1930 US Army Air Show
US Army Air Show, 26 April 1930 in Burbank, California.
I love newspapers. Here is why. I learned a vast amount about one day in the life of William D. Pinkerton and Annabelle Evans. In learning about one day of their lives, I learned about a historical event, a 1930 US Army air show.
It all started with the above picture. I was sifting through old family photographs when I came upon this gem. Cars tightly packed together. People sitting on the roof of their cars and standing atop a building; all crammed in together eagerly watching the skies above. It is a compelling picture.
On the back was written 25 April 1930, Baching field, Boeing planes. Knowing the date and that the picture came from the Pinkerton collection, I knew the location had to be in southern California, near Burbank. William and Annabelle lived in Burbank, California at the time. The city just north of Los Angeles was the site where the Moreland Motor Truck Company was located. Annabelle’s Uncle Watt Moreland was the owner of the company.
I wanted to know more about the air show depicted in the picture. So, I did some research. I found that The UCLA Library Digital Collections site had a digitized archived picture of the same event taken from an opposite view. You can take a look at the picture here. The UCLA Library dated the air show on 26 April 1930 and gave a few details.
A few details were not enough for me. So, I went to my favorite place to hang out online, Chronicling America. A more generalized search didn’t work. No results. I had to use the Advance search. Low and behold, there was a news article about the event. Here is what it said.
Los Angeles is New Ground for Air Maneuvers
Burbank, Calif., April 26, (U.P.)
Dropping down from the sky in precise military ranks, more than 150 planes of the army air corps were lined up at the United Airport here today ready for a demonstration of war above the earth.
The battalion of ships came in the March Field, at Riverside, where they had stopped after a week of military maneuvers over various northern California cities.
Heading the huge movement of fighting craft into Burbank were 61 Boeing and Curtiss single-seated pursuit planes whose antics furnish the thrills in the army’s air spectacle.
Behind them, cumbersome but flying with deadly evenness, came the huge Curtiss and Keystone bombers, 26 in all, followed by 28 Curtiss attack planes, a squad of Douglas observers, seven tri-motored transports and 20 miscellaneous staff ships.
As the pilots lunched, mechanics gave the fleet a final check in preparation for the late afternoon’s spectacular maneuvers, to be witnessed by an anticipated crowd of 200,000 persons.
The first tier of planes was to roar into the air at 2 p.m. Half an hour later the entire force, from giant bombers to swift little pursuit ships, was scheduled to sweep down in front of the reviewing stands, the lead planes flying within 25 feet of the earth.
Then for an hour and a half the squadron planned to thrill spectators with all the thrilling stunts of a real air raid by the enemy and the tactics of a defending fleet.
Mimic Battle
A feature of the afternoon’s mimic battle was to be a diving demonstration by two of the smaller planes which are trained to show the accuracy needed in aerial warfare, by breaking two tiny balloons.
A darting pursuit ship’s protective smoke screen probably will fall over the field before the close of the performance, with a heavier curtain dropping from one of the bombers.
Tomorrow afternoon several ships will be taken to Rockwell Field at San Diego to be grounded for inspection by the public until Monday when the fleet disbands to return to its regular posts.
Los Angeles and vicinity had the first warning of impending war in the air last night when four of the giant bombers, brilliantly lighted, circled over the city for an hour or more.
At intervals, specially prepared parachute flares were released to illuminate a wide area below, which in wartime would be a target for devastating bombs.
Thank you for reading.
Jenny Findsen