Oddly enough, only the May and December 1932 covers are remotely science fiction. The rest are state of the art, but very real, contemporary (as of the cover dates) technology. April '27 shows one of the Westland-Hill Pterodactyl aircraft. December '27 shows the Italian Norge airship. August '30 shows the Bennie Railplane. And, December '54 shows a US Navy aviator in an early pressure suit on top of a Vought F7U Cutlass fighter.
There's not a lot of easy online references to pressure suits online, but the last illustration shows what appears to be a derivative of the B. F. Goodrich XH-5 pressure suit which dates to the mid-40s. The Navy was responsible for pressure suit development by the 50s (the Air Force was developing partial pressure suits). The aircraft is pretty definitely an early F7U, right down to the small air ducts above the exhausts. I'm skeptical that this represents anything other than a fanciful rendering, as by the 50s Navy pressure suits were very similar to the iconic silver suits the Mercury astronauts wore, but in olive drab or orange. So, in actuality, the illustration shows a pilot in an obsolete suit atop an aircraft which was by then being removed from operational use as it was too dang dangerous to fly...
Oddly enough, only the May and December 1932 covers are remotely science fiction. The rest are state of the art, but very real, contemporary (as of the cover dates) technology. April '27 shows one of the Westland-Hill Pterodactyl aircraft. December '27 shows the Italian Norge airship. August '30 shows the Bennie Railplane. And, December '54 shows a US Navy aviator in an early pressure suit on top of a Vought F7U Cutlass fighter.
ReplyDeleteyou sure about that last photo? And that monorail was legit? With propellers front and back? Well.. huh! Thanks!
DeleteWell, I did provide links ;^)
DeleteThere's not a lot of easy online references to pressure suits online, but the last illustration shows what appears to be a derivative of the B. F. Goodrich XH-5 pressure suit which dates to the mid-40s. The Navy was responsible for pressure suit development by the 50s (the Air Force was developing partial pressure suits). The aircraft is pretty definitely an early F7U, right down to the small air ducts above the exhausts. I'm skeptical that this represents anything other than a fanciful rendering, as by the 50s Navy pressure suits were very similar to the iconic silver suits the Mercury astronauts wore, but in olive drab or orange. So, in actuality, the illustration shows a pilot in an obsolete suit atop an aircraft which was by then being removed from operational use as it was too dang dangerous to fly...