Sperry Messenger meets TC-3 over Scott Field is a piece of digital artwork by Stu Shepherd which was uploaded on October 16th, 2019.
Sperry Messenger meets TC-3 over Scott Field
On December 15, 1924 Lt. Clyde V. Finter successfully docked a Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger biplane with an Army Air Service TC-3 dirigible over... more
by Stu Shepherd
Title
Sperry Messenger meets TC-3 over Scott Field
Artist
Stu Shepherd
Medium
Digital Art
Description
On December 15, 1924 Lt. Clyde V. Finter successfully docked a Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger biplane with an Army Air Service TC-3 dirigible over Scott Field, Missouri. This was the first successful hook-on and release from another aircraft in flight. The idea was to see if long-range airships could carry their own defensive aircraft in flight. While increasingly long-range aircraft an the inherent limitations of lighter-than-air craft were becoming obvious, the idea of a long range aircraft carrying its own protection in the form of a smaller "parasite" fighter was revisited as late as the 1950's, with tests of giant B-36 bombers carrying small "Goblin" fighters successfully undertaken, but again, abandoned as impractical.
Uploaded
October 16th, 2019