Civilian

1894 – Birth of Arthur Coadou, French World War I flying ace, who also served in World War II. 1928 – Bert Hinkler leaves Croydon in an Avro Avian, attempting the first solo flight from England to Australia; he will arrive in Darwin on Feb. 22. 1937 – The prototype Blackburn B-24 Skua fighter-dive bomber (Mk.II version shown) makes its maiden flight, piloted by “Dasher” Blake at Brough, Yorkshire; it […]

The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum added a new aircraft to its historical ranks Feb. 4 aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. Museum personnel welcomed a Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler, the newest addition to the museum’s aircraft display. The aircraft originated from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 131 aboard Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. “This […]

1896 – Birth of Arthur Clunie “Snowy” Randall, Scottish World War I flying ace. 1915 – First flight of the Sikorsky S-16 (non-flying replica shown), a Russian two-seat, biplane fighter. 1916 – Aircraft from the Imperial Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet seaplane carriers sink the Ottoman collier Irmingard, the largest ship sunk by air attack in […]

1892 – Birth of Marcel Anatole Hugues, French World War I fighter ace, World War II pilot and commanding officer. 1929 – First flight of the Fairey Firefly II, a British biplane fighter of all-metal construction. 1933 – Death of James Herman Banning, America’s first black aviator to fly coast-to-coast; he is killed in a plane crash […]

1898 – Birth of Robert Wallace Farquhar, British World War I flying ace. 1920 – Pierre van Ryneveld and Quintin Brand set out in a Vickers Vimy from Cairo to cross Africa by air from north to south. 1935 – First flight of the Mitsubishi A5M “Claude” (shown), a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft; it is […]