1943 IN AVIATION

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1943:

Contents

Events

January

April

May

June

July

August

September

First flights

Entered service

Events

January

★ January 27 - the USAAF makes its first daylight raid on Germany

★ January 30 - Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquitos make the first daylight air-raid on Berlin

★ January 30-31 – the H2S radar is used by RAF bombers for navigation for the first time

April

★ April 15 - Operation Flax is put into effect, the systematic targeting by Allied fighter pilots of Luftwaffe transport aircraft bound for North Africa

★ April 18 - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when T1-323, his Mitsubishi G4M, is ambushed by USAAF P-38 Lightnings over Bougainville

May

★ May 17-18 - specially modified RAF Avro Lancasters of 617 Squadron make the "Dambusters" raids on the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams

June

★ June 11 - the Italian garrison on Pantellaria surrenders after taking heavy bombing, the first ground captured by air power alone.

★ June 24-25 - the RAF uses chaff, codenamed "Window", for the first time to foil German radar during the Operation Gomorrah raids on Hamburg.

July

★ July 18 - US Navy airship ''K-74'' is shot down by a German submarine, the only airship lost to enemy fire during World War II.

August

★ August 1 - Soviet fighter ace Lydia Litvak is shot down and killed. She had 12 victories at the time of her death.

★ August 1 - USAAF B-24 Liberators flying from Libya attack the Ploieşti oil refineries in Romania.

★ August 13 - the USAAF makes its first bombing raid on Austria

★ August 17 - 59 USAAF bombers are lost in raids on Regensburg and Schweinfurt.

★ August 17 - first operational use of the radio-controlled Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship missile

★ August 17-18 - RAF bombers attack the German missile research station at Peenemünde.

September

★ September 8 - Frascati bombing raid September 8, 1943

★ September 9 - Italian battleship ''Roma'' is sunk by two Fritz X radio controlled glide bombs

★ September 11 - French fighter ace Pierre Le Gloan (18 victories) died in a crash

★ September 12 - Benito Mussolini is freed in a daring rescue by Otto Skorzeny

★ September 15-16 - first use of the "Tallboy" 12,000 lb (5,455 kg) bomb by RAF Lancasters.

★ September 22-24, Ernst Jachmann flies his single-seat glider 55 hrs and 51 min in a thermal.

First flights

'January'

★ January 9 - Lockheed Constellation prototype ''NX67900''
'February'

★ February 4 - Bristol Buckingham
'March'

★ March 5 - Gloster Meteor prototype ''DG206''
'June'

★ June 15 - Arado Ar 234V1 ''GK+IV''
'July'

★ July 13 - Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender
'August'

★ August 7 - Ilyushin Il-6
'September'

★ September 20 - De Havilland Vampire prototype ''LZ548''

★ September 22 - DFS 228
'October'

★ October 23 - Vickers Windsor

★ October 26 - Dornier Do 335V1 ''CP+UA''
'December'

★ December 2 - Grumman XF7F

Entered service

'January'

★ Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle with No. 295 Squadron RAF

★ January 10 - Fairey Barracuda with No. 827 Squadron FAA