Hello Folks,

You may have noticed I revised the title of this post from “Military Aviation” History to “Military/Aviation” History. I feel this gives me a bit more “wiggle room” to choose historic events to post. More work for me, but that’s OK. I’ve got all the time I need to type them and I hope you Folks have all the time you need to read them. Ok, let’s get down to history.

Be Safe,
Tom K.

14 May 1908
Charles W. Furnas of Dayton, Ohio became the first aircraft passenger. One of the Wright brothers’ mechanics, Wilbur Wright took him on a flight of 1,968 feet which lasted 29 seconds at Kill Devil Hills in Kittyhawk, North Carolina.

16 May 1911
Delag passenger carrying Zeppelin LZ8 “Ersatz Deutschland” was destroyed in a docking accident, but there were no casualties.

14 May 1915
The United States Navy ordered its first airship from the Connecticut Aircraft Company.

18 May 1916
Lieutenant Kiffin Rockwell of the Escadrille Americaine, became the first American pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft.

14 May 1917
Zeppelin LZ64 (L22) was shot down by a British flying boat with the loss of all hands.

15 May 1917
German Lieutenant Heinrich Gontermann was awarded the Pour le Merite. Gontermann achieved eighteen victories against Allied balloons, once shooting down four in three minutes. He was killed in a crash while testing a new Fokker DRI.

19 May 1917
The United States Government agreed to send an Army division to France.

18 May 1918
The 96th Aero Squadron, the first American bomber unit, formed in France.

19 May 1918
In the latest of a series of monthly raids on London and the Home Countries by German Gotha bombers and Stakken airships, 49 civilians were killed and 179 injured as bombs fell in residential areas before midnight.

Hauptmann H. Koll received the pour le Merite for flying 800 missions.

20 May 1918
The Overman Act created the Bureau of Aircraft Production and the Division of Military Aeronautics. The United States Army Air Service was formed from these on 24 May.

17 May 1919
The United States War Department ordered the use of the national star insignia on all United States military aircraft.

19 May 1919
Msgt. R.W. Bottriell made the first free back-type parachute jump. 

19 May 1924
Wing Commander Goble and Flight Lieutenant McIntyre of the Royal Australian Air Force completed their round-Australia flight. The flight took 90 hours in a Fairey IIID. 

20 May 1929
The Peruvian Army and Naval Air Services were amalgamated into the Cuerpo de Aeronautica del Peru.

16 May 1935
Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union concluded an alliance. 

18 May 1935
The world’s worst air disaster to date occurred when ANT-20 Maxim Gorky collided with another aircraft near Tushino and caused the death of 56 people. 

15 May 1938
H.L. Ickes, United States Secretary of State for the Interior, confirmed his refusal to supply helium gas to Germany.

20 May 1939
The first large scale air battle between Soviet and Japanese aircraft occurred in Outer Mongolia near Khalkin Gol.

14 May 1940
The Rotterdam business center was bombed during surrender discussiopns. This raid was an error, as all bomber groups were recalled as soon as negotiations began, but unfortunately one group failed to receive the recall instructions. The world was shocked by this bombing.

20 May 1948
The Israeli air force was in action against Arab forces for the first time.

10 May 1951
Captain James Jabara of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing of the United States Air Force in Korea, an F-86 Saber pilot, became the first jet pilot to score five unconfirmed victories over jet aircraft, by destroying two Mikoyan-Guirevich MiG15s.

20 May 1953
Another Polish pilot landed his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG15 jet on Bornholm Island.

18 May 1956
The United States press highlighted the “Colonel’s revolt”, revealing bitter interservice rivalry.

16 May 1958
The first world speed record over 2,000 k.p.h. was set by Captain W.W. Irwin of the United States Air Force, in a Lockheed F-104A Starfighter when he attained a speed of 2,259 k.p.h (1,403 m.p.h.).

17 May 1960
Khrushchev angrily denounced American spying activities over the Soviet Union, resulting from the Gary Powers incident, causing the breakup of a Summit conference in Paris.

19 May 1972
An Indian Government spokesman in New Dehli said that Indian security forces had orders to destroy all Pakistani aircraft violating India’s airspace.

20 May 1978
McDonnell Douglas delivered its 5,000th F-4 Phantom aircraft, twenty years after the first flight of the prototype.

17 May 1987
An Iraqi Exocet missile hit the USS STARK, killing 37 crewmen.

20 May 1998
France and Germany ordered the first 160 Tiger attack helicopters from Eurocopter.

14 May 1999
The United States Marine Corps took delivery of its first Bell Boeing MV22B Osprey tilt-rotor.

——————————————————————————————– That’s all for this week. See ya in seven!

Posted by Tom Kwiatkowski Sr. - Moderator of the 1941 Historic Aircraft Group Message Board

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