May 20 2009
On This Day in Aviation History
Two significant events happened on this day in Aviation History. First, in 1932, American aviator Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland on a flight to Ireland. She was the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo.
The second event that occurred on this day took place in the year 1939. Pan American Airways begins regular transatlantic air service with a flight by the Yankee Clipper from Port Washington, New York, to Europe.
While not related to flight, per say, this device was dropped from an airplane – on May 20, 1956, the United States drops a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific atoll of Bikini in the Pacific, this was the first airborne test of an improved hydrogen device. (This Day in History from the History Channel)
