Military Archives - Page 151 of 180

Navy Unveils Squadron of Manned, Unmanned Craft

The U.S. Navy on Thursday inaugurated its first squadron with both manned and unmanned aircraft. Military officials launched the effort by reactivating the Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 35, known as the “Magicians” or HSL-35, which served for 19 years before being deactivated in 1992. “The HSL-35 points to the future of naval aviation,” Vice Admiral David […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1892 – Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (shown above), a German World War I pilot widely known as the Red Baron, is born. Still regarded today as the ace of aces, he amassed 80 aerial combat victories. 1926 – Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett made the first flight over the North Pole. 1936 – American parachutist Clement Joseph “Clem” Sohn makes his first […]

Thunderbirds Crew Chief Takes to New Heights

Growing up around small planes, it’s no surprise that 23-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ben Ayivorh, a dedicated crew chief assigned to the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, developed an interest in aviation at an early age. However, aside from his day-to-day job of maintaining aircraft, this Burke, Va., […]

California Pilot Had Long, Eventful Military Career

Warren H. Rice flew “every airplane in the book, or at least every airplane that mattered,” in a career that began during World War II and continued through the Korean War and Vietnam, collecting two Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFC) along the way. Rice was awarded his wings at Williams Army Airfield in Mesa, Ariz., when […]

Helicopter Crew Killed in Vietnam Will Be Buried in Arlington

The remains of a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot from Huntington Park who was shot down and killed in Vietnam nearly 46 years ago have been identified, the U.S. Defense Department announced Tuesday. Lt. Dennis W. Peterson will be buried Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., along with the remains of three crew members who were […]

Historic Flying Workhorse Takes to Aussie Skies

It was lunchtime yesterday, a warm and sleepy autumn afternoon, when a museum piece from the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society hurtled unexpectedly down the runway at Albion Park Rail in New South Wales, Australia, and launched its ageing 8,000-kg. mass into the sky. As it climbed skyward, the sunshine caught a spider’s web over an […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1875 – Birth of Harriet Quimby, early American aviator and movie screenwriter, first woman to gain a pilot’s license in the U.S. 1912 – First flight of the Avro Type F, a single-seat British aircraft and the first in the world to feature a completely enclosed cabin. 1927 – Imperial Airways, a British Airways predecessor, introduces its luxury “Silver Wing” service […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1896 – Birth of Edgar Charles Johnston, Australian World War I fighter ace and leading member in civil aviation in Australia. 1924 – One of the four Douglas World Cruiser aircraft, the “Seattle,” attempting an around-the-globe flight in stages, crashes into a mountain in Alaska. The crew survives and makes it way to safety. The wreckage of the Seattle is later […]

For WWII Bomber Pilot, Survival was ‘Witchcraft’

George Laszlo, 91, of Ellwood City, Pa., is one of the World War II veterans who served our country in combat and never talked about it. About 12 years ago, Laszlo was attending an air show in Pittsburgh with Sam Pawlowski of Ellport. Pawlowski told a television reporter that Laszlo had flown the famous aircraft […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1917 – German World War I fighter ace Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen scored four victories on that single day with his Albatros D.III. 1917 – Birth of Eric James Brindley Nicolson (shown above), British World War II fighter pilot. He is the only Battle of Britain pilot and the only pilot of RAF Fighter Command to be awarded […]