AUG12

1884 - Birth of Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda, Italian WWI flying ace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulco_Ruffo_di_Calabria - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/italy/ruffo.php

1893 - Birth of William "Bill" Thaw II, American WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thaw_II - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/thaw.php

1895 - Birth of Hervey Rhodes, British WWI flying ace and politician.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervey_Rhodes,_Baron_Rhodes - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/rhodes.php

1899 - Birth of Thea Rasche, 1st german woman pilot.

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

1908 - 1st flight of the Blériot VIIIter, French expemimental monoplane. It flew 14 Km in October.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9616

1909 - The Canadian Aerodrome Baddeck No. 1 is wrecked at Petawawa, Ontario, after a rough landing on its 2nd flight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Aerodrome_Baddeck_No._1_and_No._2#Operational_history

1910 - Benny Prinz, an aeronaut and parachute jumper, lost his life when he fell 2,500 feet at Asbury Park during an exhibition.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19100813&id=DwtQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-QkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5171,1085552

1911 - Beginning of The Chicago International Aviation Meet, major aviation show held at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1911_Chicago_International_Aviation_Meet

1912 - British altitude record of 10,560 ft (3,219 m) is setted by a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 (Blériot Experimental), single-engine two-seat biplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_B.E.2#Development

1913 - 1st flight of The Bristol T.B.8, early British single engined, two seat biplane, briefly used as a bomber at the start of WWI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_TB.8

1914 - 1st members of the Royal Flying Corps to die on active duty and among the British 1st casualties of WWI : Robin Reginald Skene and his mechanic Raymond Keith Barlow crashed in their Bleriot monoplane shortly after take-off from Netheravon, Wiltshire, en route to Dover and France.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=53143683

1914 - The sole Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4, British single-engined, single seat biplane prototype, crash landed while being flown by Lt. Norman Spratt when one of the wheels collapsed, airframe overturning, sustaining such extensive damage that it was abandoned

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Spratt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_S.E.4

1915 - Flt Cdr Charles Edmonds becomes the 1st pilot to attack a ship with an air-launched torpedo. He is flying a Short Type 184 (British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folder seaplane) from HMS Ben-my-Chree. His target is a Turkish supply ship which was sunk in the Sea of Marmara.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_torpedo#World_War_I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ben-my-Chree - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Humphrey_Kingsman_Edmonds

1916 - Birth of Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone 'Lorne' Welch, British engineer, pilot and Colditz prisoner of war.

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

1917 - Birth of Alfred Vogt, German glider designer.

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

1917 - Carleton Main Clement, Canadian WWI fighter ace, with his Observer R.B. Carter, shoot down 4 Albatros D.V with their Bristol F.2b on that single day.

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/clement.php

1917 - Last big raid on England during daylight by Gotha G.IVs.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/germany/gotha_g-4.php

1918 - Death of Ivan Frank Hind, South African WWI flying ace, killed in Action in his S.E.5a.

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/safrica/hind.php

1918 - Death of Kenneth MacKenzie Walker, British WWI flying ace, killed in action in his Sopwith Camel.

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/walker2.php

1918 - Birth of Guy Penrose Gibson, 1st CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid (Operation Chastise).

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

1920 - Death of William Calvin Maxwell, American pilot in the United States Army Air Service. While on a flight from Camp Stotsenberg to Manila, Engine trouble forced him to attempt to land his DH-4 in a sugarcane field. Maneuvering to avoid a group of children playing below, he struck a flagpole hidden by the tall sugarcane and was killed instantly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Maxwell

1922 - 1st flight of the De Pischof 'Estafette', Single seat biplane sports aircraft prototype, which crashed during that test flight at Villacoublay, killing it's designer and pilot Alfred de Pischof, Austrian engineer, early aviation pioneer and aircraft designer.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9935 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_de_Pischof

1931 - The only RWD-7, Polish high wing single engine sports plane, flown by its designer Jerzy Drzewiecki and Jerzy Wedrychowski, established an international FAI speed record of 178 km/h (111 mph) in the light touring plane class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RWD-7

1932 - Beginning of the 3rd FAI International Tourist Plane Contest 'Challenge International de Tourisme' in Berlin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_1932

1932 - The Lorraine Hanriot LH-42, French Low wing monoplane single seat record aircraft prototype, set a new world record flying 2000 Km in 7hr 34 Min 43 sec at an average speed of 263.900 Km/h.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=831

1933 - End of the 2nd and ultimate air raid of Italo Balbo with 25 SIAI-Marchetti S.55X seaplanes (Air cruise of the decade) from Orbetello, Italylanding on Lake Michigan.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crociera_aerea_del_decennale - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Balbo#Aviator

1935 - Death of Hans Joachim Rolfes, German WWI fighter ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Rolfes - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/rolfes.php

1935 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly, British twin-engined luxury touring biplane.

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

1936 - 1st flight of the Bloch MB-131, French monoplane 5 seat monoplane twin engine reconnaissance-Medium bomber.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloch_MB.131 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4232

1937 - A modified Bolkhovitinov DBA, Soviet 4 engine heavy bomber and raid aircraft, takes off for a non-stop flight from Moscow to Fairbanks, Alaska, but vanished after the crew sent a radio message that one engine had failed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolkhovitinov_DB-A

1939 - Death of Masao Ashida, Japanese flying ace of the Sino-Japanese war, Killed in ramming his Nakajima Ki-27 in his opponent.

http://www.cieldegloire.com/010_ashida_m.php

1940 - Death of Harro Harder, Spanish war and WWII German Flying ace, probably killed in action in his Me-109 by a Spitfire.

http://www.cieldegloire.com/001_harder_h.php

1940 - The preparatory phase of the Battle of Britain draws to a close, with attacks on several Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields and radar stations, in preparation for the events of the following day.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1940.aspx

1941 - RAF Bomber Command drops 82 tons of High Explosive on Berlin, in the heaviest raid on the German capital to that date.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1941.aspx

1941 - No. 414 Squadron RCAF, Army Co-operation Squadron, was formed at RAF Croydon, England, flying Lysander and Curtis Tomahawk aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._414_Squadron_RCAF

1941 - Capt. Homer A. Boushey Jr. flew an Ercoupe Low-wing civilian airplane on the 1st successful rocket assisted takeoff at Wright Field, Ohio. Lt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe#Military - http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/jato.htm

1942 - Death of Aleksandr Fedorovich Avdeyev, Soviet WWII fighter ace, most succesfull soviet biplane ace, ramming his Bell Airacobra (Mk.I) in a Messerschmitt BF-109.

http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/soviet_avdeyev.htm

1942 - Pedestal convoy to Malta is attacked by 10 Savoia-Marchetti SM.84s of 38 Gruppe's 32 Stormo launching the new Motabomba (Italian pattern-running torpedo - Its speed was 40 knots (46 mph) and it had an endurance of 15–30 minutes and was the most superior torpedo built at that time). At the same time, A Radio controlled flying bomb was launched : A Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero guided by a CANT Z.1007 Alcione (both 3-engined Italian medium bomber) is radio guided but The radio controls malfunctioned and with nothing to guide it the SM.79 drone cruised along until it ran out of fuel and crashed into Mount Khenchela on the Algerian mainland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motobomba#Service_history - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoia-Marchetti_SM.79#Radio_controlled_flying_bomb

1944 - Death of Gheorghe Popescu-Ciocanel, Romanian WWII fighter ace, from wounds received in action 2 weeks before

http://www.worldwar2.ro/arr/?article=726 - http://cieldegloire.com/012_popescu_ciocanel_g.php

1944 - Death of Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr.,American bomber pilot during WWII during 'operation Aphrodite'. Elder brother of future U.S. President John F. Kennedy, he had been expected to become the family's political standard-bearer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy,_Jr.#Operation_Aphrodite

1944 - Death of Masaharu Nishiwaki, Japanese WWII flying ace, killed in action.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_aces_from_Japan#N

1951 - Birth of Charles Eldon Brady, Jr. , American physician USN pilot and NASA astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Brady,_Jr.

1952 - 1st flight of The second Short SA.4 Sperrin, British jet bomber prototype used as a research aircraft.

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

1952 - Transportes Aéreos Nacional Douglas C-47A crashes near Palmeira de Goiás, Brazil killing all 24 after a bomb aboard exploded in mid-air.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Transportes_A%C3%A9reos_Nacional_Douglas_C-47_mid-air_explosion

1955 - 1st flight of the Hispano HA-200 Saeta, Spanish two-seat advanced jet trainer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano_HA-200

1958 - The de Havilland Comet 4 makes a record-breaking flight from New York to Hatfield, flying 5630km non-stop in 6 hours 16 minutes at an average speed of 898km/h.

http://www.aviastar.org/gallery/foto.php?dir=108

1959 - Fred Drinkwater becomes the 1st NASA test pilot to complete the full conversion of a tiltrotor to airplane mode with the Bell XV-3.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_XV-3#Design_and_development

1960 - Echo 1A (commonly referred to as just Echo 1), US 1st passive communication satellite, is succesfully launched and relayed a microwave transmission.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Echo#Echo_1

1960 - The X-15A Established a new altitude record for a manned vehicle of 136,500 feet (Maximum Speed - 2851 kph. Maximum Altitude - 41605 m).

http://www.astronautix.com/thisday/august12.htm

1961 - Death of Georges Marcel Lachmann, French WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Lachmann - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/france/lachmann.php

1962 - Launch of Vostok 4, mission in the Soviet space program. 1st time that more than one manned spacecraft were in orbit at the same time. The 2 Vostok capsules came within 6.5 km (4.0 mi) of one another and ship-to-ship radio contact was established.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_4

1965 - 1st flight of The Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru, Japanese 4 seat single-engine piston-powered light airplane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_FA200_Aero_Subaru

1966 - Launch of Operation Iron Hand : US military operation conducted during the Vietnam War to suppress Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems in North Vietnam before they became operational.

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

1966 - 1st flight of The Learjet 25, American ten seat (two crew and eight passengers) twin-engined, high speed business jet aircraft, stretched version of the Learjet 24.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learjet_25

1967 - 1st flight of the CAARP CP-100, French Aerobatic trainer 2-seater aircraft prototype.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9525

1969 - Death of Thomas Foster Hamilton, American pioneering aviator and founder of the Hamilton Standard Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_F._Hamilton

1970 - China Airlines Flight 206 NAMC YS-11 crashed into a bamboo grove near the top of Yuan Mountain in a thick fog and a severe thunderstorm whilst on final approach to Taipei Songshan Airport, killing 14 over 31.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_206

1976 - 1st flight of The Aermacchi MB-339, Italian military trainer and light attack aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aermacchi_MB-339

1977 – 1st free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise#Approach_and_landing_tests_.28ALT.29

1977 - 1st flight of The Sukhoi Su-25UB trainer version of the single-seat, twin-engine jet close air support aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-25#Su-25UB

1978 - Double Eagle II piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, leaves Presque Isle, Maine for the 1st balloon Atlantic crossing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Eagle_II - http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9801/9808/deIIoverview.htm

1985 - Japan Airlines flight 123, from Tokyo to Osaka, crashes. The Boeing 747-146SR had an explosion, then hit Mount Otsuka, killing 520 of 524 people on board. Rescuers are later shocked and saddened to find farewell notes that the passengers had written for their family and friends, next to the bodies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_flight_123

1991 - Death of Ivan Mykytovych Kozhedub, Soviet Ukrainian military aviator, WWII fighter ace who also served during the Korean war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Kozhedub - http://cieldegloire.com/015_kozhedub_i_n.php

1991 - 1st flight of The Bell 230, American twin-engined light helicopter, evolution of the Bell 222.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_222#Improved_versions

2005 - Launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit

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

2011 - 1st untethered, fully electric manned helicopter flight is made by french Pascal Chretien.

http://www.gizmag.com/first-successful-manned-electric-helicopter-flight/19716/ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter#Transmission