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This Day In Aviation History — November
November Aviation Events & Milestones
November 1
1 November 1928 (USA) — Stout Air Services starts six times weekly passenger service between Detroit and Chicago, 252 miles.
1 November 1944 (USA) — The International Civil Aviation Conference opens in Chicago, Illinois.
1 November 1943 (Tunisia) — The Fifteenth Air Force (15th AF) was in Tunis, Tunisia as part of the United States Army Air Forces in the World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a strategic air force and commenced combat operations the day after it was formed 2/11/1943.) The first commander was General Jimmy Doolittle.
1 November 1949 (USA) — The Bell Aircraft Corporation announces its 12-passenger helicopter with all-metal fuselage, engineered to use either a 600 or 800-hp engine to cruise at more than 100-mph.
1 November 1949 (USA) — American Aviation reports commercial transport aircraft Backlog that $96,259,000.
1 November 1949 (USA) — The Douglas C-124 “Globemaster II” United States Air Force heavy transport, goes on the pre-flight line. The aircraft weighs 175,000 pounds and features a built-in ramp and clamshell doors.
1 November 1949 (USA) — An Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-4 and a military Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” crash at Washington National Airport, killing 55 persons.
1 November 1954 (USA) — The United States Air Force retires its last Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” from service.
1 November 1957 (USA) — The Bell GAM-63 “Rascal” air-to-surface guided missile officially becomes operational with the Strategic Air Command at Pinecastle AFB, Florida.
2 November 1931 (USA) — The USS Akron, a purpose-built aircraft-carrying airship, is commissioned.
2 November 1943 (Tunisia) — The Fifteenth Air Force (15th AF) was established on 1 November 1943 in Tunis, Tunisia as part of the United States Army Air Forces in the World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a strategic air force and commenced combat operations the day after it was formed. The first commander was General Jimmy Doolittle.
2 November 1949 (USA) — United Aircraft Corporation's Sikorsky Division announces a single-engine 10-passenger helicopter to be test-flown.
3 November 1897 (Germany) — The first all-metal rigid airship is tested in Germany. It uses wafer-thin aluminum, a major innovation, but crashes soon after taking off.
3 November 1926 (USA) — Captain Charles Lindbergh jumps from his disabled airplane during a night airmail flight. This is the fourth time he has had to use his parachute to save his life.
3 November 1949 (USA) — Charles Moore makes the first manned flight in a polyethylene balloon over Minneapolis, Minnesota.
3 November 1949 (USA) — American Aviation Daily reports that United States Air Force fiscal 1950 cargo aircraft procurement to be concentrated in three plane types: Douglas C-124, Boeing C-97 and Fairchild C-119, Bomber purchases will be Boeing B-47's and Convair B-36's while two fighters will be North American F-86's and Lockheed F-94's.
3 November 1959 (USA) — A Douglas C-133A “Cargomaster” made the first airlift delivery of an “Atlas” intercontinental missile.
3 November 1961 (USA) — CAB Chairman Alan Boyd warns trunk lines to merge or face the consequences.
4 November 1910 (England/France) — The first dirigible to fly from England to France is the British non-rigid airship City of Cardiff, built by E.T. Willows.
4 November 1928 (England) — Lt. D'Arcy Greig in Supermarine-Napier S-5 monoplane flies at a speed of 319.57 mph. His record is not official because it does not beat by 5 mph that of 318.624 made by the Bernardi in Italy.
4 November 1949 (USA) — Civil Aeronautics Board reports the airline financial improvement during first six months of 1949 — $10,649,000 operating profit as compared to a $3,966,000 dollar loss in 1948 — results from increased non-mail revenues.
4 November 1949 (USA) — Consolidated Vultee receives $5-million United States Air Force contract for twelve T-29 trainers.
4 November 1959 (USA) — Second Project Mercury “Little Joe” firing to test the capsules escape rocket system is a complete success.
4 November 1960 (USA) — The United States Air Force revealed use of a converted Boeing C-97 “Stratofreighter“ as an airborne command post.
5 November 1908 (France) — Wilbur Wright receives the Grand Gold Medal of the Aéro Club of France for advances in aviation.
5 November 1910 (England/France) — The Willows airship N°3 City of Cardiff arrives after the first dirigible flight across the English Channel, flying from London in 10 hours and 30 minutes.
5 November 1911 (USA) — Calbraith Rodgers becomes the first person to cross the United States in an airplane.
5 November 1912 (USA) — The first artillery adjustments were made from a plane in the United States.
5-7 November 1938 (Egypt/Australia) — Kellett, Gaine, Combe and Gray, Great Britain, set world distance record of 7,158.440 miles, Ismailia, Egypt, to Darwin, Australia. (Vickers Wellesley, Bristol Pegasus engine)
6 November 1915 (USA) — The first catapult launching of an airplane from a moving ship is made from the USS North Carolina in Pensacola, Florida.
6 November 1930 (USA) — Capt. Edward V. RickenBacker is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for World War I action.
6 November 1945 (USA) — The first jet plane to land on an aircraft carrier is a Ryan FR-1 “Fireball” piloted by U.S. Navy Ensign Jake West.
7 November 1907 (USA) — The United States Army Signal Corps is allotted $25,000 to procure an airplane.
7 November 1910 (USA) — The first use of an airplane to carry commercial freight is the Wright Company's airplane that flies from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio carrying ten bolts of silk to the Morehouse-Martens Company.
7 November 1945 (England) — The first speed record of over 600 mph is established by British pilot Hugh Wilson in a Gloster “Meteor” jet fighter at 606 mph.
7 November 1949 (USA) — Civil Aeronautics Administration certifies first two air star routes to Post Office.
7 November 1949 (USA) — Personal Aircraft Council, Aircraft Industries Association, reports 268 personal plane shipments during September. Total 1949 shipments for first 9 months were less than half of 1948 totals.
7 November 1957 (USA) — Capital Airlines flies with CAB for subsidy payments which would amount to over $3-million dollars for the remainder of 1957.
7 November 1957 (USA) — President Eisenhower appoints MIT president James R. Killian, Jr. as Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.
7 November 1959 (USA) — Discoverer VII satellite is launched into orbit by the United States Air Force.
8 November 1881 (France) — Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie, early aviation pioneer is born. He invented ailerons and coined the word astronautics.
8 November 1950 (Korea) — The first jet plane aerial combat in history took place in Korea.
9 November 1904 (USA) — Wilbur Wright flies for five minutes, four seconds over Huffman Prairie, Ohio, covering 2¾ miles.
9 November 1918 (France) — The last American air unit is assigned to the Army before the close of World War I hostilities.
9-10 November 1928 (USA) — Air meet at Jackson, Mississippi.
9 November 1932 (Germany) — Wolfgang von Gronau and crew in a Dornier Wal complete the first flight around the world by a seaplane. Their flight takes 111 days.
9 November 1949 (USA) — President certifies $10.5-million United States Air Force funds for five projects, the major one being over $7.5-million for modifications of 700 North American T-6 trainers.
9 November 1949 (USA) — United States Air Force announces site of its Air Engineering Development Center to be Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee.
10 November 1907 (France) — Louis Blériot introduces what will become the modern configuration of the airplane. His N°VII has an enclosed or covered fuselage, a single set of wings, a tail unit, and a propeller in front of the engine.
10 November 1907 (France) — Henri Farman makes the first flight in Europe of over one minute in his Voisin-Farman I biplane in France.
10 November 1949 (USA) — McDonnell Aircraft Corp. announces demonstration last week of its XHJD-1 “Whirlaway” twin-engine 20-rotor helicopter to the Air Force's Arctic Rescue Helicopter Evaluation Board at St. Louis, Missouri.
10 November 1959 (USA) — the first Boeing 720 is rolled out at Renton, Washington.
10 November 1959 (USA) — The United States Air Force gives responsibility for the Dyno-Soar project to Boeing and Martin.
10 November 1988 (USA) — The United States Air Force reveals existence of the Lockheed F-117A “Nighthawk” stealth fighter.
11 November 1935 (USA) — Orville Anderson and Albert Stevens in “Explorer II” establish altitude record for balloons of 72,395 feet in the United States.
11 November 1944 (Iwo Jima) — Iwo Jima is bombarded by the United States Navy.
11 November 1956 (USA) — The first flight of the world's first supersonic bomber, the Convair B-58 “Hustler.”
12 November 1903 (France) — The first fully practical airship, the Lebaudy, makes a successful flight in Paris, France. The 190-foot-long airship flies 38½ miles and achieves a speed of 25-mph.
12 November 1906 (France) — Alberto Santos-Dumont flies some 720 feet and wins the Aéro-Club de France prize for exceeding 100 meters.
12 November 1912 (USA) — The first successful catapult launch of a seaplane is made at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard. Catapulted by a compressed air system from an anchored barge, the floatplane is a Curtiss A-1.
12 November 1921 (USA) — The first air-to-air refueling is made when American Wesley May steps from the wing of one aircraft to that of another carrying a five-gallon can of gasoline strapped to his Back.
12 November 1942 (North Africa) — The U.S. Army Middle East Air Force was finally re-designated as the Ninth Air Force with General Brereton in command.
12 November 1957 (USA) — Defense Secretary Neil H. McElroy orders the United States Army to prepare to launch an Earth satellite. A modified ”Jupiter-C” test vehicle will be used.
13 November 1907 (France) — The first piloted helicopter rises vertically in free flight in France. Built by Paul Cornu, it's powered by a 24-hp Antoinette engine driving two motors.
13 November 1942 (Guadalcanal) — Japanese warships sink the United States Cruiser USS Juneau off of the coast of Guadalcanal resulting in the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers.
13 November 1943 (New Guinea) — Fifty-seven B-24 “Liberators” and sixty-two North American B-25 “Mitchell” bombers made the heaviest weight of World War II on New Guinea.
13 November 1957 (USA/Argentina/USA) — A Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker”, piloted by General Curtis LeMay, sets a new distance nonstop record, flying 6350 miles from Westover AFB, Massachusetts to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The KC-135's return trip set a new speed record, Buenos Aires to Washington, D.C., over 5,200 miles in 11 hours 5 minutes.
14 November 1910 (USA) — The birth of the aircraft carrier occurs when Eugene Ely takes off from the cruiser USS Birmingham in Virginia, on a Curtiss biplane. The warship has an 83-foot platform built over the foredeck for the take-off.
14 November 1949 (USA) — Boeing Airplane Company begins delivery to the United States Air Force of B-50D's equipped with droppable fuel tanks.
14 November 1957 (USA) — Chance Vought “Regulus II” completes successful rocket-boosted flight test by United States Navy.
14 November 1957 (USA) — The Flight Safety Foundation, Inc. presents awards to Edward P. Curtis and George H. Tryon III for distinguished service in achieving safer utilization of aircraft.
14 November 1961 (USA) — Eastern Air Lines proposes a five-point plan for basic revision of existing tariff structure.
14 November 1966 (Antarctica) — A Lockheed C-141 “Starlifter” became the first jet aircraft to land in Antarctica.
15 November 1928 (USA) — Robertson Aircraft Corporation starts daily passenger service between St. Louis and Kansas City, 235 miles.
15 November 1928 (USA) — Lieut. Frank D. Klein, United States Air Corps, flies from Selfridge Field, Michigan, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 3 hours 35 minutes.
15 November 1947 (USA) — The world's first ram-jet helicopter is test flown by McDonald Aviation.
15 November 1949 (USA) — Pratt & Whitney receives $10-million United States Air Force contract for development of its R-4360 "Wasp Major" engine.
15 November 1949 (USA) — Curtiss-Wright receives $2-million contract for B-36 propellers.
15 November 1949 (USA) — Ryan Aeronautical Company releases details of the first air-to-air missile, the Ryan XAAM-A-1 "Firebird," a ten-foot, target-seeking, rocket-powered air-to-air missile.
15 November 1965 (USA/Global) — The first flight around the world over flying both Poles is made by U.S. airline Flying Tiger Line Captain J.L. Martin.
16 November 1915 (Canada/USA) — Victor Carlstrom becomes the first pilot to fly from Toronto to New York. Carlstrom flies in a Curtiss R-2 biplane and was in the air for 6 hours and 40 minutes.
16 November 1949 (USA) — American Aviation Daily reports United States Air Force fiscal 1950 procurement plans to include: Republic F-84E's, Lockheed T-33's and F-94's; Boeing B-47's and C-97's, Convair B-36's and T-29's; North American F-86's, Douglas C-124's and Fairchild C-119's.
16 November 1949 (USA) — Douglas DC-6A prototype sets commercial San Francisco/Los Angeles record of 58 minutes 13 seconds with an average speed of 350 mph.
16 November 1959 (USA) — Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. makes a record parachute jump from an open gondola at an altitude of 76,400 feet.
17 November 1906 (England) — The Daily Mail of London offers a £10,000 prize for the first flight from London to Manchester.
17 November 1928 (USA/Hawaii) — Lt. Lester J. Maitland and Lt. Alfred F. Hegenberger, United States Air Corps, awarded the Clarence H. Mackay Trophy for their flight to Honolulu in June, 1927.
17-18 November 1938 (USA) — Aeronautical Law Symposium, Federal Court House, Foley Square, New York.
17 November 1944 (Philippines) — American fighters appear over the Philippines for the first time since 1942.
17 November 1949 (USA) — Pratt & Whitney plans to put its new J-48P6 jet engine into full production under a $10-million Navy contract.
17 November 1949 (USA) — The Northrop F-89 is included into the United States Air Force procurement schedule.
17 November 1949 (USA) — Beech Aircraft Corporation announces its two-engine Beechcraft Twin-Bonanza, an all-metal, 5 or 6 place plane with a cruising speed over 180 mph and a range of about 1000 miles.
17 November 1949 (USA) — Civil Aeronautics Board bars all military-type aircraft from operation into Washington National Airport.
17 November 1959 (USA) — Whitney Gilliland and Alan Boyd are sworn in as members of the Civil Aeronautics Board.
17 November 1962 (USA) — President John F. Kennedy dedicates the Dulles International Airport in Herndon, Virginia.
18 November 1930 (USA) — The Boeing XP-9 monoplane fighter makes its first flight in Dayton, Ohio.
18 November/4 December 1938 (France) — Sixteenth International Aviation Exhibition, Grand Palais, Paris.
18 November 1949 (USA) — A United States Air Force Douglas C-74 “Globemaster” carries a record number of 103 persons.
19 November 1938 (USA) — Construction begins on a new airport serving the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Built in nearby Virginia, this airport will become Ronald Reagan National Airport.
19 November 1952 (USA) — A North American F-86D “Sabre Dog” establishes a world speed record of 698.505 mph.
20 November 1919 (USA) — The first municipal airport in the United States opens in Tucson, Arizona and is still in use today.
20 November 1943 (Gilbert Islands) — United States troops invade Makin and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.
20 November 1953 (USA) — The first man to exceed Mach 2 is American test pilot Scott Crossfield in a Douglas D-558-2 “Skyrocket.”
20 November 1957 (USA) — The Vertol 105 twin-turbine powered helicopter, using two Lycoming T-53B's, flies for the first time.
20 November 1959 (USA) — Discoverer VIII satellite is launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
20 November 1963 (USA) — The USAF accepts its first two McDonnell Douglas F-4C “Phantom II” jet fighters.
21 November 1783 (France) — The first free or untethered human flight takes place when Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier flies as high as 500 feet and travels 5 miles over Paris in a Montgolfier hot-air balloon.
21 November 1957 (USA) — The first of several ballistic missile bases to be erected at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming.
22 November 1909 (USA) — Wright Company is incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000,000. Formed to manufacture airplanes, the company's president is Wilbur Wright and his brother Orville is the vice president.
22 November 1957 (USA) — The American Rocket Society names five 1957 award winners: Thomas F. Dixon, Capt. Levering Smith (USN), Capt. Grayson Merrell (USN, retired), Krafft A. Ehricke, and William H. Pickering.
22 November 1961 (USA) — The United States Navy claims a world speed record for the McDonnell F4H “Phantom II” flying at 1,606.342 mph at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
22 November 1988 (USA) — Rollout of the first Northrop Grumman B-2A “Spirit” stealth bomber.
23 November 1928 (USA/Columbia) — Lt. Benjamin Mendez, Colombian Army, and John Todhunter in a Curtiss “Falcon” seaplane Ricaute leave Curtiss Field, New York, on 4600 mile flight to Bogotá, Colombia.
23 November 1942 (USA) — Dubbed the “Flying Flapjack,” the most radical conventionally-engine aircraft ever built makes its first flight when Chance Vought test pilot, Boone T. Guyton, takes the V-173 into the air.
23 November 1943 (Gilbert Islands) — Japanese and resistance on Makin and Tarawa.
23 November 1947 (USA) — The Convair XC-99 (43-52436) makes its first flight, piloted by Russell R. Rogers.
23 November 1949 (USA) — Ryan Aeronautical Company announces new 260-hp Lycoming-powered "Super Navion" with a 170-mph cruising speed which it plans to sell for under $14,000.
23 November 1959 (USA) — The Boeing 720 medium-range jet transport make his first flight.
23 November 1989 (France/USA) — An Airbus A310-300 opens Air France's new direct Lyon/New York service.
24 November 1944 (Japan) — Eighty-eight Boeing B-29 “Superfortresses” made the first heavy bomb strike on Tokyo.
24 November 1955 (Netherlands) — The prototype Fokker F.27 “Friendship” medium-range twin-turboprop transport flies for the first time.
25 November 1956 (Antarctica) — U.S. Air Force Sergeant Richard Patton makes the first successful parachute jump in Antarctica. He jumps from 1,500 feet as a test to determine the cause of parachute malfunction in sub-zero weather conditions.
25 November 1957 (USA) — The Senate Preparedness Subcommittee launches a sweeping probe of the United States' missile and satellite programs by summoning a galaxy of scientists for opening day's public testimony.
25 November 1957 (USA) — The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, receives an Air Force contract to make studies for a reconnaissance satellite which may be built and launched in the early 1960s.
25 November 1957 (USA) — The United States Air Force announces that artificial meteors were launched successfully sometime in October at speeds up to 40,000 mph, or about 15,000 mph above the Earth's escape velocity.
26 November 1939 (England) — British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) is established through the amalgamation of Imperial Airways and British Airways.
26 November 1957 (USA) — A McDonnell RF-101 “Voodoo” establishes a round-trip transcontinental speed record of 6 hours 42 minutes 6.9 seconds.
27 November 1912 (USA) — The Aeronautical Division of the United States Army Signal Corps receives the first “Flying Boat,” a Curtiss “Model F,” capable of takeoff from water.
27 November 1957 (USA) — Jupiter and Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles are ordered into production by the United States Defense Secretary McElroy.
27 November 1957 (USA) — An United States Air Force McDonnell “Voodoo” jet fighter shatters three transcontinental speed record by flying from Los Angeles to New York and Back in 6 hours 42 minutes 6 seconds. The time from New York to Los Angeles was 3 hours 34 minutes 8 seconds. The west-east record was 3 hours 5 minutes 39.2 seconds
27 November 1959 (USA) — The Hiller X-18 tilt-wing research transport completes its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
28 November 1942 (Thailand) — The first USAAF bombing attack was made on Japanese held Thailand.
28-29 November 1929 (South Pole) — American Commander Richard Byrd and crew make the first flight over the South Pole, in a Ford 4-AT “Trimotor” monoplane, November 28-29.
29 November 1945 (USA) — A U.S. Army Sikorsky R-5 helicopter off the coast of Long Island, New York, makes the first air-sea rescue.
29 November 1949 (USA) — American Airlines Douglas DC-6 crashes at Love Field, Dallas, Texas.
29 November 1951 (USA) — The United States Air Force announces development of its first all-jet heavy bomber, the Boeing XB-52 “Stratofortress.”
29 November 1961 (USA) — NASA successfully recovers a chimpanzee and capsule which had orbited the globe two times as part of the Mercury program.
30 November 1784 (England) — Jean-Pierre Blanchard makes the first scientific observations from above the earth in a hydrogen balloon over London.
30 November 1905 (USA) — The Aero Club of America is established in New York City.
30 November 1907 (USA) — Glenn Curtiss founds the Curtiss Aeroplane Company. It is the first United States airplane manufacturing company.
30 November 1908 (France) — La Compagnie Generale de Navigation Aérienne, the French Wright company, is organized.
30 November 1949 (USA) — C.R. Smith, American Airlines president, as government support for jet transport development.
30 November 1949 (USA) — Aeronca Aircraft Corporation announces its 1950 Champion, the all-electric 90-hp Model 7EC, with a complete 12-volt electrical system, soundproofing, full-width rear seat, no-bounce gear and other improvements. Delivery to begin December 1, 1949.
30 November 1956 (USA) — The Martin TM-61 “Matador” becomes the USAF's first completely tactical missile.
30 November 1959 (USA) — A Boeing B-47 “Stratojet” bomber sets a jet endurance record of 80 hours and 36 minutes of continuous flight.
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