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Portal:Aviation/Anniversaries/December 15

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December 15

  • 1970 – RAF English Electric Canberra, XM267, 'E', of No 3(F) Sq­ron, crashed at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, while on detachment from Sq­ron base at RAF Laarbruch, Germany. On approach to Akrotiri runway pilot elected to carry out an over shoot. When both engines were throttled up the starboard engine responded and increased power; port engine failed to respond. The effect of this was the aircraft 'cartwheeled' and port wing hit the ground killing both crew and passenger. Pilot F/O R. Ellis, Navigator F/O R MacMillan, one passenger Senior Aircraftman Kim Petty-Fitzmaurice.
  • 1959 – Maj J W Roberts sets a new airspeed record of 1,526 miles per hour (2,456 km/h) in a F-106 Delta Dart
  • 1951 – No. 421 Sq­ron returned after training in England and was relocated at St. Hubert, Quebec. They were re-equipped with North American F-86 Sabre fighters.
  • 1948 – No. 2401 Radar Sq­ron (Auxiliary) – Later designated Aircraft Control and Warning Sq­ron – was formed at Montreal.
  • 1944Noorduyn Norseman, 44-70285, c/n 550, disappears over the English Channel with Maj. Glenn Miller, pilot John Morgan and Lt. Col. Norman Baessell on board after departing RAF Twinwood Farm, Clapham, Bedfordshire, England. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 10770. It is believed that the plane was lost by straying into a forbidden zone in mid-channel which was designated for the jettisoning of surplus ordnance. On that day, a sq­ron of RAF Avro Lancasters had aborted a mission and were salvoing their bombloads in this zone. One crewman, a navigator, claims to have looked down and seen a Norseman flying low over the water. Before he could draw any attention to this, the Norseman was apparently overwhelmed by bomb splashes and disappeared. Other conspiracy theories about the disappearance have also been advanced.
  • 1944 – U. S. forces land on Mindoro. Over the next 30 days, there will be 334 alerts of Japanese air attack on the beachhead. Kamikaze attacks begin immediately, and persist until January 4, 1945.
  • 1943 – Boeing FortressBoeing Fortress of No. 168 (HT) Squadron, piloted by W/C RB Middleton, left Rockcliffe, Ontario with mail for Canadian servicemen overseas. This began RCAF air transport operations on a global scale.
  • 1943 – (15-25) Japanese aircraft at Rabaul bomb U. S. forces on Bougainville nightly, killing 38 and wounding 136.
  • 1943 – Fifth Air Force aircraft cover U. S. Army landings at Arawe. A strike on the landing forces by 64 Japanese naval aircraft is unsuccessful.
  • 1941 – The RCAF No. 419(B) Squadron formed with Wellington IC aircraft.
  • 1937 – A Spanish Republican offensive in the area of Teruel, Spain, begins. The ensuing Battle of Teruel will last until February 22, 1938, and involve 120 fighters, 80 bombers, and 100 other aircraft on the Republican side and 150 fighters, 100 bombers, and 110 other aircraft on the Nationalist side.
  • 1920 – The first of a number of flying schools to train reserve pilots for the military opens at Orly, south of Paris.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Khan, Haq Nawaz, "Taliban Rockets Target Pakistani Airport," The Washington Post, December 16, 2012, p. A30.
  2. ^ Anonymous, "Gun Battle Follows Airport Attack in Pakistan," The Washington Post, December 17, 2012, p. A4.
  3. ^ Hradecky, Simon (15 December 2010). "Crash: Tara Air DHC6 near Okhaldhunga on December 15th 2010, aircraft impacted mountain". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 16 December 2010.