1917 Albree Pigeon-Fraser Photo, First US Pursuit Aircraft, Langley Field For Sale

1917 Albree Pigeon-Fraser Photo
First US Pursuit Aircraft, Langley Field
Only 3 Built, First US Military Fighter AircraftDESCRIPTIONIn April 1917, just weeks after the United States entered World War I, the U.S. Army Signal Corps awarded its very first fighter aircraft contract, and the winning design looked nothing like the Nieuports and Camels American pilots would eventually fly over France.This original period photograph shows that aircraft, the Pigeon-Fraser Model SG Pursuit, designed by Boston engineer George N. Albree and built by the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company of East Boston, sitting on the grass at Langley Field, Virginia, its Signal Corps number \"116\" visible on the tail alongside the early American star insignia carried on the wing before the U.S. switched to the familiar cockade.Albree\'s design was genuinely unconventional for 1917: a single flat-bottomed monoplane wing, spring-spoked Ackerman landing wheels, and most notably a hinged, all-moving tail the pilot adjusted in flight for pitch trim, a \"flying tail\" concept that wouldn\'t become standard on aircraft for decades.Only two complete prototypes were ever finished, plus one incomplete third airframe, and the Army ultimately judged the design too old-fashioned and underpowered against the fighters coming out of Europe, canceling the contract; it would be roughly twenty years before an American-designed fighter finally reached combat.That unfinished third Pigeon-Fraser sat forgotten in the rafters of the Pigeon Hollow Spar Company for over forty years before it was rescued in 1961; today it hangs inverted from the ceiling of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York, the last Albree Pigeon-Fraser left anywhere in the world.This print documents the same 1917 Langley Field photography that later surfaced through the National Archives, and was published as Photo Number 4225 by the Aeroplane Photo Supply of Toronto, a firm that sold period aviation photographs by mail order to collectors and aircraft-recognition students from the 1940s through 1959. A genuinely obscure piece of the earliest chapter of American fighter aviation. Scanned at 600dpi so every detail is preserved for your records.Every effort is made for fact checking and provenance including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right.Orders placed before Noon CDT will ship same day Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. Rigid, professional packaging on all shipments sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONClean, sharp period print with strong contrast and well-preserved detail throughout the aircraft and background grass field. Light, even toning consistent with age. A soft bump at the lower left corner of the mount and a small spot of surface toning near the bottom edge, neither affecting the image itself. Card stock mount is sound overall, with no tears, creases, or writing on the front. Reverse carries the original Aeroplane Photo Supply catalog stamp reading \"This is Photo Number 4225,\" the firm\'s \"Reproduction Forofferden\" copyright stamp and Toronto P.O. Box address, the original 66-cent price stamp, and a vintage pencil caption identifying the subject as \"Pigeon-Fraser \'Albree Pursuit.\'\" Very Good to Fine for the type.