APRIL05

1869 - Birth of Sergey Alexeyevich Chaplygin, Russian and Soviet physicist, mathematician, and mechanical engineer.

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

1877 - Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss formed the German shipbuilding and engineering works Blohm & Voss which will later in the 30's (under the direction of brothers Rudolf and Walther Blohm) design and build aircraft for use by both the German state airline, pre-war Deutsche Luft Hansa, and the air-force, Luftwaffe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_%2B_Voss

1888 - Birth of William Allan Wheeler, British WWI flying ace

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

1890 - Birth of Pierre Marie Gabriel Vincent Ernest Leroy de Boiseaumarie, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Leroy_De_Boiseaumarie - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/leroy.php

1892 - Birth of Hans von Keudell, German WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_von_Keudell - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/keudell.php

1894 - Birth of Lawrence Dale "Larry" Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation.

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

1896 - Birth of Heinrich Drekmann, German WWI flying ace

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

1896 - Birth of Dixie Kiefer, US navy aviator and WWII aircraft carrier Executive Office. He was said to be the most battered officer in the Navy ("He's got so much metal in him the ship's compass follows him when he walks across the deck.").

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

1898 - Birth of Charles Jean Vincent Macé, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_J._V._Mac%C3%A9 - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/mace.php

1904 - Birth of Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman, American air-racer and aircraft designer.

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

1905 - Death of Louis-Marie-Joseph-Charles-Clément 'Charles' Renard, French military engineer and balloonist.

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

1907 - 1st flight of The Blériot V, early French aircraft and one of the 1st monoplanes built by Louis Blériot. Although Blériot only achieved a couple of short flights in it, the second resulting in a crash which damaged the aircraft beyond repair, it was the 1st of his experimental aircraft to achieve any measure of success.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot_V

1912 - Birth of Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist, prominent in the field of aerodynamics, with a specialization in hypersonic and supersonic flight.

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

1919 - French Henri Roget flew from Lyon-Bron to Roma-Centocelle in 16 hours with a Breguet XIV.

http://slhada.fr/ROGET%20Un%20lyonnais%20meconnu.htm

1923 - 1st flight of the SPAD S-64, French side-by-side biplane trainer prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=123

1926 - Spanish Escuadrilla Elcano starts its flight from Madrid to Manila in 20 stages & 30 days with 2 Breguet XIX.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escuadrilla_Elcano

1930 - 1st flight of the Armstrong Whitworth Aries ,British single-engine biplane, only 1 prototype built, Evolution of the Atlas.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/arm_aries.php

1932 - French Emile Munch, Max Dévé and Charles Verneilh land the Couzinet 33 'Biarritz' (French 3 engine mailplane) in Noumea, completing the 1st France New-Caledonia flight.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Couzinet

1933 - 1st flight of the Morane-Saulnier MS-234 n°2, French high wing monoplane single seat racer and aerobatic aircraft.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9775 - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morane-Saulnier_MS.230#Morane-Saulnier_MS.234.2F2

1936 - 1st flight of the Castel C-24, French high wing glider trainer prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9240

1937 - 1st flight of the Nicolas-Claude NC-2 'Aquilon', French single seat light tourer aircraft prototype with a 'Canard' configuration.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9307

1937 - The Douglas Aircraft Company takes over Northrop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Historical_anniversaries/April_in_aviation/April_5

1940 - 1st flight of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1, Soviet fighter aircraft of WWII that was designed to meet a requirement for a high-altitude fighter issued in 1939.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-1

1940 - The sole SNCASE SE 100, French two-seat, twin-engined fighter prototype, is destroyed in a crash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCASE_SE.100 - http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/sud-est_se100.php

1942 – The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean Raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.

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

1943 - American bomber aircrafts accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. The target is the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.

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

1944 - 1st Flight of The Miles M.33 Monitor, twin-engined British target tug aircraft .

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

1946 - Brewster Aeronautical Corporation is dissolved by its shareholders.

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

1947 - Howard Hughes Brings in the air the 2nd Hughes XF-11 prototype military reconnaissance aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_XF-11

1948 - BEA Vickers 610 Viking 1B operating a scheduled flight from RAF Northolt via Hamburg to Berlin collided during its approach to RAF Gatow head-on with a Soviet Air Force Yakovlev 3 fighter, which was performing aerobatics in the area at that time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Gatow_air_disaster

1949 - Birth of Judith Arlene Resnik, American engineer and a NASA astronaut who died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger during the launch of mission STS-51-L

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

1950 - 1st flight of the Breguet Br 890H, French twin engine high wing monoplane transport prototype.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10130

1950 - Birth of Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-American engineer, physicist and former NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Chang-Diaz

1954 - 1st flight of the Brochet MB-120, Fring twin seat highwing tourer monoplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brochet_MB.120 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9604

1955 - Death of Horace Percy Lale, British WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Percy_Lale - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/lale.php

1956 - 1st flight of the Fauvel AV-22, french 2 seat tailless unorthodox glider featuring wings with a slight forward sweep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauvel_AV.22 - http://www.musee-aviation-angers.fr/le-musee/collections/planeurs/fauvel-av-22/

1959 - 1st Flight of the Aero L-29 Delfin, military jet trainer, Czechoslovakia's 1st locally designed and built jet aircraft, over 3,000 of these two-seater jet trainers are produced for the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact air forces

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_L-29_Delf%C3%ADn

1959 - Death of Roman Schmidt, Austro hungarian WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Schmidt - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/austrhun/schmidt3.php

1961 - Birth of Jim LeRoy, American aerobatics pilot. Former US Marine Corps Scout/Sniper, he held a B.S. degree in Aeronautical/Aerospace engineering as well as an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) license.

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

1961 - 1st Flight of the Dassault Mirage III E, supersonic fighter aircraft. The III E is the reconnaissance and ground attack version.

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

1963 - Death of Gilbert Jean Uteau, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_J._Uteau - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/uteau.php

1966 - Death of Caleb Vance Haynes, American WWI pilot and test pilot, Instructor and record setter, mostly used by the Air Force as an organizer, able to create air units from scratch. He commanded a large number of groups, squadrons and task forces before, during and after WWII obtaining rank of USAF major general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleb_V._Haynes

1968 – To protest the lack of an aerial display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force four days earlier and to demonstrate against the government of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock of the RAF's No. 1(F) Squadron makes an unauthorized display flight in a Hawker Hunter during which he "beats up" (i. e., buzzes) several RAF airfields and flies low over London, where circles the Houses of Parliament, dips his wings to the Royal Air Force Memorial, and flies under the top span of Tower Bridge, becoming the 1st person to fly under the bridge's upper span in a jet aircraft. He is arrested upon his return to base.

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

1973 - Death of Max Gossner, German WWI fighter pilot and WWII luftwaffe co-founder.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Gossner - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/gossner.php

1975 - Launch of Soyuz 18a (Soyuz 18-1), Soviet Manned Soyuz spacecraft to dock with the orbiting Salyut 4 space station, but which failed to achieve orbit due to a serious malfunction during launch. The crew, who feared initially they had landed in China, were successfully recovered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_18a

1976 - Death of Howard Robard Hughes, Jr., American industrialist, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, philanthropist.

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

1981 - Death of Herbert Schob, German fighter ace of Spanish war and WWII.

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

1984 - Death 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

1984 - Death of Sir Arthur Travers 'Bomber' Harris, british WWI flying ace and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of RAF Bomber Command and Air Chief Marshal in WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Arthur_Harris,_1st_Baronet - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/harris.php

1987 - Death of George William Bulmer, American born Canadian WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_William_Bulmer - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/bulmer.php

1991 - The Russian Knights, aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air Force, team of six Sukhoi Su-27s is formed.

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

1991 - Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 Embraer 120RT Brasilia suffered an uncontrolled collision with terrain during landing approach to Glynco Jetport (later renamed Brunswick Golden Isles Airport), just north of Brunswick. None of the 20 passengers and 3 crew on board survived the accident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Southeast_Airlines_Flight_2311

1991 - Death of Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr. , American physician, professional soccer player, Naval officer, and NASA astronaut who flew on STS-33. He was scheduled to fly on STS-42 at the time of his death in the crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 in Brunswick, Georgia while on a commercial airplane traveling for NASA

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

1991 - Launch of STS-37, 8th launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, six-day mission with a primary objective to launch the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), the second of the Great Observatories program which included the visible-spectrum Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-37

1996 - 1st flight of The Lockheed Martin C-130J "Super" Hercules, American 4-engine turboprop military transport aircraft, update of the venerable Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_C-130J_Super_Hercules

2008 – Skybus Airlines, American low-cost carrier, ceased operations due to poor economy and rising fuel prices.

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

2009 – North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyongsong-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-2

2010 - Death of Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut

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

2010 - Launch of STS-31, NASA Space Shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-131