The Great Airship Hoax of 1909... Was Not a Hoax (Not Entirely) - 1/3
In the winter of 1909, New Englanders watched mysterious searchlights sweep across the night sky as inventor Wallace E. Tillinghast claimed to have built a revolutionary secret aeroplane capable of flights far beyond anything achieved by the Wright brothers. In this historical deep dive, we examine the forgotten evidence behind one of America’s earliest modern media mysteries... and why the famous “Airship Hoax of 1909” may not have been a hoax after all.
By Kevin J. Guhl
"Either Wallace E. Tillinghast, the Worcester, Mass., inventor, has made the greatest airship in the world or he is a great hoaxer. The strange moving lights seen by thousands of persons in New England were made by his airship, Tillinghast says. Yet he is unwilling to exhibit it by daylight, and has given only flimsy excuses for his secrecy. Why does Tillinghast hesitate to show his invention to the public? And why did he suppress news of his great test if, as he says, he really flew from Boston to New York in less than five hours?"—Tacoma Times, Jan. 3, 1910
The Wright Flyer first soared through the sky near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on Dec. 17, 1903. It launched not just the age of heavier-than-air powered flight, but a race to develop and profit from the latest advancements in this burgeoning age of aviation. Numerous inventors tried their hands at new designs, often struggling to circumvent the stranglehold that the Wright Bros. had on the nascent aircraft industry via their patented flight system. Daring pilots tried... and often died... flying these early models. In this competitive environment emerged Wallace E. Tillinghast, a mechanical engineer from Worcester, Massachusetts who announced during the Christmas season of 1909 that he had constructed and successfully tested an aeroplane capable of sustained long-distance travel, far surpassing the Wrights and everyone else in the aviation field. Soon afterward, New Englanders began seeing nightly flights of this mysterious craft, spanning several states as it shined its powerful searchlights down onto an awed populace. But was Tillinghast actually behind the mystery airship sightings of 1909, or was he, as most historians argue, simply a prankster whose grandiose claims sparked an early form of UFO mass hysteria? In this in-depth study, you will see rediscovered evidence that indicates Tillinghast's aeroplane was NOT a hoax... not entirely.
From late 1896 to mid-1897, the U.S. was swept with sightings of mystery airships. These vessels ranged from generic lights in the sky to purported visitors from space who tried to abduct a Stockton, California man into their 150-foot long, mostly featureless craft. But the most common assumption was that enigmatic inventors were secretly testing powered aircraft. In one of the earliest encounters (the night of Nov. 17, 1896), hundreds of residents in eastern Sacramento, California reported a long, cigar or egg-shaped craft propelled by fan-like wheels on either side and shining a brilliant searchlight. Some described a tall but indistinguishable wall or mass above it. Witnesses claimed to have heard its occupants laughing, singing and speaking in English.
The second American wave of mystery airship sightings, as mentioned, emerged in New England in the winter of 1909. The big difference between the two waves of mystery airships, psychologically, was their timing. The first wave took place just before the dawn of powered flight, feeding the public's expectation for this world-changing invention before it would ultimately be ushered in by the Wright brothers. The 1909 wave, involving an airship that could travel from Massachusetts to New York and back in one trip, anticipated the future of reliable, long-distance air travel. In just six years, aviation had grown from the first, 12-second flight by the Wrights to Louis Blériot's 36-minute, 22-mile flight across the English Channel on July 25, 1909. As put by Stephen Whalen and Robert E. Bartholomew, authors of paper "The Great New England Airship Hoax of 1909," America had "Airplane fever." Earlier that year, England, New Zealand and Australia experienced their own mystery airship waves, inspired by fears of Germany's development of the Zeppelin.
Tillinghast, described by the Boston Globe as a mechanical genius and celebrated inventor, made waves after he told the press (first printed in the Dec. 13 Boston Herald) that he had completed a successful long-distance flight with a heavier-than-air craft. Tillinghast boasted that he had broken the world's aviation records by flying a monoplane of his own creation from Worcester to New York City to Boston and back in one trip on the night of Sept. 8, 1909. Although initial reports said he had circled the Statue of Liberty, Tillinghast later clarified he had flown within sight of it, about a mile distant.
The Worcester inventor also made the stunning claim that he and his two mechanics had stopped the motors mid-air for 46 minutes to repair a cylinder that was malfunctioning, staying aloft above Fire Island. Before the repair, they brought the machine up to 4,000 feet, slowly gliding downward. "When the motor was started we were so near land that the headlight and general outline of the aeroplane with the men in it were seen by a member of the life saving crew patrolling the beach and notice of this discovery appeared in a brief dispatch in a Boston paper a day or so after the trip," said Tillinghast. "This is the longest trip I have ever made, but it is sufficient to make me believe that the machine surpasses anything that has yet appeared."
Tillinghast stated that his aircraft could carry three people (with a weight limit of 600 pounds) and held enough petrol to fly at least 300 miles non-stop at a rate of 120 miles an hour. He declined to state the aircraft's upper speed limit or altitude record, only that it exceeded what competitors could manage. The monoplane had a wingspread of 72 feet, weighed 1,550 pounds, and was powered by a 120-horse power gasoline engine of Tillinghast's design. He explained, "It differs from others in the spread of the canvas, the spread of the plane and in stability features. Special attention is given in making it adaptable for high speed. All the important parts are covered by patents." Furthermore, he claimed the monoplane could not be capsized, was easily controlled, and carried the occupants on the body of the vessel instead of ahead of it. The headlight was powered by acetylene gas generated by the machine.
"The one remarkable feature about the machine is the way it keeps itself right side up in any kind of wind. It has two giant 'feelers' like an insect's antennae. These are of rigid frames of steel, 35 feet long, and at the end of each is a box kite. No matter how the wind blows, these kites right themselves and the machine to which they are attached. They can be raised or lowered. When there is no opposing wind, they are lifted to an angle of 45 degrees." reported the Tacoma Times. "One of the wonderful features of the machine is its car. Bleriot and [Hubert] Latham have their seats above the rigid spread of wings. Tillinghast sits below his plane, in a little cubbyhole protected by an automobile wind shield. Inside is his wonderful engine. He has made application to patent it, he says. It is lighter than that of the Wright brothers and far more powerful. It generates enough electricity for his front searchlight and a red taillight which will serve to warn aviators of the future, who may be on his trail, of the peril of collision."
The inventor said he had been perfecting his aircraft design for seven years, constructing four successful aeroplanes of different sizes. Two were built in "sparsely settled districts in the West," and the latest pair during the previous two years at a secret workshop and testing ground about 60 miles from Worcester and 14 miles from a railroad station. The inventor refused to offer further specifics about the monoplane's location. He did caution that his workshop was guarded by four men day and night, and that a crew worked on the aeroplane at all hours.
Tillinghast boasted of having made over 100 flights, all at night, 18 of them in the perfected monoplane that had reached New York. "And where some of those flights took me will surprise a lot of people when I get ready to talk," the aeronaut teased. He soon either contradicted or corrected himself by revealing he had sailed over New Haven, Connecticut one morning while the bells were ringing for people to go to work, and another morning flew over Hartford after sunrise. Just prior to his now infamous New York voyage, Tillinghast alleged he sailed over Litchfield one Sunday morning as bells rung and people headed to church, flying less than 100 feet over one of the spires.
The inventor insisted that he was not seeking a cent from investors, wanting to succeed or fail on his own merits. Tillinghast said he would bring the aeroplane to Worcester mid-February for fine-tuning before unveiling it to the public at Boston's upcoming international aviation contests in the summer of 1910. The gauntlet, as it were, had been tossed onto the airfield.
THE MYSTERIOUS INVENTOR
"Who is Tillinghast? Does his record indicate that he would perpetuate a hoax on the world of aeronautics?" pondered a nationally syndicated article (published in the Tacoma Times and elsewhere), written by a Worcester correspondent assigned to investigate the aviation sensation happening in New England. "Decidedly it does not," concluded the story.
Wallace Elmer Tillinghast was born on Sep. 5, 1872 in Providence, Rhode Island and married Hattie Warner Kilton Saunders on Mar. 6, 1895 in Kent, Rhode Island. According to the Tacoma Times, he was a "Chicago 'Tech' school graduate [and] an expert mechanical and electrical engineer. He has seen service with the Northern Pacific railroad, the Westinghouse concern and Allen & Redd of Providence. While at the last-named place Tillinghast invented a heat regulator for steam and hot water systems which is making him a fortune. He patented it and manufactures it at a good-sized factory here."
Tillinghast served as vice president of his Worcester-based company, Sure Seal Manufacturing Co. He was indeed granted several U.S. patents in his field, for inventions including an oil cup (1897), a water-seal vacuum return-pipe fitting (1908), a vacuum-generating apparatus for steam-heating systems (1908, 1915), a thermostatic attachment for steam-valves (1913), and a vacuum and return steam-trap (1920).
"In all his previous inventions and work he has had no secrets. Why does he shelter his aeroplane so cunningly?" asked the Tacoma Times. "That his claims are well-founded—well, you don't know what to believe. There is an airship. That's sure. Thousands have seen it. Here in New England they believe in Tillinghast."
The New York World approached Wilbur Wright himself for his expert perspective. "Do you think it possible that any man could make such a flight as Tillinghast says he made?" the newspaper asked the pioneering aeronaut.
"Well, it might have been possible for Tillinghast," replied Wright, a humorous twinkle in his eye.
STRANGE LIGHTS IN THE WINTER SKY
In the weeks following Tillinghast's Dec. 13, 1909 announcement in the Boston press, numerous New Englanders claimed to have spotted the mysterious airship cruising through the skies. "As the papers continued to cover the story, many New England residents, believing or wishing to believe Tillinghast, began to reexamine their own celestial observations through the prism of collective wish fulfillment," wrote Whalen and Bartholomew. "By connecting their own unusual or unexplained experiences to the Tillinghast controversy, these 'observers' became participants and added fuel to the hoax." Contemporary news noted that witnesses promptly phoned friends and urged them to look outside, which helps explain the widespread nature of the reports.
Christmas shoppers milling about Worcester on Dec. 22 spotted what was assumed to be Tillinghast's aeroplane. "Flying through the night at an average speed of 30 to 40 miles an hour, a mysterious airship last night appeared over Worcester, shortly before 6 o'clock, hovered over the city a few minutes, disappeared and then returned to cut four circles above the gaping city, meanwhile sweeping the heavens with a searchlight of tremendous power. The news of its presence spread like wildfire, and thousands thronged the streets to watch the liner of the sky," reported the Fall River Evening News. "The airship remained over the city for about 15 minutes, all the time at a height that most observers set at about 2,000 feet, too far to enable even its precise shape to be seen. The glaring rays of its great searchlight, however, were sharply defined by reflection against the light snow fall which was covering the city at the time. The dark mass of the ship could be dimly seen behind the light, which flashed in all directions."
The Boston Globe interviewed a Worcester police officer who insisted he saw what resembled a monstrous-sized version of the Wright brothers' flyer, while other witnesses thought they could see a pilot and passengers (at an altitude closer to 1,00 feet). "It could not have been a meteor, nor a mirage, nor any nebulous phenomenon of the heavens," proclaimed the Globe. "All the time the sibilant note of the engines could be heard above the exclamations from the crowd." Tillinghast was reported to be absent from his home that night, and was not seen in Worcester.
Denizens of Marlboro, Massachusetts began seeing a supposed aircraft over the city, fitted with a brilliant searchlight, in the night sky on Dec. 14 (one day after the Boston Herald's report on Tillinghast's monoplane, although reported retroactively). The craft returned at least eight times between then and Dec. 23, attracting hundreds of spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the airship. The supposed craft seen on Dec. 23 made no sound and was too high up in the cloudless night sky to discern any details.
Newspapers published accounts from numerous New England towns, as the airship supposedly made its rounds. In one embarrassing incident, Immigration Inspector Arthur W. Hoe thought he saw the airship flying over Boston Harbor on the night of Dec. 20, but it turned out to be the towering masts of the steamer James S. Whitney. The ship arrived at about 1 a.m. and made its usual wide detour up the easterly side of the harbor in order to back into its berth. Hoe wasn't able to see the steamer's hull in the darkness and admitted he mistook the topmasts for the framework of an airship.
The steamship James S. Whitney, NOT an airship.
Meanwhile, the Fitchburg Elks made an optimistic plea to have Tillinghast fly his airship to their annual charitable Christmas tree lighting, with strings of seasonal lights guiding him to a parking lot where he could land. It does not appear this effort was successful.
The evening of Dec. 23 was especially active for the mystery airship, putting in appearances throughout New England between 6 p.m. and midnight. According to the Boston Herald, "It was first seen over Fitchburg, but where it came from is a question. Passing above Leominster, Marlboro, Framingham, Natick, Needham; it was then sighted from the streets of Boston. Later Revere and Lynn reported it, and the light returned over this city, Brookline, and headed for Worcester. Was last reported near Paxton."
"Those who saw the light are positive in their belief that they also made out the outlines of some aerial craft that closely resembled a monoplane of the type use by Latham and Bleriot," wrote the Boston Herald on Dec. 24, following the previous night's rash of sightings. "They say the machine was under perfect control, and that it flew close to the ground, coming as near to the earth as 100 feet in Natick, and later rising to fully 1000 feet. Some say there were two men in the craft. One was standing forward near the headlight, which has been seen by thousands of people, and the second man was in the stern, where a much dimmer light was burning. They say the craft at times attained speed of fully 60 miles an hour, while again it remained stationary for 15 minutes at a time."
Meanwhile, journalists camped outside Tillinghast's Worcester office, seeing that he did not leave for the night until after the airship was well on its course toward Boston. Practical jokers sent up lighted balloons in the western part of Worcester, but few were fooled. "There was no question as to what the lights were. Those who saw the mysterious light of Wednesday night say there was no comparison between the bright white light which circled over the city Wednesday night and the glowing red light of the hot-air balloons," stated the Boston Herald. The bright white light seen on Dec. 22 was compared to the glare of an automobile headlight.
Some Worcester residents didn't accept the theory that airship could stand practically still in mid-air or run under such slow speed as to require 15 to 20 minutes to travel the distance of a city block. Some opined that it might be a hydrogen balloon with a strong light. Still, the Boston Herald claimed that a whopping 50,000 people thronged Worcester's streets until late evening on Dec. 23, watching for the light, and seriously impeded the passage of the trolley. Some did spot a smaller and less brilliant light, but it didn't pass over the city proper.
Passengers and employees on the Boston & Worcester railway saw the light soon after 7 p.m. on Dec. 23. The crew of one car followed the light for miles and all the passengers were packed in the vestibule, watching its progress. When over Natick, the ship came within about 150 feet of the ground. The rail passengers noticed the outlines of a monoplane, although it made no sound. Some passengers said they saw two men in the long body of the machine: one man forward, near the strong headlight, and the second man aft, nearer the dull glowing tail light. "At times the machine seemed to stop and remain perfectly still for a few moments, then there was a burst of speed, and some say it travelled fully 60 miles an hour," wrote the Herald. "It would swoop down as if coming to earth and then as quickly turn and go upwards to a very high altitude. It seemed to be in perfect control of those handling it."
A crowd of about 1,000 watched the airship pass over Boston, somehow hovering in place for 30 minutes above Boston Common. Ice skaters and Christmas shoppers stopped to watch the light above the Boston Public Gardens. While the crowds suspected the light might be an unusually bright star shining through the hazy atmosphere, that notion changed when two strong searchlights (positioned on either side of the craft's front) flashed among the buildings on Beacon Street. Attendees gathered outside the Boston Opera House on Huntingdon Ave. to watch the light.
Samuel Gibby, chairman of Revere's sewer commission, was leaving his home on Hillside Avenue just after 7:30 p.m. when he saw the light at 45 degrees, coming from Boston. As the light came nearer, he believed he saw huge wings on each side of the bright light. John Davis of Lynn saw the aerial light and said the airship made noise like a flock of geese passing over the city. In Willimantic, Connecticut, the searchlight was said to turn from side to side as it passed.
Boston police noted that pick-pocketing was on the rise during the airship craze, thieves taking advantage of crowds of voyeurs whose focus was trained on the sky. "Keep your hands in your pockets and your valuables in your palms while looking skyward for the mysterious airship," advised police.
Thousands of New Englanders spent Christmas Eve watching the sky, not for Santa's sleigh, but for Tillinghast's airship. The Globe's coverage detailed on-the-ground arguments between witnesses in Boston. Skeptics dismissed the lights in the sky as unmoving stars, while believers insisted the twins lights were green and red (not for seasonal purposes, but to conform to the rules of aviation). They insisted the lights were moving back and forth across the city, ascending and descending, and fluctuating in intensity. Several men stated that they could see the body of the airship, a dark mass visible between the lights. Reports from Newton, Lynn and Newburyport appeared in the same article, revealing that witnesses throughout New England couldn't even agree on whether the lights were stationary or mobile.
In a headline that could have been ripped from a Batman comic book, the Boston Herald reported on Christmas that "Joker's Balloon Sets Garage Fire." As they had done in Worcester on previous nights, pranksters sent up "hot air balloons" over the city on Christmas Eve to stoke the "fever heat" of the nightly airship mystery. One of the balloons landed on a two-story wooden garage on Franklin Square (today Federal Square) containing "30 valuable machines" and gasoline. The lit oil wad at the balloon's base set some shingles ablaze, but garage employees reacted quickly to extinguish the flames before they could do much damage. It turned out to be an inside job, the balloon having been released by one of the garage's drivers.
Last-minute Christmas shoppers gathered to look for the mysterious aeroplane in Boston, but overall there was less excitement and more skepticism. The Boston Herald noted that people who saw the lights on Dec. 23 began to question if they hadn't mistaken a brilliant star or two for the vessel, although they were still puzzled by the detailed reports of an aerial craft spotted over Worcester on Dec. 22. Nevertheless, more reports came in of the airship circling Providence, Rowley, Newton and Newburyport on Christmas Eve.
Tiilinghast was said to have made a rare daytime flight on Christmas morning. At 11:40 a.m., Capt. George S. Barrons and several of his men from New Haven's fire engine company No. 12 said they witnessed the craft over the western part of the city. It approached from the southwest and headed northeast, about 1,000 feet up and under perfect control. Although the plane was too high up to spot any occupants, the firefighters could see its wings, rudder, and the exhaust from its motor. The craft covered 8 to 10 miles in 8-10 minutes; an hour later, a snowstorm struck the city. A couple weeks earlier, Tillinghast had made his claim about once flying over New Haven in broad daylight.
Airship reports filtered in through the New Year, including a bizarre mass sighting on Dec. 30 in which Nashua, New Hampshire residents saw a craft that blared bright lights, emitted a buzzing noise and was shaped like a giant butterfly. But as days passed and Tillinghast withheld any proof, reports petered out and wonder turned toward skepticism. Concerned that Tillinghast might be perpetuating a hoax that was making their city a world-famous laughing stock, the Worcester Board of Trade even mulled over a formal request that Tillinghast prove his assertions. Tillinghast does appear to have responded to this request, although not until July of 1910. (More on this later.)
(cont.)
