :Sole Lockheed Y1C-12 Vega, ''31-405'', c/n 158, of the 59th Service Squadron, a Lockheed DL-1 Vega acquired by the Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation, is moderately damaged at
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, while piloted by Thomas D. Ferguson. Aircraft eventually scrapped at Langley Field on 16 May 1935. ;11 May :The USS ''Akron'', arriving at
Camp Kearny Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W ...
,
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, after a cross-continent transit attempts to moor, but proves too buoyant. The mooring cable is cut to avert a catastrophic nose-stand by the airship and the ''Akron'' heads up. Most men of the mooring crew, predominantly "boot" seamen from the Naval Training Station San Diego, let go of their lines but three do not. One man was carried into the air before he let go and suffered a broken arm in the process while three others were carried up even farther. Two of these men — Aviation Carpenter's Mate 3d Class Robert H. Edsall and Apprentice Seaman Nigel M. Henton — lost their grips and fell to their deaths. The third, Apprentice Seaman C. M. "Bud" Cowart, clung desperately to his line and made himself fast to it before he was hoisted aboard the ''Akron'' one hour later. ''Akron'' managed to moor at Camp Kearny later that day. The stranded crewman provides the template for the very first rescue by
George Reeves George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series '' Adventures of Superman'' (1952–1958). His death at age 45 from a g ...
' portrayal of Superman in the first television episode of " Adventures of Superman", "Superman on Earth", first aired 19 September 1952. ;June : Lockheed Y1C-25, ''32-393'', Altair Model 8A c/n 153, ''NR119W''. First Lockheed to be equipped with fully retractable landing gear. Struck off charge after belly landing at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Hulk destroyed in tests of bottled carbon dioxide fire extinguishers at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, 27 September 1932. ;15 July :Sole prototype low-wing monoplane Vickers Type 171 Jockey, ''J9122'', is lost during spinning trials at
Martlesham Heath Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and t ...
when it enters a flat spin, crashing at
Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port and market town in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and forms part of the wider Ipswich built-up area. The town is close to some major a ...
, pilot successfully bailing out at 5,000 feet. ;24 October :"
PENSACOLA Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
, Fla., Oct. 24 - Lieut. John Wehle, marine corps student flier and son-in-law of Major-Gen.
Smedley D. Butler Major General Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940), nicknamed the "Maverick Marine", was a senior United States Marine Corps officer who fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution and W ...
, joined the '
caterpillar club The Caterpillar Club is an informal association of people who have successfully used a parachute to bail out of a disabled aircraft. After authentication by the parachute maker, applicants receive a membership certificate and a distinctive lape ...
' today by leaping safely in a parachute after his airplane went out of control. Wehle, who was practicing barrel rolling when he lost control, landed in a bayou. The plane crashed on the edge of
Pensacola bay Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle. The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacola ...
'sic''" ;27 October :"
SAN DIEGO San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, Oct. 27 - A stirring and unique air drama was played out in an impenetrable fog here tonight after 22 navy airplanes had been stranded with dwindling gasoline supplies in the sky, and at its conclusion every aviator involved was safe. As a result of the long series of emergencies which developed as the fuel ran dangerously low in the planes, one at a time, one plane was demolished, another was badly damaged, one caught fire and several others turned over and were slightly damaged. At 8 o'clock only two planes remained aloft, and they circled aimlessly about over the city watching for a break in the fog. They carried no radios and could not be told that the navy's call upon the citizens of San Diego for assistance had sent scores of motorists rushing to
Camp Kearny Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W ...
mesa to light up with the headlights of their cars an unused airport there. The
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
night mail plane, piloted by C. F. Sullivan, was en route from Los Angeles to San Diego. It carried a radio-telephone. At the request of the navy, Sullivan was asked to fly around above the fog, locate the two planes and lead them to Camp Kearny. He circled the town several times, picked up the first one and then the other of the planes and by flashing three dots and a dash with his cabin light informed them they were to follow him. The three in this strange cavalcade reached the abandoned army camp and landed there in safety amidst cheers of several hundreds of persons." ;13 November :"
SAN ANTONIO ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
, Texas, Nov. 14 - Lt. Walter Andrew Oglesby, 23, 8th Special Operations Squadron, eighth attack squadron, was instantly killed yesterday when the landing gear of his airplane caught on a high tension wire as he flew near Randolph Air Force Base, Randolph field here. The plane was demolished. Oglesby's home is in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, S. C. 'sic''" Curtiss Falcon, Curtiss A-3B Falcon, ''30-14'', out of Fort Crockett, Texas, crashed 10 miles E of San Antonio. ;15 November :On first flight of United States Navy Hall XP2H-1 four-engine flying boat, BuNo ''A-8729'', it noses straight up on take-off due to incorrectly rigged stabilizer; test pilot William H. McAvoy, Bill McAvoy and aircraft's designer Charles Ward Hall Sr. manage to chop throttles, plane settles back, suffering only minor damage. Incident occurred at NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C.. This sole prototype was the largest four-engine biplane the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
ever procured, with a wingspan of 112 feet. ;26 November :One of two Nakajima Navy Experimental Kusho 6-shi Special Bomber (''6-shi Tokushu Bakugekiki''- 6-Shi Special Bomber/Dive Bomber) prototypes, the first carrier-based dive bomber design in Japan, crashes in a rural area, killing Nakajima test pilot Tsuneo Fujimaki. Observers reported that the pilot made several attempted recoveries but each time the nose pitched down to vertical. Impact is said have driven the airframe two metres into the ground. Further evaluation of the type is suspended. For security purposes, the term "dive-bomber" was not used, the design being described as a "special bomber".Mikesh, Robert C., and Abe, Shorzoe, "Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1990, , p. 229. ;16 December :During a routine practice flight, Capt. J. L. Grisham flying Fokker Y1O-27, ''31-599'', '2', of the 30th Bombardment Squadron, is unable to get the port main Landing gear, undercarriage leg to extend more than one-quarter down, makes emergency landing in San Diego Bay off of NAS San Diego, California. He and Sgt. Clarence J. King survive, aircraft salvaged, repaired and returned to service.


1933

;8 January :Kawanishi H3K1 flying boat, the largest design in the Pacific at the time, crashes while alighting at night at JMSDF Tateyama Air Base, Tateyama on a training flight, cause given as a slow-reading altimeter. Noted naval aviator Lt. Cmdr. Shinzo Shin killed, as are two more of nine crew.Mikesh, Robert C., and Abe, Shorzoe, "Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1990, , p. 136. ;13 January :The sole Consolidated Y1P-25, ''32-321'', crashes during flight testing at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, Ohio, killing Captain Hugh M. Elmendorf due to a stall/spin. Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, is named for him. ;20 January :The sole prototype Consolidated XA-11 attack plane, ''32-322'', breaks up in midair over Wright Field, killing Lieut. Irvin A. Woodring. Woodring was the last surviving member of The Three Musketeers Air Corps demonstration team. ;9 March :Lt. Roy H. Linn, flying
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
F, ''32-98'', of the 73d Pursuit Squadron, out of March Air Reserve Base, March Field, California, in formation with other fighters of that unit, suffers engine failure and bails out above Cajon Pass, N of San Bernardino, California, San Bernardino. His chute only has time to partly inflate and he receives severe injuries when he lands on a rocky slope of a "rough canyon" a mile S of the summit. "The plane, falling in wide spirals, narrowly missed the U.S. Route 66, highway as it crashed into the underbrush. Motorists, watching it lose altitude, stopped their cars a distance away so they would not be in its path if it landed on the road. Other members of Linn's squadron flew low over the pass after the crash, but were unable to land because of the uneven ground. A passing motorist rushed the aviator to Victorville, California, Victorville, where he was given emergency treatment then taken to March field 'sic''in an army ambulance. Although painfully injured, he is expected to recover." Linn suffers a broken collarbone and possible internal injuries. The P-12 is demolished. The Aviation Archeology website incorrectly spells the pilot's name Roy H. Lynn. ;3 April :United States Navy
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
encounters severe weather and crashes into the Atlantic off the coast of New Jersey. Without lifejackets and only one raft aboard, 73 of 75 passengers and crew, including Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, are killed.Vaeth, J. Gordon, "They Sailed the Skies: U.S. Navy Balloons and the Airship Program", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2005, , pp.95–96. The ''Akrons Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawks were not deployed aboard at the time. The new Naval Airship Station at Sunnyvale, California is named Moffett Field in honour of the lost admiral. ;4 April : The French dirigible E-9 is forced down in France, injuring two.Associated Press, "Three Airship Wrecks In Day", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 5 April 1933, Volume 39, page 1. ;4 April :
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
J class blimp, J-3, ''A7382'',Swanborough, Gordon, and Bowers, Peter M., "United States Navy Aircraft since 1911", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1976, , , pp.573–574. sent out from NAS Lakehurst to search for survivors, experiences engine failure, ditches in the surf of the New Jersey shore. Two crew lose their lives.Vaeth, J. Gordon, "They Sailed the Skies: U.S. Navy Balloons and the Airship Program", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2005, , p. 96. "Flying to the scene [of the Akron crash], off New Jersey, the U. S. Navy non-rigid airship J-3 also fell into the ocean. Five of the crew of seven were rescued but the commander, found in the sea, died later and the body of a member of the crew was recovered. A photograph taken from an airplane by an Associated Press photographer shows the submerged envelope close to shore with only the rear quarter of the ship with cruciform tailfins still holding gas and above water. ;14 April :"Jumping from their planes as they crashed in mid-air over Hemet, California, Hemet, two March Air Reserve Base, March field 'sic''aviators parachuted to safety yesterday (14 April) as their planes plunged to earth and smashed to ruins. The two fliers were Lieuts. C. M. McHenry of Upland, California, Upland and Vincent Ford of Alhambra, California, Alhambra. McHenry was unhurt, but Ford suffered a broken leg as the propellor 'sic''of the other plane struck him. Despite the injury, he was able to jump from the ship and parachute to safety from an altitude of 1,500 feet. The planes, their pilots members of the 17th Pursuit Group, seventeenth pursuit squadron, were flying in formation about five miles south of the army air base, when high winds apparently blew them together. With wings locked, the ships began plunging to earth. Both pilots 'bailed out' as the craft began their wild descent and plunged to earth. Ford was rushed to the base hospital, where his condition was described as 'satisfactory' by physicians. Last night he was moved to Letterman Army Hospital, Letterman's hospital,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. McHenry and Ford were both experienced pilots, with many hours in the air to their credit." Charles M. McHenry was flying
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
D, ''31-251'', and Ford was piloting P-12D, ''31-272''. The Aviation Archeology website lists the aircraft as being from the 34th Bomb Squadron, 34th Pursuit Squadron, and the crash site as being ten miles SW of March Field. ;23 April: "Santa Rosa, California, SANTA ROSA, April 23 - An Army aviator, Lieut. S. A. Beck, 27, of Crissy field 'sic'' and a woman companion, Miss Marjorie Patricia Hughes, 24,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, were killed as an airplane in which they were flying crashed near here today. The plane, an army observation craft, struck some high tension wires after the motor had apparently failed, witnesses said, ripped apart and clattered to the ground. Wreckage was scattered over a considerable distance. Lieutenant Beck, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oklahoma Baptist college 'sic''graduate, whose father resides in Burbank, California, Burbank, and Miss Hughes were found dead in the wreckage." Lt. Stephen A. Beck was flying
Douglas O-2 The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Development The important family of Douglas observation aircraft sprang from two XO-2 prototypes, the first of which was powered by the 420 hp ...
5C, ''32-183'', c/n 1006, of the
91st Observation Squadron The 91st Cyberspace Operations Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, currently assigned to the 67th Cyberspace Wing at Kelly Annex, part of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The 91st delivers cyber warfare capabilities to combata ...
, out of Crissy Field. ;31 May:
Curtiss B-2 Condor The Curtiss B-2 Condor was a 1920s United States bomber aircraft. It was a descendant of the Martin NBS-1, which was built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the Glenn L. Martin Company. There were a few differences, such as stron ...
, ''29-36'', of the 11th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bombardment Squadron, en route from Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, to
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, suffers failure of one engine and is forced down two miles SE of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, Texas. The Associated Press report states, "Five army aviators, en route to March field 'sic'' California, from Dayton, Ohio, narrowly escaped injury when their giant bomber cracked up near here (Abilene) today. The pilot was attempting to reach the Abilene Regional Airport, Abilene airport after one of the ship's motors had cut out. The bomber lost altitude rapidly, however, and in a forced landing the right wing was clipped by a wire. A power line fell across a barbed wire fence, charging it, and a workman, running toward the plane, was slightly burned. The fliers, attached to the eleventh bombardment squadron, were Lieutenants Charles H. Howard, pilot, and John F. Mills, co-pilot; Sergeants Cecil M. Kilheffer, Harold Cooper and S. Patterson. The bomber, considerably damaged, will be dismantled and shipped to California." The Aviation Archeology website lists the co-pilot as John S. Mills. The B-2, which was delivered on 4 January 1930, will be repaired and will be surveyed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, on 22 July 1936. ;1 June: Fokker F.14, Fokker C-14, ''31-388'', tail number '2', of the 64th Service Squadron, out of
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, attempting morning flight from Riverside, California, Riverside at 0820 hrs. to Crissy Field,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, with seven aboard, finds heavy fog in Cajon Pass, and crashes just below the summit, pancaking when the pilot hooks a wingtip in the underbrush while turning to avoid rising ground. Three soldiers in the passenger compartment are killed on impact and three hurt, two critically. Pilot Lt. Charles M. McHenry was following the line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad up the pass with almost no visibility in "blinding fog" but just a few hundred feet short of the ridge top he was unable to lift the loaded transport sufficiently and the plane crashed at 0850 hrs. Killed are Pvt. Charles M. Leadbetter, of Roseburg, Oregon, Roseburg, Oregon; Pvt. Lawrence D. Romano, Syracuse, New York, Syracuse, New York; and Pvt. Addison C. Spencer, Charleroi, Pennsylvania, Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Injured are Lt. Edward D. Kennedy, Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, broken leg and severe internal injuries; Sgt. S. R. Decker, Elmira, New York, Elmira, New York, broken leg and internal injuries; and Pvt. Paul L. Blinka, Alice, Texas, Alice, Texas, broken arm and internal injuries. Lt. McHenry, flying the plane from an open cockpit above the fuselage, was not seriously injured and was able to climb down and make his way to the National Old Trails Road, National Old Trails highway where he flagged down motorists. They notified officers at the U. S. Civilian Conservation Corps, civilian corps camp at Cajon, California, Cajon who then alerted March Field officials of the accident. Physicians "despaired of the lives of Kennedy and Decker." Lt. McHenry was one of the pilots involved in a P-12 mid-air collision over Hemet, California, Hemet on 14 April 1933. ;25 June :Boeing Y1B-9A, ''32-307'', c/n 1675, '190', of the 49th Bombardment Squadron, departs Logan Field (Baltimore), Logan Field,
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
at 2020 hrs. on routine night training mission to
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, but experience difficulties at ~2200 hrs., attempts crash landing in the James River ~one mile from Rushmere Island. Bomber strikes water nose first, breaks in half, sinks, killing four crew including pilot 2nd Lt. Lewis Horvath and co-pilot H. W. Macklean. Joe Baugher cites crash date of 24 June. ;July :First prototype of two Mitsubishi 1MF10, (Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 7-Shi Carrier Fighter), completed at the end of February 1933, crashes on test flight out of Kagamigahara due to structural failure of vertical fin. Mitsubishi test pilot Yoshitaka Kajima successfully bails out.Mikesh, Robert C., and Abe, Shorzoe, "Japanese Aircraft 1910–1941", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1990, , p. 170. ;25 July:
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, suffers its worst accident to date when Sikorsky S-38, Sikorsky C-6A amphibian, ''30-399'', of the 64th Service Squadron, en route from Riverside, California, Riverside to
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
, San Diego, California, San Diego, sheds the starboard wing in flight when a wing strut fails and crashes in a hollow on the edge of the city limits of Oceanside, California, Oceanside, killing all seven aboard. Although the wreckage and mangled bodies are drenched in gasoline after the crash, the pilot apparently shut off the switches before impact and there is no fire. Dead are pilot Lt. Carl H. Murray, 29, of Filer, Idaho, Filer, Idaho, attached to the 17th Pursuit Group headquarters at March Field; Sgts. Archie W. Snodgrass,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
, Texas, and Bonnell L. Herrick, Warsaw, Indiana, Warsaw, Indiana; Cpl. Walter T. Taylor,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
; Pvts. Stanley Book, Detroit, Michigan, Albert Overend, Coronado, California, Coronado, California, and Vincent J. Galdin, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The flight departed March at 1140 hrs. and was sighted over Oceanside a half hour later at an altitude of 3,000 feet when the wing tore loose. The separated wing floated down a half mile from the main wreck which impacted in the pasture of the N. W. Glasco property. March Field investigators "said that they believed the wing had broken off in such a manner that it blocked the hatchway and imprisoned the passengers within. Apparently none of them had attempted to use their parachutes." As a result of this accident, all remaining USAAC C-6s and C-6As are withdrawn from use and scrapped. ;23 August: Three USAAC bombers of the 11th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bombardment Squadron,
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, make a practice flight over the San Bernardino Valley with orders to make landings and takeoffs from the 70-acre sod Shandin Hills Airport in San Bernardino, California, San Bernardino and then return to base. The first two do so without incident but as Keystone B-4A, ''32-130'', piloted by Lt. Kenneth P. Gardner, with five enlisted crew aboard, approaches the boundary at 0830 hrs., an "air pocket" causes the bomber to drop suddenly and the undercarriage is shorn off as the plane strikes an embankment on the edge of the field. "The pilot 'gunned' his motors, lifting the ship back into the air momentarily, and then settled down for a landing on the fuselage and the lower wings. The plane slid along for 100 yards before it stopped, its nose in the sand. The bomber did not overturn, a fact which probably saved the pilot and his crew from injury. The propellors 'sic''were bent and the fuselage damaged. An army crew dismantled the ship at the field." The airframe was transported back to March Field on trucks. ;9 October :Prototype Glenn L. Martin Company, Martin Martin B-10, XB-10, ''33–157'', assigned to the 59th Service Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia, is lost when landing gear will not extend during routine flight, Lt. E. A. Hilary parachutes from bomber, which is destroyed with only 132 flight hours. ;10 October :Fokker Y1O-27, ''31-602'', '3', of 30th Bombardment Squadron,
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
, California, en route from Burbank, California to Crissy Field, California, lands at Crissy with landing gear retracted. Both light and buzzer in cockpit that are supposed to activate when the throttles are retarded fail to function. Only serious damage is to the propellers but airframe is surveyed and dropped from inventory with 115 hours, 15 minutes flying time. Pilot 2nd Lt. Theodore B. Anderson uninjured.Pelletier, Alain J., "Fokker Twilight", ''Air Enthusiast'' No.117, Stamford, Lincs., UK, May/June 2005, pp.66, 68. ;13 October: Douglas Y1B-7, Douglas B-7, ''32-310'', c/n 1110 of the 11th Bomb Squadron, 11th Bombardment Squadron, departs
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, piloted by Lt. Kenneth P. Gardner. A few minutes into the flight, a gasoline fire begins in the port engine carburetor and as it spreads, Lt. Gardner orders Sgt. James E. Carter and Pvt. D. Russell to bail out. The pilot attempts to stay with the plane to keep it from crashing into a populous area but when the blaze spreads, he, too, takes to his parachute. The burning bomber comes down at Azusa, California, Azusa, California, and is destroyed. Carter is slightly bruised upon landing but the other two are unhurt. Gardner was the pilot of the B-4A that crushed its landing gear at San Bernardino, California, San Bernardino on 23 August 1933. ;19 October :Fokker Y1O-27, ''31-601'', '22', of the 32d Bombardment Squadron,
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
, California, during ferry flight from Rockwell to Brooks Field, Texas, pilot Capt. Albert F. Hegenberger, on leg between Tucson, Arizona and Midland, Texas, loses Prestone coolant out of starboard engine, engine temperature rises so he shuts it down. Forced down five miles short of Midland Airport, pilot does not get the landing gear completely locked down, collapses on touch down. Aircraft repaired. ;3 November :First fatal accident involving a Fokker YO-27 occurs when pilot Lt. Lloyd E. Hunting with Sgt. John J. Cunningham aboard, departs
Olmsted Field Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard facility is site ...
, Middletown Air Depot, Pennsylvania, in ''31-589'' of the 30th Bombardment Squadron at 1800 hrs. after darkness had fallen. Pilot had apparently not observed a mountain ridge, 400 to 800 feet (120 to 240 m) high, one mile from the airfield, when he landed during the afternoon, and upon departure did not see it in the dark, crashing head-on into the ridge, aircraft burned, both crew KWF. ;21 November :The experimental oversized Kalinin K-7 crashes this date whilst on its eighth test flight due to structural failure of one of the tail booms. The accident killed 14 people aboard and one on the ground. Flight International, ''Flight'' speculated that sabotage was suspected as the investigating committee had representation by the state security organization, the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU).


1934

;23 January:"Diving into the ground at terrific speed, his plane out of control, a March Air Reserve Base, March field 'sic''lieutenant was instantly killed yesterday (23 January) when his ship crashed in Moreno Valley, California, Moreno valley, a short distance from the Jackrabbit trail highway. The dead flier is John Patrick Donlin, 21 years old, of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. He was attached to the 95th Pursuit Squadron, ninety-fifth army pursuit squadron at March field and was flying a light combat plane."Staff, "Plane Crash Takes Life Of Army Aviator - March Field Lieutenant Dies Instantly as Ship Cracks Up in Moreno Valley", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 24 January 1934, Volume 40, page 11. Donlin was flying
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
D, ''31-250'', c/n 1364, of the 95th PS, when he came down nine miles E of March Field. "Army officials last night could shed little light on the circumstances surrounding Donlin's fatal plunge. The aviator was flying alone and no other pilots witnessed the crash. Nearby farmers said that Donlin was flying at a few hundred feet altitude, when his plane suddenly went into a dive. He struck at almost full speed, they declared, and died instantly. The plane did not catch fire. So quickly did the crash apparently occur that Donlin had no time to use his parachute. He was the son of Mrs. Patrick Donlin, 55 Morse street 'sic'' San Francisco, and a native of that city. A graduate of the University of California, Donlin entered Randolph Air Force Base, Randolph field 'sic'' Texas, and from there went to Kelly field 'sic'' from which he graduated last June. He was assigned to March field as a reserve officer and would have completed active duty training and been retired on May 30." ;14 February :First prototype Bulgarian DAR 3, DAR-3 Garvan ("Raven") (ДАР-3) two-seat biplane, first flown Autumn 1927 and rebuilt twice with different powerplants, written off this date in a fatal crash.(DAR – ''Derzhavna Aeroplanna Rabotilnitsa'' – State Airplane Workshop) ;16 February :Crash of Curtiss A-12 Shrike, ''33-244'', in bad weather at Oakley, Utah, kills two crew, 2d Lt. Jean Donant Grenier, from Fort Crockett, Texas, and crewmate 2d Lt. Edwin D. White Jr., 23, attached to
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, while flying an advance route to determine time and distance for carrying the mail between Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Their plane came down in a canyon during a snowstorm.Associated Press, "Lives of Four Army Aviators Lost Already", ''The Greenville Piedmont'', Greenville, South Carolina, Friday 23 February 1934, Volume 103, Number 31, page one. "The plane flown by the two men crashed in a blinding snow storm 60 miles east of Salt Lake in Summit County, Utah, Summit county, 30 miles south of the Utah-Wyoming line." Orson Maxwell, a miner, found the crew dead in their cockpits shortly after 1700 hrs., near the head of the Weber River. They had departed the Salt Lake City airdrome at 0930 and army officers became concerned when their arrival at Cheyenne had not been reported by afternoon. "The first word of their fate was phoned to Salt Lake City by Orson Maxwell, miner, who drove in a sleigh from the scene of the crash to Oakley, several miles distant. The call was received here [March Field] about two hours after Maxwell discovered the bodies in the wrecked craft." "Search had already started for them when a telephone call form 'sic''Kamas, Utah, Kamas, Utah last night told of their fate."United Press, "Blinding Snowstorm Causes Army Plane To Crash in Utah", ''Madera Daily Tribune and Madera Mercury'', Madera, California, Saturday 17 February 1934, Volume LXIII, Number 90, page 1. "Lieutenant White was a
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
resident and a University of California graduate." He entered the army flying service in 1931. He was trained at Randolph Air Force Base, Randolph and Kelly Air Force Base, Kelly fields. 'sic''Lieutenant Grenier, who was reported to have been piloting the plane, was a resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester, New Hampshire, and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire." Grenier Army Air Field, Massachusetts, later Grenier Air Force Base, is named in Lt. Grenier's honor on 22 February 1942. ;16 February :While on a familiarization flight for impending flights of the U.S. Mail, Lt. J. Y. Eastham (also reported as James Y. Eastman ), "23, of the army air corps reserves," is killed in the crash of Douglas Y1B-7, ''32-309'', in fog at night near Jerome, Idaho. "Second Lieutenant James Y. Eastman, 7th Bombardment Group, seventh bombardment group, March Air Reserve Base, March field 'sic'' was burned to death here last night when the twin engined Douglas bomber he was flying from Salt Lake City to Seattle, Washington, Seattle in preparation to the war department carrying the mail, crashed and burned. It was misty at the time of the crash and witnesses said the plane was flying low just before the crash. According to Mrs. Clarence Wilson, eyewitness, the plane came skimming in low over the trees, its motor roaring. It passed over the house, she said, then suddenly crashed into the ground about one hundred feet beyond, bursting into flame. Mrs. Wilson immediately ran into the house and called the sheriff at Jerome, six miles from the scene. The Jerome fire department was rushed to the place. Eastman's body was dragged from the still burning plane and taken to the Jerome motuary 'sic'' The victim was unmarried. His father is H. G. Eastman, who resides in Huntsville, Texas, Huntsville, Texas." ;16 February: "Another army pilot on an experimental flight made a forced landing near Linden, New Jersey, Linden, New Jersey, when he ran out of fuel." "LINDEN, N. J., Feb. 17. - (United Press International, UP) - Lieutenant Joseph W. Kelly, army pilot scheduled to fly the mails, escaped injury last night when he ran out of fuel and made a forced landing in a wooded section. Kelly was making an experimental flight from Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, to Newark, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey." ;19 February :"An hour and a half after leaving Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta with the army's first airmail plane, Lieut. E. T. Gorman, of Mitchel Field, Mitchell 'sic''Field crashed at the Greenville, South Carolina, Greenville (S.C.) Greenville Downtown Airport, airport last night after attempting five landings. He was not hurt. Circling the field in an effort accurately to read the wind sock, Gorman came in down wind at too rapid speed and overran the apron. His plane struck a two-foot hedge at the end of the field and nosed over, bending the propeller and washing out one wheel of the Landing gear, undercarriage. The mail was transferred to the northbound Birmingham Special leaving here at 10:20 and consigned to Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, where it was to be picked up by a plane sent down from Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and flown to Newark, New Jersey, Newark, N. J. Gorman arrived over the field at 9:35. It took him 10 minutes to land. After skimming over the field, he crashed into the hedge and left one wheel in a cotton field that bounds the airport on the southwest. The pilot took off from Atlanta with the first army mail plane to leave that city at 8:15, Eastern Standard time, with an 'average' load of mail. The takeoff was delayed 35 minutes awaiting a mail ship from New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans. The weather was clear and cold throughout his flight northward. The plane was due in Greenville at 9:15 but was late because of the delayed start. The schedule calls for northbound army mail planes to arrive at 9:15 p. m., and southbound ships at 5:15 a. m. Observation planes are being used." ;19 February: "Mansfield, Ohio, MANSFIELD, O., Feb 19. - (United Press International, UP) - An army biplane lay in a mass of wreckage on a farm near here today as a result of the first air mishap in Ohio as the army prepared to take over operation of the airmail service. Lost in a snowstorm while en route to take up his new assignment at Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, the pilot, Lieut, J. H. Gibson, was forced to 'bail out' when his gasoline supply ran low. He landed safely a mile and a half from the spot where his plane crashed." ;20 February: Lieutenant John C. Crosthwaite, on the first U.S. Army airmail flight between
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
and Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City, is forced down by a local storm at Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California. The next flight is cancelled. "The plane carrying the southern mail to Newark, New Jersey, Newark got as far as Washington, D.C., Washington at 2:40 a. m., where it was grounded by bad weather." ;22 February :Lieutenant Durwood O. Lowry, of the
17th Pursuit Squadron 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
,Copp, DeWitt S., "A Few Great Captains: The Men and Events That Shaped the Development of U.S. Air Power", The Air Force Historical Foundation, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, Library of Congress catalog card number 78-22310, , page 190. 1st Pursuit Group, is killed in the crash of an Air Corps Curtiss O-39 Falcon, ''32-216'', whilst carrying the U.S. Mail, near Deshler, Ohio. His mother, Mrs. Dorothy Lowry Reisdorf, of Detroit, was quoted by the Associated Press, stating, "Good as they are, these
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
fliers shouldn't have to fly at night through winter storms over unfamiliar courses that it took months for commercial pilots to learn."Associated Press, "Pilots Crash Carrying Mail – Four Army Fliers Killed, Several Injured in Their New Task", ''The Columbia Record'', Columbia, South Carolina, Friday 23 February 1934, Volume XXXVII, Number 261, page 1. Lowry's plane, carrying a capacity load (358 pounds of mail)United Press, "Crashes Of Mail Planes Fatal To Two Army Fliers", ''The Record'', Anderson, South Carolina, Friday 23 February 1934, Volume 3, page 1. on the Chicago, Illinois, Chicago-Toledo, Ohio, Toledo route, came down far off its course, in a snowstorm. The observation plane nose-dived into some woods, but Lowry managed to "throw some of his mail free before the crash."Associated Press, "Army Air Mail Pilot Dies As Plane Crashes – Flier Saves Part of Mail Before Falling; Others Are Forced Down", ''The Columbia Record'', Columbia, South Carolina, Thursday 22 February 1934, Volume XXXVII, Number 260, page 1. His plane was demolished and the mail bags were scattered for some distance behind the place at which the wrecked machine came to rest. "Lowry's body was torn to bits. He apparently had attempted to bail out, but a knot in the parachute cord is believed to have caught in a part of the plane and trapped him. Marks in the woods showed that the plane struck the ground, went forward some distance due to its momentum, and then nosed into the bank of a creek in the woods. The plane was demolished. Residents of the vicinity said Lowry apparently had trouble with his motor and had circled in a search for a landing place. Charles G. Thurston said he heard the plane pass over his farm home shortly before 6 a.m. (E. S. T.) Then he heard the motor being cut off. He said he opened a window and then heard the crash. Thurston telephoned to the Napoleon, Ohio, Napoleon Henry County Airport (Ohio), airport and then went out and found the body and the wreckage. Cutting off the ignition probably saved the wreckage from being destroyed by flames. Guarding the mail to the last, Lowry threw several sacks from the plane before the crash and it was believed all of the mail was recovered. Coroner Guy G. Boyer of Henry County, Ohio, Henry county, icwas expected to have the body removed to Napoleon. " "Failure of a wireless set to function properly contributed to the death of Lieut. Lowry, Capt. Fred Nelson of Selfridge Field said at Toledo. Far off his course in fog and snow on the Chicago-Cleveland run, Lowry tried to make a parachute jump near Deshler, O. His 'chute' caught on the rigging and he dangled there while the craft plunged into a creek bank. 'Any commercial pilot,' Capt. Nelson declared, 'would have been killed had he been up against the same circumstances which faced Lowry.' He added that 'radios have broken on commercial ships' and that 'you can't follow a radio beacon and stay on your course if your radio isn't working.'" Of 30 Curtiss O-1G Falcons built, ten were refitted with a Curtiss V-1570, Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror engine and cockpit canopy and redesignated O-39s. ;22 February :"An unidentified mail pilot was reported forced down in the vicinity of Goshen, Indiana, Goshen, Ind., without serious mishap, and the mail was forwarded by New York Central Railroad, train." ;22 February :Flying the U.S. Mail, Lieutenant Charles P. Hollstein, also given as Hollestein, "out of
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
for Washington, D.C., Washington, was forced down near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Uniontown, Pa., in a heavy fog. His plane was damaged, but he escaped unscathed and the mail was saved, according to reports sent to Cleveland airport." According to another account, he "suffered superficial face injuries, but after reporting at Uniontown, walked back into the hills to his plane and returned with the mail to send it on by train. He had been fifty miles off course when he crashed. Hollstein attributed his accident to a faulty radio." Hollstein was piloting
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
C, ''31-235'', c/n 1351, when he came down at Woodstock, Pennsylvania. ;22 February :U.S. Army Air Corps pilot Lieutenant James McCoy, also reported as H. M. McCoy, and Howard M. McCoy, flying the U.S. Mail, departed Newark, New Jersey, Newark at ~noon, but landed his aircraft in a cow pasture at Dishtown, Pennsylvania, in the Alleghenies, with a burned out engine two hours later. He was not hurt. "His ship was smashed against a clump of trees but he escaped with a cut face." He turned the mail over to the post officer at Woodland, Pennsylvania, Woodland. "For several hours officers at Newark were badly worried for him." A United Press International, United Press account states that "At Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Lieut, H. M. McCoy, saved his load of mail, bound for
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
from Newark, after his motor caught fire. He was forced down, but the mail went on by train." ;22 February :Lieutenant Frederick Irving Patrick (16 July 1893 – 22 February 1934), a native of Decatur, Nebraska, is killed in the forced landing of Boeing P-26 Peashooter, ''33–46'', c/n 1822, of the 55th Fighter Squadron, 55th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group, 20th Fighter Group,
Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Forc ...
, Shreveport, Louisiana, whilst on a flight from Barksdale to Denison, Texas, his machine coming down at a location described in one source as an emergency field 10 miles from Denison, and as being only 1.5 miles S of Denison in another. An Associated Press bulletin states that "his pursuit plane crashed into a plowed field one mile from here (Denison) at 9:50 a. m. today." Lt. Patrick had been en route to Denison to visit his father on the occasion of his birthday when he experienced a throttle control malfunction. His death was the third air fatality for Barksdale Field. He was interred with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. "He had expected to go to Shreveport, La., today (23 February) to complete organization of the air mail field there."Associated Press, "Lives of Four Army Aviators Lost Already", ''The Greenville Piedmont'', Greenville, South Carolina, Friday 23 February 1934, Volume 103, Number 31, page 7. ;22 February :"Caught in weather thick with rain and fog, Liet. Harold Diet 'sic'' crashed in a field near Marion Station, Maryland, Marion Station, Md. last night (22 February) on his way from Newark, New Jersey, Newark, N. J. to Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, Va., with mail. He was carried to a hospital with severe head injuries. 'Take care of the mails,' he said to persons who had rushed to the place where his plane had been wrecked against a tree." This pilot is also correctly reported as Harold L. Dietz, in Douglas O-38B, ''31-437'', coming down near Crisfield, Maryland, at "about six o'clock" in the evening. "He was rushed to the McCready Hospital at Crisfield, suffering from a fractured skull and internal damages." He had departed Newark at 1600 hours after flights to the west had been suspended for several hours because of bad weather over the mountains with more coming in from that direction. ;22 February :"Lieut. R. M. Barton, speeding along the Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville-Richmond, Virginia, Richmond route, was forced to land at Cocoa, Florida, Cocoa, Fla., by a heavy fog. He made a safe landing." ;23 February :A US Army Air Corps Curtiss O-39 Falcon, ''32-219'', assigned to the air mail service crashes in bad weather near Fremont, Ohio, with pilot Lt. Norman R. Burnett suffering a fractured leg upon descending by parachute. A news report states that "One ankle was broken and he suffered exposure to the bitter cold for five hours while dragging himself to a farmhouse." According to an Associated Press item, the pilot was taken to Memorial Hospital in Fremont from where he reported his condition to superior officers in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. "At the time of the accident he was flying an empty run from Cleveland to Chicago, Illinois, Chicago." Joe Baugher cites crash date as 23 August 1934. ;23 February :Three Air Corps crew are forced down in an aircraft in the Atlantic off of Rockaway Point, New York (state), New York, whilst en route from
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...
, New York, to
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Virginia, to pick up mail planes. Planes and vessels searched the sea off New York for the body of Lieutenant George F. McDermott, described by the press as the fifth flier to die in connection with the army's task of carrying the air mail. Forced down amidst "crashing waves", McDermott's two companions, Lieutenants J. H. Rothrock and W. S. Pocock, were picked up by the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bernadou (DD-153), USS ''Bernadou''. They were reported to be "weak from exposure." The vessel could not find McDermott, nor salvage the disintegrating plane. "McDermott, whose family lives in Greenfields, Pennsylvania, Greenfield, Pa., slipped to his death in the icy Atlantic hours after the plane faltered and alighted. His companions, clad in heavy flying suits and weakened by exposure, could not help him." McDermott, "23, battled side by side with his companions, Lieut. J. H. Rothrock and Lieut. W. S. Pocock, for five hours on the ice-covered wings of the plane before he died, the sixth to lose his life in connection with preparations for the army to fly the mail. Once, in the almost super-human struggle of the three to cut loose the craft's motors and keep afloat, he fell into the choppy sea. Doggedly, he swam back to where his companions could pull him aboard again. The could 'sic''was intense and a stiff wind whipped the waves high. Again McDermott's grip failed and he slid away from his companions and into the water, apparently unconscious. Rothrock and Pocock couldn't reach him, and within a moment he had disappeared. Ten minutes later rescuers from the destroyed 'sic''Bernadou - leading a fleet of ships and planes which had sought for hours to reach the pilots - reached the almost submered 'sic''craft and took off Rothrock and Pocock. James H. Rothrock was listed as the pilot of this flight, in Douglas Dolphin, Douglas C-29 Dolphin, ''33-293'', c/n 1184, one of only two of the C-29 amphibious flying boats acquired by the Air Corps. An Associated Press wire photo is published 2 March 1934 showing Pocock and Rothrock recovering in hospital. ;27 February: "Los Angeles, California, LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27. - An army mail plane, piloted by Lieut. M. J. Walsh, finished its trip from Salt Lake City on its back and on the wrong airport today. The pilot put his plane down on the Grand Central Airport (California), Grand Central air terminal instead of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, United airport, the army's base of operation for the transportation of air mail.Spectators of the accident said Walsh apparently braked before the tail skid had touched the ground and the momentum carried the plane over in a neat somersault. Walsh was uninjured, but the ship was damaged. It was not explained why he landed at the wrong airport." Walsh was flying Douglas O-38E, ''34-16''. ;4 March: "Fort Leavenworth, FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan., March 4. - Fire which followed an unexplained explosion at Fort Leavenworth today destroyed 10 army airplanes, seriously damaging a $100,000 hangar, and caused a total loss estimated by army officers at nearly half a million dollars. The explosion which started the blaze occurred early this morning, while six men were sleeping in one wing of the building. Almost miraculously, however, no one was injured by the fierce flames or the explosions which occurred one after another of the planes, all with gasoline in their tanks, became ignited. The planes which were destroyed included four observation ships, a bomber, four two-passenger B. T. type planes, and a pursuit plane. Total value of the aircraft, it was estimated, was around $150,000. Damage to the hangar, which was completed less than a year ago, was estimated at $350,000. In addition, great loss in flying equipment was reported. Considerable experimental equipment, for blind flying and other purposes, was in the hangar, and this was a total loss. Sgt. D. L. Logan, who has been at the fort the past six years, in charge of properties and supplies at the airport, said that the part of the hangar where the planes are kept was locked up last night." ;9 March :An engine fails during a night takeoff causing a Keystone B-6A, ''32–148'', piloted by Lt. Walter W. Reid, to crash near Daytona, Florida, shortly after departing the airport there, while carrying the southbound U.S. Mail. Passenger Pvt. Ernest B. Sell, the plane's mechanic, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania, is killed. "Liet. W. M. Reid, and Floyd Marshall, a private, were injured. The motors failed and the plane fell in a heavily wooden section two miles south of this city." "Barely airborne, the Keystone began to lose power. Reid fought to keep the lumbering plane in the air while Sell, in the rear cockpit, struggled with the fuel pump, trying to get the line cleared. At five hundred feet the engines quit and the bomber dropped in a stall. It slammed into a cypress swamp adjoining the field. When the splinters stopped flying, Reid and Marshall were clear of the plane and unhurt, but Private First Class Sell had not been so lucky. His head had been smashed by the impact. He was dead."Copp, DeWitt S., "A Few Great Captains: The Men and Events That Shaped the Development of U.S. Air Power", The Air Force Historical Foundation, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, Library of Congress catalog card number 78-22310, , page 208. This source also reports the survivor's name as A. M. Marshall. Reid, of Albany, Georgia, Albany, Georgia, a Reserve officer on active duty, was seriously shaken. Floyd M. Marshall, of Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, had a broken arm. ;9 March :The crash of Curtiss O-39 Falcon, ''32-217'', near Burton, Ohio, kills Lt. Otto Wienecke, while flying the U.S. Mail. Datelined from Chardon, Ohio, an Associated Press account states, "Army Air Mail Pilot Otto Wienecke, flying from Newark, New Jersey, Newark, N. J., to
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
with the mail, crashed to his death in the midst of a heavy snow squall this morning on a farm northwest of Burton, near here. Chardon is about 20 miles directly east of Cleveland. The plane was destroyed, but ten bags of mail were salvaged and brought to the postoffice 'sic''here. John Hess, a farmer in whose pasture the plane crashed, said he and several neighbors heard the plane's motors about 5 a. m. (EST). It apparently was sputtering, and Hess rushed out in time to see the crash. Coroner Philip Pease reported looking at the ship's altimeter and finding a reading of 600 feet. Hess said Wienecke apparently had no opportunity to save himself. His safety belt was still hooked when the farmer reached his side. Hess declared the snow was coming down in a heavy swirl at the time of the accident. Since the army took over the mail flights, six other army pilots have been killed, either while flying mail, making unofficial flights, or reporting to army posts." Wienecke was buried on Long Island, New York, Long Island, New York, on 11 March, with six Lieutenants of the 5th Aero Squadron as pallbearers and honors rendered by a firing squad and bugler from
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...
. ;9 March :A Douglas O-38E, ''34-18'', flying U.S. Mail crashes "in flames" on takeoff from Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing 2d. Lt. Frank L. Howard and Air Reserve 2d. Lt. Arthur R. "Duke" Kerwin.Glines, Col. Carroll V., "When the Air Corps Carried the Mail", Air Force and Space Digest, Washington, D.C., Volume 51, Number 7, page 87. The Associated Press reported that "The fliers killed last night, Lieuts. A. R. Kerwin of
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, Calif., and F. L. Howard of Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport, La., were seeking to familiarize themselves with the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne-Salt Lake City, Utah, Salt Lake City route when the plane plunged in the darkness and hit the power line." "The accident occurred about 150 yards from the Cheyenne airport. Eye witnesses said the ship developed motor trouble soon after taking off from the Cheyenne field. They said the two lieutenants, bound for Salt Lake City, circled over the city once after they took off from the field and then headed west. Their motor sputtered and the men circled again, apparently attempting to head back to the field. The plane struck the power line, turned a loop and crashed almost nose first into the ground. It made a hole three feet deep in the earth. A huge ball of fire burst from the ship and in a second it was a mass of flames, easily seen from the Cheyenne airport where employes 'sic''had been watching the plane. Before aid could reach the two lieutenants they were burned to death. The flames drove back rescuers who tried to reach them. After first striking the earth the plane bounced about 50 yards, where it came to rest. The plane was not loaded with mail at the time of the crash, as the men had taken off on a night trial run to Salt Lake City. They recently had been transferred here as the army took over the air mail lines. Although Kerwin formerly lived in Cheyenne he was unfamiliar with the airport and transcontinental air line near here. Had the men been familiar with the country near the airport it was believed by aviation officials they could have made a safe landing. There are a number of smooth fields surrounding the airport. The ship was an open type used by the army for observation purposes." ;9 March :"Hartsville, South Carolina, Hartsville, S. C., Mar. 10. ( AP) – Three army mail fliers who became lost last night en route from Richmond, Virginia, Richmond to Miami, Florida, Miami when their radio went bad landed near here in rain and fog early today with only a slight damage to the ship and no injuries to its occupants. The craft was piloted by Lieut. Allen of Michigan. With him were Sgt. Harry Shilling, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa., but now living in Richmond, and a corporal who was taken on the ship at Washington, D.C., Washington. Immediately after bringing the mail here and sending it to Florence, South Carolina, Florence 25 miles away, by motor, the men went to sleep in the rear of the postoffice icand authorities refused to rouse them for questioning. Shilling, however, had said Allen – whose first name he did not know – was piloting the ship. The sergeant did not know the name of the corporal. Shilling said they left Richmond last night about 8:30 and expected to land at Florence Regional Airport, Florence, but their radio went bad and they cruised about until they found the Hartsville Regional Airport, landing field near here." ;30 March :While on landing approach to Davenport, Iowa, Lt. Thurmond A. Wood, flying U.S. Mail in a Curtiss A-12 Shrike, ''33-246'', enters a severe thunderstorm. Attempting to reverse course, he loses control and spins in on a farm at DeWitt, Iowa, with fatal result. This aircraft probably was of the 3d Attack Group at Fort Crockett. Texas. "Wood was flying to Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha with 23 pouches of mail. The plane crashed in the field of William Mommsen, farmer living five and one half miles northeast of Dewitt. 'sic''It was discovered by Leonard McGuire, a farmer living nearby. There were no witnesses to the crash. Wood left Chicago at 7:15 p. m. for Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines."Associated Press, "Army Flier Dies in Crash While Flying Mail in Bad Storm - Twelfth Army Birdman Perishes After He Is Thought Lost Over Iowa Farmlands", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Saturday 31 March 1934, Volume 40, page 1. "His body was crushed between the motor and a load of mail he was carrying." "His body was badly mutilated. The nose of the plane was buried four feet in the ground." "The motor was torn loose." This was the twelfth Army death in the effort to fly the mail. "It marked the first fatality, however, since the army resumed the mail routes since a suspension of service." "Clinton County, Iowa, Clinton County Coroner L. O. Riggert took charge of the body. It was to be taken to Dewitt." [''sic''] "Mail pouches scattered over the ground were collected by a crowd of farmers. They were turned over to postal authorities at Clinton, Iowa, Clinton. Coroner Riggert obtained a tractor from a neighboring farmer and attempted to pull away the fuselage to get to the pilot's body. There was no fire." ;31 March: "Sacramento, California, SACRAMENTO, March 31. - Eastbound airmail was delayed approximately six hours here early today when an army plane piloted by Lieut. C. B. Stone snipped off the top of a power pole as he was preparing to land at the Sacramento Executive Airport, municipal airport. Lieutenant Stone was able to keep the plane under control and brought it to a safe landing. Because of slight damage to wings and struts, it was decided to bring a relief ship from Oakland, California, Oakland to continue the trip eastward." ;5 April: "Altoona, Pennsylvania, ALTOONA, Pa., April 5. - Second Lieut. John Leland McAlister of
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, Va., leaped to his death late today a few seconds before his army ship crashed into the side of Healy's mountain, one of the rugged peaks that stud the area known as the 'graveyard of aviators.'Three farmers in a field about five miles west of the Duncansville, Pennsylvania, Duncansville (Altoona) airport saw the reserve officer suddenly rise in the plane as it roared toward the rocky mountainside and leap from the cockpit, less than 200 feet in the air. Slashing their way through the dense underbrush and rolling terrain of 'Maple hollow,' the farmers found the body resting against a tree, 80 feet from the wreckage of the plane, which had rolled 100 feet down the mountainside. Unable to determine the cause, airmen said the pilot might have been trying to fly between Healy's mountain and Pomeroy mountain, realized something had happened to his controls and decided to risk an almost certain death by such a short leap rather than dash against the bare mountainside. The pilot's log stated he left his home port, Langley field 'sic'' this morning and made stops at Bolling Field, Bolling field 'sic''and Olmstead Air Force Base, Middletown, Pa. The last entry was 3 p. m., on leaving Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown. He was ferrying the empty ship to
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
for use in the mail service." Langley Field authorities said that McAlister joined the Air Corps as an assistant engineering officer one year ago, and that he was assigned to air mail duty recently. He was flying Curtiss P-6 Hawk, Curtiss P-6E Hawk, ''32-270''. ;14 April :The Wright Cyclone-powered prototype Polikarpov TsKB-12 is damaged when one of the landing gear legs collapses while taxiing. It first flew on 30 December 1933. ;15 April :While flying the U.S. Mail, 1st Lt. Arthur Lahman's engine on his Douglas O-38B, ''31-435'', c/n 995, '22', of Headquarters Command,
Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German (Bölling): from ...
, cuts out on approach to Newark, New Jersey, and crashes in a field. Pilot uninjured but airframe written off. Pilot name also reported spelt Arthur J. Lehman. ;23 April: Major Charles Belding "Barney" Oldfield Jr., a regional commander for the Air Corps mail western zone, neglects to lower the undercarriage of Martin B-10, Martin YB-10, ''33-147'', in preparation for landing at Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and bellys the bomber in. ;11 May :Sole prototype of U.S. Navy Douglas XO2D-1, BuNo ''9412'', c/n 1236, noses over on water landing near NAS Anacostia, Washington, D.C., after starboard landing gear would not retract, nor support runway landing. Pilot survives. Aircraft salvaged, rebuilt, but no production contract let. ;18 May: "Los Angeles, California, LOS ANGELES, May 18. - An army transport plane crashed today on Riverside Drive (Los Angeles), Riverside drive 'sic''near the Griffith Park, Griffith park airport 'sic'' but skilful maneuvering of the crippled ship prevented complete wreckage and the two men aboard were uninjured. Heavily laden with supplies from the Rockwell Field, Rockwell field 'sic''depot at San Diego, California, San Diego, the transport was on a routine supply trip to Long Beach, California, Long Beach, Griffith park and March Air Reserve Base, March field 'sic''airports. Controls failed to function and with one wing low and tail down the ship was piloted by Private Marvin P. Stadler between high tension wires and two trees which broke the crash, and neither men nor cargo were injured. Private Mason A. Garrett, was co-pilot." The craft was Bellanca Aircruiser, Bellanca C-27A Airbus, ''33-25'', ten of which the Air Corps acquired. The Aviation Archeology website lists the pilot's name as Marvin F. Stalder. ;20 May:Douglas O-2, Douglas BT-2A, ''30-223'', c/n 664, converted from an O-32A (all 30 O-32As were so modified), of the 94th Pursuit Squadron,
Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...
, Michigan, stalls and spins in at Marysville, Michigan, Marysville, Michigan, killing both crew. "Near Port Huron, Michigan, Port Huron, Mich., a Selfridge field 'sic''army airplane crashed just after takeoff, cremating Lieut. Frank J. Findlay, 30, Detroit, member of the air corps reserve, and Private George J. Scott, 27, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago. The pair were making a training flight." The Aviation Archeology website incorrectly lists the serial number for this aircraft as Fiscal Year ''31-223'', which ties up to a
Boeing P-12 The Boeing P-12/F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps , United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. Design and development Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B a ...
C. ;June :Second prototype of two Mitsubishi 1MF10 Experimental 7-Shi carrier fighters, crashes when it enters irrecoverable flat spin. Test pilot Lt. Motoharu Okamura bails out, but loses four fingers in the accident, jeopardizing his career as a fighter pilot. As a Navy captain, he later commands the 341st (Tateyama) Kōkūtai for kamikaze attacks in June 1944. ;14 June :United States Navy Curtiss XSBC-1 Helldiver, BuNo ''9225'', crashed at Lancaster, New York. Rebuilt, it will crash again in September. ;17 July: "Sunnyvale, California, SUNNYVALE, Cal., July 17. - Two young naval air officers were critically injured here today when their plant 'sic''crashed 200 feet into a flying field adjoining the Moffett Federal Airfield, naval air station. The men were H. W. Richardson, pilot, and Clinton S. Rounds, both student fliers." ;27 July :First prototype Messerschmitt Bf 108A, ''D-LBUM'', wrk. nr. 695, accepted by the ''Luftwaffe'' for competition flying, crashes, killing the pilot, Baron Wolf von Dungern, a member of Erhard Milch's staff at the ''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' (Ministry of Aviation). ;September :The Curtiss XSBC-1 Helldiver, BuNo ''9225'', crashes again, this time when a wing-fold mechanism fails, allowing wing to sweep back in flight. Airframe destroyed. Redesigned new-build airframe as XSBC-2 received same Navy serial. ;3 September :Fokker Y1O-27, ''31-599'', of the 12th Observation Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas, crashes 5 miles W of Danville, Louisiana, which community is four miles W of Hodge, Louisiana, Hodge, after starboard engine loses power. Pilot Cadet Neil M. Caldwell and passenger Pvt. Betz Baker die in crash and fire, passenger Pvt. Virgil K. Martin, riding in rear cockpit, survives with minor injuries. This aircraft has previously ditched in San Diego Bay, California on 16 December 1932. An Associated Press report in the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' on 4 September identifies the survivor as Pvt. P. K. Martin and states that he was "seriously burned". ;3 October :Martin B-12A, ''33-171'', c/n 545, of the
11th Bomb Squadron The 11th Bomb Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force, 2d Operations Group, 2d Bomb Wing located at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 11th is equipped with the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. The 11th is one of the oldest units in ...
, 7th Operations Group, 7th Bomb Group, crashed into Inyo National Forest, California, 3 killed, one bailed out. Surveyed at
March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...
, California, 7 January 1935. This accident resulted in the grounding of all B-12s. Fault traced to wing and aileron flutter and a backlash developed by the props when the engine was shut down. ;31 October :First prototype Tupolev ANT-40RT suffers engine problems on flight test out of TsAGI (''Tsentral'nyy Aerodinamicheskiy i Gidrodinamicheskiy Institut''- central aerodynamics and hydrodynamics institute), and pilot K. K. Popov makes a wheels-up forced landing at Khodynka Aerodrome. Repairs take until February 1935. It had made its first flight on 7 October. ;5 November :Pioneer Air Service aviator Col.
Horace Meek Hickam Horace Meek Hickam (August 14, 1885 – November 5, 1934) was a pioneer airpower advocate and an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is named in his honor. Background The son of a lawyer, Hickam was born ...
, (1885–1934), dies when his Curtiss A-12 Shrike, ''33–250'', of the 60th Service Squadron, strikes an obstruction during night landing practice on the unlighted field at Fort Crockett, Texas, overturns. "The field at Fort Crockett, Texas, home of the 3rd Attack Group, was too short. Because of its smallness and the roughness of its southern end, planes landing to the south, even against a light wind, made it a point to touch down between its boundary lights-the field's only lights-just beyond the shallow embankment of its northern threshold. On the evening of November 5, Air Reserve Second Lieutenants Harry N. Renshaw and Andrew N. Wynne were standing on the porch of Group Operations talking to Captain Charles C. Chauncey, the Operations Officer, watching Uncle Horace Hickam shooting night landings in his Curtiss A-12. It was close to eight o'clock as they observed the Colonel coming in for his second touchdown. They realized he was low and was going to undershoot. So did Hickam. He applied power to correct the error and then chopped it off too soon. The watchers saw the A-12's wheels hit the embankment just below its top, saw the plane flipped on its nose, skidding along the ground, the weight of its engine tearing up the turf, and then saw it snap over on its back, slewing completely around. The three men were running toward the aircraft before the sound had died. Wynne arrived first, yelling, "Colonel, are you hurt? Can you hear me?" There was no answer. The cockpit rim was flat on the ground. A group of enlisted men came charging up, followed by the crash truck and an ambulance. Even after Renshaw had driven the cab of the ambulance under the broken tail fin, with the men holding up the fuselage, they could not get Hickam free of the cockpit. It was necessary to dig a trench to do that. By the time Renshaw and Wynne had managed to get the Colonel out of his parachute and onto a litter, Captain Byrnes, the base doctor, had arrived. While the ambulance raced to the Marine Hospital, Byrnes did what he could, but it was too late. Renshaw believed his commanding officer, CO was dead before they had managed to free him from the cockpit." Hickam Field, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, named for him 21 May 1935.Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, , p. 227. ;12 December :Fokker YO-27, ''31-588'', of the 12th Observation Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas, belly-lands at Brooks this date. Airframe surveyed and dropped from inventory, 7 March 1935, total flight time 296 hours.Pelletier, Alain J., "Fokker Twilight", ''Air Enthusiast'' No.117, Stamford, Lincs., UK, May/June 2005, p. 66.


See also

* List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft


References


External links


Aviation Week

PlaneCrashInfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1925-34) Lists of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 1925 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1925, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1926, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1927, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1928, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1929, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1930, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1931, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1932, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1933, * Aviation accidents and incidents in 1934, *