Time Line in Space Exploration: On This Date: December 29 1891 -- Edison patents transmission of signals electrically (radio) 1987 - Cosmonaut Yuri V. Romanenko returns from space station Mir, having arrived there from Soyuz-TM 2, and sets a (then) space endurance record of 326 days. 1987 – NASA delayed the planned June launch of the space shuttle — the first since the Challenger disaster — because a motor component failed during a test-firing of the shuttle’s redesigned booster rocket. 1993 – Nearly three weeks after the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope was repaired by the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour, scientists reported “absolutely no sign of problems.” Today in Naval History: December 29 1782 -- 1st nautical almanac in US published by Samuel Stearns, Boston 1798 - First annual report by Secretary of the Navy, sent by Benjamin Stoddert. 1812 - USS Constitution (Captain William Bainbridge) captures HMS Java off Brazil after a three hour battle. 1837 -- Canadian militia destroy Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo claiming self-defense, destroyed the Caroline, a US steamboat docked at Buffalo, N.Y. It was being used to ferry supplies to anti-British rebels in Canada. 1863 – U.S.S. Reindeer, Acting Lieutenant Henry A. Glassford, with Army steamer Silver Lake No. 2 in company, beginning on the 26th, reconnoitered the Cumberland River at the request of General Grant. The force moved from Nashville to Carthage without incident but was taken under fire five times on the 29th. The Confederates’ positions, Glassford reported, “availed them nothing, however, against the guns of this vessel and those of the Silver Lake No. 2; they were completely shelled out of them. The gunboats continued as far as Creelsboro, Kentucky, before “the river gave unmistakable signs of a fall.” The ships subsequently returned to Nashville. 1934 -- Japan renounces Wash Naval Treaty of 1922 & London Treaty of 1930 1943 - USS Silversides (SS-236) sinks three Japanese ships and damages a fourth off Palau. Today In Coast Guard History: December 29 1897-Congress prohibited the killing of fur seals in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean. The Revenue Cutter Service was tasked with enforcing the law. 1903-An Executive Order extended the jurisdiction of the Lighthouse Service to Guantanamo, Cuba. 1998- The 578-foot cargo vessel Violetta caught fire in the Houston ship channel. Twenty-three of her crew were rescued. CGC Point Spencer spent several days fighting the fire on board the vessel. Today in Aviation History: December 29 1879 – Billy Mitchell, aviation hero Gen (WW I), was born. 1937 - Pan Am starts San Francisco to Auckland New Zealand service 1939 – First flight of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber. The B-24 was used in World War II by several Allied air forces and navies, and by every branch of the American armed forces during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the Western European, Pacific, Mediterranean, and China-Burma-India Theaters. Often compared with the better-known Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 was a more modern design with a higher top speed, greater range, and a heavier bomb load; it was also more difficult to fly, with heavy control forces and poor formation-flying characteristics. Popular opinion among aircrews and general staffs tended to favor the B-17’s rugged qualities above all other considerations in the European Theater. The placement of the B-24’s fuel tanks throughout the upper fuselage and its lightweight construction, designed to increase range and optimize assembly line production, made the aircraft vulnerable to battle damage. The B-24 was notorious among American aircrews for its tendency to catch fire. Its high fuselage-mounted “Davis wing” also meant it was dangerous to ditch or belly land, since the fuselage tended to break apart. Nevertheless, the B-24 provided excellent service in a variety of roles thanks to its large payload and long range and was the only bomber to operationally deploy the United States’ first forerunner to precision-guided munitions during the war, the 1,000 lb. Azon guided bomb. The B-24’s most costly mission was the low-level strike against the Ploești oil fields, in Romania on 1 August 1943, which turned into a disaster because the defense was underestimated and fully alerted while the attackers were disorganized. The B-24 ended World War II as the most produced heavy bomber in history. At over 18,400 units, half by Ford Motor Company, it still holds the distinction as the most-produced American military aircraft, with one B-24A and one B-24J restored to airworthiness as of 2014. 1940: Worst air raid on London - On the evening of December 29, 1940, London suffers its most devastating air raid when Germans firebomb the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but firefighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction. The next day, a newspaper photo of St. Pauls Cathedral standing undamaged amid the smoke and flames seemed to symbolize the capitals unconquerable spirit during the Battle of Britain 1949: Jacqueline Cochran set a 436.995 mph international record for 500 km(310.685 miles) in an F-51 without payload at the Mount Wilson Course. 1990: Operation DESERT SHIELD. The 169 FG was the first ANG unit to deploy to the Persian Gulf region. 1991 -- Boeing 747-200F of China Airlines crash into mountain at Taipei 1994 -- B737-400 flies into a mountain at Edremit East Turkey, 54 killed
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:30:31 +0000
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