1962 in aviation

yearbox
in?=in aviation
cp=19th Century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1959
yp2=1960
yp3=1961
year=1962
ya1=1963
ya2=1964
ya3=1965
dp3=1930s
dp2=1940s
dp1=1950s
d=1960s
dn1=1970s
dn2=1980s
dn3=1990s

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1962:

Events

January

* US Army CH-21 Shawnees are dispatched to Vietnam, the first US military aircraft to be deployed there
* January 10-11 - a B-52 Stratofortress is flown from Okinawa to Madrid, establishing a new distance record of 12,532 miles (20,168 km)
* January 24 - two US Navy F-4 Phantoms are seconded to the US Air Force as the air force plans to adopt the type.

February

* February 20 - John Glenn becomes the first US astronaut to orbit the earth in Mercury Atlas 6

April

* April 9 - the United States Marine Corps' involvement in Vietnam War begins when HMM-362 arrived at Soc Trang south of Saigon [Dorr "Marine Air", p.200.] .
* April 26 - Lou Schalk pilots the 1st unofficial flight of the A-12 Article 121
* April 30 - Lou Schalk pilots the 1st official flight of the A-12 Article 121

June

* June 3 - An Air France Boeing 707 jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Paris, killing 130.
* June 19 - Four Luftwaffe F-104 Starfighters collided and crashed, killing 4 pilots.

July

* July 7 - a Soviet Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich Ye-152 sets a new airspeed record of 2,681 km/h (1,666 mph)
* July 17 - Maj Robert M. White (USAF), pilots the North American X-15 to a record altitude of 314 750 feet (59 miles, 96 km).
* July 25 - the US Army forms its first armed helicopter company, using UH-1 Hueys

eptember

* September 18 - United States Armed Forces are directed by the United States Department of Defense to use a unified designation system for aircraft. See 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system for more information.

October

* October 14 - a US Air Force Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance flight over Cuba reveals the presence of launchpads for Medium Range Ballistic Missiles, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis
* October 24 - aircraft carriers USS "Enterprise", USS "Independence", USS "Essex", and USS "Randolph" take part in blockading Cuba.
* October 26 - the last B-52 off the production line is delivered to the US Air Force
* October 27 - a USAF U-2 is shot down over Cuba

December

* December 8 - British troops are airlifted to Borneo to quell uprisings in the region

First flights

January
* January 9 - Hawker Siddeley Trident

April
* April 14 - Bristol Type 188

June
* Jovair J-2
* June 29 - Vickers VC10 "G-ARTA

August
* August 10 - Bell 533
* August 13 - Hawker Siddeley HS.125 "G-ARYA"

September
* September 19 - Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy

October
* October 12 - Dassault Balzac (tethered flight)
* October 28 - Westland Wasp

December
* December 7 - Aérospatiale Super Frelon
* December 22 - Lockheed A-12
* December 24 - Aérospatiale N 262

Entered service

March
* March 18 - Convair CV-990 with American Airlines

June
* McDonnell F4H-1 with US Marine Corps VMF(AW)-314

July
* July 1 - Boeing Vertol 107 with New York Airways

Notes

References

;Bibliography
*cite book
title=Marine Air - The History of the Flying Leathernecks in Words and Photos
author=Dorr, Robert F.
date = 2005
publisher=Penguin Books
id=ISBN 0-425-20725-0