Page 12 - Aerotech News and Review, December 17, 2021

On this date ...
Dec. 19, 1972: The Apollo 17 command module – America – returned to Earth following its Moon landing mission. The splashdown in the Pacific Ocean came 12 days, 13 hours, 51 minutes and 59 seconds after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board “America” were astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ronald Evans.
Dec. 22, 1964: Lockheed test pilot Robert J. “Bob” Gilliland made a solo first flight of the first SR-71A, 61-7950, at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, Calif. The “Blackbird” flew higher than 45,000 feet and more than 1,000 miles per hour before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, 22 northeast, to begin flight testing. Lockheed built 32 SR-71As. They entered service with the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (later redesignated the 9th SRW) in 1966 and were initially retired in 1989. Several were reactivated in 1995, but finally retired in 1999.
Dec. 22, 1964: A Lockheed M-21, a special two-place variant of
the Central Intelligence Agency’s A-12 Oxcart Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft, took off for the first time from Groom Lake, Nev. Piloted by William C. Park, Jr., Lockheed’s chief engineering test pilot, the M-21 carried a D-21 drone.
Dec. 23, 1941: The Douglas C-47 Skytrain made its maiden flight. The Douglas C-47 Skytrain was a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years. The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment, and strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, and an astrodome in the cabin roof. During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo, and wounded. The U.S. naval designation was R4D. More than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, Calif., and Oklahoma City, Okla. The specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircraft’s Santa Monica plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment, and reinforced floor of the C-47. Only 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile. In this photograph, C-47s are seen unloading supplies at Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift.
Dec. 23, 1974: The Rockwell International B-1A Lancer made its first flight, from Palmdale and landed at Edwards. The aircraft commander was Rockwell test pilot and retired Air Force Col. Charles Bock, Jr., with Air Force pilot and B-1 JTF director Col. Emil “Ted” Sturmthal, and flight test engineer Richard Abrams. The 70-minute, 250-mile flight was made within reach of the Rogers Dry Lake runways during which basic flight evaluation was conducted.
Dec. 24, 1955: Thanks to a wrong number in a Sears ad, NORAD tracks Santa for the first time. To track Santa this year, visit www.noradsanta.org/en/
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December 17, 2021