1947 IN AVIATION

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1947:

Contents

Events

January

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

First flights

Entered service

Events

January

★ January 26, A KLM Douglas Dakota crashed after takeoff from Copenhagen, killing all 22 onboard, including Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden.

March

★ March 14 - Saudi Arabian Airlines begins regular services.

April

★ April 4 - International Civil Aviation Organisation was formed.

May

★ May 28 - BSAA trials non-stop flights from London to Bermuda using aerial refueling over the Azores

June

★ June 17 - Pan Am begins a New York to San Francisco service flying west-to-east around almost the entire globe.

★ June 19 - Col Albert Boyd sets a new official world airspeed record of 623.62 mph (1,003 km/h) in a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. (This is still marginally slower than unofficial German speed records in rocket-powered aircraft during World War II).

July

★ July 3 - The Philippine Air Force was formed.

★ July 15 - Northwest Airlines flies the first commercial passenger flight from the U.S. to Japan, using ''The Manila'', a Douglas DC-4 aircraft, by way of Anchorage. From Tokyo, the flight continued to Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila.

August

★ August 3 - a parade in Tushino, USSR, presenting newest Soviet jets, among others: Yak-19, La-150, La-156, La-160, Su-9, Su-11.

★ August 10 - BEA began the world's first regular cargo-only airline service.

★ August 14 - The Royal Pakistan Air Force formed.

★ August 20 - a new world airspeed record of 640 mph (1,031 km/h) is set in the Douglas Skystreak.

★ August 25 - the Douglas Skystreak is flown to another airspeed record of 650 mph (1,047 km/h).

September

★ September 18 - the United States Air Force becomes its own fully independent military command.

October

★ October 1 - Los Angeles Airways begins the first scheduled carriage of airmail by helicopter

★ October 1 - George Welch allegedly breaks the sound barrier during a dive in his XP-86 Sabre.

★ October 14 - Chuck Yeager took the rocket-powered Bell X-1 past the speed of sound, the first controlled, supersonic, level flight.

★ October 24 - United Airlines Flight 608 DC-6 (NC37510) en route to Chicago from Los Angeles caught fire and then crashed while attempting an emergency landing at the Bryce Canyon, Utah airport.

First flights

'January'

★ January 8 - Yakovlev Yak-19

★ January 11 - McDonnell XF2D-1 Banshee, later redesignated XF2H-1
'March'

★ Lavochkin La-156
'May'

★ May 28 - Sukhoi Su-11 (1947), first aircraft with Soviet-designed jet engines

★ May 28 - Douglas Skystreak
'June'

★ Yakovlev Yak-15U, a prototype of Yak-17

★ Lavochkin La-160, first Soviet swept-wing fighter

★ June 22 - Martin XB-48

★ June 25 - Boeing B-50

★ June 30 - Avions Fairey Junior - ''OO-TIT''

★ June 30 - Vickers Valetta ''VL249''
'July'

★ July 8 - Boeing 377

★ July 8 - Yakovlev Yak-23

★ July 16 - Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 ''TG263''

★ July 21 - Aero 45

★ July 24 - Ilyushin Il-22

★ July 27 - Tupolev Tu-12, first Soviet jet bomber

★ July 27 - Bristol Sycamore, first British helicopter
'September'

★ September 2 - Hawker P.1040 ''VP401''
'October'

★ October 1 - North American XP-86
'November'

★ November 2 - Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose"

★ November 2 - Yakovlev Yak-25 (1947)
'December'

★ C-119 Flying Boxcar

★ December 17 - Boeing XB-47

★ December 30 - Mikoyan-Gurevich I-310, prototype of the MiG-15

Entered service

'April'

★ Douglas DC-6 with American Airlines
'August'

★ McDonnell FH Phantom with United States Navy squadron VF-171
'October'

★ October 31 - Avro Tudor 4 with British South American Airways
'November'

★ McDonnell FH Phantom with United States Marine Corps squadron VMF-122, first deployment of a jet by a US Marine combat unit

★ Republic F-84B Thunderjet with the United States Air Force 14th Fighter Group.
Oct. 26-Nov.7 - Rhulin A. Thomas made the first solo coast-to-coast flight by a deaf pilot.