March 1961 - March 28, 1961 (Tuesday)

March 28, 1961 (Tuesday)

• U.S. President John F. Kennedy informed Congress that, as part of the proposed $43.8 billion defense budget, he was cancelling the Pye Wacket project, an experimental lenticular-form air-to-air missile, and the B-70 nuclear-powered airplane. Kennedy declared that "As a power which will never strike first, our hopes for anything close to an absolute deterrent must rest on weapons which come from hidden, moving, or invulnerable bases which will not be wiped out by a surprise attack," and lobbied instead for ten additional Polaris nuclear submarines and an increased Minuteman nuclear arsenal.
• A Czechoslovak State Airlines airplane crashed near Russelbach, East Germany after an onboard explosion, killing all 52 persons on board. The turboprop Ilyushin-18 was on its way from Prague to Bamako, the capital of Mali, taking technicians and their families, half of them from the Soviet Union, to jobs in Africa.
• Air Afrique was founded by agreement of ten West African nations that had gained independence from France. The airline operated until 2001, when its fleet and routes were acquired by Air France.
• The Factories Act 1961 was introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
• Died: Powell Crosley, American inventor and owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team; and Chatta Singh, 74, Indian VC recipient