The V-one buzz bomb and the night the first cruise missile fell on London, June thirteenth, nineteen forty-four
On June 13, 1944, the V-1 buzz bomb struck London, becoming the first cruise missile used in combat and changing air warfare forever.
The Hangar
Aviation history and storytelling with Taildragger. Warbird restorations, legendary pilots, famous flights, and the stories that shaped aviation from the Wright Brothers to the Space Shuttle.
The Dixie Clipper and the first scheduled transatlantic passenger flight on June seventh, nineteen thirty-nine
On June 7, 1939, the Dixie Clipper made history as the first scheduled transatlantic passenger flight from New York to Europe.
Spitfire ML four oh seven and the Grace family who kept a D-Day veteran flying for forty years
Spitfire ML407 survived D-Day, decades of neglect, and personal tragedy to become one of the world's most storied warbirds.
Hughes Airwest Flight seven oh six and the midair collision over the San Gabriel Mountains on June sixth, nineteen seventy-one
The 1971 midair collision between Hughes Airwest Flight 706 and a Marine F-4 Phantom killed 49 people and helped drive the development of TCAS.
Butch Voris and the four Hellcats that became the Blue Angels in nineteen forty-six
How Butch Voris and four combat-veteran Hellcat pilots created the Blue Angels in 1946 to save naval aviation.
Flak Bait the B-twenty-six Marauder and the Smithsonian restoration of the most battle-damaged American bomber to survive the war
Flak Bait, the most battle-damaged American bomber to survive WWII, flew 207 missions and took over 1,000 flak holes before its painstaking Smithsonian restoration.
The C-forty-seven armada that launched into the dark on June fifth, nineteen forty-four, carrying the airborne to Normandy
On June 5, 1944, over 800 C-47 crews flew paratroopers into Normandy through flak and cloud, launching the D-Day invasion.
Noel Wien and the first flight between Anchorage and Fairbanks that opened Alaska to the airplane
Noel Wien's 1924 flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks in an open-cockpit biplane changed Alaska forever.
John Derry and the nineteen fifty-two Farnborough disaster that rewrote airshow safety forever
The 1952 Farnborough airshow disaster killed 31 people and fundamentally changed how every airshow in the world manages spectator safety.
The Montgolfier brothers and the first public flight of a hot air balloon on June fourth, seventeen eighty-three
On June 4, 1783, the Montgolfier brothers launched the first public hot air balloon flight in Annonay, France, launching the age of human flight.
Eddie Rickenbacker and the twenty-four days on a life raft that should have killed America's Ace of Aces
How Eddie Rickenbacker, America's WWI Ace of Aces, survived 24 days adrift in the Pacific in 1942.
Air France Flight zero zero seven at Orly and the Atlanta art patrons who never came home on June third, nineteen sixty-two
The 1962 crash of Air France Flight 007 at Orly killed 130 people, including 106 Atlanta art patrons, and reshaped a city's cultural identity.
Charles Rolls and the first nonstop double crossing of the English Channel on June second, nineteen ten
On June 2, 1910, Charles Rolls completed the first nonstop round-trip flight across the English Channel - and died flying 39 days later.
Bill Stead and the Nevada rancher who invented the Reno Air Races in nineteen sixty-four
Bill Stead, a Nevada cattle rancher and pilot, single-handedly revived American air racing by founding the Reno Air Races in 1964.
The Focke-Wulf one ninety and the first flight of the Butcher Bird on June first, nineteen thirty-nine
The Focke-Wulf 190 first flew on June 1, 1939, and became one of WWII's most feared fighters thanks to Kurt Tank's radical radial-engine design.
Wilbur Wright and the day aviation lost its quiet genius on May thirtieth, nineteen twelve
Wilbur Wright, the quiet genius behind powered flight, died of typhoid fever on May 30, 1912, at just forty-five years old.
Meigs Field and the midnight bulldozers that killed Chicago's lakefront runway
The midnight demolition of Chicago's Meigs Field in 2003 remains general aviation's most brazen political attack on a public-use airport.
The forty-eight-hour miracle that saved USS Yorktown and turned the tide at Midway
How 1,400 shipyard workers repaired USS Yorktown in 72 hours, giving the Navy the third carrier that won the Battle of Midway.
The RAF over Dunkirk on May twenty-eighth, nineteen forty and the Spitfires the Army never saw
On May 28, 1940, RAF fighters fought and died over Dunkirk in battles the soldiers below never saw.
The McDonnell F-four Phantom and the first flight of the jet that owned every mission in every service on May twenty-seventh, nineteen fifty-eight
On May 27, 1958, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom made its first flight - an unwanted jet that became the defining fighter of a generation.