Replies

Although he wanted to get into some aspect of aviation, he found that the industry was not really ready for him. He believed in its future and made speeches forecasting its unlimited potential. His second career choice was automobile manufacturing. With three well-known automobile executives from the EMF Company--Barney Everitt, William Metzger and Walter E. Flanders--as backers, Rickenbacker became vice president and director of sales for the Rickenbacker Motor Company. The initial Rickenbacker designs, the first cars to have four-wheel brakes, rolled off the assembly line in Detroit in 1922.

A Rickenbacker Super Coupe. Placed in production in 1922, the Rickenbackers had advanced features such as four-wheel brakes, but the company went bankrupt in 1927.

He traveled around the country in a German Junkers, attempting to set up nationwide dealerships. However, a recession in 1925 and vicious competition led to the company's downfall. Rickenbacker resigned, thinking that might help the company, but it went bankrupt two years later. Now 35, Rickenbacker found himself a quarter of a million dollars in debt but refused to declare personal bankruptcy. He vowed to pay off every penny of debt--and did eventually, "through hard work and some fortunate business deals."

In November 1927 Rickenbacker was offered financing by a friend to buy the majority of the common stock of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He served as the speedway's president until after World War II, a job that was not time-consuming and allowed him to look for other means of income to repay his debts. He started a comic strip called Ace Drummond that ran in 135 newspapers and published a book titled Fighting the Flying Circus, both based on his World War I experiences.

All this was not enough activity or income for the hyperactive Rickenbacker, however, and he was also appointed head of sales by General Motors for La Salle and Cadillac autos. Meanwhile, he continued to give speeches promoting aviation and was involved in several crashes as a passenger during his flights around the country, miraculously escaping each time without injury. On one occasion the plane he was in hit a house, and the end of a two-by-four missed his head by two inches.

Rickenbacker was still so well-known that he always attracted crowds as a speaker. He is credited with helping to persuade the city fathers of 25 cities to develop airports, including one in the nation's capital.

Rickenbacker in 1918

In 1926 he got his first experience in commercial aviation when he and several associates formed Florida Airways. When that venture folded, Rickenbacker was appointed vice president of General Aviation Corporation (formerly Fokker), followed in 1933 by vice president of North American Aviation and general manager of its subsidiary, Eastern Air Transport.

Rickenbacker made national headlines again when President Franklin D. Roosevelt canceled the commercial airlines' air mail contracts in February 1934 and announced that the Army Air Corps would take over those routes. To show that the airlines were better qualified to fly the mail, Rickenbacker--with Jack Frye, vice president of TWA, and a contingent of journalists--flew coast-to-coast in the one and only Douglas DC-1, granddaddy of all "Gooney Birds," in 13 hours and two minutes, a transcontinental record for commercial planes. It was a public protest against what Rickenbacker bitterly denounced as "legalized murder," since three Army pilots had died trying to get to their assigned stations.

Eddie Rickenbacker received the Medal of Honor for his flying exploits during World War I.

The Air Mail Act of 1934 was passed after several more Army pilots were killed because they were untrained in instrument flying and their aircraft were inadequately equipped. The legislation changed the structure of U.S. civil aviation, establishing the Civil Aviation Authority, which was granted control over airports, air navigation aids, air mail and radio communications. Under the terms of the act, General Motors had to divest itself of most of its aviation holdings, but it was permitted to retain General Aviation Corporation and a reorganized Eastern Air Transport, with its name changed to Eastern Air Lines.

When Rickenbacker was named Eastern's general manager, he wanted to make the airline independent of government subsidy. He began to build the airline by improving salaries, working conditions, maintenance and passenger service, and making stock options available to employees. A modest profit ($38,000) in 1935 proved the worth of the changes he had instituted. Ten new 14-passenger DC-2s, the beginning of "The Great Silver Fleet," were ordered to replace Stinsons, Condors, Curtiss Kingbirds and Pitcairn Mailwings. Rickenbacker co-piloted the first DC-2, Florida Flyer, on a record-setting flight from Los Angeles to Miami on November 8, 1934.

Rickenbacker as driver for General Pershing in Northern France - WWI

Eastern at the end of 1934 was setting the pace for air transportation by flying passengers, mail and express on eight-hour nighttime schedules between New York and Miami and nine-hour schedules between Chicago and Miami to make connections with Pan American's system to South America and the Caribbean. In April 1938, Rickenbacker and several associates bought the airline for $3.5 million and he became its president and general manager. He promptly sat down and wrote a paper titled "My Constitution," which outlined 12 personal and business principles that would guide him in leading the airline. One of them was indicative of his work ethic: "I will always keep in mind that I am in the greatest business in the world, as well as working for the greatest company in the world, and I can serve humanity more completely in my line of endeavor than in any other."

A weather reporting and analysis system was inaugurated, and radio communications were improved. A reduction in fares brought an immediate increase in passenger traffic. The company became a bonded carrier, the first airline in the world to take such an action. It meant that goods entering the U.S. by air or surface craft could be transported by Eastern under bond for delivery to any city having a custom house. As Rickenbacker saw it, Eastern was the first airline to operate as a free-enterprise company--without government subsidy; for many years, it was the only one. In 1937, it was also the first airline to receive an award from the National Safety Council, after having operated for seven consecutive years (19301936) and flying more than 141 million passenger miles without a passenger fatality. However, that record ended in August 1937 with a fatal DC-2 crash at Daytona Beach.

Eddie Rickenbacker at Medal of Honor ceremony, 11-6-1930

On February 26, 1941, Rickenbacker's personal luck nearly ran out. He was aboard a DC-3 equipped as a sleeper that smashed into trees on an approach to Atlanta; 11 passengers and the two pilots died. For days Rickenbacker, badly injured, hovered between life and death, and it took nearly a year before he could get back to work. Some said that it was only Rickenbacker's cantankerous nature that pulled him through a difficult recovery. Afterward he slumped a little and walked with a slight limp.

In the journey from fighter ace to airline president, Rickenbacker's personality turned away some would-be admirers who found it hard to accept his brusqueness and caustic way of "chewing out" subordinates--in private or before several hundred people. Rickenbacker could never get used to the idea of women working for an airline, especially as stewardesses. He preferred to hire male stewards because he believed they were less likely to leave the company soon after being trained. He worked a seven-day week himself, demanded that his employees work on Saturdays, and was a fanatic about punctuality and a penny-pincher when it came to company expenses. (He had to personally approve any expenditure over $50.)

Rickenbacker at ceremony retiring last open-cockpit mailwing, 1935

But many of his associates thought his toughness was a sham and tried not to take his scathing comments too much to heart. He was always able to make instant, no-nonsense decisions, and he was fair and loyal to his employees, despite his acidic manner. Most important, he got results. He set his own annual salary at $50,000 in 1938, and it never changed over the next 25 years--despite the fact that he built the airline into one of the nation's four largest carriers during that time.

Rickenbacker continually expounded on the old-fashioned values, especially thrift. (He always put out the lights in unoccupied offices he found in his frequent prowlings around the airline's headquarters.) He started a company newspaper--Great Silver Fleet News--which carried his personal advice about living and working. One issue had this wise counsel under the heading, "Captain Eddie Says": "If you cannot afford it, do without it. If you cannot pay cash for it, wait until you can; but do not in any circumstances permit yourself to mortgage your future and that of your family through time payment plans or other devices." Subsequent editions sermonized: "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift," and "None of us here is doing so much work that he cannot do more."

Rickenbacker at Eastern Air Lines Picnic, 1940

By the end of 1941, Eastern was serving 40 cities with 40 DC-3s. There were also three Stinson Reliants used for instrument training and a Kellett autogiro that flew the mail on an experimental basis from Philadelphia's main post office to the Camden, N.J., airport.

The advent of World War II drastically changed all the commercial airlines. Eastern had to give up half its fleet to the military services and took on the task of military cargo airlift, flying Curtiss C-46s to South America and across the South Atlantic to Africa. With the government dictating what the airlines did, Rickenbacker was only able to stand by and see that Eastern held up its end.

In September 1942 Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson asked Rickenbacker to visit England as a non-military observer, to evaluate equipment and personnel because of his "clear and sympathetic understanding of human problems in military aviation." Rick asked for a salary of only a dollar a year and paid his own expenses. He was offered a commission as a brigadier general but refused it. The offer was upped to major general and again he refused. He wanted to be able to criticize whatever he found wrong without restraint.

Eddie Rickenbacker after rescue the Pacific, 1942

When Rickenbacker returned to the States that October, Stimson immediately sent him to the Pacific on a similar inspection mission, which included taking a memorized, verbal message to General Douglas MacArthur from President Roosevelt. He was en route in a Boeing B-17 from Honolulu to Canton Island when the pilot got lost and had to ditch after running out of fuel. One of the eight men aboard was seriously injured during the ditching. The men retrieved three rafts, some survival rations and fishing kits from the sinking bomber, then roped rafts together to provide a larger target for search planes.

The next 22 days became a classic survival saga. Rickenbacker, dressed in his trademark gray fedora hat and business suit, took command of the situation, although a civilian. Such a strong-willed, independent thinker would not let military rank prevent him from stating what he thought and what decisions should be made.

Eddie Rickenbacker with family, 12-19-42 [return from Pacific rescue]

No one knew where to look for them when they were overdue at Canton Island. They nearly starved and had only a few oranges for liquid until they caught some rainwater during squalls. Rickenbacker took charge of doling out the oranges and water in equal shares each day. Rickenbacker's felt hat was used to catch the water, which was wrung out into a bucket from soaked articles of clothing.

The salt water quickly corroded the weapons that several had carried from the plane, so they would not fire when a few birds appeared overhead. Fish lines netted a shark, which tasted so bad no one could keep it down. But they also managed to catch smaller fish, which they divided into equal portions. Sharks were their constant companions, continually scraping against the bottom of the rafts. Sunburn was another serious threat.

Eddie Rickenbacker after rescue pointing to head where seagull lit.

As the days dragged monotonously on and no search planes appeared, Rickenbacker cajoled, insulted and angered everyone in an attempt to keep their hopes alive. One man tried to commit suicide to make room for the others, but Rickenbacker, accusing him of being a coward, hauled him back in. When all seemed hopeless, a sea swallow (similar to a sea gull) landed on Rick's hat and he caught it. He twisted its neck, de-feathered it and cut the body into equal shares; the intestines were used for bait. As far as Rickenbacker was concerned, the incident was proof that they would soon be rescued and should not lose faith. He was convinced that God had a purpose in keeping them alive and insisted that prayers be said each night.

One man did die, however, and his body was allowed to float away from the raft as the others recited the Lord's Prayer. They all steadily weakened as time went on, and bitter arguments ensued with Rickenbacker as the focus of harsh remarks. But the airline executive believed that he must not admit defeat, and he used sarcasm and ridicule to keep the others from giving up. He later learned that several of the other survivors had sworn an oath that they would continue living just for the pleasure of burying him at sea.

Rickenbacker World Circling Tour, 1943

After the second week afloat, there were several frustrating days when search planes flew nearby but failed to see them. It was decided after some wrangling that the three rafts would be allowed to drift apart--in the hope that at least one might be seen. After three weeks, a search plane saw one of the rafts and the men were promptly picked up; another raft drifted to an uninhabited island, where the occupants were found by a missionary who had a radio. Rickenbacker's raft was located by a Navy Catalina flying boat, and once more Captain Eddie became front-page news. He had lost 60 pounds, had a bad sunburn and salt water ulcers, and was barely alive, but the famous Rickenbacker luck had held. The Boston Globe captioned his picture as "The Great Indestructible."

Although he was weakened by the ordeal and could have come home immediately to a hero's welcome, Rickenbacker continued on his mission to see General MacArthur and visit some bases in the war zone. Upon his return, he briefed Secretary Stimson and made extensive recommendations about survival equipment that should be adopted on a priority basis. Among them was a rubber sheet to protect raft occupants from the sun, as well as catch water. Another was the development of small seawater distilling kits. Both items eventually became standard equipment aboard lifeboats and aircraft life rafts.

Edward Rickenbacker on the steps of an Eastern Airlines plane.

Rickenbacker continued to serve the war effort by speaking at bond rallies and touring defense plants, and in mid-1943 was sent on a three-month, 55,000-mile trip to Russia and China via American war bases in Africa "and any other areas he may deem necessary for such purposes as he will explain in person." The mission included checking what the Russians were doing with American equipment under the Lend-Lease agreement. He was allowed a rare view of Russian ground and air equipment and returned with valuable intelligence information.

Meanwhile, a wave of affection for Captain Eddie had led to his being touted by some as a candidate for president against Roosevelt, with whom he had strongly disagreed on many occasions. He was honored, he said, but "I couldn't possibly win. I'm too controversial."

When it appeared that victory in World War II was on the horizon in late 1944, the airlines began to return to normal operations. Rickenbacker encouraged Eastern's expansion and placed orders for Lockheed Constellations and Douglas DC-4s. Those were followed by Martin 404s and Lockheed Electras. The Cold War began with the Berlin Airlift, followed by the Korean War, which forced more changes upon the airlines.

The introduction of jets to airline operations in the late 1950s caused serious adjustment problems. Rickenbacker resisted the changeover to some extent. He later recalled, "To keep up with the Joneses, we had to replace perfectly good piston-powered and turboprop airliners with the expensive new jets." He preferred that the other airlines be first to take the risk of breaking them in.

Rickenbacker did not like the way the government interfered with private enterprise and believed it leaned toward more and more bureaucracy and control. He battled the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) about routes and fares and resisted what the competition was making him adopt against his better judgment. For example, he thought the other airlines were wrong in serving hot meals and labeling them "free." Since the CAB was subsidizing his competitors, he reasoned, the costs came from the taxpayers. He predicted that passengers would eventually have to pay for liquor, which they do today. And Eastern finally had to give in and hire female flight attendants.

In 1953, Rickenbacker moved up to chairman of the board but remained general manager. In his memoirs, he proudly stated that in his 25 years as head of Eastern" "We were never in red ink, we always showed a profit, we never took a nickel of the taxpayers' money in subsidy, and we paid our stockholders reasonable dividends over the years, the first domestic airline to do so. During the postwar years, when all the other lines were in red ink and were running to the Civil Aeronautics Board for more routes and more of the taxpayers' money in subsidies, the Board would point to Eastern Air Lines as a profitable company and suggest that the other airlines emulate our example."

When a new Eastern president was appointed, Rickenbacker found it difficult to let go of the reins. The company began a slow downhill slide as competition got tougher and Rickenbacker refused to give up the power in the company he had held for so many years. One of the noteworthy innovations during this period, however, was the Eastern Air-Shuttle between Washington and New York. It began on April 30, 1961, with Lockheed Constellations and operated 20 round trips per day, flying empty or full, with no reservations required.

Rickenbacker reluctantly retired from Eastern on the last day of 1963 at age 73. He bought a small ranch near Hunt, Texas, but it proved to be too remote, especially for his wife, Adelaide. After five years, they donated the ranch to the Boy Scouts, lived in New York City for a while, and then moved to Coral Gables, Fla. Rickenbacker suffered a stroke in October 1972, but his famous luck held once more, and he recovered enough to visit Switzerland. He died there of pneumonia on July 23, 1973.

Captain Eddie's eulogy was delivered in Miami by General James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle; his ashes were buried beside his mother in the Columbus, Ohio, family plot. Four jet fighters flew overhead during the ceremony. One turned on its afterburners and zoomed up and out of sight in the traditional Air Force "missing man" salute to a brother pilot.

In an obituary published in a national magazine, William F. Rickenbacker, one of Captain Eddie's two sons, wrote: "Among his robust certainties were his faith in God, his unswerving patriotism, his acceptance of life's hazards and pains, and his trust in persistent hard work. No scorn could match the scorn he had for men who settled for half-measures, uttered half-truths, straddled the issues, or admitted the idea of failure or defeat. If he had a motto, it must have been the phrase I've heard a thousand times: 'I'll fight like a wildcat!'"

Additional Sources:

www.lib.auburn.edu
home.wanadoo.nl

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on April 05:
1588 Thomas Hobbes England, philosopher (Leviathan)
1725 Giacomo Casanova Italian writer/philanderer/adventurer (uncertain)
1752 Sébastien Erard piano/harp manufacturer
1795 Sir Henry Havelock British soldier (War in Afghánistán 1838-39)
1818 Lewis Baldwin Parsons Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1822 James Nagle Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1866
1825 David Rumph "Neighbor" Jones Major General (Confederate Army)
1827 Joseph Lister England, physician (founded aseptic surgery)
1838 Alpheus Hyatt US, invertebrate paleontologist
1839 Robert Smalls Beaufort SC, black congressman 1875-87 (Representative-SC)
1900 Spencer Tracy Milwaukee WI, actor (Father's Little Dividend, Adam's Rib)
1901 Chester Bowles Massachusetts, ambassador/writer (Conscience of a Liberal)
1901 Melvyn Douglas [Hesselberg] Macon GA, actor (Hud, Ghost Story)
1905 Bill Raisch one armed actor (Fred Johnson-Fugitive)
1908 Bette Davis Lowell MA, famous eyes (Of Human Bondage, Jezebel)
1916 Gregory Peck La Jolla CA, actor (To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur)
1917 Robert [Albert] Bloch US, sci-fi author (Hugo, Psycho)
1922 Gale Storm Bloomington TX, actress (My Little Margie, Gale Storm Show)
1926 Roger Corman Detroit MI, producer/director (Little Shop of Horrors)
1926 Milton O Thompson astronaut (Dynasoar, X-15)
1928 Peter Moore Principal (London Business School)
1934 Frank Gorshin Pittsburgh PA, impressionist/actor (Riddler-Batman)
1934 Stanley Turrentine jazz saxophonist (Wonderland)
1937 Colin Powell Bronx NY, General/advisor to President George Bush (Nat Security Affairs)/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93)/Secretary of State (2001- )
1941 David LaFlamme New Britain CT, electric violinist (It's a Beautiful Day)
1941 Michael Moriarty Detroit MI, actor (Ben Stone-Law & Order, Bang the Drum Slowly, Q, Stuff)
1941 Eric Burdon England, rocker (Animals-House of the Rising Sun)
1944 Peter T King (Representative-Republican-NY)
1949 Dr Judith Arlene Resnik Akron OH, astronaut (STS 41D, 51L-Chal disaster)
1950 Franklin R Chang-Diaz Costa Rica, PhD/astronaut (STS 61C, 34,46,60,75)
1951 Roosevelt Ferguson Arkansas, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1955 Renate Bruemmer astronaut/cosmonaut
1957 Vince Gill Norman OK, country singer (When I Call Your Name)
1958 Cammie Lusko Los Angeles CA, Guinness' World Strongest Woman
1977 Sevilay Ozturk Miss Turkey-Universe (1996)
2173 Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd New Amsterdam, Arcturus

Deaths which occurred on April 05:
0828 Nicephorus patriarch of Constantinopel (806-15), dies at about 77
1258 Julian of Cornillon/Liege Flemish visionary/saint, dies
1270 Ramban Nachmanides Talmudic scholar (Hiddushei Ha-Ramden), dies
1531 Richard Roose boiled to death for trying to poison an archbishop
1649 John Winthrop 1st Governor Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 61
1794 Georges-Jacques Danton French revolutionary leader, guillotined at 34
1869 Daniel Bakeman last surviving veteran of the Revolutionary War, dies at 109
1918 Paul Vidal de la Blanche French geographer, dies at 73
1928 Jane Ellen Harrison scholar/archaeologist, dies
1958 Jozef Brems Flemish apostole vicar of Denmark, dies at 87
1964 Douglas MacArthur US General (Pacific theater-WWII), dies at 84
1972 Brian Donlevy actor (Steve-Dangerous Assignment), dies at 73
1975 Chiang Kai-shek Nationalist Chinese leader, dies from a heart attack at 87
1976 Howard Hughes reclusive billionaire, dies at 72
1981 Bob "Bear" Hite rocker (Canned Heat), dies of a heart attack at 36
1982 Abe Fortas Supreme court justice, dies at 71
1984 Arthur Travors Harris marshal of British RAF, dies
1986 Manly Wade Wellman sci-fi author (Devil's Planet), dies at 82
1991 John Tower (Senator-Republican-TX), dies in a plane crash at 65
1991 Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr USN/astronaut (STS 33), dies at 43
1992 Sam Walton Billionaire CEO (Wal-Mart), dies of cancer at 74
1997 Allen Ginsberg beat poet, dies at 80

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BROWN JAMES WILLIAM---MAUD TX.
1967 PARKER THOMAS A.---OXFORD IN.
1968 MATOCHA DONALD JOHN---SMITHVILLE TX.
1970 CROPPER CURTIS H.---PASO ROBLES CA.
1970 CARON GILLES---FRANCE
1970 HANNOTEAUX GUY---FRANCE
1970 VISOT MICHEL--- FRANCE
1972 SPENGLER---HENRY M. II---ALEXANDRIA VA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 08/22/89]
1972 WINDELER CHARLES C. JR.---SAVANNAH GA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 08/22/89]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
2348 -BC- Noah's ark grounded, Mount Ararat (calculated date)
1058 Bishop John "Minchio",elected as Pope Benedictus X
1242 Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeats Teutonic Knights
1242 Battle on the More of Pskov Estonia
1603 New English king James I departs Edinburgh for London
1614 2nd parliament of King James I begins session (no enactments)
1614 Indian princess Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe
1621 Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return trip to England
1751 Adolf Frederik of Holstein-Gottorp crowns himself king of Sweden
1768 1st US Chamber of Commerce forms (New York NY)
1792 George Washington casts 1st presidential veto
1803 1st performance of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony in D
1806 Isaac Quintard patents apple cider
1861 Federals abandon Fort Quitman TX
1862 Siege of Yorktown VA
1865 Battle at Amelia Springs/Jetersville VA (Appomattox Campaign)
1874 Johann Strauss Sr's opera "Die Fledermaus", premieres in Vienna
1881 Transvaal regains independence under British suzerainty
1894 11 strikers killed in riot at Connellsville PA
1895 Oscar Wilde loses libel case against Marquess of Queensberry, who accused him of homosexual practices
1900 Attempted assassination of Prince of Wales in Brussels, fails
1906 St Pius X encyclical "On the Mariavites or Mystic Priests of Poland"
1911 Waldorf W Aster acquires the Daily Observer
1915 Jess Willard defeats Jack Johnson in 26 for heavyweight boxing title
1915 French begin Woëvre-offensive
1919 Eamon de Valera becomes president of Dail Eireann
1919 Polish Army executes 35 young Jews
1923 Firestone Company puts their inflatable tires into production
1927 Johnny Weissmuller set records in the 100 & 200 meter freestyle
1936 Tupelo MS virtually annihilated by a tornado, 216 die
1938 Anti-Jewish riots break out in Dabrowa Poland
1939 Membership in Hitler Youth becomes obligatory
1941 In San Francisco, Castro & Fillmore streetcars replaced by buses
1943 Poon Lim found after being adrift 133 days
1945 Kuniaki Koiso resigns as PM of Japan; replaced by Kantaro Suzuki
1949 60 year old St Anthony's Hospital burns, kills 77 (Effingham IL)
1950 Prague espionage trial against bishops & priests begins
1951 Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, atomic spies, sentenced to death
1954 Elvis Presley records his debut single, "That's All Right"
1955 Winston Churchill resigns as British PM, Anthony Eden succeeds him
1961 Barbra Streisand appears on "The Jack Paar Show"
1962 NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to an altitude of 54,600 meters
1962 St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians workers shake hands
1963 Beatles receive their 1st silver disc (Please Please Me)
1963 Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes chief of Western Samoa
1964 1st driverless trains run on the London Underground
1965 Lava Lamp Day celebrated
1971 Fran Phipps is 1st woman to reach North Pole
1971 US Lieutenant Wiliam Calley (My Lai Massacre) sentenced to life
1973 NFL adopts jersey numbering system (ie quarterbacks, 1-19)
1973 Pioneer 11 launched to Jupiter
1974 Then tallest building, World Trade Center opens in NYC (110 stories)
1976 Harold Wilson resigns as James Callaghan becomes PM of England
1976 Tom Stoppard's "Dirty Linen", premieres in London
1979 Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver wins his 1,000th game as a skipper
1979 Ex-premier Pol Jar flees out of Cambodia
1981 Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621 penalty minutes
1982 Lord Carrington, British foreign secretary resigns due to Falkland Islands war
1983 France throws out 47 Soviet diplomats
1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421)
1986 Record for a throw-and-return boomerang toss is set (121 meters)
1986 2 US soldiers & Turkish woman killed in West Berlin discotheque bombing
1987 Fox TV network premieres showing Married With Children & Tracey Ullman
1989 Orel Hershiser ends his 59 consecutive scoreless pitched inning streak
1989 Solidarity granted legal status in Poland
1990 Paul Newman wins a court victory over Julius Gold, to keep giving all profits from Newman foods to charity
1991 US begins air drops to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq
1992 Peru's President Alberto Fujimori suspend constitution & dissolved Congress
1992 Thailand General Suchinda Kraprayoon installed as president
1992 Wrestlemania VIII, 62,167 at Hoosier Dome Randy "Macho Man" Savage beats Ric Flair for title, Hulk Hogan disqualifies Sid Justice
1993 Construction begins on Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1993 Florida Marlins 1st game - beat Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3
1994 "Jackie Mason Politically Incorrect" opens at Golden NYC for 347 performances
1996 John Bobbitt is put under house arrest in Las Vegas for 120 days
1996 Marlon Brando makes anti-semitic remarks about hollywood on Larry King
1997 Galileo, 3rd Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 7)
1999 Libya handed over for trial two suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The men were to be
tried in the Netherlands under Scottish law.
2001 Dutch driver Perry Wacker was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in prison in the deaths of 58 Chinese immigrants who suffocated in his truck in Dover, England.
2063 Earth's 1st contact by extra-terrestrials (Vulcan)

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Iceland : 1st Day of Summer (or 0418)
South Korea : Arbor Day
Taiwan : Death of Chiang Kai-shek/Tomb Sweeping Day (1975)
US : Lady Luck Day
US : National Laugh Week (Day 5)
US : National Publicity Stunt Week (Day 5)
US : National Reading a Road Map Week (Day 2)

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Albert of Montecorvino
Christian : Feast of St DerfelGadarn
Christian : Feast of St Ethelburga of Lyminge
Christian : Feast of St Gerard of Suave-Majeure
Orthodox : Earliest possible Orthodox Easter (3/23 OS)
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Vincent Ferrer, confessor/priest CE (optional)
International Guitar Month

Religious History
1784 Birth of Louis Spohr, German violin virtuoso and composer. He is best remembered today for composing the hymn tunes GERALD ("I Want a Principle Within") and SPOHR ("All Things Bright and Beautiful").
1802 Pioneer Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'I am often drawn out in thankfulness to God, who hath saved a mother of mine and, I trust, a father also, who are already in glory, where I hope to meet them both."
1811 Death of Robert Raikes, 76, the English philanthropist regarded by many as the founder (in 1780) of the modern Sunday School movement.
1953 In Washington, D.C., President Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated the Presidential Prayer Breakfast. (Its name was later changed to the Annual National Prayer Breakfast.)
1969 Pope Paul VI abolished the galero (red hat) and red shoes and buckles customarily worn by Roman Catholic cardinals.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Everyone complains of his memory, no one of his judgment."

New Words for 2004...
SALMON DAY: The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die in the end.

New State Slogans...
Michigan: #@?@* mosquitoes.

Male Language Patterns...
"I'm not lost. I know exactly where we are," REALLY MEANS,
"No one will ever see us alive again."

Female Language Patterns...
Hang the picture there REALLLY MEANS,
NO, I mean hang it there!

Air Power
SPAD XIII

There can be no question that the SPAD scouts were the most successful French fighter aircraft of World War I. Indeed, many would say (and not only Frenchmen) that the SPAD was the finest fighter produced by any nation at that time. Yet, ike so many great aeroplanes, the SPAD twins, the VII and the XIII, had relatively humble beginnings.

Before the war the Deperdussin company's brilliant young designer, Louis B~chereau, designed a sleek, braced wing monoplane with an ultra-streamlined fuselage. Known as the Monocoque, because of its fuselage construction, the Deperdussin was planned from the outset to go fast. It did. In its first year, I 9 I 2, it won the Gordon Bennett Cup with a speed of I 73.97krrb'h and the following year the Deperdussin racer captured the world air-speed record at 204 km/h. Powering this stubby, but sleek little racer was a Gnome 4-cylinder rotary engine.

The full name of the original Deperdussin company was the Societie des Productions Armand Deperdussin, hence the name SPAD. Later, the company name was changed, but in such a way that the acronym SPAD could be retained (see specifications).

However, the first aircraft to use the name hardly distinguished themselves. The A2 and A4 rejoiced in one of the most unconventional - and least successful - configurations in aviation history. They were tractor aircraft (i.e. the propeller was at the nose of the aeroplane and pulled it forward) but the observer/gunner was seated in front of the propeller. This arrangement was hardly popular with the crew but the idea was to get over the problem of firing through the propeller. It was a freakish design and it didn't last.

In April 1916, the SPAD VII arrived. Designed by Bechereau, it was a conventional biplane in appearance, but it was immediately apparent that it could outperform the Nieuports that were then supplying the main fighter strength for the French Aviation Militaire. It was also a much stronger aircraft all round. The first contract was awarded in the spring of 1916. Production started almost immediately and SPAD Vhs began to be delivered in September.

The SPAD VII was powered by Marc Birkigt's marvellous new Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V8 engine which developed SOhp. Armament was a single 7.65mm Vickers offset to the right, using Birkigt synchronizing gear (no need to Sit in front of the propeller nowl). Fuel was carried under the lower wing in a fuselage tank specially curved to conform With the sleek fuselage lines, and a notable first for the SPAD VII was the fact that this fuel could be jettisoned in an emergency.

One of the very first SPAD VIIs to enter service was delivered to a 21 -year-old lieutenant in the Escadrille de Chasse N3. His name was Georges Guynemer. The fact that he claimed a victim on his second flight with the SPAD was remarkable: what was more unusual was that he shot down another three on a sortie only a few days later. However, this sad-looking young lieutenant was unusual. By the end of January, his total aircraft kills had reached 30, and because of this he christened his beloved SPAD La Hitrailleuse Volante, the Flying Machine Gun.

Georges Guynemer flew in good company. His fellow pilots in Escadrille N3 - the renamed SPA.3 but always known as Les Cigognes, or The Storks - included such aces as Capitaine Armand Pinsard (with 27 victories). Sous-Lieutenant Rend Dorme (with 23), Capitaine Alfred Hertaux (with 21) and Capitaine Albert Deullin (with 20).

The SPAD VII was so successful during this period that the other Allies all clamoured to use it. Many companies began to manufacture the VII under licence, including two British-based companies, the British Bl~riot and Spad Company at Brooklands and Mann Egerton in Norwich, Most of these British-built SPADs never found their way to the Westerr~ Front. Nevertheless, the SPAD served with great distinction in the Middle East, Belgium and Italy, where Maggiore (Major) Francesco Baracca of the Gia Squadriglia achieved 23 of his 34 victories in SPADs, before he was killed in action on 19 june 1918.

However back in the spring of 1917, a new SPAD was demonstrated to the Escadrilles de Chasse. The SPAD XIII was fitted with a more powerful Hispano-Suiza V8 engine which delivered 200hp. It also carried two Vickers 7.65mm guns mounted above the engine.

Georges Guynemer took delivery of one of these aircraft during the summer. His inevitable toll of victories seemed set to continue, but on II September 1917 he disappeared while on a patrol over Poelcapelle. The great French ace of the war had claimed his last victim, with an amazing total of 54 confirmed kills. But as always, someone was ready to take his place. Rend Fonck, who was by now also flying a SPAD XIII, had already shot down over 30 German aircraft, He went on to achieve a total score of 75 victories, making him the leading Allied ace. Eleven of his kills were gained with a SPAD fitted with a 37mm cannon, firing through the hub of the propeller. Guynemer gained four victories with a similar aircraft.

By March 1918, after Birkigt had made some hurried improvements to the new engine, which had proved somewhat unreliable, SPADs were being turned out at a remarkable rate and in fact, total French production of the aircraft reached 8472 by the time it stopped in 1919. Around 14,700 were manufactured in total, outnumbering all other World War I fighters. American interest in the SPAD was spearheaded by the successes of their two great aces, Eddie. Rickenbacker and Frank Luke, Rickenbacker scored the majority of his 26 victories in the SPAD XIII, at~d the good reports he and his fellow Americans sent backyesulted in the ambitious decision to build no less than 6000 SPADs in the United States.

The Armistice, of course, intervened in 918. Notwithstanding, the two SPAD's overall contribution to the Allies' fortunes cannot be overstated. They rank, along with the S.E.5 and the Camel, as the greatest Allied fighters of the entire war.

The SPAD was designed by Louis Bechereau, the creator of the fast Deperdussin monoplanes. The Deperdussin factory had closed down for financial reasons, but the pioneer Bleriot had reorganized it as the Societe pour l'Aviation et ses Derives (which made it possible for him to retain the acronym SPAD, which had originally stood for the Societe Provisoire des Aeroplanes Deperdussin). and Bechereau had stayed on as head of the engineering department, assisted by Mons. Herbemont, who was eventually to be his successor in the postwar period.

The first fighter plane produced by the SPAD was the two-seat A.2, an original design which was characterized by a special cabin for the machine gunner positioned in front of the engine. This aircraft was used for certain missions by the French Aviation Militaire and (much more extensively) by the Russians, but it was too complicated and not exceptionally brilliant in performance. When the technology had advanced to the point where it was possible to synchronize permanently mounted machine guns on fighting aircraft, Bechereau redesigned the A.2 as a single-seater with a fixed (instead of rotary) engine. From this design, known as SPAD V, and one of the first to use the fine new Hispano-Suiza engine, came an entire generation of first-rate fighter planes.

Technical Description

In their general structure, SPAD aircraft were a fairly conventional design for their day. The sole exception was the tie-struts at the midpoint of the wing span, so positioned as to prevent the flying and landing brace wires from whipping in flight. This innovation gave the SPAD the appearance of a two-bay biplane, although it was actually a single-bay job.

This solution, unusual but not rare in aircraft technology at the beginning of the war, gave the plane its proverbial ruggedness, which was also enhanced by other structural characteristics, such as the wing construction featuring close-set ribs, the size of the engine bearers, which extended aft to support the pilot's seat, and the strong fuselage structure. These were acquired, however, only with the trade-off of a rather high empty weight.

Aerodynamically the SPAD showed good general lines, with its almost conical fuselage and the neat rounded radiator. The machine had remarkable climbing qualities, better than those of the best British and German planes of the day, although this advantage was offset to some extent by the reduced maneuverability. The SPAD was not, basically, an 'easy' aircraft to fly, especially at reduced speed, and was apt to stall suddenly owing to its rather thin wings. But its extraordinary ruggedness permitted sudden extended dives, which could be repeated with complete confidence. Thus it could maneuver vertically in a way that the Germans could not attempt until the appearance of the Fokker D.VII.

All things considered, the SPAD could give a very good account of itself, even in dogfights. Another advantage was that it provided a stable firing platform.

The upper wing was a one-piece structure, with a slightly longer span and chord than the lower, two-section wing. The spars, which formed a box structure, were built up of a number of sections joined by linen-wrapped scarfing, probably because of the difficulty of obtaining sufficiently long spruce sections in France. The leading edges were wholly of spruce, and the trailing edges were cable, tightened and doped to give a slightly scalloped effect. Both wings were without dihedral.

The fuselage was of wood, with transverse bulkheads of heavy-gauge sheet steel with lightening holes. There were four longerons joined by transverse elements, the whole structure braced diagonally with piano wire. Top and bottom deckings were rounded.

The undercarriage legs were formed in a single piece built up from laminated poplar. The axle was articulated at the center. The function of shock absorbers was performed by elastic cord -'bungee' -between the wheels and on the steel-bound wooden tail skid. If necessary, the wheels could be replaced by skis or floats.

All variants of the SPAD were powered by 8-cylinder 90° V-type Hispano-Suiza engines, ranging in various models from 140 to 300 hp, and cooled by a nearly circular radiator with vertical shutters for temperature control. The main fuel tank was fitted beneath the main fuselage structure and connected to a fuel feed well suspended from the upper wing center section; the smaller secondary tank was fed by a pump run by the engine, which also drove the oil and water pumps.

Armament was either one or two 7 65-mm Vickers machine guns, which were mounted above the engine and synchronized to fire through the propeller. The SPAD Xll and XIV also carried a 37-mm HotchLiss cannon between the two cylinder banks, firing through the propeller hub. Le Prieur rockets could be mounted between the interwing struts.

Development of the SPAD XIII

It was the SPAD V, built towards the end of 1915, that served as the prototype for the first production machine, the SPAD VII, which was first flown in the spring of 1916 by Mons. Bequet at Villacoublay. The VII still had the 140-hp engine without supercharger and a Galia or Bloch propeller. It could reach 196 km/hr at sea level and could climb to 3000 m in 15 minutes. It was armed with a Vickers machine gun mounted above and slightly to the right of the engine which had a Birkigt synchronizer, invented by the Swiss engineer, Mark Birkigt, who had also designed the engine.

The SPAD VII was put into production at once, with an initial order calling for 268 aircraft earmarked for the French Escadrilles. Other orders flowed in from abroad, while in Great Britain two firms, British Bleriot and Mann & Egerton, tooled uo to build the VII under a licensing agreement. Deliveries began on September 2, 1916, but the fighter had its baptism of fire a month before when one SPAD VII had been sent to the front for evaluation under operational conditions where, piloted by Lieut. Pinsard, it had taken part in actions on the Somme.

The first production series were powered by the15O-hp Hispano-Suiza 8Aa. By August 1917, 495 of these new fighters had come from the factories, enough to replace the Nieuport sesquiplanes in the 'elite' squadrons.

The second series of the SPAD VII had the 175 to 180-hp Hispano-Suiza 8Ac engine. These aircraft had a slightly larger span (by about 25 cm) and rudder. This was the SPAD series with the largest number of planes registered about 6000, and the VII remained in production even after its successor, die SPAD XIII, had joined it in the assembly shops. There were not less than eight French factories busy mming out the SPAD VII (total production: 5600 machines), besides the two British firms mentioned above. The British Bleriot & SPAD produced 100 SPAD VII s for the Royal Flying Corps, and Mann & Egerton built 120 aircraft for the Royal Naval Air Service. The RFC also had a good supply from French sources. This enormous output sufficed to equip. in addition to the French and British units. five Italian, one Belgian and several Russian squadrons. In December 1917 the United States procured 189 SPAD VIIs and used them to equip seven squadrons, sending the surplus back to America for training purposes. The Russians also built a number of SPAD VIIs under license at the 'Dux' factory in Moscow.

The final VIIs were powered by a 200-hp engine, and in 1917 two machines were completed fitted with Renault 12D engines of the same power (but slightly larger dimensions) equipped-with a Hispano 8Bc moteur-canon. The first of these machines remained in the experimental stage, but the second, numbered S382, flew for the first time on July 17 and served as prototype for the SPAD XII. Three hundred XIIs were manufactured by the Bleriot, Janoir and Levasseur factories. The SPAD XII was designed at the behest of the French fighter ace Georges Guynemer, who requested a highly destructive plane capable of operating over long distances. His personal aircraft was armed with a 37-mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and a Vickers machine gun. Guynemer was thus made into a highly dangerous combatant, but an uncomfortable one. His cannon had a slow rate of fire and spewed cordite fumes into the cockpit at every shot.

Eventually the SPAD XII was fitted with the 220-hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bec, and was followed by a seaplane version dubbed the SPAD XIV, of which 40 were manufactured-mainly for the Royal Naval Air Service but also for the Channel-based French Forces Aeriennes de la Mer. A parallel conversion of the SPAD VII to seaplane configuration, built in 1916 and designated SPAD X, remained in the experimental stage.

In April 1917 the prototype of the SPAD XIII, bearing the serial number S392, flew for the first time; the test pilot was Sous-lieutenant R. Dorme. This new version of the French fighter plane had the larger dimensions of the SPAD XII and featured more rounded wing and stabilizer tips, together with a curved rudder trailing edge and an increased aileron chord. The engine was a 220-hp HispanoSuiza 8Ba with reduction gear, which was eventually replaced by the 8Be developing 235 hp. The armament consisted of two synchronized Vickers machine guns. Beginning in May 1917 this new fighter gradually replaced the SPAD Vil in the French squadrons, although the initial deliveries were slowed down owing to certain troubles with the engine. It was not until the spring of 1918 that production got into full swing and sufficient aircraft became available to equip new units formed specifically for this new fighter. Eventually there were 81 squadrons flying the SPAD XIIIs. Before the war was over 8440 machines of this type had been built by the Bleriot, Bernard, De Margay. Kellner and Levasseur factories, and a further 10000 were canceled when the war ended. A number d SPAD XIIIs were also made available to Frarme's allies: Two units of the Royal Flying Corps (Nos. 19 and 23 Squadrons) and at least two Italian units (Squadriglie 77 and 91) were equiped with SPAD XIIIs, while 37 aircraft went to the Belgians and not less than 893 to the Americans.

A single SPAD XXVI, a land version of the SPAD XIV intended for use on an aircraft carrier, was built and test-flown on November 5, 1918, a week before the Armistice. An updated and strengthened version of previous SPAD fighters was the SPAD XVII, designed by Herbemont who had succeeded Bechereau in the works.

This new machine flew for the first time in June 1918 and was powered by a 300-hp HispanoSuiza 8Fb. The XVII was a fighter photo-reconnaissance plane and carried a single synchronized Vickers machine gun and two cameras.

Later versions of the basic SPAD included the XXI, which remained on the drawing board, the number being re-allocated to a SPAD seaplane entered in the 1919 Schneider Cup race; and a two-seat fighter designated SPAD XXIII C2 which appeared in April 1918 and served as prototype for the SPAD XX, which was basically the same aircrah except for the moteur-canon; 120 SPAD XXs were built. Towards the end of the war there was also a SPAD XXII derived from the XVII with a slightly swept-back upper wing (which was to become a Herbemont trade-mark) and two pairs of struts on each side.

The long list of SPAD models would not be complete without mentioning the SPAD 62 and 72 training aircrah of two-resp. single-seat layout, derived from the SPAD VII.

How the SPADs were used in the War

War pilots, accustomed to the agility of the Nieuports, were reluctant to accept the SPAD VII; but as soon as the new aircraft had a chance to demonStrate its performance and reliability, airmen understood that here they had a plane which might enable them to achieve once again a balance with the Germans, whose new machines had outstripped theirs. This happened during the critical period of de Battle of the Somme. French squadrons which reaerved the new SPADs included the SPA.3 of the group known as Les Cigognes ('The Storks') which featured such aces as Georges Guynemer Rene Fonck, and the SPA. 8, 12, 23 and 124. DV . By October 1916 Nos. 19 and 23 Squadrons of the RFC on the Western front were similarly oquiwed. as were other British units operating in Mesopotamia. The latter received 19 SPADs, some with an additional Lewis machine gun mounted on the upper wing. The Belgian 5th Squadron received 15 SPADs. The British Admiralty had also ordered some SPAD VIIs but turned them over to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 in exchange for Sopwith Triplanes.

The first deliveries of SPADs to the Italian air arm began in March 1917, and some aircraft of the first series, powered by 150-hp engines, were assigned to the 77th and 91st Squadriglie. These were used chiefly for training and photo reconnaissance on the Isonzo front, but as other aircrah were delivered it became possible to equip-at least in part-the 71st, 75th and 76th Squadriglie. Shortly before the battles which flared on the Italian-Austrian front from the Isonzo to the Piave Rivers in October and November 1917, the 78th and 80th Squadriglie received several SPAD VIIs and the 72nd and 73rd were also supplied in part shortly thereafter. The first victory with this fighter was achieved by Maj. Francesco Baracca, one of the greatest of Italian aces, on May 13, 1917. Other Italian pilots who distinguished themselves with the SPAD included Ranza, Ruffo, Ferreri, Parvis, Olivari and Oliva: the last two also performed notable feats of photoreconnaissance.

The SPAD VII was not built under license in Italy, although the engines were manufactured by the SCAT and Itala firms. A total of 214 SPADs were used operationally by the Italians, together with 26 SPAD XIIIs, which began arriving early in 1918. Some XIII s were not uncrated and assembled until after the war had ended, and these were supplied the new Regia Aeronautica.

In France the SPAD XIII became the backbone of the French fighter aviation, where it continued in active duty until 1923. Even the SPAD XII, although smaller in numbers, won honors for itself, especially in the capable hands of Georges Guynemer and Rene Fonck.

On the Western front the SPAD XIIIs were also the mainstay of the United States Army Air Service fighter force: 16 Squadrons were equipped with them, including the glorious 94th, whose hero was Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, and the 27th, with another great American ace, Frank Luke. Apparently the British did not use this aircraft in combat, although their Nos. 19 and 35 Squadrons were equipped with it. The Belgians delivered it to a single squadron, the 10th, before the war ended.

After the war 37 SPAD XIIIs were sent to Belgium (for the Belgian 3rd, 4th and 10th Squadrons); 40 went to Poland and others were shipped to Czechoslovakia, Japan (which had already secured a license for manufacturing the SPAD XX), Persia, Portugal, Spain and Thailand. A few SPAD VIIs were also exported to Brazil, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Rumania and Thailand.

After the Armistice 893 SPAD XIIIs belonging to the US Army Air Service in France were shipped back to the United States. These machines were re-engined with 180-hp Wright-Hispano Es and used as trainers.

Specifications:
Country: France
Manufacturer: Société Anonyme Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérives
Type: Fighter
First Introduced: September 1917
Crew: 1
Number Built: 8,472
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 8 BEc 8 cylinder liquid cooled inline V, 235 hp

Dimensions:
Wing Span: 26 ft 11 in
Length: 20 ft 8 in
Height: 7 ft 11 in
Empty Weight: 1,245 lbs
Gross Weight: 1,801 lbs

Performance :
Max Speed: 138 mph at 6,560 ft
Ceiling: 21,820 ft
Endurance: 2 hours

Armaments:
Two Vickers .30 cal. syncronized machine guns.

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