August 8

What happened on August 8 in aviation and space history.

• August 8, 1934

  USAAC issues a specification for a multi-engine bomber

  Institutional — On 8 August 1934 the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued a proposal to replace the Martin B-10, requiring a useful bomb-load carried at 10,000 ft for 10 hours at a top speed of at least 200 mph, with a desired range of 2,000 miles. The contract would be decided by a fly-off at Wilbur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, between Boeing's design, the Douglas DB-1 and the Martin Model 146 — the competition that produced the aircraft that became the B-17.