Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Experimental Pursuit Biplane and Ground Crew at McCook Field (Circa 1923)

Documenting the military pursuit evaluations that shaped early high-speed fighter design, Donald A. Hall Sr. photographed this experimental pursuit biplane resting on a grass airfield. Featuring an oversized pointed nose spinner, a 435-horsepower liquid-cooled Curtiss D-12 V-12 engine, and a chin tunnel radiator, this airframe represents the Boeing Model 15 (XPW-9) or Curtiss XPW-8 evaluated during the 1923 Army Air Service pursuit trials at McCook Field. Two ground crew mechanics lounge beside a field tool chest beneath the lower wing, illustrating the daily maintenance environment Hall studied while analyzing fighter performance.