APRIL01

1876 - Birth of Peter Strasser, Chief Commander of German Luftschiffer during WWI, operating bombing campaigns from 1915 to 1918.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Strasser

1890 - Death of Alexander Fedorovich Mozhayskiy,Russian naval officer, aviation pioneer, researcher and designer of heavier-than-air craft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Mozhayskiy

1891 - Birth of Herbert Gardner "Tiny" Travers, British WWI flying ace, Test pilot for Blackburn Aeroplane & Manufacturing Company, Instructor, airliner pilot and who also served in WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Travers - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/travers2.php

1892 - Birth of Ludwig Gaim, German WWI flying ace who also served in WWII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Gaim - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/gaim.php

1894 - Birth of James Geoffrey Coombe, British WWI flying ace

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/coombe.php

1896 - Birth of Thomas Neville Stack, British test pilot, air racer and aviation pioneer. He served in WWI and WWII and was managing director of Pakistan-Orient airways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Neville_Stack - http://www.austinmemories.com/page6/page6.html

1896 - Birth of John Herbert Greenwood Womersley, British WWI flying ace

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/womersley.php - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Womersley

1899 - Birth of Adrian Winfrid Franklyn, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Franklyn - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/franklyn.php

1904 - Using a glider imperfectly modeled by Ernest Archdeacon on an outdated Wright design, artillery captain Ferdinand Ferber launched himself into a short hop from a massive dune in Berck-Sur-Mer, Normandy, France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation/April_1

1906 - Birth of Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Soviet aeronautical engineer and airplane designer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Sergeyevich_Yakovlev

1910 - Birth of Sergei Nikolajewitsch Anochin, Soviet Test pilot.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Nikolajewitsch_Anochin

1911 - 1st flying unit of the British Military, the Air Battalion Royal Engineers is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Battalion_Royal_Engineers

1911 - 1st flight of the Avro Type D, british biplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Type_D

1915 - French WWI pilot Lt Roland Garros scored the 1st ever shooting-down of an aircraft by a fighter firing through a tractor propeller using a non-synchronised machine gun when he shot down an Albatros observation plane from his Morane Saulnier Type L.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Garros_(aviator)

1915 - French WWI ace Jean Navarre, with an observer Lt. Robert, scores his 1st kill, using a non-synchronised machine gun when he shoots down an Albatros observation plane from his Morane Saulnier Type L.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Navarre - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/navarre.php

1916 - Zeppelin LZ48 is brought down by anti-aircraft gunfire over England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Zeppelins#Zeppelins_constructed_during_World_War_I - http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=867

1916 - Royal Naval Air Service, Training Establishment, Cranwell is officially born

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Cranwell

1916 - The last Blackburn Type I (Improved Type I), British single-engine civil two-seat monoplane used for flying demonstrations and training including seaplane pilotage and on which Large numbers of RNAS pilots experienced their initial seaplane training, is destroyed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Type_I#Operational_history

1917 - Birth of Igor Bensen, Russian born american engineer, founder of the Bensen Aircraft, which produced a successful line of Gyrogliders (rotor kites) and Autogyros. He founded the Popular Rotorcraft Association in 1962, a non-profit interest group for owners and homebuilders of autogyros and helicopters, based in Mentone, Indiana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Bensen

1917 - Death of Alfred Mohr, German WWI flying ace, killed in action.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/mohr.php

1918 - Death of Fred Everest Banbury, Canadian WWI flying ace, Killed in a flying accident

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Everest_Banbury - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/banbury.php

1918 - German WWI fighter ace Friedrich "Fritz" Ritter von Röth downed 4 balloons on a single mission

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/roth.php

1918 - The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force is born. It is formed out the army's Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. . The Women's Royal Air Force is formed at the same time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation/April_1

1920 - Birth of Cesare Di Bert, WWII Italian fighter pilot.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Di_Bert

1921 - French pilot Adrienne Bolland takes off from Mendoza, Argentina in a Cauldron biplane to become the 1st woman to fly over the Andes. She completes the historic Andean crossing to the Chilean capital, Santiago in 10 hours. Many people had gathered to celebrate the feat — notably missing was the French consul who believed it was an April Fool's Day joke.

http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/bolland.html

1923 - 1st first commercial flight of SABENA between Brussels and London (UK) via Ostend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena

1923 - The Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens, pioneering French airline, ceases operations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grands_Express_A%C3%A9riens

1923 - The de Havilland School of Flying opened at Stag Lane, 1st of four clubs opened to enable pilots in the Reserve of Air Force Officers to maintain their flying hours.

http://rafmuseum-1.titaninternet.co.uk/online-exhibitions/dehavilland/other_companies.cfm

1924 - Britain's Fleet Air Arm is established.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_Air_Arm

1924 - Imperial Airways, British commercial long range air transport company, is formed, with the backing of the British government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation

1924 - The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Air_Force

1926 - Italian airline Società Italiana Servizi Aerei begins operations linking Trieste, Venice, Pavia, and Turin with Cant 10 flying boats.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societ%C3%A0_Italiana_Servizi_Aerei

1931 - Charles William Anderson Scott takes off in his DH.60 Moth from Lympne for an England–Australia solo flight record to Darwin.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-civil-aviation/1931.aspx

1933 - The Indian Air Force is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Air_Force

1935 - Death of Robert Bajac, French WWI pilot, airline pilot and record setter, Killed in a crash during a night flight between Paris and London.

http://www.vieillestiges.com/Historique/html/Bajac-R.html - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bajac

1935 - 1st flight of The North American Aviation NA-16 (T-6 Texan), 1st trainer aircraft built by North American Aviation, Inc. and beginning of a line of North American trainer aircraft that would number more than 17,000 examples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_NA-16 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-6_Texan

1937 - New Zealand Permanent Air Force adopts a new name , the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_New_Zealand_Air_Force

1939 - 1st flight of Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Zeke), long range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero

1940 - 1st flight of The Grumman XF5F Skyrocket, prototype of a twin-engine shipboard fighter interceptor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_XF5F_Skyrocket

1944 - Swiss City Schaffhausen suffered a bombing raid by USAAF aircrafts which strayed from German airspace into neutral Switzerland due to navigation errors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaffhausen#History

1944 - 1st flight of The Bell XP-77, a simplified 'lightweight' fighter aircraft using so-called "non-strategic" materials.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XP-77

1945 - Yokosuka MXY7 Ohkas (rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack plane) score hits on the USS West Virginia and three of her escorts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_West_Virginia_(BB-48)

1946 - Birth of William Frederick Fisher, American physician and a former NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Fisher

1947 - 1st Flight of The Blackburn B-48 Firecrest, single-engine naval strike fighter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Firecrest

1949 - 1st flight of the LWD Zuch-2, Polish aerobatics and trainer aircraft, re-engined version of the Zuch-1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LWD_Zuch#Design_and_development

1949 - 1st flight of the Sud-Ouest SO 8000 Narval, French prototype Carried born Fighter, twin-boom configuration with sweptback wing, pusher engine driving contra-rotating propellers.

http://www.aviafrance.com/s-n-c-a-s-o-so-8000-narval--aviation-france-947.htm - http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/so_narval.php

1951 - 1st flight of the SE.530 Mistral, French jet-engine fighter licence Built of the British De Havilland Vampire FB.51.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

1954 - Last operational flight by an RAF Spitfire, a photo-reconnaissance sortie against bandits in Malaya is flown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire

1954 - 1st supersonic flight of the North Ameriacn Navaho X-10 (Mach 1.47), American unmanned technology demonstrator or advanced missile technologies.

http://www.astronautix.com/fam/navaho.htm

1955 - Lufthansa resumed scheduled service within Germany using the Convair 340.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa

1960 - Launch of TIROS I (or TIROS-1), 1st successful weather satellite, and the 1st of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TIROS-1#cite_note-apupi-0

1961 - Venezuelan airline VIASA commences operations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIASA

1965 - Tasman Empire Airways becomes Air New Zealand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasman_Empire_Airways

1968 - Death of Sidney Arthur William Knights, British WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Knights - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/knights.php

1969 – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1, 1st generation of the Harrier series, operational close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) capabilitie enters service with the Royal Air Force.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Siddeley_Harrier

1969 - Air Jamaica, national airline of Jamaica, begin operations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Jamaica#History

1972 - BOAC and BEA are merged to create British Airways

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways

1973 - Birth of Sergei Aleksandrovich Volkov, Russian cosmonaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Alexandrovich_Volkov

1973 - Death of Bruno Heusinger, German expert in guided missiles during WWII, Member of the German rocket team in the USA.

http://www.astronautix.com/astros/heuinger.htm

1975 - Republic of Singapore Air Force is formed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Singapore_Air_Force

1976 - Piper's 100,000th airplane, a PA31T Cheyenne II is rolled out from the company's Lock Haven plant.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1976.aspx

1977 - Death of John Herbert Hedley, British WWI flying ace (Observer/Gunner)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Herbert_Hedley - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/hedley.php

1978 - The Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team officially becomes the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowbirds

1982 - Air France flies the Concorde over to Rio de Janeiro and Caracas, Venezuela for the last time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation

1987 - Western Airlines ceases operations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Airlines

1992 - 1st flight of the Airbus A340-200, European long-range widebody four engine jet airliner.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4764

1993 – The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF) is disbanded for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Hong_Kong_Auxiliary_Air_Force

1993 - Queen Elizabeth II of England reviews 70 Royal Air Force aircraft on the ground in celebration of the air force's 75th anniversary. A mass flypast is cancelled due to poor weather.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation

1993 - American NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racecar driver Alan Dennis Kulwicki, nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", is killed in the crash of a private plane due to icing conditions just before final approach at Tri-Cities Regional Airport near Blountville.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kulwicki#Death

1994 - Death of Clyde Everett Lassen, US Navy helicopter pilot, only U. S. Navy helicopter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Everett_Lassen - http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7136906

1997 - French National Airline Air Inter ceases operations, absorbed into Air France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Inter

2001 - An EP-3E (signals reconnaissance version of the P-3 Orion) United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, People's Republic of China and is detained.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

2008 - RAF celebrated its 90th birthday with a flypast of the Red Arrows and four Typhoons over many RAF Stations and Central London

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force

2011 - The high-altitude, long-endurance Global Observer unmanned aerial vehicle by AeroVironment Inc. of California crashed

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/04/04/Global-Observer-crashes-during-test-flight/UPI-41741301921265/