Amelia Mary Earhart
(July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead
January 5, 1939)

Aviation trailblazer Amelia Earhart became the first woman to
fly solo across the U.S. nonstop on this day in history, Aug. 24,
1932.

Earhart piloted her Lockheed Vega 5B from Los Angeles to
Newark in 19 hours and 5 minutes.  She set an official U.S
record for women’s distance and time.

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B in the National Air
and Space Museum.

American aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett Field in
New York on July 22, 1933, having flown solo around the world
in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Post with his Lockheed Model 5C Vega, NR105W,
at Floyd Bennet Field, Long Island, New York, 15 July
1933.

American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget
Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, nonstop
transatlantic flight and the first ever nonstop flight between
New York to Paris.

His single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, had
lifted off from Roosevelt Field in New York 33 1/2 hours
before.

On May 17, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, one of a group
of American bombers based in Britain, became one of the first
B-17 crews to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to
the United States.

The Memphis Belle performed its 25th and last mission, in a
bombing raid against Lorient, a German submarine base.

Visitors gather for a private viewing of the Memphis Belle,
a Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress,” at the National Museum
of the U.S. Air Force.

(FOX NEWS) – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart departed on a
journey to become the first pilot to successfully fly solo from
Hawaii to mainland United States on this day in history, Jan.
11, 1935.

The daring flight across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
had claimed the lives of 10 previous aviators. She earned
$10,000 from promoters in Hawaii for her death-defying
achievement.

 
Amelia Earhart on Jan. 12, 1935, after the first Hawaii-to-California flight. She was the first pilot to succeed at
flying the route.