Military

1920 – Birth of Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese World War II fighter ace. 1927 – First flight of the Douglas T2D (shown), an American twin-engine torpedo bomber; it is the first twin-engined aircraft to operate from an aircraft carrier. 1941 – The first British combined operation between Malta’s reconnaissance and strike aircraft takes place when the German vessel Ingo is […]

1916 – Birth of Siegfried Schnell, German World War II flying ace. 1918 – First American Expeditionary Force (AEF) balloon ascent is made at the Balloon School at Cuperly in France. 1943 – The pilot of a Japanese Nakajima A6 M2-N (“Rufe”) floatplane fighter discovers American forces have occupied Amchitka. Japanese aircraft from Kiska begin frequent raids against […]

1889 – Birth of Harry George Hawker MBE, AFC, Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft. 1931 – First flight of the Bristol Type 118, a British general-purpose military aircraft, a two-seat biplane prototype for overseas markets. 1943 – Death of Edmond Eugene Henri Caillaux, French World War I flying ace. 1952 – The de Havilland Comet 1 (1A shown) becomes […]

1897 – Birth of Carlo Francesco “Francis” Lombardi, Italian World War I flying ace; he would also become an aircraft and automobile designer who made several post-war record breaking flights. 1917 – First flight of the Nielsen & Winther Type AA (shown), a single-seat, Danish-designed fighter. 1944 – Launch of Operation Steinbock (Baby Blitz), a nocturnal World War II Luftwaffe offensive against […]

1913 – Attempting to establish a new women’s altitude record, pioneering American female pilot Bernetta Miller is covered with oil and temporarily blinded when her oil flow indicator smashes. She makes a safe emergency landing in New York, N.Y. 1920 – Birth of Ferruccio Serafini, World War II Italian fighter ace. 1940 – The Brazilian Air Force, originally […]