Famous Red.com   ...Is currently showcasing the theme for the book ... "Famous Red Planes" ... and which highlights a quite striking facet of aviation history. ...See below the extraordinary number of aviators who followed in the footsteps of The Red Baron, to also find fame in their own spectacular red painted flying machines.

France - Breguet 19

Famous French aviators Dieudonn'e Costes and Maurice Bellonte made the first non-stop flight from Paris to New York on 1st-2nd September 1930 in a Breguet 19 Super Bidon biplane with the name "Point d' Interrogation" but nicknamed "Le Rouge"

Their flight of 37hours and 17 minutes, displayed skill and courage probably equal to that of the legendary Charles Lindberg (solo New York to Paris), who met and congratulated them on their arrival in New York. Flight east to west over the Atlantic is usually the more difficult direction to fly in due to prevailing westerly winds.

The aircraft is on display in the "Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace" at Le Bourget Airport, Paris.

Photo copyright (c) Memorial-Flight Juin 2002

U.S.A. - Bellanca J300

“Miss Veedol” was the name of a single engine aircraft manufactured by Bellanca and referred to as a “J-300 Long Distance Special” …This bright red painted aircraft became famous in October 1931 in the hands of Clyde Pangborn & Hugh Herndon Jr. when they succeeded in completing the first non-stop crossing of the Pacific Ocean from Misawa, Japan to Wenatchee, Washington State, USA.

This extraordinary test of skill, endurance and bravery had seen the two men spend 41 hours and 15mins airborne before arriving in the USA on October 5th 1931 and whereupon they were obliged to make a belly landing without their main wheels. …Incredibly Clyde Pangborn had deliberately altered the attachment of his aircraft undercarriage before departing Japan to make it jettison able, with the intention of reducing drag and increasing Miss Veedol’s cruise speed. In the event Pangborn and Herndon suffered considerable difficulty with this arrangement when innitially the undercarriage had failed to break away completely. …Undaunted Pangborn is reputed to have rectified the situation in the air over the Pacific, climbing out of his aircraft on to the wing support struts in the process and freeing the offending mainwheel struts.

Photo above of Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr. circa 1931

The original Miss Veedol aircraft was lost in the hands of another pilot after the aircraft was sold in the 1930’s, but in the 21^st century an accurate and airworthy replica (see photo's below ) with the same powerplant as the original has been faithfully recreated by an organisation in the USA called EAA chapter 424. ..."Believe it or not the gentlemen in that concern currently advertise that they are also going to celebrate Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon's momentous flight across the Pacific Ocean by recreating it"

The replica Miss Veedol above and below.

Photo's above are courtesy of  :-

http://www.spiritofwenatchee.org/

U.S.A. - Lockheed Vega

In 1932 Amelia Earhart flew her red Lockheed Vega non-stop from Newfoundland, Canada to Ireland. The 14 hour 56 minute flight made her famous as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. For her achievement she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in her own country and also the Legion of Honor from the French Government.

Amelia and the red Vega circa 1935

A studio portrait of Amelia circa 1932

 The actual aircraft on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

A 1934 poster for the race.

Great Britain - DH88 Comet

Grosvenor House was the name of the all scarlet De Havilland DH88 Comet in which Charles W.A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black won the 1934 England to Australia Air Race.

 The two aviators arrived in Melbourne only 71 hours and 18 seconds after departing Mildenhall airfield in England and beat their nearest rivals (a Dutch KLM crew in a Douglas DC2 airliner) by more than nineteen hours. ..."The flight represented an astonishing feat of endurance and skill"

Two other DH88 Comets competed in the race. Black Magic piloted by Jim and Amy Mollison retired due to an engine failure,  and G-ACSR the "Green Comet" piloted by Owen Cathcart-Jones and Ken Waller finished fourth having been delayed with engine problems.

...Lucky red!

Tom Campbell Black circa 1935

 The image above is from a collectors set of  cards made in the 1930's

The original DH88 Comet seen in 2007 at the Shuttleworth Museum.

 "Grosvenor House" forms part of the Shuttleworth Collection of vintage flyable aircraft at Old Warden in England.

Russia.

 USSR - "The Red Fives"

In March 1935 the first of a series of aerobatic teams referred to as "Red five-Aircraft Groups" was created in the former USSR. Employing the diminutive and barrel shaped Polikarpov I-16 fighter, the first group of five pilots quickly became famous when they were asked to perform in the May day 1935 military parade in Moscow's Red Square.

On the occasion five bright red Polikarpov I-16's descended below Moscow's roof tops and employing a white line painted along the route traditionally used by columns of Soviet tanks they burst into Red Square in tight formation and with a deafening roar. At which point the five pilots pulled up and with each aircraft remaining in it's place the formation rolled as one.

 The effect was said to have been tremendous. ...After the pilots landed they were immediately in receipt of cash bonuses and promotions and their Commander in Chief passed on the following accolade.

 "Comrade Stalin highly appreciates the pilot's skills and is asking them to fly over Moscow once again"

Following which the five red planes flew repeatedly over the streets of Moscow and in various districts leaving a lasting impression all over the city.

Photo above (circa 1935) is of the first "Red Five aerobatic team" performing their signature formation slow roll.

The Polikarpov I-16 which was the mainstay of the Soviet fighter plane force in the 1930's and early 1940's was considered quite tricky to fly and one of the other main tasks of the "The Red Fives" was to visit the fighter squadrons and impress with their skills. ...Thereby encouraging other young pilots to have faith in the demanding aircraft.

Above, circa 1934, a shiny new Polikarpov I-16 fresh off the factory production line.

U.S.A.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning

In the midst of WW2 the Lockheed factory celebrated the manufacture of their 5000th P-38 Lightning by painting it bright vermilion red and also had the name "YIPPEE" painted on the underside of the wings in large letters.

An original colour photo of the red P-38J Lightning known as "Yippee"  which did not survive the war as it eventually joined a combat squadron minus its red paint.

 Lockheed test pilots Milo Burcham and Tony LeVier are reputed to have performed spectacular stunts in the aircraft at air shows.  ...Apparently including slow rolls at treetop level with one prop feathered to show that the P-38 was not the unmanageable beast of legend.

Their exploits are said to have reassured young military pilots that although the Lightning could sometimes be a handful it was not a "widow maker".

Original black and white photo of "Yippee"

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is famous as the aircraft flown by the most successful American combat pilot. ...Major Richard Ira Bong (USAAF) shot down 40 Japanese aircraft in the Pacific theatre during WW2 and was awarded the Medal of Honor.

U.S.A.

 Douglas Skystreak

 The first of three all scarlet Douglas Skystreak D-558-1 jet aircraft made its maiden flight on April 14, 1947, at Muroc Army Air Field (later named Edwards AFB).

Less than 4 months later, on August 20, this aircraft piloted by Commander Turner Caldwell, USN, set a new world speed record of 641 miles per hour.

 The record lasted 5 days and was broken by Marine pilot Marion Carl going 10 miles per hour faster in the second red D-558-1.

  Their test pilots nicknamed these early experimental jet aircraft,   "Crimson test tubes"

Skystreak number 2 seen in the photo above circa 1947, ...courtesy of NASA.

 Skystreak number 1 is on display sporting its bright red colour scheme at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

U.S.A. - CORSAIR F2G

The year 1949 saw the last running of the famous “National Air Races” that had historically been held since 1929 at Cleveland, Ohio in the USA.

On that last occasion in Cleveland and of the “Tinnerman Trophy Race” …The winner was Ben McKillen who flew a powerful former WW2 Corsair F2G fighter plane sporting a spectacular red paint scheme that he had applied especially for the Cleveland Races. He also came third in this colourful Corsair in the Thompson Trophy Race at the same event.

For many years the red Corsair (race #57) was not seen or heard of and in fact it had fallen into disrepair whilst in open storage. Then in the 1990’s the aircraft was acquired by the current owner Bob Odegard who invested thousands of man-hours in restoring it to airworthy status. Now the historic racing Corsair can be seen flying again on the air show circuit in the USA and it also regularly appears at the Reno National Championship Air Races.

Photo's above are courtesy of www.mustangsmustangs.com

U.S.A. - P51 Excalibur III

The standing piston engine speed record between New York and London was set on 31st Jan. 1951 by Capt. Charles Blair, who flew his red P51 at full power all the way and set a blistering time of 7hours 48mins. This record will most likely stand forever. ...Of course the P51Mustang with it's Merlin engine is also a legend on account of it's performance during World War 2.
 

Excalibur III is on display in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Great Britain - Hawker Hunter

 On 7th September 1953 famous test pilot and WW2 fighter pilot Squadron Leader Neville Frederick Duke became the holder of the "World Air Speed Record" when he flew a British Hawker Hunter (WB188) painted all over scarlet at 727.63 mph over a course between Bognor and Littlehampton in England.

Neville Duke, seen above standing in the cockpit of his famous red Hawker Hunter. The actual aircraft is in a museum at Tangmere in Sussex, England.

Great Britain - The Red Arrows

The Red Arrows are currently the official aerobatic display team of the Royal Air Force. ...They were formed in 1964 and replaced a number of unofficial RAF teams operated by various squadrons at that time. Perhaps their most famous forebears had been the Black Arrows.

There current aircraft are British Aerospace Hawk jets. ...These machines replaced the Folland Gnat aircraft that the team had used from their early days until 1979.

Signature formation to this day is the Diamond Nine pattern created by Ray Hanna (the "Reds" most famous leader) in 1968. 

The Red Arrows have become World famous for their spectacular displays having been seen by air show audiences in fifty different countries. One of the largest crowds to see them was in Lisbon, Portugal where 650,000 people were present, but this figure was exceeded when the team displayed in Sydney Australia.

Above The Red Arrows flying in a formation representing the shape of the famous supersonic airliner Concorde.

Above "Red Arrows" pilots standing beside one of their famous red jets.

All photos above of "The Red Arrows" are courtesy of - Arpingstone.

U.S.A. - P51 "Dago Red"

 "Dago Red" is one of those legendary WW2 generation P51 Mustangs that has been souped-up to give it the most spectacular performance possible in a piston engine aircraft. And that has enabled it to win the Unlimited Class at the Reno Air Races in the USA on 5 consecutive occasions between 1998 and 2003. Dago Red also set the standing "Fastest Race Average Speed Record" in 2002 of 507.1 mph. ...The Unlimited Race at Reno which normally takes place once a year in September is the fastest piston engine race in the world.

The photo above of Dago Red is courtesy of www.MustangsMustangs.com

Great Britain / USA - Hawker Sea Fury

“September Fury” is a red painted British Hawker Sea Fury and WW2 generation fighter plane that has been souped up with a non-standard American radial piston engine and a radical experimental cooling system. …Giving it sufficient performance to compete alongside aircraft like “Dago Red” (already featured above) in the premier “Unlimited Class” event at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, USA. 

The 2006 Unlimited Class Gold Final was won by “September Fury”

…In the hands of American owner Michael Brown his scarlet Sea Fury had averaged 481.6 miles per hour during the course of the spectacular low-level race. 

Photo of "September Fury" above is courtesy of www.mustangsmustangs.com

Famous Red Airliners.

I

Virgin Atlantic Airways - Boeing 747

In our day and age it has long been acknowledged that it can be inordinately expensive to paint entire airframes of large airliners in bright colours. Nevertheless there are still an extraordinary number of airlines around the World that feature bright red colour schemes to attract their passengers.

 Amongst the most famous is Virgin Atlantic Airways, …a British airline started by Sir Richard Branson and currently serving destinations in North America, The Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Australia. And it seems reasonable to presume that red is Sir Richards favourite colour.

…His flagship Boeing 747 known as "Lady Penelope" is emblazoned with an attractive strawberry blonde young lady, stylised in the fashion of a World War 2 pin-up girl and whose red cape trails in the breeze all over the “Jumbo” jet’s tail.  

Almost all of Virgin Atlantic's other aircraft also feature "Scarlet Ladies" although in a smaller format on the nose of their respective aircraft. ...Various other names include "Ruby Tuesday" and "Ladybird"

Photo above of the Virgin Atlantic Scarlet Lady known as "Lady Penelope" is courtesy of - Arpingstone.

Virgin Blue

The name Virgin Blue for Australia's second largest airline as well as the largest airline (by fleet size) with the Virgin branding (also started by Sir Richard Branson) plays on a popular Australian-ism. …Red heads are called “Blue” and so all Virgin Blue’s aircraft are very much red. See below :-

Photo above courtesy of :- GRAHAMUK