On This Day November 14

Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performed the first take off from a ship in Hampton Roads, Virginia on November 14, 1910. He took off from a makeshift deck erected over the bow of the light cruiser USS Birmingham. The airplane plunged downward as soon as it cleared the 83-foot platform runway; and the aircraft wheels dipped into the water before rising. Ely's goggles were covered with spray, and the aviator promptly landed on a beach rather than landing at the Norfolk Navy Yard as planned.

Ely takes off from the USS Birmingham November 14, 1910

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