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  • RAF Alert Shack

    The dispersal, or Royal Air Force alert shack, sat at the end of a runway and sheltered pilots standing alert waiting to defend the area from enemy attack. It was boring duty and one pilot claimed to have counted every board and nail in the flimsy building. Pulling alert was like an actor waiting to

  • RAF Accumulator Trolley (Battery Start Cart)

    These trolleys were a common sight at airfields around Britain during World War II. Both the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces made use of battery carts to provide additional starting power for the piston engines of their combat aircraft. This particular trolley is equipped with an attached

  • Flight Training on the Eve of WWII

    During the Depression of the 1930s, the number of pilots the U.S. Army Air Corps trained decreased until in 1937 only 184 graduated from advanced pilot training. Facing resurgent German militarism and an aggressive Japanese military in 1939, the Air Corps planned to graduate 4,500 pilots in the

  • AAF Established

    With the expansion of the Army's air arm, it became increasingly evident that there was an urgent need for closer cooperation between its two independent elements, the Air Corps (responsible for materiel and training functions) and the Air Force Combat Command (responsible for operational

  • Hitler’s Juggernaut

    Hitler's juggernaut invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and another World War began. The rapidity with which Poland fell to the invaders, largely due to the Luftwaffe, had a stunning effect upon many Americans. What little lethargy remained was shattered in April-June 1940 when Norway, Holland, Belgium

  • Air Corps Expands

    The decaying military situation in Europe emphasized the need for urgency within the United States. In May 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for production of 50,000 military planes a year, a tremendous increase from the 1,800 produced in 1938. Various Air Corps expansion programs were

  • Strengthening the Air Corps

    Fortunately for the U.S., President Franklin D. Roosevelt realized the dominant role played by Hitler's Luftwaffe in European international relations, and on Jan. 12, 1939, he delivered a special message to Congress calling for strengthening of the Air Corps. Congress then authorized $300 million

  • Rocket-Assist Takeoff

    On Aug. 12, 1941, the first Air Corps rocket-assist takeoff was made by a Wright Field test pilot, Capt. Homer Boushey, using a small civilian-type Ercoupe airplane. Subsequent refinements of this technique were made for assisting heavily-loaded airplanes in taking off from limited space. This

  • Aircraft Cannons

    In 1939 Wright Field modified a B-18 for installation of a 75mm cannon in its belly and fired the weapon while in flight. Although results were less successful than anticipated, this marked the first attempt to "marry" a 75mm weapon to an airplane.During World War II, 75mm cannons were installed in

  • High Altitude Research

    In continuing its program for investigating flight at high altitudes, the Air Corps ordered from Lockheed a twin-engine airplane designated the XC-35. This was the world's first airplane specifically constructed with a pressure cabin. For its achievements with the XC-35 in high-altitude research,