Editing Airframe (section)

=== Between World wars ===

The J 1 of 1915, and the D.I fighter of 1918, were followed in 1919 by the first all-metal transport aircraft, the [[Junkers F.13]] made of [[Duralumin]] as the D.I had been; 300 were built, along with the first four-[[aircraft engine|engine]], all-metal [[passenger aircraft]], the sole [[Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20]].<ref name=AW161121/><ref name=ASM0807/> [[Commercial aircraft]] development during the 1920s and 1930s focused on monoplane designs using [[Radial engine]]s. Some were produced as single copies or in small quantity such as the [[Spirit of St. Louis]] flown across the [[Atlantic]] by [[Charles Lindbergh]] in 1927. William Stout designed the all-metal [[Ford Trimotor]]s in 1926.<ref>{{cite book |author= David A. Weiss |title= The Saga of the Tin Goose |publisher= Cumberland Enterprises |year= 1996 }}</ref>

The [[Hall XFH]] naval fighter [[prototype]] flown in 1929 was the first aircraft with a [[rivet]]ed metal fuselage : an aluminium skin over steel tubing, Hall also pioneered [[flush rivet]]s and [[butt joint]]s between skin panels in the [[Hall PH]] [[flying boat]] also flying in 1929.<ref name=AW161121/> Based on the Italian [[Savoia-Marchetti S.56]], the 1931 [[Budd BB-1 Pioneer]] experimental flying boat was constructed of corrosion-resistant [[stainless steel]] assembled with newly developed [[spot welding]] by U.S. railcar maker [[Budd Company]].<ref name=AW161121/>

The original Junkers corrugated duralumin-covered airframe philosophy culminated in the 1932-origin [[Junkers Ju 52]] trimotor airliner, used throughout World War II by the Nazi German [[Luftwaffe]] for transport and paratroop needs. Andrei Tupolev's designs in [[Joseph Stalin]]'s Soviet Union designed a series of all-metal aircraft of steadily increasing size culminating in the largest aircraft of its era, the eight-engined [[Tupolev ANT-20]] in 1934, and [[Donald Wills Douglas, Sr.|Donald Douglas]]' firms developed the iconic [[Douglas DC-3]] twin-engined airliner in 1936.<ref>{{cite book |author= Peter M. Bowers |title= The DC-3: 50 Years of Legendary Flight |publisher= Tab Books |year= 1986 }}</ref> They were among the most successful designs to emerge from the era through the use of all-metal airframes.

In 1937, the [[Lockheed XC-35]] was specifically constructed with [[cabin pressurization]] to undergo extensive high-altitude flight tests, paving the way for the [[Boeing 307 Stratoliner]], which would be the first aircraft with a pressurized cabin to enter commercial service.<ref name=ASM0807/>

[[File:Vickers Wellington Mark X, HE239 'NA-Y', of No. 428 Squadron RCAF (April 1943).png|thumb|[[Vickers Wellington|Wellington Mark X]] showing the [[geodesic airframe]] construction and the level of punishment it could withstand while maintaining airworthiness]]