"Nighthawk", probably at Galt Field around the time of the world record flight. Official USAF Photograph.
On December 17th, 1931, William A. Cocke, Jr. was ready to attempt a world duration record. Nationaord. National Aeronautic Associattic Association (NAA) observers were on hand to verify the results on behalf of the Air Corps Reserve, attached to the 19th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field (island of O'ahu, Hawaii). The record flight was a civilian venture.
"Shortly before 3:00 p.m., when Cocke climbed into the 'Nighthawk,' he climbed into the record and history books as well. At 3:00 the cable came tight, 'Nighthawk' began to move, and although the surface winds were less than favorable, 'Nighthawk' continued to move until the next day….
"Ridge soaring low was considered to be safe enough during the daytime, but during the night it became deadly. Therefore, arrangements had been made for the Army's 64th Coast Artillery Battery to illuminate the mountains….
"The next day, on the 18th of December, 1931, Cocke became concerned that the trade wind was going to stop and decided to land. So, at 12:34 p.m., he did just that and ended a 21 hour and 34 minute flight. It was official, Lt. William A. Cocke, Jr., of San Antonio and Austin, Texas had flown a glider longer than anyone in the world. He had also flown higher than any American ever had, besting the old mark of 3130 feet, but at 3454 feet he was 176 feet too low to set a new official U.S. altitude record."
The history of the flight is superbly described in Raul Blacksten's SOARING magazine article, included below.
THE FLIGHT IN DETAIL
Published as a two-part article in SOARING magazine, November and December 1991. Posted here by permission.
NIGHTHAWK
PART 2
by Raul Blacksten
© Raul Blacksten, 1991.Even today, you can almost see them, sitting there in the company of long haired Polynesian beauties, on a pure white Hawaiian beach, casually passing time in the shade of the towering palm tees. The perfume of plumeria wafts through the air as they dine on exotic food and wistfully gaze out to sea.
Longingly. they follow the graceful flight of the sea birds, almost ignoring the endless waves which crash onto the shore at their feet. In their minds, they are up there with those birds--no, they are the birds. Caressing the sky with their wings. Not a care in the world. Just flying. A part of the sky. Bound only by the limits of the heavens.
Finally, that which is unnecessary to utter in this serene pre-war paradise, crosses the lips of their leader.
"*@#% it," he curses, "where the @*#% are the @*#&# trade winds?"
Although this probably did not happen, frustration is at least understandable because on Sunday. the 22nd of November 1931, Hawaii's first National Aeronautic Association (NAA) sponsored national glider contest was due to begin at the John Galt Gliderport, on windward Oahu. Unfortunately, that day was rained out, and although a flight did occur on the next day, the contest was again put on hold due to weather, or a lack thereof. Twenty-three days would pass before another glider would be able to take to the air. Perhaps, all things considered, this was a sign that this contest was to be fraught with delays, tragedy, and triumph.
Nevertheless, to begin with, there was such optimism. The Contest Committee had expected glider pilots to come to Hawaii from all over the world in order to smash records wholesale. Even the Honolulu newspapers crowed daily with front page stories of gliders and pilots. After all, it was perfect! Hawaii between the wars was truly a paradise. A glider contest just seemed to fit right in.
Still, only four local sailplanes and five local pilots would ever enter the contest. Yet even with only five pilots, the participants continued to believe that existing records would be banished to forgotten memory.
In fact. records would be smashed, but so would two gliders and one pilot. Only two of each would ever fly in the contest, and only one of those would be left at the end.
Of all the records which these contestants would seek to break, they saw that the endurance record was the most important. This was because all other records could be broken while going after this one. After all, if you stayed up long enough, you had to have flown far enough, maybe fast enough, and high enough to set all new records. Besides, the existing endurance record was only 14 hours 7 minutes, and was held by some German anyway. (Ferdinand Schultz, an Austrian, actually held the World Endurance, Speed, and Distance Records.) However, this was Hawaii, and that fact would conspire against most new records.
The only record for which there was any doubt about its being set in Hawaii, was the altitude record. Although the American mark was easy enough to reach (3130 feet held by Martin Schempp), the World Record held by Robert Kronfeld) was over 8000 feet. The contestants just did not believe that Hawaiian ridge lift would be sufficient to allow an 8500 foot flight. Yet they felt that the American record could and would be broken, and it was -- unofficially.
On the first day of the contest, almost everything was ready. Three of the four entered gliders were ready. The field was ready. The pylons were ready. The spectators, who lined the Nuuanu Pali were ready. The megaphone public address system was ready. But the weather was not ready. It rained. When it finally quit raining, the Contest Committee decided that the field was too wet to allow glider towing that day.
It was true that this initial delay was disappointing but it was only seen as a minor setback. So, during the night, crushed coral was laid out on the runway to provide a dry surface for the next day's activities. Great things were yet to come!
When Monday dawned with good weather, everything was ready-- well almost. The barographs, which were to be used to record and verify any record flights, had not arrived from the mainland in time for any morning flights. It was afternoon before Texas Air Corps Reservist, 2nd Lt. William J. Scott, and his brand new vanBezel (Bowlus) "Albatross" could take off. He was then scheduled to be followed by another Texas Reservist, 2nd Lt. William A. Cocke, Jr., in what he said was his self-designed and built "Nighthawk."
Although Cocke never took off, he was scheduled to be followed at 2:00 p.m. by an entry from Luke Field which was described as a "cabin glider." The newspapers claimed that this two-place glider was the largest glider in the world, and it was to be piloted by Lt. Thompson and Lt. H. B. Lathrop, Jr. Unfortunately, the Luke glider was destroyed in a towing accident and never actually flew. The pilots were unharmed.
The only civilian glider to be entered in the meet was the Honolulu Glider Club's Bowlus "Albatross." Alas, it never flew either. This was because at first, the Contest Committee determined that the Bowlus' covering would not withstand the strong conditions at the Pali. Before they would allow it to fly in the contest, the Committee insisted that the Bowlus be recovered. The glider was finally recovered, but time, weather, and tragedy discouraged the club members from ever flying in the contest.
Yet this second day did bring some good news. Scott took off at 12:39 p.m. and ours 34 minutes. Although this came close to the U.S. o the U.S. Endurance Record, it was not quite long enough. In spite of this, Scott did manage to set what was thought at the time to be a World Distance Record during this flight. He also managed to average a very fast 23-25 miles per hour, but it was not fast enough for a record.
Although they did not know it at the time, Scott (and later Cocke) were denied distance records. The reason for this was because, although Scott had flown a measured and certified task (a two-and-a-half mile closed course around pylons), the only distances which the NAA and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) would recognize would be those from a one-way or an out-and-return flight. So, although Scott (and later Cocke) may have flown further than anyone ever had in a glider, they were denied any distance record. Hawaii had conspired against them. Unfortunately, this was a flight which Scott would never equal.
Then, the trade winds stopped. The rain started, and for 23 days, no glider could fly. Hawaii's first national glider contest was rapidly becoming no contest. The weather just would not cooperate. The hoped for national and international glider pilots never came. Nearly a month into the contest and only one glider had even managed to get off the ground. Even then, his believed record would never be recognized. On top of everything else, time was running out. Glider contests just cannot be continued indefinitely in the hope that, some day, the weather will cooperate.
You can still almost feel the frustration they must have felt. No matter how long the contest was continued, they could not just sit around all day, day after day, soaking up the sun. Among other things, even glider pilots have families and jobs to consider. Uncle Sam wanted the military pilots to fly his pursuit biplanes with motors and not wait indefinitely just so that they could fly their silly gliders. Nevertheless, everyone knew that sooner or later the trade winds would begin again and that pilots would need to be ready. What if the wind started again and no one was there? Yet no matter how much they wanted to, the fact that they could not fly their gliders, only made the Army's claim to their time that much more reasonable but you cannot win a glider meet flying a Boeing P-12E. Still, what is a glider meet where only one man manages to fly one glider?
Mercifully the winds did finally begin to blow again and the rain did finally stop. The meet was back on and men returned to the base camp to prepare their glides. The Honolulu Bowlus "Albatross" was now recovered and ready to fly. This meant that three gliders were ready and that soaring history could finally be made on the windward side of Oahu -- and it would be!
It was now the 17th of December, l931, and the contest was 26 days old. A decision was made upon the order of flight and the first to hook up to the cable would be Cocke in his "Nighthawk." Then would come Scott and finally Edward Peacock, in the Honolulu Glider Club's Bowlus "Albatross." There could now be a record breaking glider contest which was really worth the name.
[End of Part one, published in the November, 1991 issue of SOARING magazine]
NIGHTHAWK
PART 2
by Raul Blacksten[Click Here] for a 115K .JPG showing Nighthawk on display in Santa Monica, CA.
[Click Here] for a 44K .JPG view from under the port wingtip, also at Santa Monica.
The "Nighthawk" is a rather confusing glider. Second Lt. William A. Cocke, Jr. claimed to have designed and built it with the assistance of another Air Corps pilot, Iowan, Lt. John C. Crain as well as various airmen, at Wheeler Field, in Hawaii. In appearance, "Nighthawk" seems to be a school bus yellow knock-off of the famous Bowlus "Albatross" which is commonly known as the "Paper Wing." This confusion is compounded by the fact that the actual "Paper Wing" was sold to a company in Los Angeles and disappeared at about the same time that Cocke is supposed to have built his glider.
Besides appearance, the similarity between both gliders is quite striking. Both had wing ribs which used kraft paper for shear-webbing, and in both gliders, these ribs were then attached to truss type spars. Of all of Bowlus' gliders, this kind of spar was unique to the "Paper Wing." Also, in his gliders up to and including the "paper Wing, but not afterwards, Bowlus used stiff wire for the trailing edge. The "Nighthawk" copies this feature as well as the wing-tip ailerons which Bowlus first used on the "Paper Wing." That is, instead of conventional trailing edge ailerons, about three foot of the entire wing-tip rotates. Yet a man who was present at part of the construction of "Nighthawk" says that Cocke built it from plans and a whole lot of little pieces.
One place where the two gliders do differ is that "Nighthawk" utilizes a king post and wire bracing for the wings. According to Cocke's published writings, this may be because he strengthened the wings on account of the strong conditions found at the Nuuanu Pali, on windward Oahu. There are also some cosmetic and internal structural differences.
To aid in the night-time identification of the various gliders in this first Hawaiian, National Aeronautic Association (N.A.A) sponsored contest, each glider sported differently colored navigation lights, and "Nighthawk" was identified by a red and a white light. Its decorations consisted of a black stripe along the fuselage, the name painted on both sides of the cockpit, and various records on the left side. Cocke also had his squadron emblem painted on the Left side of "Nighthawk's" Bowlus-like rudder, a man with a spear on a tiger. On the right side is painted a bizarre and prophetic scene, a skeleton doing the hula above crossed scythes.
Although his participation in this contest was to be Cocke's first World Record attempt, it would be neither his nor "Nighthawk's" first soaring record. Cocke had used the then eleven day old glider on the 20th of July 1931, to set a Hawaiian Endurance Record of 3nutes. 55 minutes. On the 25th to 26th July, Lt. Crain had struggled against wind, rain, and darkness for 16 hours 38 minutes to set an unofficial World Endurance Record. As part of this flight dangerously took place at night, Crain was assisted by Army search lights which illuminated the cliffs for safety.
Now it was December 17th. Cocke, Lt. William I. Scott, Edward Peacock (of the Honolulu Glider Club) and their gliders were all ready for their adventures. Although "Nighthawk" was equipped only with an altimeter and navigation lights, Cocke himself was equipped with sandwiches, coffee, winter flying clothes, and long woolen underwear for which his wife Frances had searched the Islands. As longjohns are not easy to find in Hawaii, she finally had to order them and they arrived just in time.
Shortly before 3:00 p.m., when Cocke climbed into the "Nighthawk," he climbed into the record and history books as well. At 3:00 the cable came tight, "Nighthawk" began to move, and although the surface winds were less than favorable, "Nighthawk" continued to move until the next day. Yet at first that was a bit uncertain and Cocke was forced to ridge soar rather low along the Pali before he could find sufficient lift which would allow him to set his records.
Ridge soaring low was considered to be safe enough during the daytime, but during the night it became deadly. Therefore, arrangements had been made for searchlights from the Army's 64th Coast Artillery Battery to illuminate the mountains just as they had for Crain. Although it never became necessary to use more than two lights at any one time, the whole Ft. Shafter Battery stood at the ready, and took advantage of the time to work on a field exercise.
The only real problem Cocke encountered during the flight was a wind screen which came loose early on and continually thumped him in the head. Although this made his head sore, he did find some advantage in the loose screen. Cocke later told reporters that he could tell how fast he was going by how much pressure the wind screen exerted on his head as he had no speedometer. The disadvantage was that every time he tried to look out the side of the glider, the screen would collapse and he would have to get his head under it again to force it back up.
By 5:07 am., Cocke had broken Ferdinand Schultz' 1927 0fficial World Endurance mark of 14 hours 7 minutes. The NA.A. also estimated that Cocke had flown more than 350 miles. If this were true, Cocke had also broken Schultz' Distance Over a Closed Course Record of 283.22 miles. By 7:37 a.m., he had broken his friend Crain's unofficial Endurance Record, and from this point on, it was all Cocke's. The only question became, how long could he keep it up? Cocke had hoped to fly for at least 24 hours or more, but could he?
All of this was, of course, front page news in Hawaii. Because of his previously successful flight, Lt. Scott was seen as the man to beat. The Honolulu newspapers had made him up to be a hero and had practically proclaimed him to be unbeatable. The result was that hundreds of people came to line the pali and watch this great glider pilot. It was during this highly charged and excited atmosphere when, half an hour after his friend took off, Scott in his Van Bezal "Albatross" began to rise into the air. That was when tragedy struck.
Before he was able to release the tow cable, Scott's glider lost its rudder Then a wing came off and fluttered to the ground. Finally, the glider went into a slow spin to the left, and landed nose first. Scott was taken to a Kaneohe hospital where he died of massive injuries at 4:55 p.m. Edward Peacock, the Honolulu Glider Club pilot, elected not to take off.
Witnessing this event from 3400 feet, Cocke became concerned about his friend and finally dropped a note asking about him. Contest Officials decided that it would be best not to tell Cocke about his friend's death but that they needed to send him same sort of message. So, they laid out a fiery message in gasoline soaked tape which said, "Scott OK." In reality, he had been dead for several hours. Upon learning the truth after he landed, Cocke stated that he was neither surprised nor shocked.
The next day, on the 18th of December 1931, Cocke became concerned that the trade wind was going to stop and decided to land. So, at 12:34 p.m., he did just that and ended a 21 hour 34 minute flight. It was official, Lt. William A. Cocke, Jr., of San Antonio and Austin. Texas, had flown a glider longer than anyone in the world. He had also flown higher than any American ever had, besting the old mark of 3130 feet. but at 3454 feet, he was 176 feet too low to set a new official U. S. Altitude Record.
In addition, it was thought that he had broken the World Distance Record. While it was true that Cocke had probably flown the N.AA. estimated 450 miles, once again Hawaii conspired. Just as was true earlier for Scott, Cocke could not fly any great distance in any one direction. So, like Scott, Cocke had flown around pylons on a 21/2 mile closed course. Although this meant that he had flown farther than anyone ever had in a glider, neither the NA.A. nor the Federation Aeronautique Intemationale (F.A.I) would recognize it as a record. They only recognized one way or out and return distances.
A month later, with his active duty commitment over, Cocke took his wife of five months away from her Hawaiian birthplace and moved to Santa Monica, CA, where he went to work for Douglas Aircraft. "Nighthawk" itself eventually found its way to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, where it was displayed until the mid 1940's. Although he did apparently attend glider meets in Long Beach, and started to build another glider in Downey, he made no further record attempts, which pleased his wife to no end.
When the dark cloud of war began to appear on the horizon, Cocke rejoined the Air Corps and prepared to defend his country. In May, 1941, 2nd Lt. Cocke and the 19th Bombardment Group (H) GHQ AF, left California to ferry B17s first to Hawaii, and then, in October, to Clark Field in the Philippines. Due to his role under the adverse conditions encountered on these historic and dangerous trans-Pacific flights, Cocke was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the San Francisco to Hawaii leg, and the Air Medal for the Hawaii to Clark Field leg. Unfortunately. he never received them.
Two months later, although General Douglas MacArthur had nine hours' warning and despite his air commander's begging, history tells us that MacArthur refused to do anything to either defend the Philippines or even to protect his ground troops and airplanes. As a result, less than ten days shy of the tenth anniversary of his World Record, on the 8th of December. 1941 (December 7th in Pearl Harbor), Lt. William A. Cocke, Jr. was killed and the American air fleet was completely destroyed on the ground during the first Japanese attack on the Philippines.
Yet the story of William A. Cocke, Jr. and "Nighthawk" has not ended. In April of 1990, John Ludowitz discovered "Nighthawk" in the basement of the L. A. Museum where it had been stored and forgotten for nearly 50 years (see Soaring, January 1991) in what the museum called their "active inventory." Put on display at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica for the 1990 National Soaring Week, it was left on display for six months but has since been put back into storage due to a lack of floor space and money.
As a footnote, it might be noted that "Nighthawk" is not just an old historical glider. It is a current record holder. After holding the World and American Endurance Record for a year and a half, Cocke's World Record was eventually broken. In fact, the World Record eventually surpassed 50 hours and safety dictated that endurance be abolished as a record category. However, Cocke's American Record was never broken before the category was abolished. As a result, 60 years later, Cocke and "Nighthawk" still hold the American Endurance Record.
Long forgotten except by some "old timers," William A. Cocke, Jr. was a brave and well-loved man, a pioneer in the sport of soaring. Armed with only an altimeter, he flew his stick and rag sailplane in, yet somewhat isolated from, a period of phenomenal excitement, innovation, and experimentation in the still primitive sport of soaring. The super sailplanes of the 90s were still in the future. Wolf Hirth had not even "discovered" the thermal yet. Cocke's memory and "Nighthawk" both deserve preservation if, for no other reason than they hold a record few ever held, and because they still hold a record which no American has ever broken.
By all accounts, Hawaii between the Wars was a true paradise. Yet despite the image, people probably did not lounge much on plumeria-scented, palm tree-edged beaches to wait for the trade winds to start blowing. Still, the weather was great, the living was easy, and tourism had not ruined paradise yet. A glider contest just seemed to fit in.
THANKS TO: Advertiser (Honolulu, HI); Mildred Andrews: Richard Benbough; L. B. Clapham; Hill Cocke; Stephanie Cocke; Virginia Webb Cocke, Cockes and Cousins; William A. Cocke, Jr. (The Sailplane); William A. Cocke III (son); Lt. Gen. Eugene Eubanks, U.SAF., ret.; Evening Star (Washington. D. C.); Mary Tumer-Harrington; Diane Cocke Hazen (daughter); Monroe Hurwitz, National Air & Space Museum; Allen Janus, National Air & Space Museum; John Ludowitz; Edwin W. Rawlings (National Glider and Airplane News); Steve Reed., American-Statesman (Austin, TX); Frances Findelson Cocke Shadburne (widow); Vic Saudek; Shirley Sliwa, National Soaring Museum; Star Bulletin, (Honolulu, HI); Joe Stasneck; Francisco Ursua Cocke; Wee Brownie Cocke de Ursua: Y. Whytlaw, Federation Aeronautique Internationale; James Zordich, L A. County Museum of Natural History.
[End of Part two, published in the December, 1991 issue of SOARING magazine]
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