1912 – Capt. Albert Berry makes the first parachute descent from a powered airplane in America when he jumps from a Benoist aircraft that is being flown by the company pilot, Anthony Jannus. The aircraft is flying at a height of 1,500 ft. over Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, and Berry uses a static line parachute.

1919 – The first US international airmail is carried between Seattle and Victoria, British Columbia by William Boeing in a Boeing CL-4 S.

1922 – The US Navy commissions its first aircraft carrier, a converted collier, the USS Langley.

1925 – Ryan Airline Company begins regular services between Los Angeles and San Diego. This was the first regularly scheduled U.S. mainland passenger airline service

1941 – World War II: The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the Army Air Corp, is activated.

1942 – The Civil Air Patrol begins maritime patrols off the United States East Coast.  The Stinson A-10 was one of the most used CAP planes of the era, and WOH has one on display.

1945 – The Great Tokyo Air Raid, known by the USAAF as Operation MEETINGHOUSE, an overnight incendiary bombing raid by B-29 Superfortresses on Tokyo, is one of the most destructive air raids in history, rivaling the twin atom bomb raids of five months later, in destruction. It creates a conflagration which destroys 41 square kilometers (16 sq mi) of the city, killing an estimated 88,000 to 125,000 people, injuring at least 41,000 and perhaps as many as a million people, and leaving probably a million people homeless.

1954 – First flight of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.  The F-104 was sometimes referred to as “the missile with a man in it”.  It was the fastest plane of its time and one of my all time favorite planes, but with its short wings it was notoriously difficult to handle at low speeds and became known as “the widow maker”.

1961 – The B-52 H made its first flight. The H model is still in service today.  That was 65 years ago!  With its ongoing engine refit, the B-52 might still be flying a century after it was introduced.  

1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.

1969 – After a lengthy succession of taxi and runway tests, the first prototype Concorde 001 (F-WTSS) makes its first flight, with Andre Turcat at the controls. The flight lasts 29 min.

1969 – The United States Navy establishes its Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, to improve its fighter pilots’ dogfighting skills. The school will become popularly known as “TOPGUN. ”  Tom Cruise was 6 years old at the time.  

1990 – The Boeing 737 becomes the world’s best-selling jetliner when United Airlines accepts delivery of the 1,832nd 737.

1994 – The Eurofighter Typhoon makes its first flight in Manching, Germany.

2005 – Steve Fossett completes the first non-stop, solo circumnavigation of the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, completing the trip in 67 hours and 2 min.

2006 – Hooters Air (operated by Pace Airlines) ends service to both Orlando and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Ok, so this is not really significant, but seriously, did you know that Hooters once had an airline?

 

The above is a partial list of aviation events that took place in the month of March.  A more complete listing can be found here.