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UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION 1910-1995
1924-Contin ued
11 August Observation planes from the light cruiser
Raleigh (CL 7) took off from the water near the Arctic
Circle on the first of several reconnaissance flights
over the Greenland coast from Angmagsalik to Cape
Farewell to locate suitable emergency landing areas
for the Army flyers, then crossing the Atlantic, via
Iceland, on the last leg of their round-the-world flight.
15 August In the first use of rigid airships with the
fleet, Shenandoah (ZR-1) departed Lakehurst, N.J., to
take part in a Scouting Fleet problem 300 miles at sea.
She discovered the "enemy" fleet but heavy rains
forced her early retirement to base where she arrived
17 August after 40 hours in the air.
1 September A parachute school opened at NAS
Lakehurst, N.J., to train enlisted men in the care, oper-
ation, maintenance and testing of parachutes-the first
school of its kind in the Navy.
15 September An N-9 seaplane, equipped with
radio control and without a human pilot aboard, was
flown on a 40-minute flight at the Naval Proving
Grounds, Dahlgren, Va. Although the aircraft sank
from damage sustained while landing, this test demon-
strated the practicability of radio control of aircraft.
18 September The repair ship Medusa (AR 1) was com-
missioned and a section of VO-2, consisting of two officers
and 20 men, was organized and assigned as a ship-plane
repair detail to support the operations of VO-l.
10 October A CS-2 seaplane, piloted by Lieutenants
Andrew Crinkley and Rossmore D. Lyon, landed at
Quantico, Va., after a continuous flight from NAS
Anacostia, D.C., of 20 hours, 28 minutes, and 1,460
miles logged. Although the flight exceeded world
records for endurance and distance, it was not official-
ly timed and therefore not an official record.
15 October The rigid airship ZR-3 was delivered at
NAS Lakehurst, N.J., completing a 5,000-mile flight
from Friedrichshafen, Germany, in 81 hours under the
command of Dr. Hugo Eckener, and with prospective
commanding officer, Captain George W. Steele aboard.
16 October Emergency use of parachute-Following
a mid-air collision over Coronado, Calif., Gunner
William M. Coles, USN, of VF Squadron 1, made a suc-
cessful emergency parachute jump from his IN.
25 October When all foreign entrants withdrew
from the Schneider Cup Race to be held at Bayshore
Park, Md., the United States agreed to cancel the race
rather than win by a flyaway. Instead, the Navy staged
a series of record attempts in which the scheduled
contestants and other naval aircraft put 17 world
records in the book for Class C seaplanes as follows:
Lieutenant George T. Cuddihy, in a CR-3 powered
with a Curtiss D-12 engine, broke a maximum world
speed record of almost two years standing with
188.078 mph.
Lieutenant Ralph A. Ofstie, in a CR-3 with a Curtiss
D-12 engine, broke world speed records for 100, 200
and 500 kilometers with marks of 178.25 mph for the
100 and 200 and 161.14 for the 500.
Lieutenant George R. Henderson, in a PN-7 flying
boat equipped with two Wright T-2 engines, set four
records for speed over 100 and 200 kilometers with
loads of 250 and 500 kilograms, all at 78.507 mph; and
four records with a useful load of 1,000 kilograms with
a speed of 78.507 mph for 100 and 200 kilometers, a
distance record of 248.55 miles and a duration record
of 5 hours, 28 minutes, 43 seconds.
Lieutenant Osborne B. Hardison, also in a PN-7, set
world records for speed over 100 kilometers, and for
distance with a useful load of 1,500 kilograms at 68.4
mph and 62.137 miles, and three more with a useful
load of 2,000 kilograms in speed for 100 kilometers
at68.4 mph, distance 62.137 miles, and duration 1
hour, 49 minutes, 11.9 seconds.
25 October The rigid airship Shenandoah (ZR-1),
commanded by Lieutenant Commander Zachary
Lansdowne, landed at NAS Lakehurst, N.J., complet-
ing a round-trip transcontinental cruise that began
on 7 October and covered 9,317 miles in 258 hours
of flight. The trip included stops at Fort Worth,
Tex., San Diego, Calif., and a stay of 11 days on the
west coast, including a flight to Camp Lewis at
Tacoma, Wash.
11 November Lieutenant Dixie Kiefer piloted a
plane in a successful night catapult launch from
California (BB 44) at anchor in San Diego, Calif., har-
bor. The launch at 9:46 p.m. was aided only by
searchlights trained about 1,000 yards ahead.
14 November Qualifications for Flight Surgeons
were agreed upon by the Chiefs of the Bureau of
Aeronautics and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery,
which required medical officers to complete the three-
month course at the U.S. Army School of Aviation
Medicine and three months of satisfactory service with
a Naval Aviation unit before designation. The require-
ment that a medical officer so qualified also make
flights in aircraft was limited to emergencies and the
desire of the officer.

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