1956 in aviation explained
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1956.
Events
January
February
March
- The Piasecki Helicopter Corporation is renamed Vertol Aircraft Corporation.[2]
- The United Kingdom′s Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment shuts down. Its surviving activities are split among the British Air Ministry, the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, and the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
- March 1 - East Germany establishes its air force, the Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee (LSK) or Air Forces of the National People's Army.
- March 2 - Practising for an upcoming air show, four Canadair Sabre Mk. 6 fighters of the Sky Lancers aerobatics team of No. 4 Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force, based at RCAF Station Baden-Soellingen in West Germany, fly into the ground in the Upper Rhine Valley southwest of Strasbourg, France, while performing a loop in formation, killing all four pilots. The accident brings a halt to RCAF aerobatic flying for several years.[3] [4]
- March 10
- March 24 - Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela (LAV) introduces its first turboprop airliner – a Vickers Viscount 701, into service.
April
May
June
July
August
September
- A U.S. Navy Convair R3Y-2 Tradewind flying boat sets a world record for the number of aircraft refueled in flight simultaneously, refueling four U.S. Navy Grumman F9F-8 Cougar fighters at the same time.[19]
- September 7 - U.S. Air Force Captain Iven C. Kincheloe becomes the first pilot to climb above 100,000 feet, flying the Bell X-2 research aircraft to a new world altitude record of 126200abbr=offNaNabbr=off. He receives the MacKay Trophy for the flight.[18]
- September 15 - The Tupolev Tu-104 jet airliner makes its first passenger flight, a domestic Aeroflot flight in the Soviet Union from Moscow's Vnukovo Airport to Omsk and then on to Irkutsk.
- September 20 - Piloting an ERCO Ercoupe, American professional baseball player Tom Gastall, a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, dies when the plane crashes while he is attempting to make an emergency water landing in the Chesapeake Bay. His body will be found on September 25.[20]
- September 21 - In an unusual incident during a test flight over Long Island Sound near Calverton, New York, a U.S. Navy Grumman F11F Tiger supersonic fighter is badly damaged after it fires its 20-millimeter guns, then is struck by the rounds it fired when it overruns them in flight during subsequent maneuvers. It crashes one-half mile (0.8 km) short of the runway at Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton, while attempting to return for an emergency landing; its pilot is injured, but survives.[10]
- September 24 - The West German Air Force is formed in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).
- September 27 - U.S. Air Force Captain Milburn Apt sets a new world air speed record in the Bell X-2, becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3, reaching a speed of Mach 3.2 - 2454.4mph - before he loses control of the X-2 and dies in the resulting crash. His speed record will stand until 1961.[21]
- September 28 - Deemed "surplus to requirements" by the U.S. Air Force's Air Materiel Command, the Douglas X-3 Stiletto supersonic research aircraft is retired and donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it will be put on display.[9]
October
- October 1 - Chapter Two of the Experimental Aircraft Association is chartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- October 10 - During a scheduled Military Air Transportation Service flight from RAF Lakenheath, England, to Lajes Field in the Azores, the United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster 131588 of Air Transport Squadron 6 (VR-6) disappears over the Atlantic Ocean about 369miles off Land's End, England. No trace of any of the 59 people on board is ever found.[17] [22]
- October 11 - A Vickers Valiant of the Royal Air Forces No. 49 Squadron drops the United Kingdom's first air-dropped atomic bomb, over Maralinga, South Australia.
- October 13 - Four men armed with machine guns wanting to the flown to the West attempt to commandeer a Malev Hungarian Airlines Lisunov Li-2 (registration HA-LID) with 19 people on board shortly after it takes off from Szombathely for a domestic flight in Hungary to Zalaegerszeg. Security personnel on the airliner foil the attempted hijacking, killing one of the men and badly wounding two of the other hijackers.[23]
- October 16 - The Pan American World Airways Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 Clipper Sovereign of the Skies, operating as Flight 6, ditches in the Pacific Ocean northeast of the Hawaiian Islands after mechanical problems leave it with insufficient fuel to reach an airport. All 31 people aboard survive - with only a few suffering minor injuries - and are rescued by the United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Pontchartrain (WPG-70).
- October 29 - Operation Kadesh, an Israeli operation to occupy the Sinai Peninsula, begins with strikes by Israeli Air Force F-51 Mustangs against Egyptian forces and facilities throughout the Sinai and the parachute drop by Douglas DC-3s of a 395-man Israeli battalion near the Sinais Mitla Pass, where French aircraft drop supplies to them by parachute. Four Israeli Mustangs severely disrupt Egyptian command and control in the Sinai by cutting all overhead telephone lines there with their wings and propellers. Israel begins the conflict with 155 combat aircraft, while Egypt has 255.[24] [25]
- October 29-November 1 - Egyptian Air Force de Havilland Vampires and Gloster Meteors escorted by MiG-15s attack Israeli ground forces in the Sinai, while Israeli Air Force Dassault Mystere IV fighters escort Israeli transport aircraft. The Israelis shoot down between seven and nine Egyptian aircraft in exchange for one of their own.
- October 31
November
- November 1 - During the day, British Fleet Air Arm de Havilland Sea Venoms, Chance Vought Corsairs, and Hawker Sea Hawks from the aircraft carriers HMS Eagle, HMS Albion, and HMS Bulwark conduct a series of daylight strikes against Egyptian airbases, destroying over 200 aircraft - mostly on the ground - by nightfall and knocking the Egyptian Air Force out of action. It begins the first large-scale action by the Fleet Air Arm since the end of World War II in 1945.[26] [27] The Egyptian President Abdel Nasser orders Egyptian pilots to fly all surviving aircraft to southern Egypt and avoid further action against British, French, and Israeli forces.
- November 2 - After aerial reconnaissance reveals the destruction of the Egyptian Air Force, the British invasion force commander, General Sir Charles Keightley, orders British and French aircraft to begin a wide-ranging interdiction campaign against Egypts military bases, infrastructure, and economy.[26]
- November 3
- November 4 - Israeli Air Force aircraft make a large strike against Egyptian positions at Sharm el-Sheikh, after which two Israeli Army brigades occupy the area.[28]
- November 5 - The British and French bombing campaign against Egypt ends, with fixed-wing aircraft from the three British aircraft carriers alone having flown 1,300 sorties.[29] Late in the day, the first British forces come ashore in Egypt as elements of the 3rd Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment land by parachute at El Gamil airfield and are reinforced by additional elements brought in by helicopter from the British aircraft carriers HMS Ocean and HMS Theseus.
- November 6 - The worlds first ship-based helicopter-borne assault takes place, as helicopters from HMS Ocean and HMS Theseus land 425 men of the Royal Marines 45 Commando and 23 tons of stores in Port Said, Egypt, in 90 minutes. During the day, over 1,000 French paratroopers jump into Egypt, and French Corsairs and F-84F Thunderstreaks provide close air support to French forces. A ceasefire ends hostilities between Egypt and the United Kingdom, France, and Israel in the evening, with the Israeli Air Force having flown 489 missions, mostly against ground targets, over the Sinai Peninsula. The last major operation by a British aircraft carrier force in history comes to an end.[30] [31]
- November 7 - The Norwegian airline Braathens SAFE has its first fatal accident when a de Havilland DH.114 Heron 2B crashes into the mountain Hummelfjell in Tolga, Norway, killing two of the 12 people on board. Among the survivors is Norwegian journalist and radio and television personality Rolf Kirkvaag, who suffers a broken foot; along with another passenger, he walks 18km (11miles) from the crash site to find help the following day.
- November 11 – The Convair XB-58 makes its first flight. It is the prototype of the world's first supersonic bomber, the Convair B-58 Hustler.[32]
- November 24 - A Douglas DC-6 of Linee Aeree Italiane en route to New York crashes at takeoff near Paris-Le Bourget Airport, killing the crew of 10 and 25 passengers. Among the victims the world-famous orchestra director Guido Cantelli.
- November 27 - Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253, the Lockheed L-749A Constellation José Martí (registration YV-C-AMA), crashes at an altitude of 6702abbr=offNaNabbr=off into the western peak of Silla de Caracas 18abbr=offNaNabbr=off east-southeast of Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela, while on descent to the airport, killing all 25 people on board.[33] American professional baseball player Charlie Peete, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, flying to Venezuela with his family to play winter baseball in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, is among the dead.[20]
- November 28 - The Ryan X-13 Vertijet makes its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight
- November 30 - The jet-propelled Martin MGM-1 Matador completes flight testing to become the U.S. Air Forces first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile.[18]
December
- December 9 - Encountering icing and severe turbulence while flying over the mountains of British Columbia, Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair North Star, crashes into Mount Slesse, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board. Among the dead are Canadian football players Cal Jones of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Mel Becket, Mario DeMarco, Gordon Sturtridge and Ray Syrnyk of the Saskatchewan Roughriders; DeMarco also is a former National Football League player. The airliner's wreckage will not be found until May 10, 1957.[20]
- December 13 - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issues an airworthiness certificate to Aerocar Internationals Aerocar, a flying automobile.[34]
- December 14 - Brazil becomes the first country in Latin America to acquire an aircraft carrier, purchasing from the United Kingdom.[35] [36] In 1960, she will become the second Latin American aircraft carrier to enter service, as Minas Gerais.
- December 16 - French aeronautical engineer and aircraft manufacturer René Couzinet kills his wife Gilberte (née Chazottes) – the widow of aviator Jean Mermoz – and commits suicide.
First flights
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Entered service
February
March
April
June
July
September
October
December
Retirements
Deadliest crash
The deadliest crash of this year was the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision of 30 June, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 collided with a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation over the Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S., killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft. At the time, this was the deadliest accident in civil aviation history. It is also the deadliest civil aviation crash of the 1950s decade; the 1953 Tachikawa air disaster had killed 129 people but involved a military aircraft. The deadliest single-aircraft accident was Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey, U.S. on 20 June, killing all 74 people on board.
References
- Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1956–57, New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956.
- Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1957–58, London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., 1957.
Further reading
Notes and References
- Web site: Neptunes of Japan. www.verslo.is. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110101052158/http://www.verslo.is/baldur/p2/japan.htm. 2011-01-01.
- Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: The Flying Banana," Naval History, August 2010, p. 17.
- Web site: Sky Lancers . Acrobatic Display Teams . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141108181025/http://aerobaticteams.net/rcaf-sky-lancers.html . 2014-11-08.
- Web site: 1 Air Division Aerobatic Display Teams Sky Lancers – 1956 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141225025454/http://67.69.104.76:84/Marville/other/maother-22d.html . 2014-12-25 .
- Web site: Broken Arrow Nuclear Weapon Accidents . 2008-11-29.
- Web site: Broken Arrow B-47 . 2008-11-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20090609075024/http://www.check-six.com/lib/Famous_Missing/Broken_Arrow_B47.htm . 2009-06-09.
- Web site: Historical Records Declassification Guide, CG-HR-3, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, Appendix B . October 2005 . Office of Classification and Information Control, DoE . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160312003353/http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/cg-hr-3/appb.pdf . 2016-03-12 .
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, pp. 282, 283.
- Guttman, Jon, "Douglas X-3 Stiletto," Aviation History, November 2016, p. 15.
- Polmar, Norman, "A Limited Success," Naval History, August 2015, p. 64.
- Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Lisunov Li-2T HA-LIG Ingolstadt Air Base. Harro. Ranter. aviation-safety.net. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170111003600/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19560713-1. 2017-01-11.
- http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11032 afhra.af.mil Fact Sheet: SIXTEENTH AIR FORCE (USAFE)
- Web site: nh4_1.gif . https://web.archive.org/web/20000519154728/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/NC/nh4_1.gif . dead . 2000-05-19 . 2007-06-17 .
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,, p. 451.
- Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,, p. 615.
- http://www.vq1.navy.mil/History%20Pages/13_new_sqdrn.html Official U.S. Navy Web site for Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1): History: A New Navy Squadron
- Web site: Chronological History of Naval Air Transprt. www.vrc-50.org. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160331224444/http://vrc-50.org/historyNATS.htm. 2016-03-31. 2012-12-27.
- http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/af/100_years_of_flight.pdf Haulman, Daniel L., One Hundred Years of Flight: USAF Chronology of Significant Air and Space Events, 1903-2002, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press, 2003, no ISBN, p. 79.
- Web site: Curtiss Model H-12 flying boat. John. Pike. www.globalsecurity.org. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20101007163600/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/r3y.htm. 2010-10-07.
- Web site: Famous people who died in aviation accidents. planecrashinfo.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151211033837/http://planecrashinfo.com/famous1950s.htm. 2015-12-11.
- Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,, p. 116.
- Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131588 Land's End, UK. Harro. Ranter. aviation-safety.net. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131228031508/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561010-0. 2013-12-28.
- Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Lisunov Li-2 HA-LID Szombathely. Harro. Ranter. aviation-safety.net. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170111001805/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561013-0. 2017-01-11.
- Cordesman, Anthony H., and Abraham R. Wagner, The Lessons of Modern War, Volume I: The Arab-Israeli Conflicts, 1973-1989, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1990,, p. 15.
- Hammel, Eric, Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992,, pp. 95-96.
- Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990,, p. 189.
- Cordesman, Anthony H., and Abraham R. Wagner, The Lessons of Modern War, Volume I: The Arab-Israeli Conflicts, 1973-1989, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1990,, pp. 15-16.
- Hammel, Eric, Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992,, p. 103.
- Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990,, p. 190.
- Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990,, pp. 190, 215.
- Hammel, Eric, Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992,, p. 126.
- Web site: The B-58's Record Flights. www.456fis.org. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150102153742/http://www.456fis.org/B-58_RECORDS.htm. 2015-01-02.
- Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-749-79 Constellation YV-C-AMA Caracas Airport (CCS). Harro. Ranter. aviation-safety.net. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20111016014408/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561127-0. 2011-10-16.
- Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the Worlds Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978,, p. 66.
- Scheina, Robert L., Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987,, p. 197.
- Wikipedia HMS Vengeance (R71) article.
- Bridgman 1956, p. 38.
- Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter M. Bowers, United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, London: Putnam, 1976,, p. 470.
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,, pp. 190-191.
- Web site: VZLÚ TOM-8 OK-08, výr. č. 4 . Vojenský Historiký Ústav Praha . cs . 2 August 2020.
- Němeček . Václav . Představujeme vám letadlo TOM-8 . Křídla vlasti . 16 October 1956 . 1956 . 21 . 656–657 . cs . 2 August 2020.
- Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,, p. 47.
- Bridgman 1957, p. 42
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,, p. 356.
- David, Donald, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Nobles Books, 1997,, p. 109.
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,, p. 107.
- Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: Great But Impractical Aircraft," Naval History, June 2012, p. 13.
- Web site: Curtiss Model H-12 flying boat . 2012-04-27 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20101007163600/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/r3y.htm . 2010-10-07 . globalsecurity.org Convair XP5Y-1/R3Y Tradewind flying boat
- Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,, p. 275.
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,, p. 190.
- Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the Worlds Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978,, p. 57.