56

UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995

1923-Contin ued

combination, placing the class letter first and manufac-

turer's letter last. Thus, the designation FB indicated a

fighter built by Boeing. Although this modification

applied only to new aircraft and did not change desig-

nations already assigned, the system so established

remained in use until 1962.

15 March The training of nucleus crews for the rigid

airships Shenandoah (ZR-1) and Los Angeles (ZR-3),

which had been underway since 1 July 1922 at NAS

Hampton Roads, Va., opened at a new location when

ground school work started at NAS Lakehurst, N.J.,

under Captain Anton Heinan, lighter-than-air expert,

formerly of the German Navy.

15 April The Naval Research Laboratory reported

that equipment for radio control of aircraft had been

demonstrated in an F-5L, and was found satisfactory up

to a range of 10 miles. It also stated that radio control

of an airplane during landing and takeoff was feasible.

17 April Lieutenant Rutledge Irvine, flying a Douglas

DT equipped with a Liberty engine, established a

world altitude record for Class C airplanes with a use-

ful load of 1,000 kilograms, reaching 11,609 feet over

McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio.

Two vel:5ions of the

Douglas DT tOlpedo

plane 426931

26 May The Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics

agreed with the Chief of the Air Service that it would

be advantageous to both the aviation industry and the

military services to work under identical aeronautic

specifications whenever possible and further stated

that he considered it desirable for the Army and Navy

to work together toward that end immediately. When

Lieutenant Ralph S. Barnaby was ordered to McCook

Field as the bureau's representative at an interservice

conference on standardization in December, a series

of annual meetings was initiated that continued until

1937, when the Aeronautical Board assigned a full-

time staff to carryon the work.

6 June Planes and pilots of Aircraft Squadrons,

Battle Fleet, established seven world records for Class

C seaplanes at San Diego, Calif., as follows:

Lieutenant Ug) Mainrad A. Schur, in a DT-2 torpedo

plane, set the speed record for 500 kilometers at 72 mph.

Lieutenant Henry T. Stanley, in an F-5L patrol plane,

set distance and duration records with a payload of

250 kilograms at 574.75 miles and 10 hours, 23 min-

utes, 58 seconds.

Lieutenant Herman E. Halland, in an F-5L patrol

plane, set distance and duration records with a 500-

kilogram payload at 466 miles and 7 hours, 35 min-

utes, 54 seconds.

-