On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1900 – Birth of Pavel Fedorovich Zhigarev, commander of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) and later chief marshal of aviation.

1917 – Italian World War I flying ace Giorgio Pessi scores four victories with his SPAD VII (one unconfirmed).

1936 – The German Luftwaffe’s Condor Legion, a force of about 100 aircraft, begins to depart Germany for Seville, Spain, to support Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War.

1957 – The Fairey Rotodyne, a British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications (shown), makes its first flight in helicopter mode.

1961 – Death of André Julien Chainat, French World War I flying ace.

2009 – A Russian Naval Aviation Tupolev Tu-142 M3 Bear F/J of the 310th Independent Long Range Anti-Submarine Aviation Regiment based at Kamenny Ruchey Airbase crashes into the sea in the Tatar Straight near the island of Sakhalin; all 11 crew are lost.

Updated: November 6, 2014 — 10:14 AM
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