Today In History:  17 August  [1922]   --  Walter Hinton leaves New York on a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Walter Hinton (one of the first transatlantic flyers) leaves New York in a H-16 flying boat with four companions on a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marking the first flight from North America to South America.

PHOTO: Curtiss H-16 in U.S. Navy service.

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  16 August  [1952]   --  The prototype Bristol "Britannia" makes its first flight
The prototype Bristol Type 175 "Britannia" (G-ALBO) makes its first flight from Filton, Bristol, England.

During development two prototypes were lost and the turboprop engines proved susceptible to inlet icing, which delayed entry into service while solutions were sought. By the time development was completed, "pure" jet airliners from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States were about to enter service, and consequently, only 85 Britannias were built before production ended in 1960.

PHOTO: Bristol Britannia 312 G-AOVT of BOAC at Manchester Airport in 1962

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Photo Attribution:  CC BY-SA 3.0  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  15 August  [1951]   --  Bill Bridgeman sets new altitude record

Bill Bridgeman sets a new altitude record in the Douglas Skyrocket of 74,494 ft (22,706 m). The Skyrocket was a rocket and jet-powered research supersonic aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the United States Navy.

PHOTO: Boeing B-29 (P2B variant) on jacks to accept the Skyrocket

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  14 August  [1942]   --  Lt Elza Shaham becomes the first USAAF pilot to score an aerial victory in Europe

Flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter of the 27th Fighter Squadron, Lieutenant Elza Shaham becomes the first U.S. Army Air Forces pilot to score an aerial victory in Europe during World War II when he shoots down a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 Condor.

PHOTO: Fw 200C-3/U-2 SG+KS (later F8+AB), flown by Ritterkreuz recipient Hauptmann Fritz Fliegel.

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  13 August  [1939]   --  First flight of the Vickers Warwick

846 examples of the Vickers Warwick would eventually be built and operated by the RAF, SAAF, Polish Air Force (in exile) and BOAC. The Warwick was designed to serve as a larger counterpart to the Vickers Wellington bomber. The two aircraft share similar construction and design principles but unlike the smaller Wellington bomber, development of the Warwick was delayed by a lack of suitable high-powered engines.  Only 16 aircraft were delivered as bombers, as by this time more capable four-engined heavy bombers were in service. It soon became clear that the Warwick, with its spacious fuselage and long range, would be well suited to utility roles such as transport and air-sea rescue.

PHOTO: Air-sea rescue Warwick with an airborne lifeboat under the fuselage

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  12 August  [1976]   --  First flight of the Aermacchi MB-339

The MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi.

The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a replacement for the service's existing fleet of Aermacchi MB-326s. Its design was derived from that of the MB-326, rather than a new design, and thus the two aircraft share considerable design similarities
PHOTO: ex-Royal New Zealand Air Force Aermacchi 339.

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Photo Attribution:  Historical Aviation Film Unit

Today In History:  11 August  [1919]   --  The Felixstowe Fury crashes in Plymouth Sound

The Felixstowe Fury, also known as the Porte Super-Baby, crashes in Plymouth Sound off Plymouth, England, on the eve of its planned flight to South Africa, killing one of its seven crew members.

The Fury was a large, five-engined triplane flying-boat designed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, inspired by the Wanamaker Triplane/Curtiss Model T. At the time the Fury was the largest seaplane in the world, the largest British aircraft, and the first aircraft controlled successfully by servo-assisted means.

PHOTO: The Felixstowe Fury at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe. Wreckage of a Felixstowe F.2A in the foreground.

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  10 August  [1918]   --  Third-highest-scoring German ace of World War I killed.

During a dogfight, the Fokker D.VII fighter of the German fighter ace Oberleutnant Erich Löwenhardt collides with another D.VII flown by Leutnant Alfred Wenz near Chaulnes, France. Both men bail out; Wenz survives, but Löwenhardt's parachute fails and he falls to his death from 12,000 feet (3,660 meters). Löwenhardt's score of 53 kills will make him the third-highest-scoring German ace of World War I.

PHOTO: Ernst Udet beside his D.VII, nicknamed "Lo".

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain Unknown author - http://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/457/776/large_000000.jpg This photograph Q 63153 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.  [https://www.iwm.org.uk/corporate/policies/non-commercial-licence]

Today In History:  09 August  [1941]   --  Oberleutnant Ludwig Becker achieves Luftwaffe's first aerial victory using airborne radar

Flying a Dornier Do 215 B-5 night fighter, Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Ludwig Becker achieves Germany"s first aerial victory employing airborne radar, using a Lichtenstein radar to detect and close with a British Vickers Wellington bomber participating in a raid on Hamburg, Germany, before shooting down the Wellington. 105 Do 215's were built.

PHOTO: A German Dornier Do 215B bomber in flight. The Do 215 was fitted with Daimler Benz DB 601 V12 piston engines.

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Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia.

Today In History:  08 August  [1946]   --  Initial flight of the first 10-engine aircraft, the B-36 Peacemaker

The first 10-engine aircraft, the Convair B-36 Peracemaker, made its first successful test flight. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It has the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built, at 230 ft (70 m) and it was the first bomber capable of delivering any of the nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal from an internal bomb bay without aircraft modifications.
PHOTO: The B-36 prototype (right) alongside a Boeing B-29 Superfortress at Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, Texas, June 1948

See the Historical Aviation Film Unit website at http://www.aviationfilm.com to get a new history tidbit every day.


Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia. United States Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama