This is a list of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

-related events from 1955:

Events

* The

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

(BOAC) acquires a 49 percent ownership stake in

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...

, displacing

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

as an owner of the airline.

January

* The second prototype of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's Grumman F9F-9 supersonic fighter becomes the first version of what will become the

Grumman F11F Tiger The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seat carrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April 1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, i ...

to fly with an

afterburner An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...

fitted.Polmar, Norman, "A Limited Success," ''Naval History'', August 2015, p. 64. * January 1 – The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

s first

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

er unit, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

s No. 138 Squadron, is formed, flying

Vickers Valiant The Vickers Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's "V bomber" strategic deterrent force. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs in response ...

s from

RAF Gaydon Royal Air Force Gaydon or more simply RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. RAF Gaydon opened in 1942 and is known for its role during the ...

. * January 10 **Aircraft of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

attack the Nationalist Chinese-held

Tachen Islands The Dachen Islands, Tachen Islands or Tachens () are a group of islands off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, in the East China Sea. They are administered by the Jiaojiang District of Taizhou. Before the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, ...

. **The

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

nationalizes

Orient Airways Orient Airways Ltd. ( ur, ) was an airline established in 1946 with its base in Calcutta, Bengal, British India. The airline shifted operations to the newly independent state of Pakistan in 1947, and was rechristened as Pakistan International A ...

. **After an extensive overhaul, the

attack aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for Carrier-based aircraft, carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a ...

is recommissioned as the first operational

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

with an

angled flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopter ...

. * January 11 – Two

No. 42 Squadron

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...

disappear without trace during a routine exercise off

Fastnet Rock Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...

on the southwest coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and are presumed to have collided in mid-air. An engine from one of the aircraft finally will be found in 1966. * January 12 – A

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

Martin 2-0-2A collides in mid-air just after takeoff from Boone County Airport (later

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. It serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time of ...

) in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, with a privately owned

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

which has strayed into controlled airspace without clearance. Both aircraft crash, killing all 13 people aboard the TWA plane and both people on the DC-3.

February

Lake Central Airlines Lake Central Airlines was an airline that served points in the midwestern and eastern United States from 1950 to 1968, when it merged into Allegheny Airlines. In 1979 Allegheny became USAir. In 1997 USAir became US Airways. In 2015 US Airways was ...

becomes the first employee-owned scheduled airline in history when 162 of its employees (65% of the total) buy 97.5% of the outstanding stock, 25% outright and the rest financed over 24 months. * February 1 –

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

′s national

civil aviation authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

, the ''

Luftfahrt-Bundesamt The ''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt'' (LBA, "Federal Aviation Office") is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig.nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (37 km) southeast of the

, the Peoples Republic of China shoots down a U.S. Navy

AD Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pre ...

covering the evacuation of Nationalist Chinese forces from the islands. * February 13 – A

Sabena The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with th ...

crashes on

Mount Terminillo Monte Terminillo is a massif in the Monti Reatini, part of the Abruzzi Apennine range in central Italy. It is located some 20 km from Rieti and 100 km from Rome and has a highest altitude of . It is a typical Apennine massif, both for ...

, near

Rieti Rieti (; lat, Reate, Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina re ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, killing all 29 people on board, including actress and model

Marcella Mariani Marcella Mariani (Rome, Italy, 8 February 1936 – Monte Terminillo, Italy, 13 February 1955) was an Italian actress and Miss Italy contest winner. Though she appeared in several popular movies and was garnering acclaim as an actress, her career ...

. * February 19 –

Flight 260, a

Martin 4-0-4 The Martin 4-0-4 was an American pressurized passenger airliner built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. In addition to airline use initially in the United States, it was used by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy as the RM-1G (l ...

, crashes in the

Sandia Mountains The Sandia Mountains (Southern Tiwa: ''Posu gai hoo-oo'', Keres: ''Tsepe,'' Navajo: ''Dził Nááyisí''; Tewa: ''O:ku:p’į'', Northern Tiwa: ''Kep’íanenemą''; Towa: ''Kiutawe'', Zuni: ''Chibiya Yalanne'') are a mountain range located in ...

near

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, killing all 16 people on board. * February 24 – The

Convair R3Y-1 Tradewind ''Coral Sea Tradewind'' sets a new speed record for a

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

flight across the

continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

, flying from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in 6 hours at an average speed of 403 mph (639 km/h). The record remains unbroken.http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/r3y.htm globalsecurity.org Convair XP5Y-1/R3Y Tradewind flying boat * February 26 – George F. Smith becomes the first person to survive a

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

ejection, from a

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

travelling at Mach 1.05.

March

* March 11 –

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

is formed to serve as

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

′s national airline.

ceases operations and merges into the new airline. * March 20 –

American Airlines Flight 711 American Airlines Flight 711 was a scheduled flight departing from Newark, New Jersey to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with several intermediate stops, Springfield, Missouri being one of them. On March 20, 1955, the aircraft operating the service, a Convair ...

, a

Convair CV-240 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

, strikes the ground during final approach at

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, killing 13 of the 35 on board. * March 22 – Descending to land in darkness and heavy rain at

Hickam Air Force Base Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

, the crew of

Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

''131612'' of Air Transport Squadron 3 (VR-3) makes a navigational error, and the plane crashes into

Pali Kea Peak Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhis ...

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

Waianae Range Waianae () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 13,614. Its name means "waters of the mullet". Its etymology is shared with the far northern Wellington subu ...

15 miles (24 km) northwest of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and explodes, killing all 66 people on board. At the time, it is the worst accident involving any version of the

, and it remains the worst air disaster in the history of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and the deadliest

heavier-than-air An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. C ...

accident in U.S.

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

history. It will tie with the

August 11 Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founde ...

mid-air collision of two

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

C-119G Flying Boxcars over

and the

October 6 Events Pre-1600 * 105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio accelerates the Marian reforms of the Roman army of the mid-Republic. *69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia. *AD ...

crash of

United Airlines Flight 409 United Air Lines Flight 409 was a scheduled flight which originated in New York City, New York. The final flight destination was San Francisco, California, with stops in Chicago, Denver and Salt Lake City. The aircraft operating the service, a Do ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

as the deadliest air accident of 1955. * March 24 – An

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to e ...

becomes the first

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

jet aircraft to fly across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. * March 25 – During a test flight with

, the

Lockheed XF-104 The Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor prototype for a United States Air Force (USAF) series of lightweight and simple fighters. Only two aircraft were built; one aircraft was used primaril ...

achieves a speed of Mach 1.79 (1,181.4 mph, 1,901.3 km/hr). * March 26 – The number three propeller and engine detach from the

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-26 ''Clipper United States'', operating as Flight 845/26 with 23 people on board, forcing it to

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

35 miles (58 km) off the coast of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, killing four people. The

attack transport Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on ...

rescues the 19 survivors about two hours later.

April

* A

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

report assesses that

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

s do not pose a threat to the

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

business because political interference with

routes prevents aircraft from having the freedom of navigation that ships enjoy. * The

's Grumman F9F-9 supersonic fighter is redesignated as the F11F-1. * April 1 – Post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bans on powered flight in

are lifted and

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

begins operations, providing service linking

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. The airline acquired the name and logo of the defunct airline

Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...

in August 1954 and considers it part of its own history but has no legal connection with the earlier airline. * April 4 – The

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

''Mainliner Idaho'' crashes shortly after taking off from

Long Island MacArthur Airport Long Island MacArthur Airport (formerly known as Islip Airport) is a public airport in Ronkonkoma, New York, on Long Island. The Town of Islip owns and operates the airport, which serves about two million airline passengers a year, as well as g ...

in Ronkonkoma,

Islip Islip may refer to: Places England * Islip, Northamptonshire *Islip, Oxfordshire United States *Islip, New York, a town in Suffolk County ** Islip (hamlet), New York, located in the above town **Central Islip, New York, a hamlet and census-d ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, on an

instrument rating Instrument rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). It requires specific training and instruction beyond what is required for a private pilot certificate or commercial pilot ce ...

check flight due to an inadvertent reversal of the pitch of the propeller on number 4 engine. The plane is carrying no passengers; all three crew members on board die. * April 11 – A bomb detonates aboard the

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

Lockheed L-749A Constellation The Lockheed L-749 Constellation is the first Lockheed Constellation to regularly cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. Although similar in appearance to the L-649 before it, the L-749 had a larger fuel capacity, strengthened landing gear, and even ...

Kashmir Princess The ''Kashmir Princess'', or Air India Flight 300, was a chartered Lockheed L-749A Constellation flight owned by Air India. On 11 April 1955, it was damaged in midair by a bomb explosion and crashed into the South China Sea while en route f ...

'', which is carrying delegates to the

Bandung Conference The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference ( id, Konferensi Asia–Afrika)—also known as the Bandung Conference—was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–2 ...

Djakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The aircraft explodes in mid-air and crashes into the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, killing 16 of the 19 people on board. ''

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

'' agents planted the bomb in a failed attempt to assassinate

Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

, who changed his travel plans and is not on the plane. * April 27 –

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

sign an agreement transferring

Berlin Schönefeld Airport Berlin Schönefeld Airport () (formerly ) was the secondary international airport of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It was located southeast of Berlin near the town of Schönefeld in the state of Brandenburg and bordered Berlin's southern bou ...

from

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

to East German civilian control.

May

* May 10 –

8th Tactical Fighter Wing The United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea and is assigned to Seventh Air Force. Seventh Air Force falls under Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The Wing's 8th Operations Group is the success ...

pilot James E. McInerny. Jr., shoots down a

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

(

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

"Fagot") fighter flown by a

pilot over

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. It is the last MiG-15 shot down by

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

forces in Korea. * May 15 –

begins international service, with flights between

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. * May 31 **As tensions in the

Formosa Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...

ease, the People's Republic of China releases four captured American fliers. It will release all other captured Americans over the summer. **Flying a

Dassault Mystère IV The Dassault MD.454 Mystère IV is a 1950s French fighter-bomber aircraft, the first transonic aircraft to enter service with the French Air Force. It was used in large-scale combat in the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six Day War. Design ...

, French aviator

Jacqueline Auriol Jacqueline Auriol (5 November 1917, Challans, Vendée – 11 February 2000) was a French aviator who set several world speed records. Biography Born in Challans, Vendée, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, Edmond Pierre Douet, she graduate ...

sets a women's world speed record of 715.35 mph (1,151.93 km/hr). She will win the third of her four Harmon Trophies for the flight.

June

* Frank N. Piasecki forms the Piasecki Aircraft Corporation. * June 1 –

begins service between

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, using

Lockheed Super Constellation The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was also produc ...

s. * June 6 –

Jean Boulet Jean Boulet (16 November 1920, Brunoy – 13 February 2011, Aix-en-Provence) was a French aviator. In 1957, Boulet was awarded the Aeronautical Medal; in 1983, he became one of the founding members of the French National Air and Space Academy. ...

sets a world altitude record for helicopters of in a Sud-Est S.E. 3130 Alouette II.Bridgman 1956, p. 12. * June 16 – As part of an attempted coup against President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

and

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...

aircraft bomb and strafe the

Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (, eng, Pink House) is the office of the president of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the president lives at the Quinta de ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and the adjacent

Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (; en, May Square) is a city square and main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time know ...

while a large crowd was gathered there to express support for Perón, killing 308–364 people and injuring over 800. The

bombing of Plaza de Mayo The Bombing of Plaza de Mayo was a massacre that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 June 1955. 30 aircraft from the Argentine Navy and Air Force strafed and bombed Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires in the largest aerial bombing e ...

was the largest aerial bombing ever to take place in mainland

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In addition, the first air to air kill of the Argentine Air Force was scored when a rebel

AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

was downed by a loyal

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

over the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

. * June 22 – The Soviet armed forces shoot down a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the Bering Strait. The Soviet Union surprises the United States by paying half the damages and issuing a statement of regret even though the American plane clearly had violated Soviet

airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the ...

. * June 28 – Jean Moire lands a

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

helicopter on top of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

, at an altitude of 4,807 m (15,772 ft). * June 30 **A

jet fighter crashes on takeoff from

RAF West Malling Royal Air Force West Malling or RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located south of West Malling, Kent and west of Maidstone, Kent, England. Originally used as a landing area during the First World War,Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, killing both crew and two fruit-pickers on the ground. **Two

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

jet fighters flying from

RNAS Lossiemouth Lossiemouth ( gd, Inbhir Losaidh) is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

independently crash into the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

; one pilot is killed.

July

* Kuwait National Airways changes its name to

Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الكويتية, ) is the national carrier of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services th ...

. * July 1 **

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

s air force, the

Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

, is established. **

appoints the initial management committee for its new national airline, which it names

Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

(abbreviated DLH) after the defunct pre-1945 German airline

, even though the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

airline Luftag had bought the rights to that name in August 1954 and named itself

. * July 8 – The

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

activates the

Nineteenth Air Force The Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of Unit ...

to serve as the command element of the Composite Air Strike Force. * July 11 – The

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

admits its first class, consisting of 306 cadets, at its temporary location at

Lowry Air Force Base Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...

in the cities of

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

and

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. It will later move to

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, Colorado. * July 26 – Capital Airlines adopts the

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

, the first US airline to select a British airliner. * July 27 –

El Al Flight 402 El Al Flight 402 was an international passenger flight from London to Tel Aviv via Vienna and Istanbul. On 27 July 1955, the flight, operated by a Lockheed Constellation registered as 4X-AKC, strayed into then-Communist Bulgarian airspace and was ...

, a

Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...

, strays into

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n air space and is shot down by

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force ( bg, Военновъздушни сили, Voennovazdushni sili) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and p ...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

fighters. All 58 people aboard are killed. * July 31 – American actor Robert Francis and his two passengers die when the

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

he is piloting crashes in Burbank,

August

* August 1 – Lockheed Article 001, prototype of the

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day ...

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

, first takes to the air in what is intended to be only a high-speed taxi test at

Groom Lake Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...

in Nevada. * August 4 –

American Airlines Flight 476 American Airlines Flight 476 was a passenger flight operated by American Airlines from Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Laguardia Airport in New York City, New York. On August 4, 1955, the Convair CV-240-0 crashed while attempting ...

, a Convair CV-240-0 attempting an emergency landing at Forney Army Airfield,

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...

, crashes just short of the runway, after earlier reporting an engine fire. All 27 passengers and three crew members die in the crash. Witnesses report seeing the right wing of the plane break away before the crash; the wing is found on a hill from the main wreckage. * August 11 – As a formation of nine

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

s flies over Edelweiler, near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, on a training mission carrying troops, one of them, a C-119G, experiences engine trouble, loses altitude momentarily, pulls upward abruptly, and collides with another C-119G. Both aircraft crash, killing all 19 people aboard one and all 47 aboard the other. The combined death toll of 66 makes it the worst aviation accident in German history at the time and the deadliest ever involving any variant of the C-119. It will tie with the

March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelr ...

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

of a

R6D-1 Liftmaster in

and the

crash of

as the deadliest air accident of 1955. * August 20 – Flying a U.S. Air Force

North American F-100C Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet engine, jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century S ...

, Horace A. Haines sets a world speed record of 822.135 mph (1,323.889 km/h). * August 29 – A

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

sets a new world altitude record of 65,876 ft (20,079 m). * August 31 –

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but o ...

engineering

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

Stanley Beltz is killed in a crash near Lancaster,

, while piloting an

F-94B Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached ope ...

modified to test the nose section of the

BOMARC The Boeing CIM-10 BOMARC (Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center) (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North ...

missile.

September

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

agrees to sell the

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...

50 twin-engine medium jet bombers and 120 jet fighter-interceptors, as well as

military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to ma ...

and helicopters. * September 3 – J. S. Fairfield makes the first ejection from an aircraft on the ground, escaping from a

traveling at 120 mph (193 km/h) along a runway. * September 9 –

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

agree to adopt a domestic "Coach Class" for transcontinental flights across the United States. * September 16 **The East German national airline

(DLH) makes its first flight, carrying East German prime minister

Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its foundation in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...

from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for a state visit to the

. **

aircraft of the

attack the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s ''Cervantes'' and ''La Rioja'' in the River Plate during the ''

Revolución Libertadora ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the coup d'état that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on 16 September 1955. Background President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949, a ...

'' against

, inflicting numerous casualties. * September 18 –

Argentine Naval Aviation ) Gulf War , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , commander1 = President , commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 ...

aircraft attack an

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

column during the ''

'' against

, halting the column before it can capture a naval air base. A

Grumman J2F Duck The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) is an American single-engine amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea resc ...

was shot down by machine gun fire from a Sherman tank.

October

introduces a

into service. * October 6 – A

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

operating as

crashes in the

Medicine Bow Mountains The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range. From the northern end of Colorado's Never Summer ...

near

Centennial, Wyoming Centennial is a small mountain-town in Albany County, Wyoming, United States. It serves a fairly large surrounding landscape of resorts, along with a few ranches, and is itself somewhat of a tourist attraction located along a gently sloping hillsi ...

, killing all 66 on board. It will tie with the March 22 crash of a U.S. Navy

and the

mid-air collision of two

C-119G Flying Boxcars over

as the deadliest air accident of 1955. * October 10 –

Helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier play a key role in rescuing people stranded by flooding in

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. * October 15 – A

Douglas XA4D-1 Skyhawk sets a world speed record over a 500-kilometer (310.5-mile) closed-circuit course, reaching 1,119.382 km/hr (695.163 mph). * October 16 – The Boeing 367-80 (a

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

prototype) crosses the United States in just 3 hours 58 minutes. * October 18 – A U.S. Navy Convair R3Y-1 Tradewind

sets a speed record for a flight from

to the

, flying from

Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...

, in 6 hours 45 minutes at an average speed of 360 mph (579 km/h).

November

* November 1 – The

Douglas DC-6B The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

''Mainliner Denver'', operating as

United Airlines Flight 629 United Air Lines Flight 629, registration N37559, was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft also known as "Mainliner Denver", that was blown up on November 1, 1955, by a dynamite bomb placed in the checked luggage. The explosion occurred over Longmont, Colo ...

, is destroyed over

Longmont The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont's ...

, by a bomb planted by

Jack Gilbert Graham John "Jack" Gilbert Graham (January 23, 1932 – January 11, 1957) was an American mass murderer who, on November 1, 1955, killed 44 people aboard United Airlines Flight 629 near Longmont, Colorado, using a dynamite time bomb. Graham planted th ...

, who is attempting to cash in his mother's

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

policies. All 44 on board, his mother among them, are killed. Graham will be executed for the crime on January 11, 1957. * November 22 – A Soviet

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 ( NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberatio ...

(

"Badger") drops the first Soviet thermo-nuclear bomb, RDS-37, in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

December

* Royal Air Force Bomber Command becomes an all- jet operation upon the retirement of its last

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

s from

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

duty. * December 4 –

Glenn L. Martin Glenn Luther Martin (January 17, 1886 – December 5, 1955) was an early American aviation pioneer. He designed and built his own aircraft and was an active pilot, as well as an aviation record-holder. He founded an aircraft company in 1912 whi ...

, founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company, dies at age 69. * December 13 – The de Havilland Comet 3, the worlds first jet airliner, visits an American airport for the first time when it stops at

Honolulu International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii.Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, during an around-the-world flight. It then flies to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in 5 hours 39 minutes. * December 15 – The

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

flies its final operational sortie with the

. * December 24 – As a public relations move, the U.S.

Continental Air Defense Command Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, tasked with air defense for the Continental United States. It comprised Army, Air Force, and Navy components. It included Army Pro ...

(CONAD) issues a statement to the press claiming that it is tracking

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

sleigh A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners s ...

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, adding that "CONAD,

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

." It begins the annual tradition of CONAD and its successor, the North American Air Defense Command (later renamed the

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

) 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.

First flights

January

* January 5 – LBIS LK-1

February

* February 9 –

Convair CV-540 Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it ...

Donald, David, ed., ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft'', New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, , p. 273. * February 14 – Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-2, prototype of the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, De ...

March

* March 2 –

Dassault Super Mystère The Dassault Super Mystère is a French supersonic fighter-bomber and was the first Western European supersonic aircraft to enter mass production. Design and development The Super Mystère represents the final step in evolution which began wit ...

Bridgman 1955, p. 40. * March 12 –

Aérospatiale Alouette II The Aérospatiale Alouette II (, "lark"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. It was the first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine en ...

* March 25 – Vought XF8U-1, prototype of the F8U Crusader, in 1962 redesignated

F-8 Crusader The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass), and for the Frenc ...

April

* April 3 –

Ilyushin Il-54 The Il-54 was a transonic bomber developed in the USSR in the 1950s. Only two examples were built before the project was abandoned. Design and development The Council of Ministers issued a directive to OKB-115, for a transonic bomber prototyp ...

(

"Blowlamp") * April 25 –

FFA P-16 The FFA P-16 was a Swiss prototype ground attack jet fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein (FFA). It was Switzerland's second attempt to develop a domestically designed and manufactured jet fig ...

''J-3001''Bridgman 1955, pp. 208–209.

May

* May 27 –

Sud Caravelle The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for th ...

June

* June 11 – SIPA S.1000 Coccinelle * June 12 – Cessna 170C, prototype of the

Cessna 172 Skyhawk The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Frati F.8 Falco * June 17 **Reynolds-

Bensen B-8 The Bensen B-8 is a small, single-seat autogyro developed in the United States in the 1950s. Although the original manufacturer stopped production in 1987, plans for homebuilders are still available as of 2019. Its design was a refinement of t ...

gyro-glider prototype **

Tupolev Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner operat ...

(

"Camel") * June 24 –

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was a British STOL transport aircraft built by Scottish Aviation Limited at Prestwick Airport, Scotland, during the 1950s. It was designed for both civil and military operators. It was conceived as a twin-engi ...

* June 25 –

Dassault Mirage I The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizon ...

* June 27 –

Dornier Do 27 The Dornier Do 27 is a German single-engine STOL utility aircraft that was designed and manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier and Fairchild-Dornier). It was notable for being the first mass-produced aircraft in Germany following the ...

July

* July 14 –

Martin XP6M-1 Seamaster The Martin P6M SeaMaster, built by the Glenn L. Martin Company, was a 1950s strategic bomber flying boat for the United States Navy that almost entered service; production aircraft were built and Navy crews were undergoing operational trainin ...

, BuNo ''138821'' * July 18 –

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...

, ''G-39-2'' * July 22 – Republic XF-84H "Thunderscreech" * July 23 –

PZL TS-8 Bies The PZL TS-8 ''Bies'' (Devil) is a Polish trainer aircraft, used from 1957 to the 1970s by the Polish Air Force and civilian aviation. Development The aircraft was designed in response to a Polish Air Force requirement for a modern piston-engine ...

August

* August 4 – Lockheed Article 001, prototype of the

* August 5 – Farman F.510 Monitor I * August 11 –

Bell XV-3 The Bell XV-3 (Bell 200) is an American tiltrotor aircraft developed by Bell Helicopter for a joint research program between the United States Air Force and the United States Army in order to explore convertiplane technologies. The XV-3 featured ...

* August 14 –

Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter The Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter was a small British military helicopter intended to be used for reconnaissance and casualty evacuation, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. The Ultra-light had been conceived of as a straightforward, low ...

Bridgman 1956, p. 38. * August 18 – AISA AVD-12 * August 23 – Westland Widgeon * August 25 – Handley Page HPR.3 Herald

September

* September 7 – Sukhoi S-1, prototype of the

Sukhoi Su-7 The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...

(NATO reporting name "Fitter A") * September 20 –

Nord 1500 Griffon The Nord 1500 Griffon was an experimental ramjet-powered interceptor aircraft designed and built by French state-owned aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. The Griffon was developed to become a Mach 2 follow on to the supersonic Nord Gerfaut ...

October

* October 6 –

Convair CV-440 Metropolitan The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

* October 22 – Republic YF-105A, prototype of the

F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...

* October 25 – Saab J 35 Draken

November

* November 18 –

Bell X-2 The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster") was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Cor ...

(first powered flight) * November 24 –

Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Euro ...

December

* December 6 –

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

* December 8 –

Auster Agricola The Auster B8 Agricola was a commercially unsuccessful British agricultural aircraft designed for the aerial topdressing market which opened up in New Zealand in the early 1950s. Design Constructed of fabric over a corrosion-proofed steel frame ...

* December 18 – Beechcraft Model 73 Jet Mentor * December 21 – Edgar Percival E.P.9

Entered service

* Stits-Besler Executive

January

* January 9 –

with No. 138 Squadron,

February

* Auster A.O.P. 9 with the

Donald, David, ed., ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft'', New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, , p. 70.

May

North American FJ-3 Fury The North American FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury are a series of swept-wing carrier-capable fighters for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The FJ-2 resulted from an effort to navalize the North American F-86 Sabre operated by the United States Ai ...

with the

June

* June 29 –

B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

with the

s 93rd Bomb Wing

Retirements

* Northrop C-125 Raider by the

References

* 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. {{Aviation timelines navbox Aviation by year