On This Day in History

1923:    Army bombing tests off Cape Hatteras, NC sink the condemned naval vessels USS New Jersey and USS Virginia, proving the vulnerability of Naval vessels to aerial attack.

  1922:    Lt James H. Doolittle completes the 1st transcontinental flight in one day in a rebuilt DH-4B with Liberty 400 HP engines, 2,163 miles in 21 hours, 20 minutes. He makes one refueling stop

  1996:    The 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada begins operating the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle above Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  1910:    The first American woman pilot, Blanche Scott, solos in a Curtiss Pusher over the Lake Keuka Field of the Curtiss Company at Hammondsport, N. Y.

  2005:    HURRICANE KATRINA. Air National Guard personnel log 600 rescues in one day after Hurricane Katrina makes landfall on the Gulf Coast.

  1952:    KOREAN WAR SORTIE RECORD. Far East Air Forces fighter-bombers set a new 24-hour record by sending 854 Fifth Air Force sorties against Pyongyang, N. Korea.

1942:    The War Department directs the Air Transport Command to provide aircraft and equipment to evacuate sick and wounded American servicemen and women throughout the world.

  1941:    William R. Dunn, flying with Eagle Squadron 71 (RAF), shoots down his fifth enemy plane to become the first American “Ace” in Europe. He served in Europe, Burma, and China, and ended the

1967:    MEDAL OF HONOR. After shooting down his F-100 Super Sabre, the North Vietnamese capture Maj George E. Day. For his subsequent valorous service in escaping from and evading enemy forces and resistance while in

1954:    Lockheed pilots Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer fly the Hercules YC-130 transport on its first flight.