Military Archives - Page 27 of 180

On This Day in Aviation History

1912 – Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold sets an altitude record of 4,764 feet. 1927 – First flight of the Morane-Saulnier MoS-121, a French single-seat monoplane fighter prototype. 1934 – The Wright Bellanca WB-2 “Maple Leaf,” formerly the record-setting “Columbia,” is destroyed in a hangar fire at the Bellanca factory in Newcastle, Del. 1951 – Death of Ambroise Goupy, French […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1891 – Birth of Bruno Loerzer, German World War I flying ace and high-ranking officer in World War II. 1918 – Canadian World War I fighter ace George Robert Howsam scores four victories with his Sopwith Camel. 1919 – Death of Carrick Stewart Paul, New Zealand World War I flying ace; he drowns at sea while returning home. […]

Doolittle Raider to be Honored

Missoula, Montana’s David Thatcher, one of two remaining crew members of the famed Doolittle Raiders of World War II, will be feted again Friday night. Thatcher and his wife, Dawn, are in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he’ll be inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation at a $5,000-a-plate dinner ceremony hosted by John Travolta. Thatcher, 94, […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1903 – Birth of Maximilien “Max” Conrad, known as the “Flying Grandfather”, American record-setting aviator. 1911 – U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Ward Beck sends the first wireless-telephonic message from an airplane, a Wright biplane flying over Selfridge Field northeast of Detroit, Mich. 1938 – First flight of the Potez-CAMS 141 (shown), a French long range reconnaissance flying boat prototype. 1944 – German […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1888 – Birth of Jens Tryggve Herman Gran, Norwegian aviator, explorer and author; he was the first pilot to cross the North Sea. 1934 – First flight of the Boeing YP-29A (shown), a U.S. fighter prototype. 1940 – The Brazilian Air Force, originally founded in 1908 as the Brazilian Army Balloon Corp, adopts its current title, Fôrça Aeréa Brasileira. 1971 – […]

Afghan AF Gets New Attack Planes

After repeated delays including a contract cancellation, the first four out of 20 Embraer/Sierra Nevada Corporation A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft slated for service in the Afghan Air Force (AAF) arrived on January 15 at Hamid Karzai International Airport, IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reports. The AAF is expecting an additional delivery of four more A-29 Super Tucano […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1784 – One of the largest hot-air balloon ever made, called ‘Le Flesselle’ by the Montgolfier brothers, makes an ascent at Lyon, France. The balloon’s capacity is 700,000 cubic feet and it goes up to 3,000 feet. 1899 – Birth of George Ebben Randall, British World War I flying ace. 1947 – First flight of the Fiat G.212, a Italian three-engine airliner. 1995 – Bristow […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1893 – Birth of Douglas Evan Cameron, British World War I flying ace. 1935 – First flight of the Blohm & Voss Ha 137 (shown), a German ground-attack aircraft. 1957 – End of Operation Power Flite; a trio of BoeingB-52B Stratofortresses of the U.S. Air Force lands at March Air Force Base near Riverside, Calif., after flying for a total […]

Coast Guard Station Gets Special Jayhawk

US Coast Guard Air Station Astoria in Oregon received a yellow-painted Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at its base in Warrenton on Jan. 15, in celebration of 100 years of Coast Guard aviation. The Jayhawk helicopter, the first of all this year’s specially painted aircraft delivered by the Coast Guard to an operational unit, arrived from Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center […]

On This Day in Aviation History

1935 – First flight of the RWD-13, a Polish touring three-seater high-wing monoplane. 1950 – Death of Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, aviation pioneer, second rated pilot in the history of the U.S. Air Force, chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941) and commanding general of the USAF’s predecessor during World War II. 1969 – Birth of […]