1957 in aviation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1957:
Events
- The Douglas AIR-2 Genie ("Ding-Dong") unguided air-to-air missile enters service with the United States Air Force. It mounts a 1.5-kiloton nuclear warhead and has a lethal radius of 1,000 feet (305 m).[1]
- The United Kingdom's Minister of Defence, Duncan Sandys, states that the manned fighter has become obsolete and will be replaced by missiles.[2] His 1957 Defence White Paper proposes ending the use of fighters by the Royal Air Force and concentrating on missile technology.
- Summer 1957 – For the first time, as many passengers cross the North Atlantic Ocean by airliner as by ocean liner.[3]
January
- The Avro Vulcan strategic bomber enters service with the Royal Air Force. It begins to enter squadron service during the summer of 1957.[4]
- January 4 – The Brooklyn Dodgers become the first professional baseball team to purchase its own airplane, buying a Convair CV-440. To reduce the CV-440's price to US$775,000, the team purchases it as part of a larger Eastern Airlines order.[5]
- January 18 – Three United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers make the world's first round-the-world, non-stop flight by turbojet-powered aircraft. They complete the flight in 45 hours 19 minutes, at an average speed of 534 mph (859 km/h).
- January 31 – A Douglas DC-7B being operated by the Douglas Aircraft Company on a test flight with a crew of four prior to delivery to Continental Airlines collides in mid-air over California's San Fernando Valley with a U.S. Air Force F-89J Scorpion on a test flight with a crew of two to check its radar equipment. The F-89J crashes in La Tuna Canyon in the Verdugo Mountains, killing its pilot and injuring the other crew member, who ejects to a parachute landing in Burbank, California. The DC-7B remains airborne for several minutes, dropping debris into neighborhoods below, before crashing into the grounds of a church and the athletic field of Pacoima Junior High School in the Pacoima district of Los Angeles, California, where 220 boys are gathered; the crash kills all four people on the plane and three boys on the ground, and injures an estimated 74 students.
February
- February 1 – Northeast Airlines Flight 823, a Douglas DC-6A, crashes in Queens, New York, shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 20 of the 101 people on board and injuring 78 of the 81 survivors.
March
- All 11 of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve squadrons are disbanded due to a reduction in British defence expenditures.[6]
- March 1 – SNCASE (or Sud-Est) and SNCASO (or Sud-Ouest) merge to form Sud Aviation.[7]
- March 4–15 – A United States Navy blimp sets a duration record for a non-rigid airship, traveling 9,448 miles (15,205 km) in 264 hours 12 minutes.
- March 5 – A Blackburn Beverley C Mark I heavy transport aircraft of No. 53 Squadron, Royal Air Force, crashes in the village of Sutton Wick, then in Berkshire, England, killing 18 of the 22 people on board and two people on the ground.
- March 11 – A Flying Tiger Line Lockheed Super Constellation sets a new payload record for a commercial aircraft, carrying 41,749 lb (18,937 kg) on a flight between Newark, New Jersey, and Burbank, California.
- March 14 – The Vickers Viscount G-ALWE, operating as British European Airways Flight 411, crashes into a house in Wythenshawe, England, while on approach to Manchester Airport. All 20 people on board die, as do two people in the house.
- March 17 – The Philippine Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain Mt. Pinatubo crashes on the slopes of Mount Manunggal on Cebu in the Philippines, killing 25 of the 26 people on board. Among the dead are President of the Philippines Ramon Magsaysay, other high-ranking Philippine government officials, and former Philippine Senator Tomas Cabili; the only survivor is Philippine Herald newspaper correspondent Nestor Mata.
April
- April 6 – Olympic Airways is created by the shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis from the ashes of bankrupt Greek state airline T.A.E.
- April 11 – North American Aviation is issued a preliminary contract to build prototypes of the XF-108 long-range interceptor aircraft for the U.S. Air Force.
- April 25 – The attack aircraft carriers USS Forrestal (CVA-59) and USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39) are among elements of the United States Sixth Fleet which make a high-speed dash to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to demonstrate support for the government of King Hussein of Jordan against Arab nationalist opposition which the United States believes supports the spread of communism.[8]
- April 28 – The German World War II ace Heinz Bär dies in the crash of an LF-1 Zaunkönig at Braunschweig-Waggum, West Germany. He had finished World War II in May 1945 as its top jet ace with 16 kills in the Messerschmitt Me 262, the eighth-ranking German ace with 220 total victories, and second only to Hans-Joachim Marseille in the number of British and American aircraft shot down.[9]
May
- May 1 – An Eagle Aviation Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes into trees near Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, Hampshire, England, killing 34 of the 35 people on board.
- May 15 – A Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant drops the first British hydrogen bomb, over Kiritimati.
June
- June 2 - U.S. Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger sets a new balloon altitude record of 96,000 ft (29,250 m)
July
- During an emergency evacuation rehearsal, Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first President of the United States to fly in a helicopter. The aircraft is piloted from the White House in Washington, D.C. to Camp David in Maryland by a U.S. Air Force officer.[10]
- July 16
- The Lockheed 1049E Super Constellation Neutron (PH-LKT), operating as KLM Flight 844, crashes into Cenderawasih Bay off the Biak Islands in Netherlands New Guinea, just after takeoff from Biak-Mokmer Airport while turning at low altitude to make a low-level pass over the airport. Fifty-eight of the 68 people on board die.
- Flying a Vought F8U-1P Crusader photographic reconnaissance aircraft, United States Marine Corps Major John H. Glenn sets a North American transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City nonstop in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds, at an average speed of 723.517 mph (1,165.084 km/hr) with three aerial refuelings.[11][12]
- July 19 – A U.S. Air Force Northrop F-89J Scorpion launches a live AIR-2 Genie ("Ding Dong") unguided nuclear air-to-air missile. It is the only detonation of a Genie.[1]
- July 31 – The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, a chain of radar stations designed to warn the United States and Canada of Soviet bombers approaching North America, begins operations.[13]
August
- An experimental Fleet Air Arm flight of Supermarine Scimitars forms at Royal Naval Air Station Ford, the first unit to be equipped with the aircraft. The Scimitar is the Royal Navy's first transonic swept-wing aircraft as well as its first aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.[14]
- August 1 - The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is formed to co-ordinate U.S. and Canadian air defense.
- August 19–20 - Major David Simons sets a new balloon altitude record of 101,516 ft (30,942 m)
- August 21 - The U.S. Air Force formally cancels the XF-103 Mach 3 interceptor aircraft program.[15]
- August 28 - A rocket-boosted Royal Air Force English Electric Canberra sets a new world altitude record of 70,308 ft (21,430 m).
September
- September 7 – A United States Marine Corps helicopter transports a President of the United States for the first time, when the commanding officer of Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), Virgil D. Olson, flies Dwight D. Eisenhower from Newport, Rhode Island to the White House in Washington, D.C. The flight begins the Marine Corps's association with presidential helicopter transportation, which it shares with the United States Army until 1976 before taking exclusive responsibility.[16]
- September 30– Austrian Airlines is formed from the merger of Air Austria and Austrian Airways
October
- October 4
- The Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, is launched into orbit
- The Avro CF-105 Arrow rolls out from the Malton plant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- October 23 – The British European Airways Vickers Viscount 802 G-AOJA crashes while landing in rain and low clouds at Nutts Corner Airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing all seven people on board.
- October 27 – Pioneering Italian aircraft designer Giovanni Caproni dies.[17]
November
- Delivery of the Handley Page Victor strategic bomber to the Royal Air Force begins.[4]
- November 6 – A prototype of the Bristol Britannia crashes in Downend, England, during a test flight, killing all 15 people on board and injuring one person on the ground.
- November 8 – The Pan American World Airways Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 Clipper Romance of the Skies, operating as Flight 7, crashes in the Pacific Ocean during a flight from San Francisco, California, to Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii, killing all 44 people on board.
- November 15 – After taking off from England's Southampton Water, an Aquila Airways Short Solent flying boat develops engine trouble and crashes on the Isle of Wight while attempting to return. Forty-five of the 58 people on board die in what at the time is the second-deadliest aviation accident to have taken place in the United Kingdom.
December
- December 12 – in Operation Firewall, U.S. Air Force Major Adrian Drew sets a new world speed record, in a modified F-101A Voodoo, of 1,207 mph (1,942 km/h) over Edwards Air Force Base, California.
- December 21 – The first aircraft carrier designed as such to be launched in France, Clemenceau, is launched by the Brest Arsenal at Brest.[18]
First flights
January
- January 23 – Nord 1500-02 Griffon II
February
- February 17 - Bell X-14
March
- March 28 - Canadair Argus
April
- April 4 – English Electric P.1B, first fully developed prototype of the English Electric Lightning[19]
- April 17 – Nord N 3202
May
- May 16 - Saunders-Roe SR.53
July
- July 4 – Ilyushin Il-18
- July 9 – Aviation Traders Accountant[20]
- July 16 – Aerotécnica AC-14
September
November
- November 6 - Fairey Rotodyne
- November 15 - Tupolev Tu-114
December
- December 10 - Aermacchi MB-326[21]
Entered service
February
- February 1 - Bristol Britannia with BOAC
March
- March 8 - Grumman F11F Tiger, the world's first carrier-based supersonic fighter,[22] with United States Navy Attack Squadron 156 (VA-156)
- March 25 - Vought F8U Crusader with VF-32 Swordsmen
May
June
- June 28 - KC-135 Stratotanker with 93d Air Refueling Squadron
November
- November 19 - Fokker Friendship with Aer Lingus
Retirements
- North American FJ-2 Fury by the United States Marine Corps
- Vought F7U Cutlass by the United States Navy[23]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 46.
- ↑ Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 35.
- ↑ Maxtone-Graham, John, The Only Way to Cross, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0637-9, p. 408.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 289.
- ↑ Frsiochtling, Steven, "Baseball's Aviation History," boardingarea.com, July 21, 2012
- ↑ Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990, ISBN 0-87021-026-2, p. 189.
- ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 20.
- ↑ 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, ISBN 0-312-09911-8, p. 709.
- ↑ firstworldwar.com Who's Who: Rudolf Berthold
- ↑ Shapiro, T. Rees, "Obituary: Virgil D. Olson, 93, Marine Copter Pilot First To Fly President," The Washington Post, August 2, 2012, p. B7.
- ↑ Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: The Last Picture Plane," Naval History, October 2010, p. 64.
- ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 452.
- ↑ "Today in History," The Washington Post Express, July 31, 2012, p. 30.
- ↑ Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN 1-55750-076-2, pp. 26-27.
- ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 407.
- ↑ Shapiro, T. Rees, "Obituary: Virgil D. Olson, 93, Marine Copter Pilot First To Fly President," The Washington Post, August 2, 2012, p. B7.
- ↑ Guttman, Jon, "Crazy Capronis," Aviation History, July 2008, p. 55.
- ↑ Gardiner, Robert, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1982, Part One: The Western Powers, <Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN 0-87021-418-7, p. 28.
- ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 90.
- ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 73.
- ↑ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 11.
- ↑ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 249.
- ↑ Bernier, Robert, "Ensign Eliminator," Aviation History, July 2012, p. 15.
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