Signal Corps Dirigible No. 1 was the first powered aircraft ordered for the
Signal Corps by the
Aeronautical Division
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, Appendix 2 (1907–1914) was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronauti ...
of the
United States Army. The purchase of SC-1, a
dirigible
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
In early ...
designed by
Thomas Scott Baldwin
Thomas Scott Baldwin (June 30, 1854 – May 17, 1923) was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute.
Early career
Thomas Scott Baldwin was born on June 30, 18 ...
, was the result of urgings by
Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General James Allen. After seeing Baldwin demonstrate a dirigible at the St. Louis air meet in 1907, Allen had urged the U.S. Army to buy a dirigible, as many European armies had dirigibles by the turn of the century.
On 5 August 1908, the Army tested SC-1 at
Fort Myer, Virginia. The craft fell short of a 2-hour, 20 mph objective to meet a $8,000 per unit award. The Army formally accepted the craft as Signal Corps Dirigible No. 1 paying $5,737.50.
On 28 Aug. 1908 Lieutenants
Frank Lahm
Frank Purdy Lahm (November 17, 1877 – July 7, 1963) was an American aviation pioneer, the "nation's first military aviator", and a general officer in the United States Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces.
Lahm developed an interest in flying f ...
,
Michael "CC" Finney,
Thomas Selfridge and
Benjamin Foulois were taught to fly the craft.
After Second Lieutenant
John G Winter Jr of the
6th Cavalry was assigned to duty in the Aeronautical Division, the balloon detachment was transferred to
Fort Omaha, Nebraska.
On 26 May, pilot Lieutenant Lahm and Lieutenant Foulois made a flight in SC-1 at Fort Omaha, and manoeuvred the craft at will. SC-1 remained there until scrapped in 1912. The Army did not purchase another dirigible until after World War I.
Specifications (Signal Corps Dirigible No. 1)
References
{{reflist
Airships of the United States
1900s United States experimental aircraft
Baldwin aircraft