The first recorded successful quasi-parachute jumps were made in China in 1306. America's first parachute descent from a balloon was made in 1819 by Charles Guille from 8000 feet. 1st LT D. Campbell became the USA's first ace flying under American colors, achieving his fifth kill on May 31st, 1918. On August 20,1939, five Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighters initiated the first use of air-to-air rockets over Mongolia, claiming two Japanese Mitsubishi A5M Zeros. They were fitted with underwing rails for eight 82 mm RS-82 rockets. The Heinkel He219 Ubu was the first operational aircraft to be fitted with ejection seats. Japan's first aircraft carrier was the Hosho, launched in Novermber 1921 and commissioned in December 1922. Japan's last carrier-based biplane was the A4NI which entered service in 1935 and first saw combat in 1937 from the deck of the Hosho. It was considered obsolete by 1941. LT Michael Devyatayev (USSR) was shot down in 1944 and became a POW. He escaped with nine others by stealing a German He111 bomber and flew back to Soviet territory. He was labeled a traitor for becoming a POW. In 1953 he was freed and in 1958 was made a Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Gold Star and Order of Lenin awards. The most produced flying boat was the PBY Catalina. Over 1196 PBYs were built, including 944 Amphibians. First flown on March 28th, 1935, it served with 25 nations. The date attributed to the first recorded design for a lighter than- air craft is 1670, described by Jesuit priest Francesco De Lana-Terzi Back to Table of Contents -- Air Power # 14 Back to Air Power List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by J.D. Webster This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com