Showing posts with label Curtiss airplane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curtiss airplane. Show all posts
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Saturday, November 11, 2023
the WW1 cat named Spark Plug (Veterans Day post) the mascot for an aviator squad on a Curtiss Jenny
December 28, 1917 Brooklyn Eagle ran this photo with the caption.
Spark Plug, the cat mascot, an interested onlooker.
Princeton Aviation School
Give thought to all the kitties
who served in World War One.
A battalion of the finest
who never fired a gun.
who served in World War One.
A battalion of the finest
who never fired a gun.
Whether hunting rodents out at sea,
or loyal friends to men,
these many cats had vital roles,
time and time again.
A common sight in trenches deep,
dispatching mice and rats,
the soldiers’ had a special bond
with many of these cats.
Five hundred thousand cats were sent
to serve in the Great War.
Some detected mustard gas,
whilst others were off shore.
Togo was the Dreadnought’s cat,
The Swan had their lad Ching.
Pincher was the Vinex’s mog,
it was luck they hoped they’d bring.
‘Martinpuich’ was aptly named,
by The 9th battalion chaps.
Pitouchi was the orphaned kit,
who’d survived on army scraps.
Spark Plug, Tabby and many more
were companions to the troops.
The feline unsung heroes,
those cats who became recruits.
We’ll never truly realise
just what these cats went through.
So spare a thought and give some thanks
for what they did for you!
Bain News Service on the negatives or caption cards. - Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).
Friday, March 24, 2023
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
The Pulitzer Trophy Race was Event No. 5 in the National Air Races, held near Mount Clemens, Michigan, October 1922
The races were sponsored, with the blessings of the Army and Navy, by Ralph Pulitzer, well-known American journalist.
Events were open to all comers and to all nations and therefore were not restricted to service-sponsored entries. Nevertheless, one of the few requirements imposed limited landing speeds to not more than 75 m.p.h.
This virtually ruled out foreign contenders inasmuch as foreign racing plane designers for the most part did not follow the same safety concepts as American designers. Few of their craft had landing speeds that low.
Although the races were not restricted to service-sponsored craft, they quickly became virtually an Army-Navy affair. Another cause of this situation was the fact that private enterprise could not afford the tremendous expense incidental to developing experimental racing designs.
The Navy decided to have airplanes built specifically for these races
With the gradual development of laboratory facilities for research, testing, and development, and with a growing accumulation of scientific data, the advantages realized from the design, construction, and flying of service racing airplanes did not justify the expense, risks, and uncertainties involved. Consequently the Government refused to finance further the development of special racing types. So ended one of the more colorful chapters in the history of the development of American aviation.
Lieutenant Russell Maughan, Air Service, United States Army, flying a Curtiss R-6 set Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed during the race 205.31 miles per hour
Lt Maughan had been a fighter pilot during World War I. He shot down four enemy airplanes with his Spad S.XIII C.I, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery in action. He flew in several air races and set records.
He went on to fly the Dawn-to-Dusk transcontinental flight in a Curtiss PW-8, 23 June 1924.
In World War II he commanded the 51st Troop Carrier Wing during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa.
The Pulitzer was awarded from 1920-1925 https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-pulitzer-air-races
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