1942 IN AVIATION

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942:

Contents

Events

January

April

May

June

July

September

October

November

December

First flights

Entered service

Events

January

★ January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter.

April

★ April 18 - Col James Doolittle leads the first US attack on the Japanese mainland, leading a force of sixteen B-25 Mitchells flying from the USS ''Hornet'' against Tokyo in what comes to be known as the "Doolittle Raid".

★ April 22 - the USAAF forms China Ferry Command to support the Allied war effort in the China Burma India Theater.

May

★ May 4-8 - the Battle of the Coral Sea is fought between US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers. Japanese light carrier ''Shōhō'' is sunk and ''Shōkaku'' is badly damaged, and the USS ''Lexington'' is sunk.

June

★ June 4-7 - the Battle of Midway is fought, the turning point in the Pacific War. Japan loses four carriers, the ''Akagi'', ''Kaga'', ''Sōryū'', and ''Hiryū''. The US loses the USS ''Yorktown''

July

★ July 18 - a Messerschmitt Me 262 prototype makes its first flight under jet power, test-piloted by Fritz Wendel. Previous flights had been driven by a propeller.

September

★ September 30 - German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille is killed when his plane catches fire. He had 158 victories at the time.

October

★ October 3 - the first A4 rocket, later dubbed the V-2 flies from Peenemünde, covering 190 km (119 miles) in 296 seconds at five times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 84.5 km (53 miles).

November

★ November 28 - Australian pilot F/Sgt Ron Middleton earns a posthumous VC for valour in bringing his crew and crippled bomber home after a raid on Turin, Italy.

December

★ December 4 - USAAF bombers make their first raid on Italy.

First flights

'January'

★ January 7 - Supermarine Seafire

★ January 14 - Sikorsky XR-4
'February'

★ February 27 - Blackburn Firebrand
'March'

★ Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 rotor kite

★ March 20 - Mitsubishi J2M
'April'

★ April 24 - Miles Martinet prototype ''LR241''

★ April 26 - XB-28 Dragon
'May'

★ May 26 - Northrop XP-61
'June'

★ June 26 - Grumman XF6F
'July'

★ July 5 - Avro York

★ July 10 - A-26 Invader
'September'

★ September 2 - Hawker Tempest

★ September 12 - Miles Messenger

★ September 21 - Boeing XB-29
'November'

★ November 15 - Heinkel He 219
'December'

★ Messerschmitt Me 264

Entered service

'January'

★ Grumman TBF Avenger with Squadron VT-8 USN