Today In History: 16 September [1975] -- The first prototype of the MiG-31 interceptor makes its maiden flight.
The MiG-31 (NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 is the fastest operational combat aircraft in the world, and it continues to be operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces and Kazakh Air Defense Forces following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until at least 2030.
PHOTO: Russian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31A in flight over Russia.
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Photo Attribution: GFDL via Wikimedia. Dmitriy Pichugin - commons.wikimedia
Historical Aviation Film Unit
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Today In History: 15 September [1917] -- German ace Kurt Wolff is shot down
Flying a prototype Fokker Dr.I, Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff is shot down and killed in a dogfight with Royal Flying Corps Sopwith Camels north of Wervicq, Belgium. His 33 kills tie him with Leutnant Otto Koennecke and Leutnant Heinrich Bongartz as the 20th-highest-scoring German ace of World War I. Wolff had been handpicked by Manfred von Richthofen to fly in his unit Jasta 11, and in July 1917 had taken over command of the squadron after von Richthofen had moved on to command Jagdgeschwader I (The Flying Circus).
PHOTO: Fokker Dr.1 Triplane replica in the colours of Manfred von Richthofen
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Photo Attribution: Copyright © Historical Aviation Film Unit
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Today In History: 14 September [1942] -- The USAAF undertakes the first combined zero-altitude strike by fighters and bombers
In the first U.S. strike from Adak, the U.S. Army Air Forces fly the first combined zero-altitude strike by fighters and bombers of World War II. Twelve Consolidated B-24 Liberators, 14 Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, and 14 Bell P-39 Airacobras attack Japanese forces at Kiska. Flying 240 miles (390 km) at wave-top level and attacking at an altitude of 50 feet (15 meters), they sink two Japanese ships and set three on fire and destroy three midget submarines, several buildings, and 12 Japanese floatplane fighters, and kill over 200 Japanese soldiers.
PHOTO: P-38J 42-68008 flying over Southern California
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia.
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Today In History: 13 September [1942] -- German Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88s bombers attack Convoy PQ 18
Hawker Sea Hurricanes from HMS Avenger remain with the convoy and put up a more effective defense, and no merchant ships are lost. During the three days of German air attacks, the Sea Hurricanes defending PQ 18 shoot down five German aircraft and damage 21 others.
PHOTO: Sea Hurricanes Mk IB in formation, December 1941
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia.
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Today In History: 12 September [1945] -- The first flight of the USAAF Northrop XP-79B turbojet flying wing ends in tragedy
The design of the XP-79 had the pilot operating the aircraft in a prone position, permitting him to withstand much greater g-forces in pitch. The first flight of the prototype ends in tragedy when the aircraft goes out of control during a slow roll and crashes 15 minutes into the flight, spinning vertically into the ground. Test pilot Harry Crosby is struck by the plane and falls to his death while attempting to bail out. The XP-79 project is cancelled soon afterward.
PHOTO: The sole prototype XP-79B.
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia.
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Today In History: 11 September [1929] -- The Fokker F-32 four-engine luxury airliner makes its first US flight
The Fokker F-32 was a passenger aircraft built by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America in 1929 in their Teterboro, New Jersey factory. It was the first four-engined aircraft designed and built in the United States. Ten examples were built, but they only entered limited commercial service; their high cost and problems with the cooling of the aft engines proved prohibitive. The United States Army Air Corps evaluated the F-32 as the YC-20, but did not purchase it.
PHOTO: An F-32 painted for Universal Air Lines System on September 25, 1929.
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia. Herbert A. French - http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.17634
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Today In History: 10 September [1952] -- Corsair pilot shoots down a MiG-15 jet
During a dogfight between two piston-engined United States Marine Corps F4U Corsair fighter-bombers from the escort aircraft carrier USS Sicily (CVE-118) and several MiG-15 jet fighters, Corsair pilot Captain Jesse G. Folmar shoots down a MiG-15 before being shot down himself; he survives and is rescued. It is the only Corsair victory over a MiG-15 during the Korean War.
PHOTO: Goodyear FG-1D Corsair (ZK-COR), one of only two surviving ex-RNZAF Corsairs in airworthy condition, in US markings.
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Photo Attribution: Historical Aviation Film Unit
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Today In History: 09 September [1982] -- First private commercial rocket, makes suborbital flight
The Conestoga was a launch vehicle design funded by Space Services Inc. of America of Houston, Texas. Conestoga originally consisted of surplus LGM-30 Minuteman rocket stages with additional strap-on boosters, as required for larger payloads. It was the world's first privately funded commercial rocket, but was launched only three times (once as a modified design) between 1981 and 1995, before the program was shut down.
PHOTO: The Conestoga 1 prepared for launch from Matagorda Island.
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Photo Attribution: CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia. Eric Grabow - Space Vector Corporation
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Today In History: 08 September [1944] -- The first German V-2 rockets land in London and Paris.
A single V-2 rocket was launched at Paris, which caused modest damage near Porte d'Italie. Two more launches against London saw the first land at Staveley Road, Chiswick, killing 63-year-old Mrs. Ada Harrison, three-year-old Rosemary Clarke, and Sapper Bernard Browning on leave from the Royal Engineers while the second one hit Epping with no casualties.
PHOTO: Full scale V-2 rocket replica being prepared for launch at an airshow in New Zealand in 2009! Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/CaZ9FeGzl_g
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Photo Attribution: Historical Aviation Film Unit
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Today In History: 07 September [1942] -- First flight of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator
The Dominator was an American heavy strategic bomber built for USAAF during WW2, which had the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during the war; that engagement also resulted in the last American to die in air combat in WW2. It was developed by Consolidated Aircraft in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design should the B-29 prove unsuccessful.
The B-32 reached units in the Pacific only in mid-May 1945, and subsequently saw only limited combat operations against Japanese targets before the formal end of the war on 2 September 1945. Only 118 B-32s were built.
PHOTO: Consolidated B-32-1-CF
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Photo Attribution: Public Domain via Wikimedia.