Warbirds Online » Blog Archive » This Week In Military/Aviation History 11

Hello Folks, well, another week has faded into history. Ya know, each week that hides behind us gets us one week closer to this year’s 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum’s Geneseo GREATEST SHOW ON TURF Airshow. This year’s theme is Flying Tigers Reunion and showcases the P-40. A locally produced aircraft. If you find the time, be sure to check out the 1941 HAG website at www.1941hag.org go to the Geneseo Air Show subheading and check out the info there. Also stop by the Memories USO Show subheading for info on that. This Memories show will be held the evening of July 12th after the Airshow. It is a separate admission, but is a great way to spend the evening. The Airshow and USO Memories show are normally held as two separate events, but this year it was decided to combine them. I think it’s a great idea and plan to attend both. Oh, you might want to also check out the Message Board subheading, you might find something there you like (and me). Now, let’s get down to some serious history, shall we?
Take Care and Be Safe,
Tom K.

16 February 1912
Frank Coffyn filmed New York from the air using a cinema camera while controlling his aircraft with his knees and feet.

17 February 1912
French military aircraft made their first flights in Algeria.

11 February 1913
The Chilean air service, Escuela de Aeronatica Militar, was formed.

12 February 1914
A Russian Ilya Mourometz aircraft carried sixteen passengers and a dog to a height of 6,560 feet and set a world load-to-altitude record.

15 February 1915
Russian Ilya Mourometz reconnaissance bombers attacked targets along the Vistula in Poland. (What a difference a year makes )

17 February 1915
Zeppelin LZ34 (L3) was stranded and destroyed in a gale at Jutland.

11-12 February 1917
German Leutnants Peter and Frohwein, in a DFW CV aircraft, recorded the first night fighting victories when they shot down two enemy bombers at Malzeville.

14 February 1932
A Diesel-powered Lockheed Vega flown by R. Nichols at Floyd Bennet Field in New York set a world altitude record for a diesel-powered aircraft of 19,928 ft.

12 February 1935
United States Navy dirigible (steerable airship) USS Macon crashed into the sea off California, but fortunately, only two crewmembers were killed. (Fortunately? Tell that to the two crewmembers and their families. )

11-12 February 1942
The German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneiseau and the cruiser Prince Eugan left Brest and escaped through the English Channel. They were provided with a strong Luftwaffe air umbrella during the passage.

13 February 1943
Marine Fighter Squadron 124 made its first operational use of the Vought F4U Corsair aircraft during an escort mission of Navy Consolidated PB4Y Liberators attacking Bougainville.

15 February 1943
Major General Ira C. Eaker was appointed as Commanding General of the Eighth United States Army Air Force in the United Kingdom, succeeding Major General Carl Spaatz.

15 February 1944
222 Allied bombers attacked the Monastery of Monte Carlo in Italy. The Germans had not occupied the monastery buildings, but immediately after the raid, they turned the ruins into a bastion. Successive attempts to take the monastery failed and it was not until 18 May that Polish forces succeeded in occupying the heights.

17 February 1944
Twelve radar-equipped USN Grumman TBF1C Avengers from the USS Enterprise, attacked Truk by night. This was the first night bombing attack launched by an American aircraft carrier.

13-15 February 1945
RAF and USAAF night and day bombers attacked Dresden in Germany. These attacks created a firestorm which virtually destroyed the city. Estimates of the dead varied from 35,000 to 220,000.

16 February 1945
USAAF C-47s dropped more than 2,000 paratroopers on Corregidor. The island had already been “softened up” by a major bombardment of Japanese positions.

17 February 1945
Softening up operations began against Iwo Jima. USN carrier aircraft and Naval guns combined with the 7th USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberators to pound Japanese positions.

16 February 1953
Two Republic F-84 Thunderjets flown by Japanese Defense Force pilots intercepted two Russian piston-engined fighters over north Japan.

11 February 1959
A United States weather balloon climbed to a record height of 146,000 feet.

12 February 1959
The USAF withdrew its last operational Convair B-36 bomber from service.

17 February 1959
The United States Navy launched the weather-reporting Vanguard II satellite into Earth orbit.

13 February 1960
France exploded an atomic weapon in the Sahara Desert.

12 February 1969
Mil Mi12, the world’s largest Helicopter, established a number of load-to-height records.

11 February 1970
Japan launched its first domestic satellite, becoming the fourth nation to do so using its own nationally built rocket.

13 February 1972
The Soviet Union began using Cuba as a base for reconnaissance aircraft, surveying and gathering intelligence along the American coast.

12 February 1981
The helium-filled balloon “Jules Verne”, piloted by Americans Max Anderson and Don Ida, lifted off from Luxor in Egypt, in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Two days later the attempt was aborted after 2,900 miles of travel.

16 February 1982
The first Airbus A310 was completed at Toulouse. The aircraft was destined for Swissair.

16 February 2001
Allied aircraft attacked Iraqi military control and communications sites south of Baghdad. The attacks came in response to continued threats to Allied aircraft policing the Southern No-Fly zone from Iraqi anti-aircraft systems.

17 February 2005
Several airlines had to pay heavy compensation to passengers for flight delays and cancellations under a European regulation.

Opening of a new international airport in Nagoya, Japan took place. It was the third Japanese international airport.
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That’s it for this week Folks. See ya in seven.

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