1957 in aviation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1957:
[edit] Events
[edit] January
- The Avro Vulcan strategic bomber enters service with the Royal Air Force. It begins to enter squadron service during the summer of 1957.[4]
- January 18 – Three United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers make the world's first round-the-world, non-stop flight by turbojet-powered aircraft. They complete the flight in 45 hours 19 minutes, at an average speed of 534 mph (859 km/h).
- January 31 – A Douglas DC-7B being operated by the Douglas Aircraft Company on a test flight with a crew of four prior to delivery to Continental Airlines collides in mid-air over California's San Fernando Valley with a U.S. Air Force F-89J Scorpion on a test flight with a crew of two to check its radar equipment. The F-89J crashes in La Tuna Canyon in the Verdugo Mountains, killing its pilot and injuring the other crew member, who ejects to a parachute landing in Burbank, California. The DC-7B remains airborne for several minutes, dropping debris into neighborhoods below, before crashing into the grounds of a church and the athletic field of Pacoima Junior High School in the Pacoima district of Los Angeles, California, where 220 boys are gathered; the crash kills all four people on the plane and three boys on the ground, and injures an estimated 74 students.
[edit] February
- All 11 of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve squadrons are disbanded due to a reduction in British defence expednutures.[5]
- March 1 – SNCASE (or Sud-Est) and SNCASO (or Sud-Ouest) merge to form Sud Aviation.[6]
- March 4–15 – A United States Navy blimp sets a duration record for a non-rigid airship, traveling 9,448 miles (15,205 km) in 264 hours 12 minutes.
- March 5 – A Blackburn Beverley C Mark I heavy transport aircraft of No. 53 Squadron, Royal Air Force, crashes in the village of Sutton Wick, then in Berkshire, England, killing 18 of the 22 people on board and two people on the ground.
- March 11 – A Flying Tiger Line Lockheed Super Constellation sets a new payload record for a commercial aircraft, carrying 41,749 lb (18,937 kg) on a flight between Newark, New Jersey, and Burbank, California.
- March 14 – The Vickers Viscount G-ALWE, operating as British European Airways Flight 411, crashes into a house in Wythenshawe, England, while on approach to Manchester Airport. All 20 people on board die, as do two people in the house.
- March 17 – The Philippine Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain Mt. Pinatubo crashes on the slopes of Mount Manunggal on Cebu in the Philippines, killing 25 of the 26 people on board. Among the dead are President of the Philippines Ramon Magsaysay, other high-ranking Philippine government officials, and former Philippine Senator Tomas Cabili; the only survivor is Philippine Herald newspaper correspondent Nestor Mata.
- June 2 - Cpt Joseph Kittinger sets a new balloon altitude record of 96,000 ft (29,250 m)
- July 16 – The Lockheed 1049E Super Constellation Neutron (PH-LKT), operating as KLM Flight 844, crashes into Cenderawasih Bay off the Biak Islands in Netherlands New Guinea, just after takeoff from Biak-Mokmer Airport while turning at low altitude to make a low-level pass over the airport. Fifty-eight of the 68 people on board die.
- July 16 – Flying a Vought F8U-1P Crusader photographic reconnaissance aircraft, United States Marine Corps Major John H. Glenn sets a North American transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Alamitos, California, to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City nonstop in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds, at an average speed of 723.517 mph (1,165.084 km/hr) with three aerial refuelings.[7][8]
- July 19 – A U.S. Air Force Northrop F-89J Scorpion launches a live AIR-2 Genie ("Ding Dong") unguided nuclear air-to-air missile. It is the only detonation of a Genie.[1]
[edit] August
[edit] September
[edit] October
[edit] November
[edit] December
[edit] First flights
[edit] January
[edit] February
[edit] September
[edit] November
[edit] December
[edit] Entered service
[edit] February
[edit] November
[edit] Retirements
[edit] References
- ^ a b Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 46.
- ^ Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 35.
- ^ Maxtone-Graham, John, The Only Way to Cross, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0637-9, p. 408.
- ^ a b Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006, ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9, p. 289.
- ^ Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990, ISBN 0-87021-026-2, p. 189.
- ^ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 20.
- ^ Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: The Last Picture Plane," Naval History, October 2010, p. 64.
- ^ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 452.
- ^ Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN 1-55750-076-2, pp. 26-27.
- ^ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 407.
- ^ Guttman, Jon, "Crazy Capronis," Aviation History, July 2008, p. 55.
- ^ Gardiner, Robert, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1982, Part One: The Western Powers, <Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN 0-87021-418-7, p. 28.
- ^ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 90.
- ^ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 73.
- ^ Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN 0-7607-0592-5, p. 11.
- ^ Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-56588-9, p. 249.
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