1914 – Birth of Piotr Konstantinovich “Daddy” Kozachenko, a Soviet fighter ace during the Sino Japanese War, Finnish-Soviet Winter War and World War II.
1923 – New Zealand forms its first military aviation services, the forerunners of what would be the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
1944 – Royal Air Force Flt. Lt. J.G. Musgrave, flying a de Havilland Mosquito of the No. 605 Squadron, is the first pilot to shoot down a German V1 flying bomb (also known as the “buzz bomb”).
1963 – French aviatrix Jacqueline Auriol sets a new speed record of 1,261 mph in a Dassault Mirage III R.
1985 – TWA Flight 847, a Boeing 727, is hijacked by Lebanese militants shortly after take-off from Athens, Greece; of the passengers and crew, U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem is killed. The remaining 146 captives are eventually released.
2007 – Death of Robin Olds, American fighter pilot and decorated brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force (shown above). He was a triple ace with a combined total of 16 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War.
