1923 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1923:

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

  • Twenty-one aircraft compete in the Grand Prix de Motoaviette – a competition at Buc, Yvelines, France, open to any aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of less than 250 kilograms (550 pounds), offering a 125,000 FF prize for the fastest flight of 30 laps around a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) course. Lucien Coupet wins in a Salmson 3 Ad-powered Farman Aviette, covering 310 kilometers (190 miles) in 4 hours 37 minutes 19 seconds.
  • July 4 – The American aviator B. H. DeLay — who had pioneered many popular stunts used in early barnstorming airshows, adapted them to movies, then appeared in movies with top Hollywood stars — and his passenger die while DeLay is performing stunts before thousands of spectators over Ocean Park in Santa Monica, California, when the wings of his plane — the Wasp — fold back at the top of a loop-the-loop and the plane plunges nose-first into the ground. An investigation reveals that pins of a substandard size had been used in the wings, indicating sabotage. No culprit ever was identified.[28][29][30]

August

  • The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) participates in Italian Royal Army maneuvers south of Lake Garda intended to test the capabilities of the army's celeri divisions. The air force component of the maneuvers tests aerial reconnaissance capabilities and the effectiveness of attacks on enemy troops by 32 fighter aircraft and of night attacks against bridges by two bombers. Although the reconnaissance is deemed "indispensable," it is not effective due to command and control problems. The fighter and night bombing attacks are more successful, although the ground troops′ failure to attempt to take cover from or evade air attack is of significant help to the fighters.[31]
  • Personnel from the aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1) help to install a TS-1 floatplane fighter on the foredeck of the destroyer USS Charles Ausburn (DD-294) at Norfolk, Virginia, as the United States Navy begins to experiment with the operation of seaplanes from destroyers. The TS-1 flies successfully, but its presence interferes with Charles Ausburn's routine too much, and the idea is dropped.[32]
  • August 6
    • The eighth annual Aerial Derby is held, sponsored by the Royal Aero Club. Thirteen participants fly over a 99.5-mile (160-kilometer) circuit beginning and ending at Croydon Airport in London with control points at Brooklands, Hertford, and West Thurrock; the aircraft fly the circuit twice. L. L. Carter is the overall winner, completing the course in a Gloster Mars at an average speed of 192.4 mph (309.6 km/h) in 1 hour 2 minutes 23 seconds; H. A. Hammersley wins the handicap competition in an Avro Viper with a time of 1 hour 49 minutes 56 seconds at an average speed of 109.5 mph (176.2 km/h) with a handicap of 51 minutes 38 seconds. It is the last Aerial Derby; plans for another one in 1924 will be cancelled due to a lack of high-speed entrants, and later talk of reviving the event comes to nothing.
    • The third annual Air League Challenge Cup race is held as part of the Aerial Derby programme at Croydon Airport in London. The team relay race format of previous races is dropped; instead, the 16 competitors – all Royal Air Force pilots – compete individually, each flying a Bristol F.2B Fighter fitted with a 275-horsepower (205-kilowatt) Rolls-Royce Falcon engine over a 100-mile (161-kilometer) triangular course. Captain Horace Scott Shield, representing RAF Eastchurch, wins the race.[33][34]
  • August 21 – The first electric airway beacons start appearing at airfields in the United States to assist in night flying operations.
  • August 27 – A Farman F.60 Goliath operated by Air Union on a scheduled passenger flight from Berck-sur-Mer Airport in Berck-sur-Mer, France, to Croydon Airport in London, England, makes an unscheduled landing at Lympne, England, for repairs to its overheating left engine. After it continues its flight to Croydon, its right engine fails. Its pilot attempts a forced landing on East Malling Heath, but goes into a spin and crashes on final approach when passengers misunderstand an instruction for some of them to move towards the rear of the aircraft, affecting the Goliath's center of gravity. One passenger dies, but the other 10 passengers and both crew members survive.[35]
  • August 28 – United States Army Air Service Lieutenant John Richter and Lowell Smith establish a new endurance record of 37 hours 15 minutes in an Airco DH.4, covering 3,293 miles (5,300 km). They are refueled fifteen times during the flight.

September

October

November

  • During a speech at Centocelle Airport in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini says, "As head of the government with the enormous responsibility of the existence, independence, freedom, and well-being of the Italian people, I am obliged not to believe in universal peace, and still less in perpetual peace. No one knows whether the war of tomorrow will be exclusively an aerial or a land or a naval war. For me, it is enough to ponder on what others are doing. If others are arming in the skies, then we must arm in the skies."[48]
  • The French Air Force has a force of 296 bombers and 300 fighters. Other than Italy, France is the only European continental power building a substantial air force.[48]
  • November 1 – The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company buys the rights to manufacture Luftschiffbau Zeppelin dirigibles in the United States.[49]
  • November 2 – Flying a Curtiss R2C-1, U.S. Navy Lieutenant H. J. Rowe sets a new world airspeed record of 259.16 mph (417.08 km/h).
  • November 3 – Harold Albert Kullberg, an American World War I flying ace who flew with the British Royal Air Force and was credited with 19 aerial victories, sees an airplane illegally performing stunts over an urban area, chases it down, lands with it, and arrests the pilot. It is the first arrest in the United States for the violation of civil aviation rules.[50]
  • November 4 – Flying a Curtiss R2C-1, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Alford J. Williams sets a new world airspeed record of 266.6 mph (429.1 km/h).[51]
  • November 18 – During an air show at Kelly Field, Texas, the first aerial refueling-related fatality in history occurs when the fuel hose becomes entangled in the right wings of both the refueler and the receiver aircraft. The United States Army Air Service pilot of the refueler, Lieutenant P. T. Wagner, dies in the ensuing crash of DH-4B 23-444.[52]

December

First flights

January

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Entered service

Retirements

Notes

  1. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 202.
  2. ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 186.
  3. ↑ Daniel, Clifton, Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-942191-01-3, p. 298.
  4. ↑ Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description
  5. 1 2 3 Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85602-7, p. 54.
  6. ↑ Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87021-210-9, p. 85.
  7. ↑ Daniel, Clifton, Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-942191-01-3, p. 300.
  8. 1 2 Scheina, Robert L., Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987, ISBN 0-87021-295-8, p. 199.
  9. ↑ Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87021-210-9, p. 90.
  10. ↑ "AIR SPEED RECORD WON BY AMERICANS; Lieut Maitland Flies 243 Miles an Hour, Surpassing Lecointe". The New York Times. New York, New York. March 30, 1923. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Lester J. Maitland". Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Maurer, Maurer (1987). Aviation in the U.S. Army 1919-1939 (PDF). Maxwell AFB: Air Force Historical Studies Office. p. 172. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  13. ↑ Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990, ISBN 0-87021-026-2, p. 10.
  14. ↑ Sturtivant, Ray (1990). British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 215. ISBN 0-87021-026-2.
  15. ↑ Daniel, Clifton (1987). Chronicle of the 20th Century. Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications. p. 302. ISBN 0-942191-01-3.
  16. ↑ Horvat, William J., Lieutenant Colonel (1966). Above the Pacific (PDF). Aero Publishers, Inc. p. 37. Retrieved 3 June 2026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ Latchford, Stephen (1931). "Habana Convention on Commercial Aviation". Journal of Air Law and Commerce. 2 (2). SMU Scholar. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  18. ↑ Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description
  19. ↑ Scheina, Robert L. (1987). Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 193–194. ISBN 0-87021-295-8.
  20. ↑ Nieuport Aces of World War 1. p. 46.
  21. ↑ SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War I. p. 15.
  22. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo (1987). The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present. New York: Orion Books. p. 94.
  23. ↑ U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission: Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Hermes House, 2006, ISBN 9781846810008, p. 46.
  25. ↑ Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85602-7, p. 50.
  26. ↑ "The Grosvenor Challenge Cup". Flight. XV (756): 328. 21 June 1923. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "The Grosvenor Challenge Cup". Flight. XV (757): 346. 28 June 1923. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  28. ↑ Police Investigating First Aerial Murder: B. H. De Lay, The Coshocton Tribune, July 15, 1923.
  29. ↑ Sheriff Suspects Aerial Murder (of B. H. DeLay, Well Known Stunt Aviator), The Indianapolis Star, July 7, 1923.
  30. ↑ Last Rites for De Lay Tomorrow: Services for Famous Flyer Have Been Arranged for at Los Angeles Crematory, Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1923. ("DeLay was nationally known for his daring stunts in the air.")
  31. ↑ Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85602-7, p. 56.
  32. ↑ Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87021-210-9, p. 122.
  33. ↑ afleetingpeace.org The Air League Challenge Cup
  34. ↑ "afleetingpeace.org Air League Challenge Cup - 1921". Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  35. ↑ Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description
  36. 1 2 Hayward, John T. (August 1978). "Comment and Discussion". United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
  37. 1 2 Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 688.
  38. ↑ Daniel, Clifton, Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-942191-01-3, p. 304.
  39. ↑ "1923 US Army Air Service Accident Reports".
  40. ↑ Portán, Rodrigo. "Los Hermanos Massi: Pioneros en Cine y Aviación en El Salvador" [The Massi Brothers: Pioneers of Film and Aviation in El Salvador]. Guanacos (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  41. ↑ Azucena, Morena. "Revista Dominical" [Dominical Magazine]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  42. ↑ "Capt. Skeel Killed in Dayton Air Race; 50,000 See Plunge; Plane Crumples as Army Officer Dives for Start in Pulitzer Prize Contest", The New York Times, October 5, 1924, p.1
  43. ↑ "History". CSA Czech Airlines. 2012. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
  44. ↑ "The Shuttleworth Aircraft Collection". Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  45. ↑ Hastingleigh, Kent: Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines: 1923
  46. ↑ "Brig. Gen. Lester J. Maitland: After breaking his first aviation record in 1923, Army flier never slowed down". military.com. January 20, 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  47. ↑ "Woman Does 212 Air Loops". The New York Times. May 28, 1924. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  48. 1 2 Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85602-7, p. 55.
  49. ↑ Daniel, Clifton, Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-942191-01-3, p. 306.
  50. ↑ "First Arrest of Violator of Air Traffic Rules". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  51. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 123.
  52. ↑ aviationarchaeology.com 1923 US Army Air Service Accident Reports
  53. ↑ "Avalanche Press".
  54. ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 49.
  55. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 181.
  56. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 126.
  57. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 68.
  58. ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 63.
  59. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 461.
  60. ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 123.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.