NOV30

1917 - Canadian fighter ace Andrew Edward McKeever, and his observer/gunner, British Leslie Powell, shot down 4 Albatros DV with their Bristol F2.B on a single mission

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/mckeever.php - http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/powell2.php

1917 - 1st flight of The Vickers Vimy, British heavy bomber aircraft.

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

1917 - Birth of William Franklin Ash, American-born British writer who served as a fighter pilot with the RCAF during WWII, real-life “cooler king” of Stalag Luft III, said to be one of several sources for the character Virgil Hilts, played by Steve McQueen in the film The Great Escape; his escape attempts became celebrated – over the wire, through it with cutters, through the gates in disguise as a Russian slave-labourer, and, especially, via tunnels. If he never succeeded, it was not for want of trying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ash_(writer) - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10799031/William-Ash-obituary.html

1934 - Death of Hélène Boucher, French aviatrix and record breaker, in the crash of her Caudron C.460 Rafale racer.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne_Boucher#L.27accident_mortel

1938 - A Lufthansa Fw 200 makes the airline's 1st flight to Japan, flying non-stop from Berlin to Tokyo via Basra, Karachi, and Hanoi. The 14,228 km (8,841 mile) flight breaks the distance record and takes 46 hours 18 minutes.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/world-aviation/1938.aspx

1939 - Beginning of the Winter War, military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. Soviet bombs Helsinki using the The RRAB-3, (nicknamed the Molotov bread basket), Soviet-made droppable bomb dispenser that combined a large high-explosive charge with a cluster of incendiary bombs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Helsinki_in_World_War_II#Winter_War - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov_bread_basket

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1939.aspx

1939 - Death of Cecil Christian Clark, British WWI flying ace

http://theaerodrome.com/aces/england/clark2.php

1940 - Birth of Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill, American test pilot and 1st commercial astronaut as test pilot for SpaceShipOne.

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

1941 - 1st pilot to carry air mail in a jet aircraft, Italian Mario de Bernardi flew a Caproni Campini N.1 from Milan to Guidonia Montecelio in about two hours carrying aerograms with canceled postage stamps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_de_Bernardi#Later_career

1941 - A Whitley VII of No.502 Squadron fitted with ASV Mk II long range radar scores Coastal Command's 1st ASV destruction of an enemy submarine, the U-206, in the Bay of Biscay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._502_Squadron_RAF#In_Coastal_Command

1943 - Vega Airplane Company is absorbed into Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

http://www.aviastar.org/manufacturers/2191.html

1949 - 1st flight of the Gyrodyne GCA-2A "Helidyne", modified version with twin 100hp Continental auxiliary engines mounted externally on strutted outriggers to give additional forward speed of the American light helicopter Gyrodyne GCA-2.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/gyrodyne_helidyne.php

1950 - 1st flight of the SNCAN Nord 2501 'Noratlas', French high wing twin boom twin engine military transport aircraft, re-engined version and 1st production version of the serie.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=6323

1951 - Maj. George Andrew Davis Jr., shot down 3 Tupolev Tu-2 and 1 Mig 15 in Korea in his F-86E Sabre. This event made him an ace in 2 wars at this time with over 5 aerial victories in Korea and 7 in WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Andrew_Davis,_Jr.#Command_and_success - http://www.cieldegloire.fr/014_davis_g_a.php

1951 - 1st flight of the Notteghem, French Low wing single seat tourer prototype for homebuilding.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9549

1954 - 1st flight of the SNCAN Nord 2502 'Noratlas', French high wing twin boom twin engine transport aircraft, Civil transport re-engined version with 2 Turbomeca Marboré II auxiliary turbojets added on wingtips.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10043

1958 - Death of Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins, Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer.

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

1960 - Death of David Luther Burgess, Canadian WWI flying ace and politician.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Luther_Burgess - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/burgess.php

1961 - Ansett-ANA Flight 325 Vickers Viscount Type 720 broke up in a thunderstorm and crashed into Botany Bay, less than 3 statute miles after he took off from Sydney, killing all 15.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansett-ANA_Flight_325

1962 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 DC-7B crashed during a go around after failing to land at Idlewild Airport in the fog, killing 25 over 51.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_512

1962 - 1st vertical tethered flight of The Lockheed XV-4 Hummingbird (originally designated VZ-10), American V/STOL vertical take off/landing jet prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_XV-4_Hummingbird

1964 - Launch of Zond 2, Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zond_2

1965 - 1st flight of the Aerospatiale SA-321G "Super Frelon", Anti-submarine warfare version of the french three-engined heavy transport helicopter.

http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/snias_super_frelon.php

1966 - Kosmos 133, Soviet test satellite is automatically destroyed. A malfunction during the flight determined that the capsule would land in China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_133

1970 - British Caledonian Airways is formed from the merger of British United Airways and Caledonian Airways.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-civil-aviation/1970.aspx

1972 - Death of Bernetta Adams Miller, American pioneering woman aviator .

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

1979 - 1st flight of The Piper PA-46 Malibu, American pressurized 6 seat single engine light aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_PA-46

1986 - 1st flight of The Fokker 100, Dutch medium size twin-turbofan airliner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_100

1999 - British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.

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

2000 - Launch of STS-97 Space Shuttle Endeavour mission to the ISS to install the 1st set of solar arrays to the ISS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-97

2002 - 1st flight of the Sauper 'Papango' VLA, French high wing twin seat ultra light sports aircraft.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10122

2004 – Lion Air Flight 538 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 crash lands in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, after overshootog the runway, killing 25.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Air_Flight_538

2008 - STS-126, Space Shuttle mission Endeavour to the International Space Station (ISS) is back on earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-126

2010 - Death of Vittorio Sanseverino, Italian WWII pilot, known for having test-flown a large part of the aircraft built by FIAT for the postwar Italian Air Force.

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

2012 - Aéro-Services Ilyushin Il-76T operated by the Armenian cargo airline Air Highnesses on behalf of Congolese cargo airline Aéro-Service clipped high trees in heavy rain about 1000 meters from the runway threshold and proceeded to disintegrate over 500 meters at Maya-Maya Airport in the Republic of the Congo, killinh all 6 on board and 26 on ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_A%C3%A9ro-Service_Ilyushin_Il-76T_crash