MARCH19
1886 - Birth of Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, Italian - American airplane designer and builder who created the first monoplane in the United States with an enclosed cabin, founder of Bellanca Aircraft Company.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Mario_Bellanca
1890 - Birth of Ernst Freiherr von Althaus, German WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Freiherr_von_Althaus - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/althaus.php
1893 - Birth of John Gordon Smith Cheetham Smith-Grant, Scottish WWI flying ace
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/scotland/smith-grant.php
1894 - Birth of Leslie Edwin Mitchell, British WWI flying ace
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/mitchell2.php
1895 - Birth of Christian Frank Schilt, one of the 1st Marine Corps aviators who served in WWI, WWII and Korean War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_F._Schilt
1896 - Birth of Ralph Luxmore Curtis, British WWI flying ace.
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/curtis2.php
1899 - Birth of Wilfred Harry Sneath, British WWI flying ace
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/sneath.php
1900 - Birth of Sidney Norman Webster, English aviator, senior officer in the RAF who flew the winning aircraft in the 1927 Schneider Trophy seaplane race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Webster
1909 - The International Aero and Motor-Boat Exhibition opens in London. Among the exhibits is a Wright airplane.
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/thismonth/this_month_mar09_prt.htm
1910 - Orville Wright begins training students in Montgomery, Alabama at a site that later became Maxwell Air Force Base.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flying_School
1912 - The 1st of the U. S. Signal Corps Scout series capable of meeting a specification issued February 8, 1912, the S. C. No.8 is delivered to Augusta, Georgia by Curtiss pilot Charles Francis Walsh. It finally passes all tests at College Park, Maryland in May with Lincoln Beachey at the controls
http://earlyaviators.com/ewalsh8.htm
1912 - Birth of Adolf "Dolfo" Joseph Ferdinand Galland, WWII German Luftwaffe General and flying ace. During aerobatic manoeuvre training in 1935, he crashed a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 biplane and was in a coma for three days, other injuries were a damaged eye, fractured skull and broken nose. He convinced the doctors he was fit for flying duty. Galland was ordered to undergo eye tests to validate his claims. Before the testing could begin, one of his brothers managed to acquire the charts. Adolf memorised the charts passing the test and was permitted to fly again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Galland - http://cieldegloire.com/001_galland_a.php
1916 – Eight Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" of the 1st Aero Squadron take off from Columbus, New Mexico, in pursuit of Pancho Villa. 1st United States air-combat mission in history.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-us-air-combat-mission-begins - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa_Expedition
1917 - 1st flight of the Ansaldo SVA, Italian fighter biplane of wooden construction.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/italy/ansaldo_sva.php
1918 - Aktieselskapet Det Norske Luftfartsrederi (or DNL), Norway's 1st scheduled airline, is founded.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Det_Norske_Luftfartrederi
1918 - U. S. airplanes in France make the 1st operational flights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/March_in_aviation/March_19
1918 - While on patrol near Heligoland, Ensign Stephen Potter becomes the 1st US Navy airman to shoot down a German aircraft.
1921 - Birth of Aurelio Morandi, Italian WWI pilot
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelio_Morandi
1921 – The Douglas Cloudster broke the Pacific Coast altitude record by climbing 19,160 feet. The Cloudster was the 1st Douglas product. It was also the first airplane in history to airlift a useful load exceeding its own weight.
http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/cloudster.htm
1924 - 1st flight of the Bristol Brandon (Bristol Type 79), British single-engine biplane transport aircraft, 3rd evolution of the Bristol Ten seater (Bristol Type 62) built as a military transport and air ambulance aircraft for the RAF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Ten-seater#Operational_history
1931 - Death of Fausto Cecconi and Umberto Maddalena , Italian Aviators, while flying a Savoia-Marchetti S.64, preparing to contest an endurance record.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fausto_Cecconi - http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Maddalena
1932 - Flinders Island Airways, Australian early airline, begins regular aerial service.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_National_Airways#The_Holyman_Airways_period
1934 - 1st flight of the Shavrov Sh-5 prototype, Russian twin-engined float plane.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/shavrov-5.php
1941 - The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the 1st all-black unit of the Army Air Corp, is activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen
1944 - Following Japanese Army attacks aimed at isolating British troops at Imphal and Tiddim, the Douglas Dakotas of No.194 Squadron RAF and twenty Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airlifted a complete division to Imphal - a feat accomplished in 748 sorties
1945 - Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Franklin_(CV-13)#19_March_1945
1946 - Death of George Vernon Holloman, American engineer pioneer in the field of aeronautical engineering and unmanned flight, Killed in the crash of a B-17 on the Island of Formosa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_V._Holloman
1948 - 1st flight of the SNCASO SO-6000N 'Triton', French jet aircraft prototype, re-engined version of the SO 6000J
http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=5687 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/SO.6000_Triton
1948 - 1st flight of the Gloster Meteor T7 , 1st British jet fighter in Two seat trainer variant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
1950 - 1st flight of The English Electric Canberra PR3, Photo-reconnaissance of the british jet-powered light bomber.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Electric_Canberra
1952 - Death of Georg Ritter von Hengl, German WWI flying ace and WWII officer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Ritter_von_Hengl - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hengl.php
1953 - Death of Arkadiy Dmitrievich Shvetsov , Soviet aircraft engine designer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadiy_Shvetsov
1954 - 1st flight of The Auster AOP.9 , British military air observation aircraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auster_AOP.9
1954 - Death of Earl McNabb "Handie" Hand, Canadian WWI flying ace and 1st president of Toronto Flying Club.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Hand - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/hand.php
1957 - Last flight of the sole Convair XC-99, American prototype heavy cargo aircraft built for the USAF, largest piston-engined land-based transport aircraft ever built, developed from the B-36 bomber,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_XC-99
1959 - 1st flight of the Boeing NB52A Stratofortress named "The High and Mighty One" with the X-15..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-52_Stratofortress
1962 - 1st flight of the Potez-Heinkel CM-191, 4 Seat prototype evolution of the french jet trainer Fouga CM-170 'Magister'.
http://www.minijets.org/index.php?id=113 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=8072
1962 - Death of William Carpenter 'Bill' Lambert, American WWI fighter ace, probably the second-ranking American ace of WWI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Lambert - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/lambert.php
1964 - Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock, takes off from Columbus, Ohio in a Cessna 180, for a solo round-the-world flight, 1st woman which will make such a journey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerrie_Mock - http://www.soloflights.org/mock_text_e.html
1969 - 1st scheduled jet air service inside the Arctic Circle begins as Nordair inaugurates a weekly return service between Montreal, Canada and Resolution Bay, Cornwallis Island, Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/March_in_aviation/March_19
1970 – 1st powered flight of the Martin Marietta X-24A lifting body at Edwards AFB.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Marietta_X-24A
1972 - EgyptAir Flight 763 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashed into the Shamsan Mountains on approach to Aden, killing all 30 people on board.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_763
1976 - Death of Aldo Bocchese, Italian WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Bocchese - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/italy/bocchese.php
1982 - Death of William Carpenter Lambert, American WWI fighter ace, Engineer, and civilian pilot who also served in WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Lambert - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/lambert.php
1984 - 1st flight of The IAI 1125 Astra, Israelian Aircraft Industries-manufactured twin-engine business jet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Astra
1987 - 1st flight of the Sikorsky SH-60F Seahawk (SAR and ASW version) of this twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_SH-60_Seahawk
1989 - 1st flight of The Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell-Boeing_V-22_Osprey
1991 - Death of Carina Massone Negrone, Italian aviatrix.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carina_Massone_Negrone
1998 - Formosa Airlines Saab 340B crashed into the ocean 11 km off the city of Hsinchu in Taiwan, caused by electrical fault and disorientation of crew. 13 people killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAAB_340#Incidents_and_accidents
1998 - Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727-228 struck the Sharki Baratayi Mountain at an altitude of 2,700 ft whilst descending for Kabul International Airport in poor weather, killing all 45.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Ariana_Afghan_Airlines_crash - http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19980319-0
1998 - At the age of 82, Wing Commander Ken Wallis sets a new world record time for reaching an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,842 feet) in an autogyro. He sets a time of 7 minutes 20 seconds in his WA12.
2004 – A Swedish Douglas DC-3A-360 Skytrain shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in 1952 over the Baltic Sea is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the three crewmen are left in place, pending further investigations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_affair
2010 - Death of Elinor Smith (born Elinor Regina Patricia Ward), pioneering American aviatrix,(known as "The Flying Flapper of Freeport"), 1st woman test pilot for both Fairchild and Bellanca (now AviaBellanca).She was the youngest licensed pilot in the world at 16.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Smith
2011 - A multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Military operations began, with US and British forces firing over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles, the French Air Force and British Royal Air Force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_military_intervention_in_Libya - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_Harmattan
2012 - Death of Sanford "Sandy" Noyes McDonnell (nephew of aircraft deisgner James Smith "Mac" McDonnell), American engineer, businessman and philanthropist, Former chairman and chief executive officer of McDonnell Douglas Corporation.