226 Ergebnisse - Zeige 141 von 160.

A redesign of the U.S. Navy's successful Mark 14 torpedo, the Mark 16 was developed during WWII but not available until early 1945 and never saw combat. The Mark 16's design incorporated the best aspects of the Mark 14, and some features of German torpedoes. During twenty years of the Cold War, the Mark 16 served as the Silent Service's standard anti-ship weapon. The Mark 16 was powered by a Navol hydrogen-peroxide and alcohol engine. The warh...

Developed in the late 1850s, the traction engine revolutionized the agriculture industry. James H. Maggard, an authority on steam power, wrote The Traction Engine for the "rough and tumble engineers" tasked with operating these machines in the field. That was not an altogether easy task even for a seasoned professional. Breakdowns, boiler explosions, and injury could result if an operator was inattentive. This reprint of the 1900 edition of th...

It has been said, with truth, that an inherent love of things mechanical finds a more or less definitive place in the character of every Englishman..." So begins The MotorCyclist's Handbook, a wonderful text from 1911 that describes in detail the operation of early motorcycles. Created by Charles S. Lake columnist for The Model Engineer magazine, the book was an instant classic. Today it is just as readable and in some fashion in even more enj...

Henry Ford introduced his Model T in 1908, and changed the face of America. The arrival of the "Tin Lizzie" on city streets also signaled the beginning of the end for a debate that had raged since the beginning of the motor car era. Namely, "What is the best propulsion system for autos: steam, electric, or gasoline?" Originally published in 1915 as an engineering text, The Gasoline Automobile is a classic book that provides rare insights into ...

On October 4, 1957 at 10:28 Moscow time, a rocket carrying the world's first orbiting satellite roared into space, signaling a new era in human history and the beginning of the so-called "space race" - an epic rivalry pitting the technological know-how of the Soviet Union against that of the United States. Despite some highly publicized failures, the USA managed to answer the Russians with the successful launch of Explorer 1 in January of 1958...

Developed and deployed in a short time due to the pressure of the Vietnam War, Bell's AH-1 Cobra performed well, but Army planners believed a better attack helicopter would be needed in the next war. In 1976, Hughes Helicopter's YAH-64A prototype bested the Cobra in firepower, performance and range, and won the competition to replace it. It would be 1982 before production commenced, but eventually over 1100 would be produced including the adva...

Designed by Grumman's brilliant Tom Kelly, the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (or "LEM" for short) was a triumph of purpose-built engineering. In the six years 1962-1968 between drawing board and first flight, a myriad of challenges were overcome related to weight, reliability and safety. The final design, designated the Lunar Module or "LM", boasted tiny windows instead of large portholes, four legs instead of five and most famously had no sea...

Developed by Bell in the early 1950s, the UH-1 Iroquois was the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter production for the U.S. military. Originally designated the HU-1A for "Helicopter Utility", it was quickly nick- named the "Huey" - a moniker that stuck even after the aircraft was reclassified UH-1 in 1962. Designed as a medical evacuation, trans- port and utility helicopter, the UH-1 was extraordinarily successful with more than 16, 000 ...

During the Vietnam War fleets of transport helicopters provided U.S. forces with an unprecented level of mobility and proved the concept of "air cavalry". But without adequate support, helicopters such as the Bell UH-1 proved vulnerable to enemy ground fire. The solution was to develop a helicopter gunship. Bell's first foray into the category was rejected by the Army, but after Lockheed's AH-56 failed to meet critical goals, Bell answered the...

Designed by Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the Saturn V rocket represents the pinnacle of 20th Century technological achievement. The only launch vehicle in history to transport astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit, the Saturn V delivered 24 men to the moon. To this day it holds records as the tallest (363 feet), heaviest (nearly 7 million lbs.) and most powerful (over 7.6 million pounds-force of thru...

Equipped with a W38 thermonuclear warhead and with a range of 5, 500 nautical miles, the Titan I was the Air Force's first multi-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, and a vital part of America's nuclear arsenal in the years 1961-1965. Designed and built by the Glen L. Martin Company (later Martin Marietta), the HGM-25A/SM-68A missile was the first in a series of Titan rockets. Unlike its later siblings, Titan I utilized non-storable and ...

The first ICBM to be developed and deployed by the United States, the Atlas had a range of 5500 nautical miles and could achieve a speed of 15, 500 mph. Depending on configuration, it could be equipped with either a W-49 (1.45 megaton) or W-38 (4.5 megaton) thermonuclear warhead. The Atlas' development can be traced to a series of research and development studies performed in the wake of WWII by the Convair company. These led to the company wi...

The U.S. Navy's principal Special Operations force, the SEALs (SEa, Air, Land) represents an elite force that, through its distinguished service, has changed history. As their name implies, the SEALs can be deployed conventionally, through airborne operations (such as high altitude / low opening parachute insertions) or from the sea (including deployment by submarine). Comprised of only the most physically and mentally fit individuals -the dro...

Founded in 1876 by Francis Lechner and Joseph A. Jeffrey, the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. produced the USA's first power-driven coal cutter. The company quickly grew into one of the largest suppliers of coal mine and industrial equipment in the world. This power house catalog dates from 1924, and showcases Jeffrey's extensive line of bucket carriers, conveyors, elevators, weigh larries, track hoppers, track feeders, skip hoists, crushers, coal s...

The XB-70 Valkyrie was an aircraft ahead of its time. Equipped with drooping wingtips, and designed with one of the highest lift-to-drag ratios in aviation history, the XB-70 challenged the known concepts of the flight envelope and demanded extraordinary developments in engineering and construction. The test program produced promising results, including a Mach 3 flight in May of 1966. Yet after a disastrous collision later that year resulted i...

The USAF's first jet-powered bomber capable of reaching Mach 2.0, the Convair B-58 Hustler carried a crew of three and a nuclear payload. A complex aircraft, the B-58 suffered teething problems during development and became infamous for its maintenance requirements. It also compiled a dubious safety record: out of 116 Hustlers, 26 were lost in accidents. Nevertheless, the B-58's career spanned nearly a decade between 1960-70. It might have con...

Developed in only 17 months at a cost of 38 million dollars, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) greatly expanded the survey range of the astronauts on Apollo 15, 16 and 17. Designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon, the LRV boasted an ingenious design that allowed it to be folded up and stored inside the Lunar Module. It would then be deployed using a system of pulleys and brake reels. The LRV's frame was made of aluminum alloy 221...

Created by NASA in 1968 and revised in 1971 for the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions, this handbook explains the extravehicular mobility unit, its subsystems, accessories and operation, as well as emergency procedures.

Nicknamed "The Whale" due to its enormous size and weight, the Navy's A-3 Skywarrior was one of the longest serving, carrier-based jet aircraft. Designed by famed Douglas engineer Ed Heinemann, the A-3 featured a 36° swept wing, semi-monocoque fuselage, and two J57 turbojets in underwing nacelles. It typically carried a crew of three in a frame canopy with the pilot and bombardier/navigator sitting side by side. The A-3 was an outgrowth of a d...

Skylab's launch in 1973 represented a major milestone in America's space program. Intended to enrich scientific knowledge of the Earth, Sun and space, America's first space station was also intended to prove that humans could live and work in zero gravity for extended periods. The station's design originated from a 1959 proposal by Wehrner von Braun to use an empty rocket stage as an orbiting laboratory -- Skylab's Orbital Workshop design was ...