1954 in aviation

yearbox
in?=in aviation
cp=19th Century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1951
yp2=1952
yp3=1953
year=1954
ya1=1955
ya2=1956
ya3=1957
dp3=1920s
dp2=1930s
dp1=1940s
d=1950s
dn1=1960s
dn2=1970s
dn3=1980s

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1954:

Events

January

* January 10 - BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet, crashes into the Mediterranean Sea near Elba with the loss of all 35 people aboard.

April

* April 1 - Last operational flight by an RAF Spitfire, a photo-reconnaissance sortie against bandits in Malaya

June

* June 2 - Yugoslavian Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s attack a Belgian Douglas DC-3, which lands in Austria
* June 21 - three USAF B-47 Stratojets cross the Pacific Ocean in under 15 hours

July

* July 22 - an Air Cathay Douglas DC-4 is shot down near Hainan Island
* July 26 - Soviet Air Force Lavochkin La-7s attack two US Navy A-1 Skyraiders searching for survivors from the Air Cathay flight. The Skyraiders respond and shoot down the La-7s

November

* November 2 - the VTOL Convair XFY transitions from vertical to horizontal flight and back
* November 7 - Soviet Air Force MiG-15s shoot down a USAF B-29 Superfortress off Hokkaidō, claiming it was spying.
* November 17 - a B-47 is forced by bad weather to remain aloft for 47 hours 35 minutes, needing nine aerial refuellings.

First flights

March

* March 4 - Lockheed XF-104 Prototype of the F-104 Starfighter

June

* June 14 - PAC Fletcher

July

* July 15 - Boeing 367-80, prototype of the Boeing 707 and Boeing C-135 families

August

* August 3 - Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig (free flight)
* August 4 - English Electric P.1, prototype of the English Electric Lightning
* August 23 - Lockheed YC-130 Hercules, from Palmdale, CA to Edwards Air Force Base

eptember

* September 29 - Maiden flight of a McDonnell F-101A Voodoo by test pilot Robert C. Little [ [http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/Index.aspx?page=197#little City of Lancaster, CA honors test pilot Robert C. Little] ] [ [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f101_1.html Joe Baugher's F-101A History] ]

October

* October 3 - Douglas XF4D-1
* October 6 - Fairey FD.2

Entered service

*Tupolev Tu-16 in the Soviet Air Force

February
* Supermarine Swift with No. 56 Squadron RAF

September
* FJ Fury with VF-173
* September 27 - F-100 Super Sabre with 479th Fighter Day Wing

References