Following are twelve images of U.S. Navy aircraft from the Klein Archive that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936.

A-7526 Ford XJR-1, Date Unknown

At right, A-7526, a Ford XJR-1. This airplane is equipped with three Wright J-4 engines of 200HP each. This is an official U.S. Navy photo (note title board in the foreground). This airplane followed a pattern during 1928-29 of aproximately semi-annual trips between Washington, DC and San Diego, CA.

During its cross-country travels, this big Ford landed at Tucson at least six times. The first two landings were flown by Lt. S.W. Callaway on April 19 and April 27, 1928. Based at Anacostia, Washington, DC, on the first visit Lt. Callaway carried one passenger westbound from El Paso, TX to San Diego, CA. On the 27th he carried nine passengers returning east to Washington.

A-7526 Ford XJR-1, Date Unknown

The airplane must have made another trip west, because on June 6, 1928 we find it at Tucson again eastbound from San Diego to Washington carrying seven passengers. The pilot this time was Lt. Cdr. G.R. Bowes.

On February 12, 1929 it landed at Tucson flown by J.J. Clark carrying six passengers. Bowes was his copilot and they were westbound El Paso, TX to San Diego. On February 17, 1929 Clark arrived from Imperial, CA eastbound to El Paso. His copilot was G.R. Bowes.

The final landing at Tucson was on June 19, 1929 flown by D.W. Tomlinson (see below for another mention of Tomlinson). He carried one passenger identified as "Assistant Secretary of the Navy". They were westbound from El Paso to Los Angeles, CA.

Another image of A-7526 is available at the Russell T. Gerow Collection on this site.

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Boeing F3B-1, A-7729

This airplane is a Boeing F3B-1. A-7729 landed three times during 1929. The first time was April 5th and the pilot was listed as Bob Starkey. He and his unidentified passenger were eastbound from Los Angeles, CA to Brownsville, TX.

The second (12/6 eastbound) and third (12/23 westbound) landings were piloted by Lt. C.O. Fisher, who listed his homebase as the U.S.S. Saratoga. He was solo both times.

Boeing F3B-1, A-7729

At left is another view of A-7729. The dates of the images are unknown and it is not clear if both these images were taken contiguously on the same day. The shadows on the ground suggest they were not. The view at left was taken at Glendale, CA.

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A-8287 Sikorsky PS-3, Date Unknown

At left, the Sikorsky PS-3 (S-38) A-8287. This airplane carried two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines of 450 HP each.

A-8287 landed at Tucson once, on August 13, 1929 flown by Lt. C.O. Fisher. Based at Anacostia, Washington, DC, Fisher was westbound from El Paso, TX to San Diego. He carried one passenger named Armstrong. They noted in the Remarks column of the Register, "Ferrying".

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Curtiss A-8425, Location Unknown

A-8425 landed once at Tucson flown by Navy pilot Lt. (jg) J.S. Tracey. He carried one passenger identified simply as "mechanic". They were westbound from Midland, TX to San Diego, CA. They remained overnight at Tucson.

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Great Lakes TG-2 A-8701

This robust airplane is a Great Lakes TG-2. A-8701 landed once on 11/4/1931 flown by Paul L. Dudley. He carried A. Mead as passenger. They were based on the U.S.S. Lexington and they were westbound from Cleveland, OH to San Diego, CA. They remained in Tucson overnight.

Great Lakes TG-2 A-8701

Left, another image of Great Lakes TG-2 A-8701. From the location background and shadows on the ground, these two images might have been taken at the same time.

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Curtiss Helldiver A-8849

This Curtiss Helldiver landed January 25, 1931 at Tucson piloted by Lt. C.F. Harper. He carried C.P. Murtha as passenger. Based at Anacostia N.A.S., Washington, DC, they were westbound from El Paso, TX to San Diego, CA.

Interestingly, earlier, on June 6, 1923, Lt. Harper set an altitude record of 13,898 feet for planes with no useful load in a DT-2 (cf. page 45 of Department of the Navy.  NAVWEPS 00-80P-1, “United States Naval Aviation 1910-1960”).

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A-9068, Vought O-3U-2

A-9068 is a Vought O-3U-2. It was flown to Tucson once by Lt. C.S. Smiley on January 20, 1932. He carried one passenger identified only as "Mott". He wrote in the remarks section of the Register, "Ferry" "From Hartford, Conn." This was probably a brand new airplane.

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Vought SU-2, A-9099

A-9099 is a Vought SU-2. It was flown to Tucson by Capt. C.A. Larkin. He carried one passenger identified only as "Biddell". Based in San Diego, CA, they were westbound from Quantico, VA to San Diego.

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Below, "The Three Seahawks" flying Boeing F2B-1s. It is not clear (numbers are not readable on the original image) if any of the individual airplanes landed at Tucson.

These three Navy pilots and aircraft were a precision aerobatic team formed during the late 1920s. Besides precision flying, their claim to fame was that they did their takeoffs, flying and landings while tethered at their wingtips by ropes. You can see very clearly in this image the lines connecting the three aircraft. Their skill, and the interest in their chain of command in "selling" the Navy, made this team the precursors of the contemporary "Blue Angels" and other military high-performance teams.

"The Three Seahawks" in Boeing F2B-1s

"The Three Seahawks" were William V. Davis, Jr., Daniel W. "Tommy" Tomlinson and A.P. "Putt" Storrs. It is unclear from this image which of the pilots is in which airplane. However, all the pilots are of interest to us. Two of them (Tomlinson and Storrs) are pilots who signed the Davis-Monthan Register.

Pilot Davis, roughly a year before this image was taken, was selected as the navigator of the Travel Air transport named "Woolaroc", which was the first aircraft to cross the Pacific Ocean non-stop to win the Dole Prize. His pilot in command on this flight was Art Goebel, another signer of the Register. Goebel wanted a navigator "from the Navy" to guide his airplane across the Pacific. Davis' skill at navigating the "Woolaroc" is credited in the success of the flight.

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UPLOADED: 09/24/07 REVISED: