JUNE18

1925 - Birth of Benjamin Robert Rich, 2nd director of Lockheed's Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991, succeeding its founder, Kelly Johnson. Regarded as the "father of stealth"

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

1928 – A Latham 47, French twin engine biplane flying boat piloted by René Cyprien Guilbaud carrying Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen and five others on a flight to search for survivors of the Italian airship Italia disappears. Their bodies are never found.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Guilbaud - http://www.aviafrance.com/latham-47-aviation-france-5326.htm

1932 - 1st flight of The Dewoitine D.500 , french all-metal, open-cockpit, fixed-undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewoitine_D.500 - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=308

1934 - 1st flight of The Potez 56, French executive transport monoplane and used as a military crew trainer and liaison aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potez_56

1934 - Death of André Salel while testing the Farman F 420-01, French bomber prototype.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryse_Hilsz#Une_aventure_romanesque_mais_tragique - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=882

1935 - The prototype Seversky Sev-2XP (2-seat experimental Pursuit), American all-metal semi-monocoque aircraft prototype with a fixed spatted undercarriage, derivative of the SEV-3 (commercial 3 seat monoplane) crashed while ne route to a USAAC contest for a new single-seat fighter.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/seversky_2xp.php

1936 - 1st flight of the Caudron C.710, French light fighter aircraft prototype, initial version which will lead to the C.714.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=385

1937 - Valery Chkalov, G.F.Baidukov, A.V.Belyakov takes off their Tupolev ANT-25 from moscow to Vancouver, Washington, via the north pole. A non-stop distance of 8,811 kilometers (5,475 mi). The flight pioneered the polar air route from Europe to the American Pacific Coast.

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

1937 - Birth of Vitaly Mikhaylovich Zholobov, Soviet cosmonaut

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

1937 - 1st flight of the Bloch MB-160, French four-engine transport aircraft.

http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=4583

1937 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH.93 Don , British multi-role three-seat training aircraft.

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

1937 - 1st flight of the Vought V-143, American single-seat fighter prototype aircraft, unsuccesful development of the previous V-141.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/vought_v-143.php

1940 - The withdrawal of Allied Forces from Normandy is announced and Churchill says: "The battle of France is over.... The Battle of Britain is about to begin ... let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say 'This was their finest hour'." Royal Air Force Hurricane squadrons in France, having covered the evacuation of remaining British ground forces from the ports of Western France, are ordered back to the United Kingdom. The last out are the first in and the final squadrons to leave are No.1 and No.73 Squadrons, which had been the 1st Royal Air Force fighter squadrons to arrive in France in 1939.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/history-of-aviation-timeline/interactive-aviation-timeline/british-military-aviation/1940.aspx

1940 - Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French Forces, makes his famous speech 'The Appeal of 18 June' on the BBC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_of_18_June

1941 - Death of Donat Aduiovich Makeenok, Russian WWI flying ace who also served during the Russo-Polish War.

http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donat_Makijonek - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/russia/makeenok.php

1949 - 1st flight of the Payen PA-47 'Plein Air', French twin seat high wing tourer aircraft prototype.

http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=10041

1951 - 3 Gloster Meteors crashed at RAF Biggin Hill and their pilots were killed in accidents, all 3 crashing in an area of about 100 yd (91 m). The 1st, a Meteor VIII piloted by Flight Lieutenant Gordon McDonald of 41 Squadron, crashed shortly after take-off, corkscrewing as pieces of structure fell from the aircraft. The aircraft hit a bungalow, killing the pilot. The jet wash of his flight leader was named as a possible cause. Within seconds of this accident 2 Mark IV Meteors of 600 Sqn, piloted by Sergeant Kenneth Clarkson and Squadron Leader Phillip Sandeman, both circling over the wreckage and preparing to land, collided at 2,000 ft (610 m) above the scene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Biggin_Hill_Airport#Accidents

1953 - A USAF Douglas C-124 Globemaster II took off from Tachikawa Air Base in Japan. Shortly after takeoff, one of the engines failed, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. Due to a loss of airspeed, the pilot lost control and crashed into a rice field, killing all seven crew and 122 passenger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-124_Globemaster_II

1953 - Death of René Paul Fonck, French aviator who ended WWI as the top Allied fighter ace, and when all succeeding conflicts are also considered, Fonck still holds the title of "all-time Allied Ace of Aces".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Fonck - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/fonck.php

1962 - Death of Friedrich-Karl Burckhardt, German WWI flying ace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich-Karl_Burckhardt - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/burckhardt.php

1962 - Death of Alexander "Alec" Ogilvie, early British aviation pioneer.

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

1965 - Operation Arc Light, 1st combat mission of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress over Vietnam.

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

1966 - Death of Harold John "Jackie" Walkerdine, British WWI flying ace and WWII pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Walkerdine - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/walkerdine2.php

1971 - Southwest Airlines is founded.

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

1972 - British European Airways Flight 548, a Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident 1C, G-ARPI, stalled due to pilot error and crashed at Staines shortly after takeoff from Heathrow Airport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways_Flight_548

1978 - Death of Leopold Anslinger, German WWI flying ace and airliner pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Anslinger - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/anslinger.php

1981 - 1st flight of The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, US single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk

1982 - 1st flight of PZL Mielec M-21 Dromader Mini, single engine agricultural aircraft, smaller prototype version of the M-18.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/poland/pzl_dromader.php

1983 - Launch of STS-7, Space Shuttle Challenger mission with Sally Ride, youngest american in space, 1st American spaceflight involving a female astronaut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-7

1986 - Grand Canyon Airlines flight 6 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter collided in midair with Helitech Bell 206 over Grand Canyon National Park killing all 25.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_Airlines_Flight_6

2004 - Airblue Limited (styled as airblue), Pakistan private airline, begins operations

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

2006 - Launch of KazSat 1, 1st Kazakh space communication satellite.

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

2009 - Launch of The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), NASA robotic spacecraft.

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

2011 - 1st transatlantic biofuel flight is made by a Gulfstream G-450 from Morristown N.J. to Le Bourget (France).

http://inr.stage.synapticdigital.com/HoneywellAerospace/ParisAirShow2011/