The Golden Age of Flight
Spitfire. Tiger Moth. Empire. Maxim Gorky. Vega. Some of the aircraft defining The Golden Age of flying, names that resonate with aviation enthusiasts and beyond.
Earhart. Hughes. Sikorsky. Lindbergh. Alcock and Brown. Tupolev. RJ Mitchell. Boeing. People who drove aviation to have a world changing impact.
Jet Engines. Monoplanes. Trans-Continental Journeys. Helicopters. Swept Wings. Commercialisation. Air Power. Developments like these and thousands of others brokethrough between the wars; pioneers in industry, technology, business, entertainment, the military knew no bounds after the First World War.
All these combined to lay the foundations for aviation as we know it today.
This lens is an introduction to the age of dreams becoming reality, telling the stories of the 1920s and 30s, when the vast distances of the world and were conquered at ever faster speeds.
Earhart. Hughes. Sikorsky. Lindbergh. Alcock and Brown. Tupolev. RJ Mitchell. Boeing. People who drove aviation to have a world changing impact.
Jet Engines. Monoplanes. Trans-Continental Journeys. Helicopters. Swept Wings. Commercialisation. Air Power. Developments like these and thousands of others brokethrough between the wars; pioneers in industry, technology, business, entertainment, the military knew no bounds after the First World War.
All these combined to lay the foundations for aviation as we know it today.
This lens is an introduction to the age of dreams becoming reality, telling the stories of the 1920s and 30s, when the vast distances of the world and were conquered at ever faster speeds.
Military Developments
How the weapons of aerial war changed from slow to sleak; imprecise to deadly; localised to general
At the end of the First World War, fighting aircraft had developed from a standing start to relative sophistication; multi-engine bombers such as the Gotha could reach London from Europe, fighters like the
RAF SE5a were extremely manoeuverable and resilient.
Aircraft had come a long way, but still had far to go: the
Fokker Triplane was the choice of war's most successful ace the Red Baron, but that was because he could turn its performance to his favour, while it killed lesser men.
When the First World War ended, its role in driving technology development was replaced by a spirit of adventure and possibility. Breakthroughs in science and engineering combined with new requirements in a virtuous circle of ever improving range, payload and speed. In civilian operation, this meant the growth of commerical aviation.
But in the military mind it spawned the nightmare of carpet bombing, revealed gaping holes in naval protection and culminated in the possibility of Total War.
In response, designers developed the fighter to gain air superiority, defeat the bomber and protect people on the ground.
Fighter designs developed from stringbags with a top speed of 130mph and two machine guns, to some impressive machines capable of 350mph with up to eight guns or cannon with no loss of aerobatic manoeuverability:
Sopwith Camel
Boeing P-12
Polikarpov I-16
Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen
Yakovlev Yak-1 Krasavyets
Bombers grew in payload from the 500kg of the Gotha GI.V to the Boeing Flying Fortress' possible 8000kg, using long distance civilian designs such as the Ju 52 Tante Ju as stepping stones, and spawning evilly effective variants such as the Ju87 Stuka dive-bomber.
Gotha GI.V
Junkers Ju52
Heinkel He111
Boeing B17
Junkers Ju87
RAF SE5a were extremely manoeuverable and resilient.Aircraft had come a long way, but still had far to go: the
Fokker Triplane was the choice of war's most successful ace the Red Baron, but that was because he could turn its performance to his favour, while it killed lesser men.When the First World War ended, its role in driving technology development was replaced by a spirit of adventure and possibility. Breakthroughs in science and engineering combined with new requirements in a virtuous circle of ever improving range, payload and speed. In civilian operation, this meant the growth of commerical aviation.
But in the military mind it spawned the nightmare of carpet bombing, revealed gaping holes in naval protection and culminated in the possibility of Total War.
In response, designers developed the fighter to gain air superiority, defeat the bomber and protect people on the ground.
Fighter designs developed from stringbags with a top speed of 130mph and two machine guns, to some impressive machines capable of 350mph with up to eight guns or cannon with no loss of aerobatic manoeuverability:
Sopwith Camel Boeing P-12Polikarpov I-16Mitsubishi A6M Zero-Sen Yakovlev Yak-1 KrasavyetsBombers grew in payload from the 500kg of the Gotha GI.V to the Boeing Flying Fortress' possible 8000kg, using long distance civilian designs such as the Ju 52 Tante Ju as stepping stones, and spawning evilly effective variants such as the Ju87 Stuka dive-bomber.
Gotha GI.VJunkers Ju52Heinkel He111Boeing B17Junkers Ju87 Designers
Designers like RJ Mitchell foresaw the danger of a rearmed Nazi Germany with modern visions of air power's deadly effect which it tested at Guernica.He called on his extensive experience of designing endurance and racing aircraft to create the Spitfire.
In Russia, designers such as Andrei Tuploev produced aircraft every bit as groundbreaking. Tupolev came to specialise in heavy bombers and their civilian variants such as the
Maxim Gorky, at its time the biggest aircraft in the world.
Where Russia really outperformed the world was in manufacture, producing tens of thousands of aircraft which were ultimately chewed up in the Nazi maw.
Maxim Gorky Warplanes of the Time on Amazon
Civilian and Commercial Aviation
From barnstorming and record breaking to everyday normality
In 1919, civilian aviation consisted of a few privately owned aircraft pulling stunts - barnstormers, enthusiasts, entrepreneurs or racers. 20 years later, the forerunners of todays airlines were carrying thousands of passengers across the globe.
Barnstorming, the daredevil displays which came about due to the combination of war surplus aircraft and thousands of trained pilots who had to make a living, was most people's first encounter with flying. Pilots like
Clyde "Upside Down" Pangborn gave townsfolk short $1 hops around the town, kickstarting commercial aviation in America.
Gradually pilots such as Alcock and Brown, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and many others showed that long distance flying was feasible, and importantly, much faster than the passenger liners and airships for trans-continental travelling. Cargo flights, especially mail, began to make money for fledging airlines like TWA.
Technological development led to enlosed cabins (eventually for the pilots as well), bigger and faster aircraft, meaning ever increasing numbers of passengers could fly. Commercial airlines were borne.
By the mid '30s, airlines such as Britain's Imperial Airways connected the countries of the world via regular routes and scheduled services. Given the distances, these flights often used seaplanes such as the Short Empire.
Across the globe, public societies sprang up as aviation fired people's imagination. In Germany in particular gliding schools were very popular; the
Treaty of Versailles had restricted flying in Germany, meaning these societies were the only way people could learn to fly. That they also gave excellent flight training to the next generation of Luftwaffe pilots for the Second World War was not recognised at the time.
Curtiss Jenny
Boeing Model 40
Lockheed Vega
de Havilland DH84 Dragon
Douglas DC1
Short C23 Empire
Barnstorming, the daredevil displays which came about due to the combination of war surplus aircraft and thousands of trained pilots who had to make a living, was most people's first encounter with flying. Pilots like Clyde "Upside Down" Pangborn gave townsfolk short $1 hops around the town, kickstarting commercial aviation in America.Gradually pilots such as Alcock and Brown, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and many others showed that long distance flying was feasible, and importantly, much faster than the passenger liners and airships for trans-continental travelling. Cargo flights, especially mail, began to make money for fledging airlines like TWA.
Technological development led to enlosed cabins (eventually for the pilots as well), bigger and faster aircraft, meaning ever increasing numbers of passengers could fly. Commercial airlines were borne.
By the mid '30s, airlines such as Britain's Imperial Airways connected the countries of the world via regular routes and scheduled services. Given the distances, these flights often used seaplanes such as the Short Empire.Across the globe, public societies sprang up as aviation fired people's imagination. In Germany in particular gliding schools were very popular; the
Treaty of Versailles had restricted flying in Germany, meaning these societies were the only way people could learn to fly. That they also gave excellent flight training to the next generation of Luftwaffe pilots for the Second World War was not recognised at the time.
Curtiss JennyBoeing Model 40Lockheed Vegade Havilland DH84 DragonDouglas DC1Short C23 Empire Entrepreneurs and Adventurers
People who drove the new industry
Bill Boeing's aircraft were specifically designed to help the pioneers of commercial operations, delivering post and passengers across the west of the United States.
Howard Hughes popularised the heroism of flight with his films, while building the massive Hughes aircraft company who most famously built the Spruce Goose. His is the story told in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. Civilian Aviation on Amazon
Developing the Technology - Races and Challenges
Fear, adventure and national pride drove spectacular developments
The rapid development of aircraft capability boiled out of a cauldron of science, engineering, financial gain and fear. Technical developments were driven by pilots who wanted to win challenges and races, radical engineering by companies who wanted to open new sources of income, and new designs championed by individuals who wanted the adventure of living on the edge.
A rash of racing and challenges took hold of the public's imagination, with the winners becoming the idols of the day. Records were broken at almost every meet or attempt, until aircraft such as the Supermarine S6B were doing nearly 400mph, and the world had been circumnavigated in just over 7 days. Competitions were round fixed courses or across continents, depending on what the organisers were trying to encourage:
Curtiss Oriole
GeeBee Racer Model Z
Macchi M-39
DeHavilland D.H.88 Comet
A rash of racing and challenges took hold of the public's imagination, with the winners becoming the idols of the day. Records were broken at almost every meet or attempt, until aircraft such as the Supermarine S6B were doing nearly 400mph, and the world had been circumnavigated in just over 7 days. Competitions were round fixed courses or across continents, depending on what the organisers were trying to encourage:
- Schneider - high speed for a seaplane
- Pulitzer - technological development and flying skill
- Bendix - speed between two distant points
- Thompson - high speed, low altitude, close proximity flying
- MacRobertson - rapid long distance flight - specifically between England and Australia
- Orteig - rapid long distance flight - specifically non-stop flight between New York and Paris
- National Air Races - rapid long distance flight and public awareness of flying in the US
Curtiss OrioleGeeBee Racer Model ZMacchi M-39DeHavilland D.H.88 Comet Aerial Adventurers
Wiley Post
With his famous "Winnie Mae" Lockheed Vega, Wiley Post won the National Air Race Derby from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1930 in just over 9 hrs. He flew around the world twice - taking 8 days, 16 hours in 1931 and then 7 days, 19 hours in 1933 (solo), before he started exploring high altitude flight in 1934. Funded by the Phillips Petroleum Company, he developed an early pressure suit and helmet to explore heights of 40,000ft and more. Discovering the jet stream up there, he used it to fly from Burbank to Cleveland with a ground speed of 279mph - in an aircraft whose top speed was only 179mph.
Amy Johnson
Learning to fly in 1929, Amy Johnson also became the first female ground engineer in Great Britain. These two skills stood her in great stead to satisfy her other passion - long distance flying. Highlights from her spectacularly packed career include:
Learning from Netta Snook, the first woman to graduate from the Curtiss School of Aviation, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic in 1928. Dismissing her own participation to be 'as baggage', she went on to an incredible 9 years of record setting flying:
Charles Lindbergh
Drove The Spirit of St Louis to 1926's first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic crossing in 33 hours. Combined with Alcock and Brown's
trans-Atlantic crossing in under 72 hours, in 1919, he proved effective long distance flight was possible, and perhaps more importantly for the future of avaiation, potentially a money spinner.
Until the long distance flights across the Atlantic, the Pacific and the continents, the main way of tarvelling was by steamship, which could take 5 or 6 days to cross an ocean the size of the Atlantic. Flying could half or even quarter that time. The world could get a lot smaller.
With his famous "Winnie Mae" Lockheed Vega, Wiley Post won the National Air Race Derby from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1930 in just over 9 hrs. He flew around the world twice - taking 8 days, 16 hours in 1931 and then 7 days, 19 hours in 1933 (solo), before he started exploring high altitude flight in 1934. Funded by the Phillips Petroleum Company, he developed an early pressure suit and helmet to explore heights of 40,000ft and more. Discovering the jet stream up there, he used it to fly from Burbank to Cleveland with a ground speed of 279mph - in an aircraft whose top speed was only 179mph.
Amy Johnson
Learning to fly in 1929, Amy Johnson also became the first female ground engineer in Great Britain. These two skills stood her in great stead to satisfy her other passion - long distance flying. Highlights from her spectacularly packed career include:
- 1930 England to Australia in 19 days, solo in a Gypsy Moth biplane
- 1931 England to Japan in a Puss Moth
- 1932 A record breaking solo flight from England to Cape Town in a Puss Moth
- 1933 Wales to the US in a De Havilland Dragon
- 1934 Setting the record for England to India in a De Havilland Comet as part of an England to Australia race
- 1936 England to Cape Town in a Percival gull
Learning from Netta Snook, the first woman to graduate from the Curtiss School of Aviation, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic in 1928. Dismissing her own participation to be 'as baggage', she went on to an incredible 9 years of record setting flying:
- 1930 Set the women's speed record at 181mph in a Lockheed Vega
- 1932 Flew the Atlantic solo in her Vega; set a new transcontinental record, flying her Vega between LA and Newark solo in 19 hours
- 1935 Flew solo trans-Pacific from Honolulu to San Francisco; then LA to Mexico City in 13 hours and finally Mexico City to Newark in 14 hours
Charles Lindbergh
Drove The Spirit of St Louis to 1926's first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic crossing in 33 hours. Combined with Alcock and Brown'strans-Atlantic crossing in under 72 hours, in 1919, he proved effective long distance flight was possible, and perhaps more importantly for the future of avaiation, potentially a money spinner.
Until the long distance flights across the Atlantic, the Pacific and the continents, the main way of tarvelling was by steamship, which could take 5 or 6 days to cross an ocean the size of the Atlantic. Flying could half or even quarter that time. The world could get a lot smaller.
Aviation Technology on Amazon
Vote for your favourite Aviation Museum
These are some I've been lucky enough to visit. Suggest others through the guestbook.
IWM Duxford - Europe's premier aviation museum
Duxford is Europe's premier aviation museum - as w more...1 point
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Official Web site of the National Air and Space Mu more...1 point
Kennedy Space Center
Your Florida vacation is not complete without a tr more...1 point
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/index.cfm
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon (North London).1 point
Museum of Flight
Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington0 points
Cosford Air Museum, Shropshire, West Midlands days out - RAF Museum
Royal Air Force Museum - RAF Cosford, Shropshire, more...0 points
Museum of Science and Industry
Land here at the Manchester based Museum of Scienc more...0 points
Scottish National Museum of Flight
Aircraft at the Museum of Flight tell the story of more...0 points
Shuttleworth
A unique flying collection showcasing the first on more...0 points
National Space Centre
The National Space Centre, an awe-inspiring Millen more...0 points
Aviation on CafePress
Online stores
Aviation related gifts and merchandise
- Welcome to the Imperial War Museum Online Shop
- Shop online for gifts, books, CDs, DVDs and special exhibition offers from the Imperial War Museum London, The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, HMS Belfast, Imperial War Museum Duxford and Imperial War Museum North
- The Museum of Flight Store
- Welcome to the Museum of Flight Store. Here you%uFFFDll find a treasure trove of flight, space and general aviation merchandise ranging from toys to collectibles. We have a great selection of aviation prints, model airplanes, space toys for kids of all ages and more. While here, be sure to shop our DVD/M
- Spitfire Emporium Home Page
- An aviation retail store for enthusiasts as well as an aviation history resource, emphasis on the RCAF and Canadian participation in World War 2
Related Stuff on eBay
Good Sites
- History of Flight at the Centennial of Flight Site
- Guild of Aviation Artists
- The painting in the introduction is "In Style on The Nile" by David Ellwood. Find more stunning paintings for sale on the Guilds website.
- Aviation Between the Wars on the Century of Flight website
Related Lenses
Lenses expanding on subjects mentioned above
Guestbook
Feel free to leave raves or crits, links or mistakes, happy to have all feedback.
Look forward to hearing from you.
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Liam_Tohms
Feb 5, 2009 @ 11:18 am | delete
- Great lens, why not join the Flying and Aviation group today?
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Liam_Tohms
Feb 5, 2009 @ 11:18 am | delete
- Great lens, why not join the Flying and Aviation group today?
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Timbob
Jul 25, 2008 @ 2:49 pm | delete
- Good job, great info
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poddys
May 28, 2008 @ 7:23 am | delete
- Very nice lens, lots of detail. Also lots of opportunities for creating spin-off lenses on different topics.
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RyanRE May 27, 2008 @ 11:39 pm | delete
- No raves, crits or mistakes, I just wanted to say that you did a great job on this lens. It is nice to see people creating quality of quantity.
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