90 Years of Chalk’s
Published on December 19, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare In 1917, Arthur “Pappy” Chalk began a small charter airline called the Red Arrow Flying Service in Florida. Shortly afterwards when
HistoricWings.com :: A Magazine for Aviators, Pilots and Adventurers
A Magazine for Aviators, Adventurers and Pilots
Published on December 19, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare In 1917, Arthur “Pappy” Chalk began a small charter airline called the Red Arrow Flying Service in Florida. Shortly afterwards when
Published on December 18, 2012 The first weeks of the war in the Pacific were desperate. Pearl Harbor was struck on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, and within hours, the
Published on December 17, 2012 On this date in aviation history, 109 years ago, the Wright Brothers made their first successful flights of the Wright Flyer I at Kitty Hawk,
Published on December 16, 2012 Today’s date in aviation history marks the passing of America’s first truly “All-American” Ace, Douglas Campbell who died in 1990. A patriot and an upper
Published on December 15, 2012 In 1942, Glenn Miller was at the peak of his career, performing in sold out concerts across the United States. His record albums were fast
Published on December 14, 2012 Sitting together over lunch, the three discussed how a plane could be designed and built with one purpose in mind — to fly around the
Published on December 13, 2012 “This interesting hydro-biplane, which has been flying almost daily through the past year over Lake Windermere, may be said to have originated at Blackpool way
Published on December 12, 2012 On this date in aviation history in 1937, in the midst of Japan’s ongoing attacks against Nanking, China (now Nanjing), Japanese Navy aircraft again appeared
Published on December 11, 2012 Captain Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Elrod was 36 years old and had been serving in the US Marine Corps since 1927. He was commissioned as an
Published on December 10, 2012 As Navy Lieutenant Clarence E. Dickinson nosed his plane over, the submarine he had spotted northeast of Oahu threw up a hail of defensive anti-aircraft
Published on December 9, 2012 Kanichi Kashimura was a Pilot Officer Third Class with the Japanese Navy. Sent to China in October 1937 and assigned to fly with the 13th
Published on December 6, 2012 “Pan American Flight 214 departed San Juan, Puerto Rico at 16:10 EST for a flight to Philadelphia with an intermediate stop at Baltimore. The aircraft,
Published on December 2012 As dawn broke, the twelve pilots of Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) finished their briefing for the morning search grid. As usual, they proceeded to the aircraft
Published on December 6, 2012 Fifteen years after Germany’s defeat in World War II, in July 1960, the West German Luftwaffe had reformed into a modern, capable jet force. As
Published on December 5, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare It was mid-afternoon on December 5, 1945, just five months after the end of World War II, when a routine training
Published on December 4, 2012 At the end of World War II, Dr. Brunholf Baade had emerged as one of Germany’s most advanced aeronautical engineers and theorists. His greatest project
Published on December 3, 2012 At this time 100 years ago in England, the Royal Aero Club newsletter, Flight, was arriving in mailboxes across the country. It carried much news
Continue reading100 Years Ago in Flight :: Accidents, Dreams and the Hunt
Published December 2, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare The Luftwaffe’s evening raid on the Italian harbor of Bari caught the Allies by surprise. The planes, 105 in number. were Junkers
Published on December 1, 2012 With a single signature on “Administrative Order 9”, on this date in aviation history in 1941, the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia,
Published on November 30, 2012 “The war-time aviator gets a lot of thrills, risks his neck innumerable times, and — if he comes out of it alive — has a
Published on November 29, 1944 The largest aircraft carrier built in all of World War II, Japan’s 72,000 ton Shinano, was well on the way to achieving operational status when
Published on November 28, 2012 On this date in aviation history, in 1916, two German men took off in an LVG C.IV (s/n 262/16) and flew to London on a
Published on November 27, 2012 By August 1944, the US had captured Saipan in the Marianas, one of the last in a series of island invasions that were the hallmark
“The people of Sheerness are not altogether alone in their ability to hear German airships passing overhead. A correspondent writing to the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch has also became so uneasy
Published on November 25, 2012 On this date in aviation history, November 25, 1940, the Martin B-26 Marauder made its first flight. A radical design, it was a sleek, bullet-shaped
Published on November 24, 2012 On this date in aviation history, November 24, 1971, an unidentified man going by the nom de crime of “Dan Cooper”, hijacked a Boeing 727-100
Published on November 23, 2012 It was just an airplane, nothing more than that one might say. Code-named Argo 16, it wasn’t even new, but rather a World War II
Published on November 22, 2012 By Thomas Van Hare Descending through fog on approach into San Francisco, JAL Flight #2 passed through 600 feet on the pressure altimeter. On his
Published on November 21, 2012 By November 1917, the Great War had expanded to the farthest reaches of Germany’s colonial holdings in Africa. British troops were marching on General Paul Emil
Published on November 20, 2012 Coming in from due west, the C-130E(I) Combat Talon code-named “Cherry 01” made a pass at 1,500 feet over the target compound, dropping illumination flares.
Published on November 19, 2012 The history of aviation and military air power are deeply linked. Yet this past is more than just a study of machines and of triumph
Published on November 18, 2012 Night flying was a new experience for aviators 100 years ago, carrying untold risks and yet drawing the interest of many who heard tales of
Published on November 17, 2012 The convoy had departed Gibraltar two days earlier at dawn. Royal Navy Admiral James Somerville’s command included the aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Ark
Published on November 16, 2012 The storm winds were picking up as the French officers yelled to their men to hold onto the lines of the greatdirigible. With 200 men,
Published on November 15, 2012 “The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Air Force Cross to Mr. Thomas Neville Stack (Flying Officer, Reserve of
Published on November 14, 2012 On November 14, 1910, the light cruiser USS Birmingham was at anchor in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia. On its foredeck, a makeshift wooden
Published on November 13, 2012 Seventy years ago today in aviation history, deep in the South Pacific, three men sat in a single life raft adrift at sea. Earlier, there
Published on November 12, 2012 Things have come a long way over the years. No story illustrates that more clearly than the tale of Wesley May, Frank Hawks and Earl
Published on November 11, 2012 On this day in aviation history, at the 11th Hour, on the 11th Day of the 11th Month, in 1918, the Armistice was signed in
Continue readingThe 11th Hour on the 11th Day of the 11th Month
Published on November 10, 2012 The two aeroplanes had just arrived in India after a long transit by ship from England. They were hoisted ashore into the dockyards of Bombay