This Day in Naval History – April 12

1861 - Civil War begins when Confederates fire on Fort Sumter, SC

1911 - LT Theodore Ellyson qualifies as first naval aviator

1962 - U.S. Navy demonstrates new landing craft with retractable hydrofoils, LCVP (H)

1975 - Operation Eagle Pull evacuation from Cambodia

1981 - First launching of re-useable Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) with all Navy crew. CAPT John W. Young, USN (Ret.) commanded, while LCDR Robert L. Crippen, USN was the pilot. Mission duration was 2 days, 6 hours, and 20 minutes. Sixteen of the shuttle's heat-shielding silicon tiles were lost and 148 damaged during reentry.

1993 - Aircraft from USS Theodore Roosevelt and NATO forces begin enforcing the no-fly zone over the Bosnia in Operation Deny Flight

(Source: Navy News Service)