This Day in Aviation History: First American Walks in Space Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com and NASA Courtesy NASA. According to History.com and downloaded today from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-3/an-american-walks-in-space, “On June 3, 1965, 120 miles above the Earth, Major Edward H. White II opened the hatch of the Gemini 4 and stepped out of the capsule,…
This Day in Aviation History: Star Wars Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com “Star Wars” Opens in Theaters Image credit: Disney Studios Who amongst we 70-somethings (even those of us far younger) don’t remember the opening day of the highly-hyped first-of-a-series movies that included galactic battle cruisers and epic aerial (in space) dog fighting battles? …
A May 21st Aviation Heritage Vignette Twofer Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Getty Images, W.C. Persons from Charles Lindbergh’s book The Spirit of St. Louis. While I may have covered in the past these two aviation history events tied together by only five years of separation, they’re worth mentioning every year on this day…
Today in Aviation History: Skylab Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, NASA, Pinterest Only ten years prior to Skylab’s launch in 1973, we 10-year-olds were dreaming in 1963 of space and space stations, even playing with them in toy form like the one pictured below. It is the imaginations of kids that lead to innovations…
This Day in Aviation History: A Great Mother’s Day Story Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Alaska Airlines Good Mother’s Day-eve and happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there that spent the best part of their lives guiding their children to productive adulthood and built the next generation of successful Americans. Thank you for your…
Tomorrow in Aviation History: May 7, 1975 – Official End of the Vietnam War. Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Wikipedia, The Daily Mail, War History Online Photo © War History Online and downloaded on April 30, 2025 from: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-day-saigon-fell-how-chaos-helicopters-and-history-marked-the-end-of-a-war-america-couldn-t-win/ss-AA1DUmLX?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=b26d07dd56d649cc878b5ae26d48e7a7&ei=40#image=2 From War History Online: “The final evacuation of Saigon was code-named Operation Frequent Wind, becoming the…
This Day in Aviation History: The Beginning of The End of Zeppelins Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com and Sam Shere/Wikimedia-public domain According History.com and downloaded on May 6, 2025 from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-6/the-hindenburg-disaster, “The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, burst into flames upon touching its mooring mast in…
An Aviation History Twofer: On This Day in Aviation History in 1942 and 1952. Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, US Navy, and USAF Welcome to an aviation history twofer! According to History.com and downloaded on May 3, 2025 from: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-3/the-battle-of-the-coral-sea-begins, “On May 3, 1942, during World War II, the first modern naval engagement in…