Date On This Date In Aviation History Information Source 6/2/1941 The USS Long Island, first escort carrier of the US Navy, was commisioned at Newport News, VA. The Long Island was a flush deck carrier converted in 67 working days from the cargo ship Mormacmail. United States Naval Aviation 1910-1960 by Deputy Chief Of Naval Operations 6/2/1944 Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker commands the first raid flown during Operation FRANTIC, the shuttle bombing between Italy and the Soviet Union. Eaker, taking off from bases in Italy, leads a flight of 130 B-17s escorted by 70 P-51 Mustangs to bomb marshalling yards near Debreczen, Hungary, then go on to land at an airfield in Poltava, Soviet Union. U.S. Airforce - A Complete History by The Air Force Historical Foundation 6/2/1912 Captain Charles Chandler first fired a Lewis gun from a Wright B Flyer piloted by Lieutenant Thomas de Witt Milling. Aviation Century - The Early Years by Ron Dick & Dan Patterson 6/2/1910 The Honorable Charles S. Rolls flew a Wright biplane across the English Channel and back in the same day. Wright To Fly, by Peter R. March 6/2/1923 The Boeing PW-9 biplane made its maiden flight, which paved the way for a series of Boeing aircraft to serve with the US forces into the 1930s. Wright To Fly, by Peter R. March 6/2/1944 US bombers flew the first 'shuttle' bombing raids of World War II. They took off from bases in Italy to attack communications targets in Hungary before landing at bases in the USSR. Wright To Fly, by Peter R. March 6/2/1972 First flight of the Aerospatiale Dauphin helicopter. Wright To Fly, by Peter R. March 6/2/1995 An F-16C from USAFE's 31st Fighter Wing was shot down by a Bosnian Serb SAM-6 missile while carrying out a patrol at 20,000ft near Banja Lake in Bosnia. The pilot evaded capture by Serb forces for six days before being rescued by a US Marine Corps CH-53E operating from the USS Kearsage. Wright To Fly, by Peter R. March 6/2/1917 The Army's Aviation Section is reorganized and renamed - Airplane Division, Army Signal Corps. U.S. Airforce - A Complete History by The Air Force Historical Foundation 6/2/1958 First flight of the redesigned F8U known as the F8U-3 Crusader III. The Navy had signed a contract in December 1957 for 18 pre-production models to enter into competition with the McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II. Aeroplanes Vought 1917-1977 by Gerald P. Moran 6/2/1958 First flight of the Chance Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III American Secret Projects - Fighters and Interceptors 1945-1978 by Tony Buttler 6/2/1923 First flight of the Boeing PW-9 (Model 15) which was competing with the Curtiss PW-8 for an US Army Air Service production contract. The Story Of the Boeing Company - Revised and Updated Edition, By Bill Yenne