1942 in aviation

yearbox
in?=in aviation
cp=19th Century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1939
yp2=1940
yp3=1941
year=1942
ya1=1943
ya2=1944
ya3=1945
dp3=1910s
dp2=1920s
dp1=1930s
d=1940s
dn1=1950s
dn2=1960s
dn3=1970s

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942:

Events

January

* January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter.

April

* April 18 - Col James Doolittle leads the first US attack on the Japanese mainland, leading a force of sixteen B-25 Mitchells flying from the USS "Hornet" against Tokyo in what comes to be known as the "Doolittle Raid".
* April 22 - the USAAF forms China Ferry Command to support the Allied war effort in the China Burma India Theater.

May

* May 4-8 - the Battle of the Coral Sea is fought between US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers. Japanese light carrier "Shōhō" is sunk and "Shōkaku" is badly damaged, and the USS "Lexington" is sunk.

June

* June 4-7 - the Battle of Midway is fought, the turning point in the Pacific War. Japan loses four carriers, the "Akagi", "Kaga", "Sōryū", and "Hiryū". The US loses the USS "Yorktown"

July

* July 18 - a Messerschmitt Me 262 prototype makes its first flight under jet power, test-piloted by Fritz Wendel. Previous flights had been driven by a propeller.

eptember

* September 30 - German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille is killed when his plane catches fire. He had 158 victories at the time.

October

* October 3 - the first A4 rocket, later dubbed the V-2 flies from Peenemünde, covering 190 km (119 miles) in 296 seconds at five times the speed of sound, reaching an altitude of 84.5 km (53 miles).

November

* November 28 - Australian pilot F/Sgt Ron Middleton earns a posthumous VC for valour in bringing his crew and crippled bomber home after a raid on Turin, Italy.

December

* December 4 - USAAF bombers make their first raid on Italy.

First flights

January
* January 7 - Supermarine Seafire
* January 14 - Sikorsky XR-4

February
* February 27 - Blackburn Firebrand

March
* Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 rotor kite
* March 20 - Mitsubishi J2M

April
* April 24 - Miles Martinet prototype "LR241"
* April 26 - XB-28 Dragon

May
* May 26 - Northrop XP-61

June
* June 26 - Grumman XF6F

July
* July 3 - Martin XPB2M-1 Mars prototype BuNo "1520"
* July 5 - Avro York
* July 10 - A-26 Invader

September
* September 2 - Hawker Tempest
* September 12 - Miles Messenger
* September 21 - Boeing XB-29

November
* November 15 - Heinkel He 219

December
* December 7 - P-63 Kingcobra
* Messerschmitt Me 264

Entered service

January
* Grumman TBF Avenger with Squadron VT-8 USN