Civilian Archives - Page 5 of 175

July 7th in Aviation History

1911 – French Lieutenant de Vaisseau Jean Louis Conneau (pseudonym André Beaumont) wins the Circuit of Europe air race in a Blériot XI monoplane. 1921 – First flight of the Fairey Pintail (shown), a British single-engine floatplane fighter. 1960 – Birth of Kevin Anthony Ford, U.S. Air Force pilot and NASA astronaut. 1962 – Alitalia Flight 771, a Douglas DC-8, hits high terrain while […]

July 1st in Aviation History

1896 – Birth of George William Gladstone Gauld, Canadian World War I flying ace. 1923 – The first commercial flight is operated by SABENA between Brussels and London. 1962 – The Boeing Vertol 107 II (shown), an American medium-lift, tandem-rotor helicopter, enters scheduled service with New York Airways. 1968 – Death of Willi Gabriel, German […]

June 26th in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Cosimo Rizzotto, Italian World War I flying ace. 1918 – Death of Edward Carter Eaton, Canadian World War I flying ace, killed in action in his Sopwith Camel. 1946 – The U.S. Army Air Force and the U.S. Navy adopt the “knot” and “nautical mile” as standard aeronautical units for speed […]

June 23rd in Aviation History

1904 – Birth of Alberto Ferrario, Italian aviator. 1924 – U. S. Army Lt. Russell Maughan makes the first one-day crossing of the U.S., completing the flight from Long Island to San Francisco in a Curtiss PW-8 (XPW-8B prototype shown) in 21 hours, 48 min. 1942 – First flight of the Martin JRM Mars, a large, four-engined cargo seaplane originally designed and built in limited numbers for the U.S. Navy […]

June 19th in Aviation History

1892 – Birth of Sidney Joseph “Jack” Cottle, British World War I fighter ace who served with the Royal Air Force through 1944. 1912 – The RFC’s Central Flying School opens at Upavon, Wiltshire, in South West England. 1942 – First flight of the SAAB 18 (shown), Swedish twin-engine bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. 1945 – More than 480 Boeing […]

June 17th in Aviation History

1896 – Birth of Cedric Ernest “Spike” Howell, Australian World War I fighter ace. 1917 – In daylight, 21 Gotha bombers make Germany‘s second heavier-than-air bombing attack on England. Seven bombers attack small towns in Kent and Essex while 14 attack London. The attacks kill 162 people and injure 432. 1929 – Imperial Airways Handley Page […]

June 15th in Aviation History

1910 – The world’s youngest flyer, 15-year-old Frenchman Marcel Hanriot, gets his pilot’s brevet, no. 15. 1945 – First flight of the North American F-82 Twin Mustang (prototype shown), the last American piston-engine fighter; it is based on the P-51 Mustang. 1946 – The U.S. Navy’s new Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, gives its first public performance […]

June 12th in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Henry George “Hal” Crowe, Irish World War I flying ace, who served with the Royal Air Force until the end of World War II. 1929 – First flight of the Vickers Type 143, or Bolivian Scout, a British single-seat biplane fighter designed for Bolivia. 1931 – The 40-passenger Handley Page HP-42, a […]

June 8th in Aviation History

1920 – Birth of Ivan Mykytovych Kozhedub (shown), Ukrainian World War II fighter ace who also served during Korean War. 1934 – First flight of the Ryan ST, an American two-seat, low-wing monoplane. 1944 – Off Normandy, a German Heinkel He 177 badly damages the USS Meredith, a U. S. Navy destroyer; it breaks in half and sinks the […]

June 4th in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Gilbert Jean Uteau, French World War I flying ace. 1942 – The first live test of a nylon parchute is made by Adeline Gray at Brainard Field near Hartford, Conn. 1967 – Death of Zeus Soucek, record-setting U.S. Navy aviator. 1969 – Mexicana Flight 704, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to […]