Walter Barling (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: vg. A confidential typescript prospectus for a new aircraft company to be associated with pioneer aviator and aircraft designer Walter H. Barling. The proposal includes a "contract" whereby Barling would receive $10,000 per. Black card binder. 18 leaves with original typescript on rectos only. Plus 8 1/2 x 11 glossy linen-backed b&w photograph of Barling Bomber and development crew including Walter H. Barling and Gen. William "Billy" Lendrum Mitchell. A confidential typescript prospectus for a new aircraft company to be associated with pioneer aviator and aircraft designer Walter H. Barling. The proposal includes a "contract" whereby Barling would receive $10,000 per year for five years in exchange for allowing the new company to use his various patents.Barling (born in England) trained with the Royal Aircraft Factory before immigrating to the United States, where he became an early and influential designer of experimental aircraft for the U.S. government. He is best remembered for the massive Barling Bomber, developed at the urging of Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell, who sought a strategic aircraft capable of demonstrating the viability of aerial attacks on capital ships. Conceived to carry a 5,000-pound bomb load at altitude, the aircraft was an ambitious multi-wing design of extraordinary scale, making its maiden flight at Wilbur Wright Field on 22 August 1923. Although the aircraft proved underpowered and ultimately unsuccessful (the press dubbed it "Mitchell's Folly"), it represented a significant conceptual step toward the development of later heavy bombers such as the B-17 and B-29.The present document dates from Barling s subsequent transition to civil aviation, including his design of the three-place high-performance NB3 monoplane, manufactured by the Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company, and the later Barling B6. Following the collapse of these ventures during the economic downturn of the early 1930s, Barling relocated to Santa Cruz, California, bringing with him his technical drawings and production materials. The prospectus represents his renewed attempt, circa 1942, to secure financing for a new aircraft enterprise, emphasizing the potential for large-scale production of efficient and economical designs.The final leaves of the document marked Confidential, detail Barling s financial requirements and conditions for partnership. An original photograph dating from the 1920s accompanies the report: it shows Barling standing next to Gen. Mitchell and others of the development crew in an aircraft hangar with a large bomber-like aircraft in the background. Note on verso of photograph identifies: Lt. Bissel, Lt. Dichman, Mr. Carisi, Gen. Robbins, Major Martin, Gen. Mitchell, Barling. Despite the technical promise outlined herein, no investor ultimately emerged, and Barling spent the remainder of his life in Santa Cruz, where he died in 1965. The present prospectus is thus a poignant document linking two of early American aviation s most controversial visionaries, William "Billy" Mitchell and Walter H. Barling, whose bold ideas outpaced the technology and institutions of their time. Conceived in the wake of Mitchell s crusade for strategic airpower and Barling s ill-fated giant bomber, the prospectus reflects both the persistence of their shared vision and the difficulty of translating it into sustained commercial success. By the early 1940s, as heavy bombers finally vindicated many of Mitchell s theories, Barling s appeal to investors carries a quiet sense of missed opportunity and belated recognition.A compelling and little-seen document illustrating the persistence of early aviation innovators and the transition from experimental military aviation to commercial enterprise in the interwar and wartime periods. Book.

Original typescript 18-page (rectos only) document recounting the aviation design skills of Walter Henry Barling and seeking investors for his proposed Barling Aircraft Corporation. In a binder with an original 8 x 10 photograph of the Barling Bomber with its development crew standing in front of it (with Walter Barling at the far right standing right next to General "Billy: Mitchell; William Lendrum Mitchell was a United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force).Walter Henry Barling was born in England and for a time worked as a designer for the Royal Aircraft Company there but soon immigrated to the United States. He was an engineer of the first order and was soon at work on experimental aircraft for the US government. While his contributions to the history of flight are many and varied he is chiefly remembered as the designer of the ill-fated "Barling Bomber." The Barling Bomber is generally attributed (the press called it "Mitchell's Folly") to William "Billy" Mitchell, a U.S. Army Air Service General and most vocal advocate of strategic airpower, who in 1919 discovered Walter H. Barling, who had previously worked for the Royal Aircraft Factory. Mitchell asked Barling to design a bomber capable of carrying enough bombs to sink a battleship. Mitchell's goal was to demonstrate the effectiveness of airpower by sinking a battleship from the air, and needed a large, strategic bomber in order to accomplish this feat. Mitchell projected the cost of two prototype bombers at $375,000. On 15 May 1920, the Army Engineering Division sought bids for the construction of a bomber based on Barling's sketches, with the requirement that it be capable of carrying a 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) bomb load, to an altitude of 10,000 ft (3,000 m) at a speed of no less than 100 mph (160 km/h).[2][3] Barling had all of its engines mounted level with the fuselage. The aircraft used three wings, but was not actually a triplane. More correctly, it was a two-and-a-half wing aircraft. The middle wing had no control surfaces, and was shorter and narrower than the two primary wings. The top and bottom wings had a chord of 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m), and each had a surface area of about 2,000 sq ft (190 m2). The stabilizer and elevator surfaces were 575 sq ft (53.4 m2) with an 8 ft (2.4 m) chord. The fins and rudders looked like a box kite, and had a surface area of 250 sq ft (23 m2). The undercarriage consisted of 10 wheels, including two wheels mounted towards the front of the aircraft (to prevent a nose-over on takeoff) and a tail skid. The gross weight of the bomber was 42,569 lb. It had a fuel capacity of 2,000 gallons, and carried 181 gallons of oil. On 22 August 1923, the Barling Bomber made its maiden flight from Wilbur Wright Field in Fairfield, Ohio. At the time, it was by far the heaviest aircraft in the world, and remains large even by today's standards. Although capable of carrying a 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) bomb load, it was soon discovered that the aircraft was seriously underpowered, and performance was disappointing. When it failed to fly over the Appalachian Mountains the program was discontinued. Many historians point out its influence in the development of the great bombers of WWII; the B29 and B17.But Walter Barley's aviation career did not end there. He turned to civil aviation and designed a three place, low wing, high performance monoplane which could be made by quality production methods such as those used in Ford Automobile plants. This craft was to become the well known NB3. It was put into manufacture by the Nicholas Beasley Airplane Company. There are two pages extolling the excellence of the NB3. Barling soon felt that another larger ship was in order so he designed the Barling B6. It was built, flight tested and made ready for manufacture. In 1931, due to hard times in the business world, the plant that was to build the B6 shut down. Barling purchased all the drawings, specification lists, valuable dies and jigs and had them shipped, along with himself and his family to Santa Cruz California. In California he did some consulting work for J. H. McCollough and the two eventually, in 1939, decided to form the Barling Aircraft Company. The remaining pages are a plea to investors stating that they can build great numbers of reliable and inexpensive NB3 and 6s. The final two page are marked "Confidential" and are a list of Barling's demands (salary, etc) should some entrepreneur decide to foot the bill and actually fund the Barling Aircraft Company, Apparently William Barling never found a backer and he spent the rest of his life in Santa Cruz where he died in 1965.