On this Day in Aviation History — January 11

1996: Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-72, the ship’s 10th flight and the 74th shuttle mission overall.

 

1990: The 3-engined MD11 airliner is rolled out at the McDonnell Douglas Long Beach factory.

 

1978: The American Jet Industries’ Hustler executive transport makes its first flight.

 

1944: Aircraft from USS Block Island make first aircraft rocket attack on German submarine

 

1944: 570 USAAF  B-17 Flying Fortress bombers strike the German cities of Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben in one of the largest air raids to date.

 

1935: Flying in her plane Ol’ Bessie, Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman pilot to fly solo between Hawaii and the United States. She takes off from Wheeler Field, Oahu, Honolulu, to fly her Lockheed Vega across the eastern Pacific to Oakland, California. Earhart lands after 18 hours 15 minutes.