Chronology - Quarter 2 1947

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Previous Home Next 1947 April 1 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Deacon. Model: Deacon. Test launch Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 10 km (6 mi). First Deacon rocket launched at Wallops Island, which achieved a velocity of 4,200 feet per second. References: 2. 1947 April - Launch Vehicle: Navaho. Model: Navaho SSM-A-2. MX-770 design firms up, but requirements change Nation: USA. Program: Navaho. North American's Kinetic Double-Integrating Accelerometer (KDIA) design allowed an inertial platform to also measure distance traveled. This breakthrough would allow long-distance unpiloted high-accuracy navigation. North American also discovered that the A9 swept-wing design was unstable at transonic speeds. The company selected an aft-wing with forward canard layout for the MX-770. References: 221. 1947 April 1 - 20:10 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 22. Solar ultraviolet / chemical release mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/APL. Apogee: 129 km (80 mi). Launched 13:10 local time. Reached 129.5 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, photo experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University. References: 2. 1947 April 4 - Stalin meeting on Saenger bomber Nation: USSR. Stalin is fascinated with Saenger's design for an intercontinental rocket bomber. He calls a meeting in the Kremlin, and orders Serov to locate Saenger and bring him to Russia. However Saenger is in Paris, and attempts to kidnap him are thwarted by the French secret police. References: 47. 1947 April 9 - 00:10 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 23. Solar ultraviolet / chemical release mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/APL. Apogee: 103 km (64 mi). Launched 17:13 local time. Reached 102.4 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, photo experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University. References: 2. 1947 April 10 - XS-1 Flight 27 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 11. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 11. Glide flight and stall check. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 April 11 - XS-1 Flight 28 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 12. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 12. Nosewheel damaged. First powered flight of XS-1 # 1 aircraft. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 April 14 - D-558-I first flight. Nation: USA. Spacecraft: D-558-1. Crew: May. Douglas pilot Eugene F. May flew the number one Skystreak for the first time on April 14, 1947, at Muroc Army Airfield (later renamed Edwards Air Force Base) in Calif. The goals of the program were to investigate the operation of a straight-wing configuration in the lower third of the transonic speed range (which extended from roughly 0.7 to 1.3 times the speed of sound). 1947 April 17 - 23:22 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 24. Grenades Test / aeronomy mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/GE. Apogee: 140 km (80 mi). Launched 14:22 local time. Reached 142.7 km. Carried pressure, temperature (Signal Corps Engineering Lab, University of Michigan) experiments for General Electric. The warhead section was replaced with an instrumented full-scale replica of the cylindrical GE A-4 ramjet duct planned for the Hermes B ramjet missile. References: 2. 1947 April 24 - Launch Site: Hammaguira. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Colomb Bechar rocket test range established. Nation: France. French Government established rocket test range at Colomb Bechar, Algeria. References: 17. 1947 April 24 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: HVAR. Model: HVAR FFAR. RM-10 model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2. 1947 April 25 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. First airplane scale model rocket test. Nation: USA. NACA Langley's PARD launched its first rocket-propelled model of a complete airplane for performance evaluation (AF XF-91), at Wallops Island. This was followed by flight tests of models of practically all Air Force and Navy supersonic airplanes. References: 17. 1947 April 28 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: FFAR. Model: Double FFAR. RM-5 Model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2. 1947 April 28 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: FFAR. XF-91 model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2. 1947 April 29 - XS-1 Flight 29 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 13. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 13. Handling qualities check. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 April 30 - XS-1 Flight 30 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 14. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 14. Handling qualities check. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 1 - Launch Site: Wallops Island. Launch Complex: -. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: HVAR. FR-2 model test flight Nation: USA. Agency: NACA. Apogee: 5.00 km (3.10 mi). References: 2. 1947 May - Launch Vehicle: Navaho. Model: Navaho SSM-A-2. MX-770 navigation system Nation: USA. Program: Navaho. Full design and development of the XN-1 pure inertial navigation system for the MX-770 is begun by North American. References: 221. 1947 May 5 - XS-1 Flight 31 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 15. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 15. Handling qualities check. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 15 - XS-1 Flight 32 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 16. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 16. Buffet-boundary investigation. Aileron-damper malfunction. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 15 - 23:08 GMT - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 26. FAILURE: Failure. Solar ultraviolet mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA/NRL. Apogee: 122 km (75 mi). Launched 16:04 local time. Reached 135.5 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, temperature, ionosphere, photo experiments for Naval Research Lab. Landed east of the impact zone on the outskirts of Alamagordo, New Mexico References: 2. 1947 May 19 - XS-1 Flight 33 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 17. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 17. Buffet-boundary investigation. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 21 - XS-1 Flight 34 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 18. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 18. Buffet-boundary investigation. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 22 - XS-1 Flight 35 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 2 flight 17. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Johnston Alvin. Bell flight 17. Pilot familiarization flight. Mach 0.72, 8 g pullout. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 22 - Launch Vehicle: G-1. Groettrup G-1 design ordered Nation: USSR. The G-1 was Groettrup's first design after the German engineering team had been moved to Russia. The first group of 234 specialists was given the task of designing a 600 km range rocket (the G-1/R-10). Work had begun on this already in Germany but the initial challenge in Russia was that the technical documentation was somehow still 'in transit' from the Zentralwerke. The other obstacle was Russian manufacturing technology, which was equivalent to that of Germany at the beginning of the 1930's. The Germans worked at two locations, NII-88 (Korolev OKB) and Gorodmlya Island to complete the design of the G-1. Other groups of Germans worked at Factory 88 (R-1 production) and Factory 456 (Glushko OKB / engine production). 1947 May 22 - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Corporal. Model: Corporal E. LV Configuration: Corporal E 1 31D. Nation: USA. Agency: USA OR. Apogee: 39 km (24 mi). The missile attained a range of 100 km and accepted guidance corrections. References: 2. 1947 May 29 - XS-1 Flight 36 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 2 flight 18. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 18. Airspeed calibration flight to mach 0.72. End of Bell contractor program. References: 49, 97. 1947 May 30 - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Hermes. Model: Hermes B-1. LV Configuration: Hermes B-1 B-1 No. 0. FAILURE: Failure. Hermes II test Nation: USA. Agency: USA. Apogee: 50 km (31 mi). Hermes B-1 impacts a graveyard 18.5 km south of Juarez, Mexico on its first test flight. This and the out-of-range V-2 impact on 15 May resulted in new safety measures at WSPG. 'We were the first German unit to not only infiltrate the United States, but to attack Mexico from US soil'. This vehicle was deeply classified at the time. Hermes experiments were conducted with modified V-2 rockets to test the configuration of a ramjet propulsion system. Four Hermes B-1 rockets were flown from Complex 33, none of which were noted in the contemporary records. References: 2. 1947 June 1 - Launch Vehicle: Mace, Matador, Regulus 1. MX-771 canceled. Nation: USA. The US Army cancels the Martin MX-771 tactical cruise missile, deciding it will instead procure a land-launched version of the similar Navy Regulus. 1947 June - Launch Vehicle: Navaho. MX-770 Phase 2 Nation: USA. Program: Navaho. Component development for the MX-770 missile begins. North American had spent $3.9 million to date on the project. Construction of the launch site for the Nativ test vehicle is begun at Holloman AFB in New Mexico. References: 221. 1947 June 5 - XS-1 Flight 37 Nation: USA. Payload: XS-1 # 1 flight 19. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Crew: Goodlin. Bell flight 19. Demonstration flight for Aviation Writers Association. At Muroc Dry Lake, California. References: 49, 97. 1947 June 12 - Launch Site: White Sands. Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Pad: -. Launch Vehicle: Wac. Model: WAC B. LV Configuration: WAC B 29B?. Test mission Nation: USA. Agency: USA OR. Apogee: 60 km (37 mi). References: 2. 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