MAY10
1890 - Birth of Fernand Bonneton, French WWI flying ace and balloon buster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_Bonneton - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/bonneton.php
1893 - Birth of Thomas Percy Middleton, british WWI fighter ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Percy_Middleton - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/middleton1.php
1896 - Birth of Sydney Philip Smith, British WWI flying ace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Philip_Smith - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/smith10.php
1897 - Birth of Wilfred Beaver, British born Canadian WWI fighter ace, who became an american citizen and served in the USAF in WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Beaver - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/beaver.php
1898 - Birth of Adrian James Boswell Tonks, British WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Tonks - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/tonks.php
1899 - Birth of Zeus Soucek, US Navy aviator and record setter.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1208934
1909 - Birth of Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova, one of the 1st female pilots in the Soviet Union and WWII pilot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Grizodubova
1910 - Ernest Failloubaz piloted the 1st aircraft built (from a picture of the Bleriot XI) and flown by a Swiss citizen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Failloubaz
1911 - Death of George Edward Maurice Kelly, American aviator, in the crash of his Curtiss Model D, sacrificeing himself to avoid plowing into an infantry encampment after a landing attempt had damaged the aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_E._M._Kelly
1913 - 1st Flight of The Sikorsky Russky Vityaz , or Russian Knight, also called Le Grand, 1st four-engine aircraft in the world piloted by Igor Sikorsky, 1st man to fly a 4 engine powered aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_Russky_Vityaz
1913 - French Didier Masson drops bombs from a Glenn Martin pusher (named 'Sonora') on Mexican gunships in Guaymas Bay, becoming the 2nd flier in history to bomb a surface warship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Masson#Mercenary
1915 - Death of Denys Corbett Wilson, pioneering Irish aviator, Killed with his observer during a reconnaissance mission in a Morane Parasol when their aircraft was struck by an enemy shell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denys_Corbett_Wilson
1915 - Curtiss Aviation School commenced operation from Toronto Island using Curtiss F flying boats.
1917 - Death of Didier Louis Marie Charles Lecour Grandmaison, French WWI flying ace, killed in action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Lecour_Grandmaison - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/lecour.php
1918 - Birth of Allen Benjamin Angus, Canadian WWII flying ace, 1st WWII canadian ace.
http://www.flyingforyourlife.com/pilots/ww2/a/angus/#.UZ8BOaJM-So - http://www.cieldegloire.com/003_angus_a_b.php
1918 - Birth of George Welch, WWII flying ace, a Medal of Honor nominee, and an experimental aircraft pilot after the war. Welch is best known both for being one of over 17 United States Army Air Forces fighter pilots able to get airborne to engage Japanese forces in the attack on Pearl Harbor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Welch_(pilot) - http://cieldegloire.com/014_welch_g_s.php
1919 - Birth of Magnus 'Mac' Hans Alexander Maximilian Freiherr von Braun, brother of Wernher von Braun, German chemical engineer, Luftwaffe aviator, and rocket scientist at Peenemünde,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_von_Braun
1920 - 1st flight of the Spad S-32, French twin seat single engine biplane prototype, built for an altitude record attempt.
http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=139
1925 - 1st flying of The prototype Armstrong Whitworth Atlas, British single-engine biplane Army cooperation aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong_Whitworth_Atlas
1927 - Charles Lindbergh takes off his new Ryan airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, for a record non-stop overnight flight from San Diego to Saint louis.
http://www.medarus.org/NM/NMPersonnages/NM_10_02_Biog_Americans/nm_10_02_lindberg_ch.htm
1931 - 1st flight of the Spad S-91/5, French single seat aerobatic biplane, evolution of the Fighter series. Unfortunately it crashed killing Blériot chief test pilot Raymond Villechanoux.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/bleriot_s-91.php - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9301
http://www.aerosteles.net/fiche.php?code=souche - http://www.lepicton.com/articles/206-20.pdf
1933 - Death of Robert Heibert, German WWI flying ace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Heibert - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/heibert.php
1933 - Stanislaw Skarzynski complete his Warsaw - Rio de Janeiro (17,885 km) flight with the RWD-5bis, small single-seater Polish tourist airplane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaw_Skarzynski#Transatlantic_flight
1935 - 1st flight of the Gourdou Leseurre GL-820 HY, French 4 seat single engine low wing scout seaplane prototype.
http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9313
1936 - A.P.Charnyavskii, after Cautious taxiing, makes some hops with the TsAGI A-12, Soviet transport autogyro.
http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/tsagi_a-12.php
1937 - 1st of 2 prototypes of the Caudron C.690 is destroyed in a crash that killed René Paulhan, Caudron's chief test pilot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudron_C.690
1940 - The German invasion of the Low Countries begins. There is extensive use of paratroops and airborne Troops and Belgium's Fort Eban Emael, considered impregnable, is quickly and easily overcome by glider-borne assault troops. Luftwaffe records show their losses for the 1st day are 304 gliders destroyed and 51 damaged.
1940 - Heinkels He-111 of the Luftwaffe mistakenly dropped approximately 60 bombs on Freiburg near the train station, killing 57 people.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombenangriff_auf_Freiburg_am_10._Mai_1940
1940 - 1st deliberate Royal Air Force raid on mainland Germany. 8 Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and 37 Handley Page Hampdens of No.77 and No.102 Squadrons attack enemy communications near Mönchengladbach in Germany, west of the Rhine.
1940 – 1st German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_10
1941 – Flying via Vichy French-controlled Syria, aircrafts of the German Luftwaffe begin to arrive at Mosul, Iraq, to support Iraqi forces against the British under the command of Fliegerführer Irak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fliegerf%C3%BChrer_Irak
1941 - Rudolf Hess bails out from his Messerschmitt Bf 110D over Scotland to try and negociate an alliance with Britain against the Soviet Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Hess
1941 - RCAF No. 406 (Night Fighter) Squadron was formed in England at Acklington. The Squadron was initially equipped with the Bristol Blenheim Mk I and IV aircraft
1941 - Most devastating night raid on London: 571 sorties flown by German bombers (some crews flying 2 and even 3 missions), 711 tons of high explosive bombs (167 were recorded as unexploded the next day) and 86,173 incendiaries dropped.
1942 - USS Ranger, operating off the west African Gold Coast, flies off 68 USAAF Curtiss P-40E aircrafts to Accra. They are then flown on by stages, to 10th USAAF in India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ranger_(CV-4)#1942
1943 – 1st Curtiss YC-76 Caravan, American all-wood military transport aircraft, constructed at the Louisville, Kentucky plant, 42-86918, loses tail unit due to lack of "forgotten" securing bolts during test flight and crashes at Okolona, Kentucky, killing 3 Curtiss test crew, pilot Ed Schubinger, co-pilot John L. "Duke" Trowbridge, and engineer Robert G. Scudder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss-Wright_C-76_Caravan#Operational_history
1943 - 1st Consolidated XB-32 Dominator crashed on take-off at Lindbergh Field (today San Diego International Airport), probably from flap failure, killing Consolidated's senior test pilot Dick McMakin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_International_Airport#World_War_II-era
1946 – 1st successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket
1950 - 1st flight of The de Havilland DH.114 Heron, small, propeller-driven British airliner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Heron
1953 - Death of Georges "Pivolo" Pelletier d'Oisy, French WWI flying ace, raid pilot and high ranking officer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pelletier_d%27Oisy - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/pelletier.php
1953 - Death of Armand Pinsard, French WWI fighter ace who served during WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Pinsard - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/pinsard.php
1956 - The 1st of two YRF-101A service-test reconnaissance Voodoos flew.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/mcdonnel_voodoo.php
1957 - 1st flight of the Sud Aviation SE.3131 Gouverneur, prototype Evolution of the french 5 seat helicopter, a re-engined 'Alouette II'.
http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/snias_alu3.php - http://www.aviafrance.com/sud-aviation-se-3131-gouverneur--aviation-france-2399.htm
1958 - Birth of Ellen Lauri Ochoa ,former astronaut and engineer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Ochoa
1959 - 1st flight of the Dassault MD-415 'Communauté', French twin-engined light turboprop transport monoplane prototype.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Communaut%C3%A9 - http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1255
1961 - Air France Flight 406 Lockheed L-1649 Starliner crashed in Algeria after a bomb exploded on board. All 78 passengers and crew on board were killed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_406
1961 - Major Elmer Murphy with a B-58A Hustler, won the trophy presented by Louis Bleriot in 1930 for the 1st pilot to exceed 2000km/h for a continuous period of 30 minutes.
http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/convair_hustler.php?p=1
1963 - Birth of Lisa Marie Nowak, US naval officer and NASA astronaut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nowak
1965 - Death of Alfred Lenz, German WWI flying ace.
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/lenz.php
1967 - Prototype Northrop M2-F2, heavyweight lifting body prototype crashes. Project is cancelled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2
1972 - 1st flight of The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft designed for close air support .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II
1972 - Lts Randy Cunningham and J G William Driscoll become the 1st US Navy aces of the Vietnam War, adding three Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s to their tally on this day alone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Cunningham - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_P._Driscoll
1990 - Flight Lieutenants Julie Ann Gibson and Sally Cox become the 1st female pilots to fly solo in Royal Air Force (RAF) jet aircraft. Both officers flew Jet Provosts as part of their flying training at No.1 Flying Training School, RAF Linton-on-Ouse.
1991 - 1st Flight of Bombardier CRJ100, Canadian regional airliner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_CRJ200
2012 - 1st flight of the Agusta Westland AW169, British-Italian twin-engine, 10-seat helicopter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWestland_AW169
2012 - Death of Evelyn Stone Bryan Johnson (“Mama Bird”), American female pilot with the most number of flying hours in the world, colonel in the Civil Air Patrol and a founding member of the Morristown, Tennessee Civil Air Patrol squadron. She logged 57,635.4 flying hours, oldest flight instructor in the world, named in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most flying hours of any woman and the most of any living person.