On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1897 – Birth of Elsa Andersson, Sweden’s first female aviator and stunt parachutist.

1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan takes off his Farman III in the London to Manchester air race, marking the first long-distance aeroplane race in England, the first take-off of a heavier-than-air machine at night, and the first powered flight into Manchester from outside the city.

1931 – Death of Frederick Ernest Luff, American World War I flying ace.

1934 – First flight of the Bücker Bü 131 “Jungmann” (shown) a basic trainer used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.

1972 – McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms of the U.S. Air Force finally destroy the Thanh Hoa bridge in North Vietnam with laser-guided bombs, the first such successful use of precision-guided munitions.

1982 – CAAC Flight 3303, a Hawker Siddeley Trident, crashes into a mountain while on approach during heavy rain to Guilin Qi Feng Ling airport near Yangshuo, China; all 112 perish.

Updated: April 27, 2015 — 12:27 AM
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