Many more pictures at link
Posted on 12/27/2010 8:04:19 PM PST by nuconvert
On November 14, 1910, Eugene Ely became the first pilot to successfully launch a plane from a stationary ship. The Curtiss pusher airplane, one of the first models in the world to be built in any significant quantity, flew for two miles before Ely landed on a beach. Using the same aircraft, Ely landed on the USS Pennsylvania on January 18, 1911, while the ship was anchored at the San Francisco waterfront. He had to use a braking system made of ropes and sandbags, but he was able to quickly turn around and take off once again, proving that ideas proposed in Clement Ader's 1909 L'Aviation Militaire could work.
These rare photographs of the USS Birmingham, an armored cruiser considered to be the world's first aircraft carrier, were recently resurfaced by TechEBlog. The Birmingham, which launched on May 29, 1907, was commissioned several times before being used to patrol the northeast coast of the United States after the American entrance into World War I.
(see photos at link)
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
bump!
Many more pictures at link
We’ve come a long way since then, but amazing that some things haven’t changed all that much, like the arrested landing.
The gent in the civies looks like one of the Wright Bros.
Navair ping.
Wow...I thought it was the Langley. I guess this was considered a combination Battleship/Cruiser carrier?? Did they even call them aircraft carriers then? Did the aircraft land on the Cruiser Birmingham or just take off? The article wasn’t clear. Although apparently you could take off and land on the Battleship Pennsylvania. Absolutely fascinating and incredibly interesting. Thanks for posting this.
Both the Pennsylvania in question and the Birmingham were cruisers, not battleships. The armored cruiser Pennsylvania was later renamed the Pittsburgh to free up the Pennsylvania name for a later battleship (BB 38). The Birmingham was a light cruiser.
Langley was the first true American aircraft carrier. The temporary decks on Birmingham and Pennsylvania, laid over the turrets on one end of the ship, were really just proof of concept. As soon as the test were done, the decks were removed.
I am so bookmarking this!! Thank you nuconvert!!
Thanks for posting this, nuconvert! Shared with my daughter who was stationed on the Lincoln until last year (now in Naples).
Ahhh, ok...thanks. I was thinking they were naming battleships for states during that period. I assumed that Pennsylvania, during the time of the article was covering, was a BB.
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Hreat pics..thanks for posting..what struck me, looking at them, was how NARROW she was..according to the link..length was 423, beam was 47..she must have been fun in heavy seas..was that characteristic of design of that era..
Great pics..thanks for posting..what struck me, looking at them, was how NARROW she was..according to the link..length was 423, beam was 47..she must have been fun in heavy seas..was that characteristic of design of that era..
Does an observation balloon count such of what was used in the American Civil War, if so I do think they were used on ironclads.
Arguably its lighter than air vs. heavier than air but its a point.
Good eye! I checked Wkipedia for pics of Mitchell and Wright Bros. Sure looks like Billy Mitchell he would be 30 yo when the pic was taken. The gent walking in front of he AC is probably Wilbur Wright, 43 yo. Wilbur did a lot of pilot training for the US Army. That is a very early Wright Bros AC, stands to reason that Wilbur would be there.
Actually, they had - BB1 was the Indiana, laid down in 1991, and even she was preceded by the Texas (not the dreadnought currently at San Jacinto, but an earlier ship of that name) and the Maine (Remember the Maine?).
But Armored Cruisers (built 1989 - 1905) also bore state names. (I’ve seen the Maine classed as ACR 1, and also as a 2nd class Battleship, confusing things even more).
Most Cruisers bore city names, but the large cruisers, CBs, were named for territories (including Alaska and Hawaii).
Some of the CGNs also bore state names.
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