1956 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1956:

Events

March

March 10 - Lt Cdr Peter Twiss sets a new airspeed record in the Fairey Delta 2, also becoming the first person to exceed 1,000 mph. His top speed is 1,132 mph (1,821 km/h).

May

May 21 - a B-52 Stratofortress drops the US hydrogen bomb, a 3.75 MT device on (Bikini Atoll) Central Pacific, a first such air drop.

June

June 20 - the US Navy commissions its first helicopter carrier, USS Thetis Bay
June 30 - a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 and a Trans World Airlines Lockheed Super Constellation collide in mid-air over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA, killing all 128 passengers and crew aboard both airplanes in the deadliest air disaster in history at the time; the crash triggers sweeping changes in the regulations governing cross-country flight over the United States, which would include the creation of the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA, later renamed Federal Aviation Administration).

September

September 7 - the Bell X-2 research aircraft is flown by Captain Iven C. Kincheloe to a new altitude record of 126,200 ft (38,466 m).
September 24 - the Luftwaffe is re-formed in the FRG (West Germany)
September 27 - Milburn Apt sets a new air speed record in the Bell X-2, becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3, reaching a speed of 2,094 mph (3,350 km/h) before he lost control of the X-2 and died in the resulting crash

October

October 1 - Chapter Two of the Experimental Aircraft Association is chartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana
October 11 - a Vickers Valiant of No. 49 Squadron RAF drops Britain's first air-dropped atomic bomb, over Maralinga, South Australia
October 31 - a US Navy R4D Skytrain is the first aircraft to land at the South Pole

November

November 28 - the Ryan X-13 Vertijet makes its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight

December

December 14 - Brazil becomes the first country in Latin America to acquire an aircraft carrier, purchasing HMS Vengeance from the United Kingdom.

First flights

April

April 17 - SFECMAS Gerfaut II
April 21 - F5D Skylancer.

May

Aerfer Sagittario 2
May 26 - Sukhoi Su-9

July

July 20 - Aerotécnica AC-12
July 23 - Dassault x‰tendard II

August

August 1 - Aeritalia G.91
August 6 - Beechcraft Travel Air
August 31 - KC-135 Stratotanker

September

September 10 - North American F-107

October

October 22 - XH-40 (Bell UH-1 prototype)

November

November 11 - Convair XB-58
November 17 - Dassault Mirage III

December

December 17 - Short SC.1
December 17 - E-1 Tracer
December 26 - F-106 Delta Dart

Entered service

February

February 24 - Gloster Javelin with No. 46 Squadron RAF

March

March 31 - A3D Skywarrior with VAH-1

April

April 16 - F4D Skyray with VC-13

July

August 31 - Avro Vulcan with No. 83 Squadron RAF

September

September 24 - Tupolev Tu-104 with Aeroflot

December

December 9 - The 463rd Troop Carrier Wing receives the Air Force's first C-130 Hercules.

1956 in Aviation Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia