Boeing 314The Golden Age of Aviation: 1919-39

The two decades after the First World War saw tremendous progress in aviation.  As aircraft design grew more advanced, speed and distance records began to be broken as the performance and range of the aeroplane increased.  In the United States, barnstormers, many of them former fighter pilots in the Great War, traveled the country thrilling audiences at a series of air shows.  Aircraft such as the Boeing Stearman and Douglas M-2 opened up air mail routes across the country.  New feats of aviation were accomplished in part with the sponsorship of governments, the private sector or both.  The round-the-world flight of four Douglas cruisers in 1924, backed by the U.S. government and the Douglas Aircraft Company, using military pilots, is one early example.

Charles Lindbergh’s non-stop New York to Paris flight across the Atlantic in 1927 caused an international sensation, moreso than the flight of the Douglas World Cruisers 3 years before, in part because Lindbergh flew solo.  The idea of man against the elements, crossing an ocean with no hope of rescue if he ran into trouble, captured the imagination of millions.

With the coming of the 1930’s, speed records continued to be broken.  The Supermarine S6.B, a racing seaplane and a progenitor of the renowned Supermarine Spitfire of World War II, won the 1931 Schneider Cup Trophy with a speed of 340 mph.  Seventeen days later, another S6.B broke the world air speed record with a speed of 407.5 mph.

Passenger airliners came into being during this time with the appearance of aircraft such as the Ford Tri-Motor, the Junkers F.13 and the Boeing 247.  The Douglas DC-2, immediate precursor to the famed DC-3, also appeared during this era.

Another aviation landmark was the 1934 MacRobertson Trophy Race from Mildenhall, England to Melbourne, Australia, sponsored by MacPherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectioner who put up $75,000 in prize money.  The MacRobertson Trophy went to Grosvenor House, a De Havilland DH88 Comet piloted by Flight Lieutenant Charles Scott and Captain Tom Campbell Black, completing the trip (with five compulsory stops) in exactly 71 hours.

1937 proved a signature year for aviation, with three words: Hindenburg, Guernica, Earhart.

The airship, or zeppelin, came into prominence during the 1930’s, being the only aircraft capable of trans-Atlantic passenger service through most of the decade.  But after the Hindenburg disaster at Lakehurst, New Jersey in May 1937, in which the German airship’s hydrogen cells suddenly exploded, creating a fireball that burned the entire craft to a cinder within minutes, the zeppelin fell out of favor as a passenger carrier.  Eventually the airship regained some of its former utility with the use of helium, a much safer lighter-than-air gas.

In Europe, the Spanish Civil War offered a preview of the devastation to come during World War II.  Nazi Germany’s intervention on the side of Franco and the fascists proved decisive.  German airpower in the form of the Condor Legion demonstrated to the world the expanding role of the aircraft in modern war, particularly when in April 1937 Heinkel He 111 bombers rained destruction upon the city of Guernica.  The war in Spain helped the Germans develop tactics for the aerial component of Blitzkrieg that proved unstoppable at the outset of WWII.    Western democracies stood by as the fascists crushed the opposition in Spain, and ironically, the Soviet Union was the only nation aiding the Republican anti-fascists, who were naturally inclined to look to the West for support.

Amelia Earhart, a history-making aviator who opened the field to women, earned fame as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to her nickname of “Lady Lindy.”  She continued to set records and author best-selling books about her flying experiences until her mysterious disappearance over the Pacific in a Lockheed Model 10 in July 1937, during an effort to fly around the world.

The Golden Age hit its zenith in the 1930’s with the heyday of seaplanes, as they evolved from single-seat racing aircraft such as the Supermarine S6.B to large passenger-carrying flying boats such as the Short Kent, the Dornier Do26, and the Boeing 314.  It was the Boeing 314 that inaugurated the first regularly scheduled delivery of air mail by heavier than air aircraft between the U.S. and Europe in May 1939 (the distinction of the first air mail ever belongs to the zeppelin), and  regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service in June 1939, just 3 months before the outbreak of war.

Aircraft

Beechcraft Staggerwing

Beechcraft Staggerwing

Finally succumbing to years of lobbying by Mrs. Claus, Old Saint Nick reluctantly retired his beloved Sleigh, and began the search for a new mount to take him round the world on Christmas Eve with the help of Marvin, an ingenious Elf with an unusual snow globe…

Boeing 247

Boeing 247

Williams Brothers’ kit features a complete cockpit and cabin interior and authentic period decals. The Boeing 247 is widely regarded as the first modern airliner, featuring innovations such as de-icing boots for the wing leading edges and fully enclosed engine nacelles. It dominated American commercial air traffic for a full year, yielding in 1934 to the Douglas DC-2.

Boeing Model 314 Clipper

Boeing Model 314 Clipper

The Boeing 314 was America’s answer to the luxurious British Short Empire flying boats, and saw brief commercial service in the Summer of 1939.
Minicraft’s kit is a re-issue of the Airfix mold, and features detailed engines and markings for this last of the pre-WWII Clippers.

Boeing F4B-4

Boeing F4B-4

The F4B-4 was the U.S. Navy’s last biplane fighter and the last fighter producing by Boeing. It was also the plane that saw the phasing out of wood-and-canvas construction for American fighter aircraft. Under powered but forgiving, it was in service from 1929 to 1938. Monogram’s kit features realistic surface detail.

Curtiss Condor

Curtiss Condor

The Curtiss Condor was the last biplane airliner built in the United States and a stop-gap venture intended to keep Curtiss Aircraft financially viable at a critical period in its history. Glencoe’s Condor is a re-issue of a 1954 ITC kit, featuring detailed engines and American Airlines markings.

De Havilland DH.88 Comet

De Havilland DH.88 Comet

Airfix’ venerable kit of the winner of the1934 MacRobertson intercontinental Air Race remains popular but screams out for retooling of its ancient 1957 molds. The DH 88 was a direct ancestor of the de Havilland Mosquito of World War II.

Dewoitine D.333

Dewoitine D.333

The Dewoitine D.333 was an all-metal cantilever low-wing monoplane operated by Air France in the early to mid-1930’s. It was developed from the D.332, a cutting edge prototype airliner which crashed on the final leg of a record-setting round trip flight to Saigon in Southeast Asia on January 15, 1934. Powered by three Hispano-Suiza 9V radial engines, the Dewoitine D.333 had a cruising speed of 155 mph and a passenger cabin seating 10 in two rows of five chairs along either side of a central aisle, each chair featuring an adjustable back allowing passengers to recline and even sleep, if they were able. The D.333 soon replaced its predecessor as the pride of Air France, a modern airliner able to carry passengers long distances in relative comfort.

Dewoitine D.510

Dewoitine D.510

The Dewoitine D.510 was an all-metal, open-cockpit, fixed-undercarriage monoplane fighter, flown by the French Air Force in the mid- to late-1930’s. Introduced in 1936, the sleek D.510 was notable for its V-12 engine, and the installation of a 20mm cannon between its cylinder banks, firing through the propeller hub. It was the last of its breed; with a top speed of just 250 mph, it was soon outclassed by a new generation of faster, modern fighters with enclosed cockpits and retractable undercarriage.

Douglas O-2H

Douglas O-2H

Coming in the wake of the Cloudster and World Cruiser, the O-2H cemented Douglas Aircraft’s reputation for rugged military aircraft.

Handley Page HP 42

Handley Page HP 42

Designed to meet a 1928 Imperial Airways specification for a new airliner to serve the European, Middle East, and Far East routes during the 1930’s, the Handley Page Heracles class airliners made an outstanding contribution to civil aviation in the years leading up to World War II. The first HP 42, G-AAGX “Hannibal” made its maiden flight on November 14, 1930. This fleet of aircraft would ultimately log 7 million miles of travel by 1937, and had an unblemished safety record until a plane went missing over the Gulf of Oman in 1940.

Heinkel He 178 V2

Heinkel He 178 V2

Special Hobby’s kit of the world’s first jet aircraft is a re-issue of the 1994 Condor kit and features engraved panel lines and photo-etch detail parts.

Polikarpov I-16

Polikarpov I-16

ICM’s I-16 features good surface detail and a complete engine that is hard to fit inside the cowling, and an inaccurate, box-like windscreen for its open cockpit that’s best replaced. Entering service in 1935, it was a state-of-the-art monoplane with fully retractable landing gear. It fought with distinction in the Spanish Civil War but was obsolete by 1939.