Historic Hollywood Art by Jim Van Schaack

Famous Landmarks of the 20th Century

Pre World War 1 Aircraft

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Wright Brother's Flyer
Pre World War 1 Aircraft: The Wright Brother’s Flyer

Several people have claimed to have flown powered aircraft before the Wright Brothers, it is thought that their flight in the aircraft (The Wright Flyer) was the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft. In fact in November 1905 Wilbur Wright flew the Wright Flyer II a distance of three miles near Dayton, Ohio.

Orville and Wilbur Wright, the two American brothers who were inventors, and aviation pioneers were credited with inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane. Most importantly, they made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903. The brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft between 1905 and 1907. The brothers were not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, but they were the first to invent aircraft controls that made the miracle of fixed-wing powered flight possible.

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World War 1 Aircraft

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WWI Fokker German Triplane

German Fokker Triplane

It wasn’t until World War 1 that aircraft use began on a large scale. Observation balloons that were tethered had already been but to use in several wars to for spotting artillery. Germany used Zeppelins for reconnaissance over the North Sea and the Baltic and they were also used for strategic bombing raids over England and the Eastern Front.

At the outset of the war, the militay was just beginning to use aircraft. Initially, they were used for reconnaissance work. There was a high learning curve for pilots and engineers as they were forced to learn from experience. Soome planes were used as bombers, but the bombs had to be thrown out of the cockpit by hand. As more aircraft were developed, they were fitted with forward facing machine guns which, when they worked correctly, were synchronized to fire through the propeller. All this lead to the development of many specialized types of aircraft, including fighters, bombers, and ground-attack aircraft.

The new heros of the day were ace fighter pilots, who were portrayed as modern knights. The war also saw the appointment of high-ranking officers to direct air war efforts.

Initially the impact of aircraft was tactical rather than strategic. It was the aircraft’s occupants who were in direct cooperation with ground forces and they had the ability to help with ranging and help to keep artillery fire on target. It wasn’t long before the use of aircraft was looked at to play strategic roles in future wars.

WORLD WAR 1 AIRCRAFT Fokker Dr. L German Triplane, Fighter
Manufacturer: Anthony Fokker, Germany
Length: 18’-11”, height: 9’-8”, wingspan: 23’-7”, engine: Oberursel ur,11 9-cylinder, 110 horse power
Range: 185 miles, Max. Speed: 115 mph, Ceiling: 20,000 feet
Gross Weight: 1,292 pounds.

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Post World War 2 Aircraft

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After World War 2 the cold war dictated the continued development of aircraft capable of long range targeting and reconnaissance using stealth and speed, as well as multirole combat aircraft that could fight as well as attack. There was a push for better stealth technology in aircraft that was designed to avoid detection using a variety of advanced technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio-frequency spectrum, and audio. American strategic bombers featured low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses that could deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. Reconnaissance military aircraft, manned or unmanned, were designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance, collecting imagery intelligence, signals intelligence, and measurement. Multirole combat aircraft also needed to be carrier capable. Soon cost began to force new and better, less expensive design and development.

POST WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT SR-71 Blackbird, Reconnaissance
Manufacturer: Lockheed
Length: 107’-5”, Height: 18’-6”, Wingspan: 55’-7”, Engines: 2, Pratt & Whitney J58, 35,500 p. T..
Range: 2,900 miles, Max. Speed: 2,000 mph, Ceiling: 85,000 feet.

POST WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT F/A-18 Hornet Fighter, Attack
Manufacturer: McDonald Douglas / Boeing
Length: 56’-0”, Height: 15’-4”, Wingspan: 40’-0”, Engines: 2, General Electric, f404-ge-402, 17,751 lb thrust each.
Range: 330 miles combat, 2,o70 miles ferry, Max Speed: mach 1.8, 1,127 mph, Ceiling: 50,000 feet.
Gross Weight: 51,550 pounds.

POST WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT  U-2 Spy Aircraft, High Altitude Reconnaissance
Manufacturer: Lockheed
Length: 62’-9”, height: 16’-1”, Wingspan: 103’-0”, Engine: 1, Pratt & Whitney j75-p-131, 17,000 lbf (76 kn).
Range: 3,500 miles, Max. Speed: 510 mph, Ceiling: 90,000 feet.
Gross Weight: 40,000 pounds.

POST WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT  B-2 Stealth Bomber or B-2 Spirit
Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
Length: 69’-0”, Height: 17’-0”, Wingspan: 172’-0”, Engines: 4, General Electric, f-118-ge-100, 77kn each.
Range: 6000 miles, Max. Speed: high subsonic, <331m/second. Ceiling: 50,000 feet.
Gross weight: 360,000 pounds.

POST WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT  XB-70A Valkyrie, Experimental Bomber
Manufacturer: North American
Length: 185’-10”, Height 30’-9”, Wingspan 105’-0”. Engines: General Electric J-93 Turbojets, 6, 30,000 pounds thrust each.
Range: 4,288 miles, max. Speed: 2,056 mph, Ceiling: 77,350 feet.
Gross Weight: 534,799 pounds.
XB-70A is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, in Dayton, Ohio.

POST WORLD WAR 2 F-117 Nighthawk, Stealth Fighter
Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
Length: 63’-9”, Height: 12’-9”, Wingspan: 43’-4”, Engines: 2, General Electric, f404, 10,600 lb, (48.0 kn) each.
Range: 535 miles, Max. Speed: 700 mph, Ceiling: 33,000 feet.
Gross Weight: 52,500 pounds.

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World War 2 Aircraft

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Setting Aircraft Combat Standards

At the beginning of World War 2, American aircraft were not seen in combat. It wasn’t until 2 years later, December 7, 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor using Japanese aircraft that the United States declared war on the Axis powers.

Americans did have a hand in the war effort during those first two years, however. The Wright brothers were manufacturing and selling materials, including airplane engines and parts, to the Allied Forces, mainly Britain and the Commonwealth countries like Australia, Canada and New-Zealand, as early as 1939. We also found American pilots fighting on a volunteer basis in Europe flying British aircraft.

After hundreds of Japanese aircraft destroyed the Pearl Harbor fleet and many of the Air Force bases on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, the U.S. became engaged in the war and this pushed the U.S. war effort into full swing.

The determination and enormous economic power of the United States changed the course of World War 2, and helped set the standard for aircraft combat by producing more powerful bombers, faster fighters and rocket and jet-propelled airframes and all this produced a new era of powered, heavier-than-air flight. World War 2 utilized a combination of different aircraft including fighters, interceptors, reconnaissance, anti-ship, ground attack and specialized platforms for a wide variety of mission.

Several combat aircraft were designed and built in the United States. Among the most famous, were the P-51 Mustang, the F4U Corsair, and the B-29 Superforteress, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The B-29 Superfortress would later become the backbone of the Strategic Air Command, the deterrence arm of U.S. military aviation.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – F4U Corsair, Fighter
Manufacturer: Chance- Vought
Length: 33’-8”, Height: 16’-1”, Wingspan: 41’-0”, Engine: Pratt & Whitney r-2800, 2,450 horse power.
Range: 1,560 miles, Max. Speed 446 mph, Ceiling: 41,500 feet, Gross Weight: 14,670 pounds.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – B-17 Flying Fortress, Bomber
Manufacturer: Boeing
Length: 74’-4”, Height: 19’-2”, Wingspan: 103’-9”, Engines: wright r-1820-97, 1,200 hp each.
Range: 2,000 miles, Max. Speed: 287 mph, Ceiling: 35,600 feet
Gross Weight: 36,135 pounds.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – B-17s and P-51s on a Bombing Mission

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – Hk-1 Hughes Flying Boat
Length: 218’-8”, Height: 79’-4”, Wingspan: 319’-11”, Engines: 8, Pratt & Whitney r-4360, 3,000 hp each.
Range: 3,000 miles, Ceiling: 20,900 feet
Gross Weight: 400,000 pounds.

Designated HK-1 for the joint venture to build a transport boat that can fly, By Howard Hughes and boat builder Henry Kaiser. HK-1 is the worlds largest aircraft. It is constructed of wood thus it’s nickname, “spruce goose”. Hughes designed & built HK-1, and on november 2, 1947 during taxi trials, With Hughes at the controls the HK-1 flew one mile, it never flew again. The HK-1 can be seen at the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinville, Oregon.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – B-24 Liberator, Bomber
Manufacturer: Consolidated
Length: 66’-4”, Height: 17’-11”, Wingspan: 110’-0”, Engines: Pratt & Whitney r-1830-43, 1,200 hp each.
Range: 2,300 miles, Max. Speed:303 mph, Ceiling: 32,000 feet.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – P-38 Lightening, Pursuit
Manufacturer: Lockheed
Length: 37’-10”, Height: 12’-10”, Wingspan: 52’-0”, Engines: 2, Allison v-1710-111/113, 1,475 hp each.
Range: 1,100 miles, Max Speed: 414 mph, Ceiling: 40,000 feet, Gross Weight: 20,700 pounds.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – B-25 Mitchell, Bomber
Manufacturer: North American
Length: 52’-11”, Height: 16’-4”, Wingspan: 67’-7”, Engines: 2, wright r-2600-13, 1700 hp each.
Range: 1,350 Miles, Max. Speed: 272 mph, Ceiling: 24,200 feet
Gross Weight: 34,999 pounds.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT– P-51 Mustang, Pursuit
Manufacturer: North American
Length: 32’-3”, Height: 13’-8”, Wingspan: 37’-0”, Engine: 1, Rolls Royce, Merlin v-1650, 1,695 hp.
Range: 1,000 miles, Max. Speed: 437 mph, Ceiling: 41,900 feet, Gross Weight: 9,200 pounds.

WWII – B-29 Superfortress, Bomber
Manufacturer: Boeing
Length: 99’-0”, Height: 27’-9”, Wingspan: 141’-3”, Engines: 4, Wright r-3350-23, 2,200 hp each.
Range: 5,830 miles, Max. Speed: 365 mph, Ceiling: 31,850 feet
Gross Weight: 105,000 pounds.

WORLD WAR 2 AIRCRAFT – P-40 Warhawk, Pursuit
Manufacturer: Curtiss
Length: 33’-4”, Height: 12’-4”, Wingspan: 37’-4”, Engine: Allison v-1710-99, 1,200 hp.
Range: 750 miles, Max. Speed: 343 mph, Ceiling: 30,000 feet
Gross Weight: 8,400 pounds.

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