1955 in aviation

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Template:Short description Template:Yearbox This is a list of aviation-related events from 1955.

Events

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January

February

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March

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It will tie with the August 11 mid-air collision of two United States Air Force C-119G Flying Boxcars over West Germany and the October 6 crash of United Airlines Flight 409 in Wyoming as the deadliest air accident of 1955.

April

May

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  • May 15 – Lufthansa begins international service, with flights between West Germany and London, Paris, and Madrid.
  • May 31
    • As tensions in the Formosa Strait ease, the People's Republic of China releases four captured American fliers. It will release all other captured Americans over the summer.<ref>Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press, Template:ISBN, p. 621.</ref>
    • Flying a Dassault Mystère IV, French aviator Jacqueline Auriol sets a women's world speed record of 715.35 mph (1,151.93 km/h). She will win the third of her four Harmon Trophies for the flight.<ref>Handleman, Philip, "Discovering Purpose in the Sky," Aviation History, July 2017, p. 12 (photo caption).</ref>

June

July

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August

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September

October

November

December

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  • December 15 – The de Havilland Mosquito flies its final operational sortie with the Royal Air Force.
  • December 17 – A Riddle Airlines C-46 freighter disintegrates in flight over South Carolina with the loss of both pilots, the only people on board. The cause is traced to nonconforming elevator parts installed as part of conversion performed overseas by a contractor which created its own parts, leaving the aircraft ineligible for an airworthiness certificate.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
  • December 24 – As a public relations move, the U.S. Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) issues a statement to the press claiming that it is tracking Santa Claus's sleigh on Christmas Eve, adding that "CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas." It begins the annual tradition of CONAD and its successor, the North American Air Defense Command (later renamed the North American Aerospace Defense Command) reporting the tracking of Santa Claus's sleigh on Christmas Eve, with the "reports" of his progress becoming more and more elaborate in future years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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First flights

January

  • January 5 – LBIS LK-1<ref name="jawa55 p40"/>

February

  • February 9 – Convair CV-540<ref name="encyclopedia273">Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, Template:ISBN, p. 273.</ref>
  • February 14 – Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-2, prototype of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

March

  • March 2 – Dassault Super Mystère<ref name="jawa55 p40">Bridgman 1955, p. 40.</ref>
  • March 12 – Aérospatiale Alouette II<ref name="jawa55 p40"/>
  • March 25 – Vought XF8U-1, prototype of the F8U Crusader,<ref>Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, Template:ISBN, p. 451.</ref> in 1962 redesignated F-8 Crusader

April

May

June

July

August

September

  • September 7 – Sukhoi S-1, prototype of the Sukhoi Su-7 (NATO reporting name "Fitter A")
  • September 20 – Nord 1500 Griffon<ref name="jawa56 p38"/>

October

  • October 6 – Convair CV-440 Metropolitan<ref name="encyclopedia273"/>
  • October 22 – Republic YF-105A, prototype of the F-105 Thunderchief<ref>Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, Template:ISBN, p. 408.</ref>
  • October 25 – Saab J 35 Draken<ref name="jawa56 p38"/>

November

  • November 18 – Bell X-2 (first powered flight)<ref>Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, Template:ISBN, p. 116.</ref>
  • November 24 – Fokker F27<ref name="jawa56 p38"/>

December

Entered service

January

February

May

June

Retirements

Deadliest crash

Three crashes may claim the joint title of 1955's deadliest plane crash; two of these cases involved military aircraft. The first took place on 22 March, when the 1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, involving a United States Air Force Douglas DC-6, took place in mountainous terrain of Oahu, Hawaii, U.S., killing all 66 people on board. The second took place on 11 August, when two USAF Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars collided during a training formation near Altensteig, West Germany, killing all 66 people aboard both aircraft. The third, and the deadliest civilian aircraft case of 1955, took place on 6 October, when United Air Lines Flight 409, a Douglas DC-4 which crashed into Medicine Bow Peak near Laramie, Wyoming, U.S., killing all 66 people on board.

References

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  • Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1955–56, New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955.
  • Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57, New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956.

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