Do you know your aviation history? Take a crash course in some of the biggest milestones and events in aviation history each month with our This Month in Aviation History series.
Much like July, August has historically been an important month in aviation history. For instance, on August 1, 1907, the Aeronautical Division of the US Army Corps was founded with the goal “to study the flying machine and the possibility of adapting it to military purposes.” Here’s a look at more of August aviation history.
Week of August 1 - 7
The first issue of America’s longest-running and most influential magazine, Aviation and Aeronautical Engineering, hit newsstands for five cents an issue on August 1, 1916. On the same day in 1946, British European Airways is established under the Civil Aviation Act of 1946, opening Britain’s aviation industry internationally.
On August 2, 1909, the United States Army purchases its first flying machine, the Wright “Flyer” from the Wright brothers $25,00 plus a $5,000 bonus because the machine exceeded the speed requirement of 40 mph. Two years later, Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman in the US licensed as a qualified pilot.
On August 3, 1921, crop dusting bloomed into existence when Lieutenant John A. Macready of the US Army Corps used a plane to spray a patch of ground infested with caterpillars. Entertainment lovers can remember August 3, 1922, as the day the Detroit News installed an experimental radio set in the Aeromarine flying boat “Buckeye”. The passengers heard a concert while on a flight between Detroit and Cleveland. In 1955, President Eisenhower signs the Civil Airport Modernization Bill, the first to establish long-term federal government aid toward the construction of US airports.
In France on August 4, 1907, Andre-Jacques Garnerin in Paris, France made the first night ascent in a balloon. On August 5, 1933, French Air Force pilots Lts. Paul Codes and Maurice Rossi began a record-breaking straight-line distance flight from New York to Rayak, Syria in a Blériot 110 monoplane.
An international aviation meeting began on August 6, 1910, in Lanark, Scotland, drawing in a host of flyers and airplanes. 22 participants competed in the meet. On August 6, 1969, the largest helicopter ever built, the Soviet Mil V-12 secures an unbeaten world-lifting record for rotary-winged aircraft by carrying 88,636 lb to a height of 7,400 ft in the USSR.
On August 7, 1919, Captain Earnest C. Hoy becomes the first pilot to fly over the Canadian Rockies when he delivers mail from Vancouver, British Columbia to Calgary, Alberta. In 1931, Jim Mollison lands after flying from Australia to England in 10 days, breaking the existing record by two days.
Week of August 8 - 14
On August 8, 1910, the first aircraft tricycle landing gear is installed on the United States Army's Wright airplane. In 1949, the Douglas Aircraft Company and Monsanto Chemical Company developed a non-flammable hydraulic fluid for use in the Douglas “Super DC-3.”
Ten Cleveland bankers took a flight to Detroit for lunch on August 9, 1922. In 1949, the B-36 hearings begin with US Air Force Major General Frederick H. Smith, Jr. as the first witness. On August 10. 1910, Claude Grahame-White attempts to fly the first airmail in the world to be carried on a powered airplane but fails and is forced to land. Two years later in the US, two Army planes participated for the first time in ground force maneuvers.
Mrs. C. J. S. Miller becomes the first female passenger in an airship on August 11, 1906. In 1949, President Truman signs a unification bill. In 1952, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) inaugurated its weekly service between London and Colombo, the capital of Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. On August 12, 1988, the first gas-powered aircraft is flown by German experimenter, Wolfert. In 1946, President Truman signs a bill allocating $50,000 to build the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian.
In France on August 13, 1824, Chief Waschisabe becomes the first Native American to ascend in an aircraft. On August 14, 1909, the wife of Samuel F. Cody becomes the first woman passenger to fly in a powered airplane in Great Britain. In 1922, work begins on aircraft carriers, USS Lexington and USS Saratoga. On the same day in 1945, World War II ends when the Japanese accept unconditional surrender.
Week of August 15 - 21
On August 15, 1922, the first air delivery of an automobile is made. A Ford car was transported from Detroit to Cleveland in 90 minutes. On the same day in 1958, the Federal Aviation Agency was established with the approval of a bill by Congress.
On August 16, 1942, the All American 82nd Airborne paratroop was created. The first person to be ejected from an airplane by means of its emergency escape equipment is Sergeant Lambert at Wright Field in Ohio on August 17, 1943. A new model airway opened between Dayton, Ohio, and Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York on August 18, 1922. In 1949, The Boeing Airplane Company developed a device to eliminate the “ Dutch roll.”
On August 19, 1971, Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio. In 1929, the first metal airship built for the US Navy took its first flight. In 1949, Democratic Representative Melvin Price reported that the B-36 conspiracy charges “ completely exploded” as a result of the west coast investigation.
The first United States Army experiment with firing a rifle from an airplane takes place when Lt. Jacob Earl Fickel conducts firing trials from a Curtiss biplane piloted by Curtiss himself on August 20, 1910. On August 21, 1947, W. Stuart Symington was named first Secretary of the Air Force.
Week of August 22 - 31
On August 22, 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Act became effective in the United States, coordinating all non-military aviation under the Civil Aeronautics Authority. In the UK on August 23, 1878, the British government used its first military aviation budget of £150 to build and fly their first balloon, the “Pioneer.”
Tragically, on August 23, 1938, American racing and record-breaking pilot Frank Hawks dies along with his mechanic when his Gwinn Aircraft “Aircar” became entangled in telephone lines shortly after taking off from East Aurora, New York.
Another tragedy occurred on August 24, 1921, when the worst airship disaster ever killed 44 people when the British dirigible R.38 is destroyed during routine operations off the coast of Yorkshire, England, by a fire started by electrical sparks that engulfed the airship.
On August 24, 1929, the first National Air Races and Aeronautical Exposition at Cleveland, Ohio begins. In 1956, a United States Army helicopter becomes the first rotary-winged aircraft to fly non-stop across the United States. Beginning on the same day in 1961 through October 12, United States aviatrix Jacqueline Cochrane flying a Northrop T-38A “Talon” set a wide range of records for women.
It cost 21 pounds when the first daily commercial scheduled international air passenger service starts between London and Paris began on August 25, 1919. In 1932, Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman in the US to fly nonstop across the country in the Lockheed “Vega.”
The first flight of the largest trimotor transport aircraft built by Fokker, the F.IX, takes to the air on its first flight on August 26, 1929, in the Netherlands. French flyer Jacqueline Auriol, piloting the “Mirage III,” became the first woman to attain the speed of Mach 2 in 1959.
On August 27, 1910, radio is first used to send messages between the ground and an airplane when James McCurdy sends and receives messages from a Curtiss biplane at Sheepshead, New York, using an H.M. Horton wireless set. In 1945, USAAF B-29s made the first supply-dropping mission of World War II POWs in China.
On August 29, 1979, Nellie Thurston becomes the first Canadian woman to fly in a balloon. In 1949, the US Senate approves a 70-group United States Air Force. On August 30, 1949, The United States Senate passed an airport bill allowing grants up to $50,000 for the development of Class 4 or larger airports without Congressional authorization, and President Truman also signs an air star route bill. And on August 31, 1956, the first Boeing KC-135A (55-3118) made its first flight and is taken over by the USAF on January 31, 1957.
That’s a wrap on this month’s dive into aviation history. Check back next month for a look at all that’s happened throughout aviation history in the month of September!
