1953 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1953:

Events

The first year in which the world's airlines carried more than 50 million people
Argentina initiates a study of the feasibility of converting either a cargo ship or a heavy cruiser into am aircraft carrier in an Argentine shipyard. Ultimately, no conversion takes place.

January

January 26 - The first meeting of the Experimental Aircraft Association takes place at Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Curtis-Wright Field.

February

No. 194 Squadron is commissioned as the Royal Air Force's first helicopter squadron

March

March 10 - Czechoslovakian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s shoot down a USAF F-86 Sabre in Czech airspace.
March 12 - an RAF Avro Lincoln is shot down by Soviet fighters over East Germany
March 27 - the Royal Netherlands Air Force becomes a separate command

April

April 1 - BEA and Air France introduce "Tourist Class" fares
April 3 - BOAC introduces a weekly service to Tokyo (Japan) by the de Havilland Comet 1 jet airliner
April 24 - EB-29 and two EF-84B flying as part of Project Tom-Tom crash with no survivors.

May

May 11 - INS Garuda becomes the first Indian navy aircraft carrier, serving as the base for the Indian Naval Air Arm.
May 18 - Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.

June

June 1 - The USAF Thunderbirds are activated as the 3600th Air Demonstration Team at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
June 18 - A USAF C-124 Globemaster II crashes near Tokyo, Japan, killing 129 people in the worst air crash to date- the first with a confirmed death toll exceeding 100. The toll surpasses a 1952 crash in Moses Lake, WA, United States, also involving a USAF Globemaster II.
June 30 - A SNCASO S.O. 4000 (prototype of the Sud Vautour fighter-bomber) becomes the first European aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in a shallow dive.

July

Chilean President Carlos Ibx¡x±ez del Campo grants the Chilean Navy the authority to operate helicopters and transport aircraft. It is the first time that the navy has had administrative control over aircraft since 1930.
July 1 - The responsibility for air traffic control over West Germany is transferred from the Allies to German authorities.
July 3 - The first tethered flight by the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig VTOL aircraft takes place.
July 8 - Sabena begins the first international helicopter services, linking Brussels (Belgium) with destinations in the Netherlands and France
July 27 - The Korean War ends.

August

August exact date unknown - an RAF English Electric Canberra on an intelligence gathering flight overflies the secret Kapustin Yar rocket test site in the USSR.

September

September 1 - a B-47 Stratojet is refueled by a KB-47 in the first jet-to-jet aerial refueling
September 21 - North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defects, bringing his MiG-15 with him to Seoul and collecting a $US 100,000 reward.

October

October - Chapter One of the Milwaukee-based Experimental Aircraft Association is formed in Riverside, California
October 10 - an RAF English Electric Canberra wins the Christchurch Centenary air race, flying 11,792 miles (18,976 km) from England to New Zealand in 23 hours 50 minutes
October 20 - a TWA Lockheed Constellation makes the first non-stop scheduled passenger flight across the United States

November

The United Kingdom's first operational atomic bomb, "Blue Danube," enters service.
November 20 - Scott Crossfield flies the Douglas Skyrocket past Mach 2, the first flight to reach this speed. The world airspeed record is now set at 1,291 mph (2,078 km/h)

First flights

January

January 5 - Ambrosini Sagittario

March

March 2 - Sud-Ouest SO 9000 Trident

April

April 9 - Convair XF2Y-1

May

May 16 - Leduc O.21
May 25 - North American YF-100A

June

June 14 - Blackburn Beverley

September

Lualdi-Tassotti ES 53
Mooney M20
September 3 - Pilatus P-3

October

October 13 - North American X-10
October 13 - Short Seamew
October 24 - Convair YF-102

December

December 14 - Miles Sparrowjet

Entered service

January

January 13 - Vickers Viscount with BEA

1953 in Aviation Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia