On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Maurice Joseph Emile Robert, French World War I flying ace.

1916 – The first Zeppelin raid on the UK takes place by the German Navy. The towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn are bombed; more than 20 die in what becomes the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.

1945 – During an Eighth Air Force raid on a Czech railroad yard, Messerschmitt Me 262s shoot down five Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. The fifth, a Boeing B-17G named “Dead Man’s Hand,” piloted by U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Robert F. Glazener, becomes the last heavy bomber of the Eighth AF lost to enemy fighters in the European theater. Seven of eight crew escape the falling bomber, although no chutes were reported being seen.

1945 – Death or Aurelio Morandi, Italian pilot, last of the 210 Italians pilots shot down during World War II.

1956 – First flight of the Supermarine Scimitar (shown), a British naval fighter.

2009 – CanJet Flight 918, a Boeing 737-800, is seized on the ground by an armed man who slips through security checks at Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, Jamaica; all passengers are released; six crew members are kept as hostages for several hours before being freed unharmed.

Updated: April 21, 2016 — 4:14 AM

1 Comment

  1. Lt Robert F Glazener was my uncle and I would like to have info on his unit in England. I want to research their history.
    He has one son that lives in Houston.

    Thanks,
    A Wayne Brown

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