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  • Ford Model T Ambulance

    During World War I, the Allies used thousands of Model T cars and trucks because of their low cost and ease of repair. The ambulance version's light weight made it well-suited for use on the muddy and shell-torn roads in forward combat areas. If stuck in a hole, a group of soldiers could lift one

  • Aerial Mapping

    After World War I, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey asked for the U.S. Army Air Service's help in using aerial photographs for mapping, and tests conducted during the summer of 1919 proved the concept. In 1920 Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell stated that the Army Air Service -- if properly organized --

  • Aerial Route Flashing Beacon

    The U.S. Army Air Service placed beacons like this one around airfields in the early 1920s. They were also stationed three miles apart along the established air mail routes, and at night, pilots could see their constant glow from 10 miles away. A switch automatically turned the light on at night or

  • Interwar Development of Bombsights

    "... in order to drop a bomb so that it will strike at least in the vicinity desired, the use of a bomb sight is imperative. However, this sight must be simple enough ... to use it even under hostile fire."- American Expeditionary Force Booklet on High Altitude Bombsights, Aug. 20, 1918 During World

  • Quest for Higher Speeds

    Because of the constant striving for higher speeds for its pursuit planes, the Air Service participated in many races, both military and civilian, during the 1920s. One of the first of significance was on Nov. 25, 1920, when Lt. C.C. Moseley won the first Pulitzer Trophy Race in a Verville-Packard

  • Endurance Flights

    Click on the following links to learn more about endurance flights during the interwar years.Round-the-Rim FlightTranscontinental Reliability and Endurance TestFirst Alaskan FlightDoolittle's Atlantic-to-Pacific FlightFirst Air-to-Air RefuelingEndurance Flights PropellersFirst Transcontinental

  • Flight of the Question Mark

    In 1929 the U.S. Army Air Corps attempted to break the world's record for an endurance flight with an Atlantic-Fokker C-2A aircraft. To capture the public's attention, the Army Air Corps stated that the aircraft would remain aloft as long as possible, and to highlight the point, the aircraft was

  • Maughan’s Dawn-to-Dusk Flight

    The first dawn-to-dusk flight across the U.S. was by Lt. Russell L. Maughan on June 23, 1924, from Mitchell Field, Long Island, N.Y., to San Francisco, Calif. Taking off in a PW-8 at first light, Lt. Maughan raced the sun across the U.S. and after five refueling stops, landed at San Francisco 21

  • First Transcontinental Nonstop Flight

    The first nonstop flight across the United States was made by Lts. John A. Macready and Oakley G. Kelly in a Fokker T-2 airplane. Taking off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, N.Y., on May 2, 1923, the heavily loaded T-2 flew westward through both fair and foul weather (much of it at night) without

  • Endurance Flights Propellers

    (From left to right)Propeller used on the DH-4B flown by Lts. Lowell H. Smith and John P. Richter to received fuel during the U.S. Army Air Service's first aerial refueling on June 27, 1923.Propeller used on the DH-4B "tanker" flown by Lts. Virgil Hine and Frank W. Seifert during the refueling