Civilian Archives - Page 60 of 175

On This Day in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Tenente Silvio Scaroni, Italian World War I fighter pilot credited with 26 victories; he was the second ranking Italian ace of the war. 1940 – The Royal Air Force bombs Germany for the first time. 1967 – First flight of the Aermacchi AM.3 (shown), Italian single-engine observation aircraft; it was initially designated the MB-335. 1983 – Death of […]

Water Bomber Relieves Oklahoma

Local, state and federal resources were all needed to get last week’s Oklahoma wildfires under control. One federal resource was used here for the very first time. It’s a large amphibious air tanker nicknamed the Super Scooper. The Super Scooper, also known as the Bombardier 415, was the saving grace for fire crews in Guthrie. […]

Naval Aviation Museum Gets Hawkeye

The U.S. National Naval Aviation Museum has a new plane. A Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye arrived at NAS Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle on Saturday morning. It comes from the USS Enterprise. The radar rotodome on top helps the crew identify threats, perform surveillance, and guide search and rescue teams. The plane could also be […]

Holloman AFB Hosts Air Show

Roaring through the New Mexico sky at incredible speeds military aircraft preformed aerobatic stunts during Holloman Air Force Base’s Legacy of Freedom air show and open house event. On Saturday, Team Holloman hosted an open house and air show for citizens of the Tularosa Basin. U.S. Air Force 49th Wing Commander Col. Andrew Croft said the […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1898 – Birth of Adrian James Boswell Tonks, British World War I flying ace. 1941 – Flying via Vichy French-controlled Syria, aircraft of the German Luftwaffe begin to arrive at Mosul, Iraq, to support Iraqi forces against the British under the command of Fliegerführer Irak. 1945 – Sighting a Japanese Kawasaki Ki-45 fighter flying high over Okinawa, U. S. Marine Corps First Lt. Robert R. […]

South Africa ‘Best Air Show’ Returns

“South Africa’s Best Air Show” returns to Zwartkop in Pretoria on Saturday. Join 30 000 airheads, families and friends and experience more than 100 different types of historic aircraft up-close, as they take to the sky at the Paramount Group South African Air Force Museum Air Show. Teaming up with Paramount Group, Africa’s largest privately-owned […]

England’s Jet Age Museum Reopens

Gloucestershire’s new Jet Age Museum has been officially opened 14 years after the old museum closed. Former Royal Air Force Capt. Eric “Winkle” Brown, 95, the last surviving pilot to have flown the first British jet, the Gloster E28/39, unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion. The museum’s collection of aircraft has been in storage since […]

Oregon Aviation Museum on the Move

The skies around Jefferson County will be a bit more active than usual over the next few weeks, as a collection of vintage warplanes moves from Oregon’s Tillamook Air Museum to their new home at the Madras Airport. The museum announced plans to relocate to Central Oregon last year, as part of a larger move […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1888 – Birth of Maurice Jean-Paul Boyau, French rugby union player, World War I flying ace and one of the most successful balloon busters. 1914 – A civilian pilot, René Caudron, makes the first French shipboard takeoff in an airplane, from a ramp constructed over the foredeck of the seaplane carrier Foudre, using a Caudron G.3 […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Karl Paul Schlegel, German World War I fighter ace and balloon-buster. 1912 – A Wright biplane, flown by U.S. Army Lt. Thomas De Witt Milling at College Park in Maryland, becomes the first airplane to be armed with a machine gun. 1917 – Royal Air Force ace Maj. Edward “Mick” Mannock claims his first (of 61) victories. […]