1942 in aviation

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

Events

January

January - Lt. Ivan Chisov of the Red Air Force miraculously survives a fall from 22,000 feet without a parachute after departing a heavily damaged Ilyushin Il-4 twin-engined medium bomber. After achieving a terminal velocity of about 150 mph, he is decelerated when he hits the lip of a snow-covered ravine, sliding down with decreasing speed until he stops at the bottom, suffering a broken pelvis and severe spinal injuries.
13 January - Heinkel test pilot Helmut Schenk becomes the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with an ejection seat after the control surfaces of the first prototype He 280 V1 ice up and become inoperable. The fighter, being used in tests of the Argus As 014 impulse jets for Fieseler Fi 103 missile development, had its regular HeS 8A turbojets removed, and was towed aloft from Rechlin, Germany by a pair of Bf 110C tugs in a heavy snow-shower. At 7,875 feet, Schenk found he had no control, jettisoned his towline, and ejected.
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.

February

February 19 - Imperial Japanese Navy carrier aircraft conduct a devastating raid on Darwin, Australia. It is the first and largest air attack against Australian territory.

April

April 18 - LtCol 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 targets in and around Tokyo in what comes to be known as the "Doolittle Raid".
April 20 - First official demonstration of the helicopter in the United States.
April 22 - USAAF forms China Ferry Command to support the Allied war effort in the China Burma India Theater.

May

May 4-8 - 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. Battle results for the American carriers were USS Lexington sunk and USS Yorktown badly damaged.

June

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

July

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

August

August 17 - Heavy bombers of the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force carry out their first raid, attacking a railroad marshalling yard at Rouen, France.

September

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

October

October 3 - The first A4 rocket, later dubbed the V-2, flies from Peenemx�nde, 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 Victoria Cross for valour in bringing his crew and crippled bomber home after a raid on Turin, Italy.

December

December 4 - United States Army Air Forces bombers make their first raid on Italy.

First flights

January

January 7 - Supermarine Seafire
January 13 - Sikorsky XR-4 helicopter

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 3 - Martin XPB2M-1 Mars prototype BuNo 1520
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

December 7 - P-63 Kingcobra
Messerschmitt Me 264

Entered service

January

Grumman TBF Avenger with Squadron VT-8 USN

1942 in Aviation Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia