1938

Master Index

1940

1939 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events

1939 Aviation Records

• Speed: (Nazi Germany), 469.22-mph, Fritz Wendel, Messerschmitt “Me.209-V1”, 4/26/1939.

• Distance: (Italy), 8,038-miles, Tondi, Degasso, Vignoli, Savoia-Marchetti “S.M.75”, 8/1/1939.

• Altitude: (Italy), 56,046-feet, Mario Pezzi, “Caproni 161bis”, 10/22/1938.

• Weight: (Nazi Germany), 123,457-lbs, Dornier, “Do.X”.

• Engine Power: (Nazi Germany), 1,200-lbs thrust, Pabst von Ohaim, Heinkel “HeS.3B”.

January 1939

• January 12 — The RAF Auxiliary Air Force Reserve is formed.

• January 27 — First flight of the Lockheed XP-38 “Lightning”.

February 1939

• February — The Lockheed “Hudson” enters service with No. 224 Squadron RAF.

• February 9 — Alex Henshaw sets a new speed record for the round trip between England and Cape Town in 4 days 10 minutes in a Percival “Mew Gull”.

March 1939

• March 30 — Hans Dieterle sets a new airspeed record in a Heinkel “He.100” of 746 km/h (464 mph).

• March 31 — First flight of the Miles “Master” production aircraft (N7408).

April 1939

• April 1 — First flight of the Mitsubishi “Zero”.

• April 22 — First flight of the Aeronautica Umbra “Trojani” AUT.18 M.M.363.

• April 28 — Vladimir Kokkinaki and Mikhail Godienko attempt a non-stop flight from the Soviet Union to New York but are forced down on Miscou Island in bad weather the next day.

May 1939

• May 7 — First flight of the Petlyakov “VI-100”.

• May 14 — First flight of the Short “Stirling”.

June 1939

• June 1 — First flight of the Focke-Wulf “Fw.190”.

• June 16 — Air France commences hourly flights from Paris to London.

• June 28 — Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force is formed.

July 1939

• July 6 — Olga Klepikowa sets a world record by flying a glider 746 km (466 miles) from Moscow to Otradnoje.

• July 17 — First flight of the Bristol “Beaufighter” prototype (R2052).

• July 20 — First flight of the Heinkel “He.176”, first aircraft powered by liquid-fuelled rocket.

• July 20 — First flight powered by liquid-fuelled rocket made by Erich Warsitz in the Heinkel “He.176”.

• July 25 — First flight of the Avro “Manchester” prototype (L7246).

August 1939

• August — The Miles “Master” enters service.

• August 11 — Pan American World Airways begins scheduled flights from New York, New York to Southampton, England.

• August 13 — First flight of the Vickers “Warwick”.

• August 26 — The Messerschmitt “Me.209” sets a new world speed record of 755 km/h (469 mph).

• August 27 — First flight of the Heinkel “He.178”, first aircraft powered by turbojet.

• August 27 — First flight made entirely on turbojet power made by Erich Warsitz in the Heinkel “He.178”.

September 1939

• September 1 — Germany invades Poland. The Luftwaffe plays a key tactical bombing role in neutralizing Polish defenses.

• September 3 — Britain and France declare war on Germany. World War II breaks out.

• September 3 — Paratroops are used for the first time, with German units dropped into Silesia, behind Polish lines.

• September 3 — Armstrong Whitworth “Whitleys” are used to drop propaganda leaflets into German cities.

• September 4 — First British bombs of the war dropped on German targets, with a Bristol “Blenheim” of 110 Squadron attacking the German fleet.

• September 14 — First flight of the Sikorsky “VS-300”, first helicopter to enter mass production.

• September 24 — First flight of the Handley Page “Halifax” H.P.57 prototype (L7244).

October 1939

• October — The Bristol “Beaufort” enters service with No. 22 Squadron RAF (Coastal Command).

• October 8 — First RAF victory of World War II when a Lockheed “Hudson” shoots down a Dornier “Do.18” over Jutland.

• October 16 — The Luftwaffe attacks its first British targets — Royal Navy warships in the Firth of Forth.

November 1939

• November — The Luftwaffe begins dropping sea mines around the British coastline.

• November 24 — BOAC is formed by the merger of Imperial Airways and the original British Airways.

• November 30 — Soviet air raids on Helsinki and Viipuri mark the outbreak of the Winter War.

December 1939

• December — The Boulton Paul “Defiant” enters service with No. 264 Squadron RAF.

• December 18 — The Royal Air Force abandons daylight raids on Germany after a raid by Vickers “Wellingtons” takes heavy losses.

• December 26 — The first RAAF squadrons to join the war arrive in Britain.

• December 29 — First flight of the Consolidated XB-24 “Liberator”.

Works Cited

1. Gunston, Bill, et al. Chronicle of Aviation. Liberty, Missouri: JL Publishing Inc., 1992. 14-17
2. Parrish, Wayne W. (Publisher). "United States Chronology". 1962 Aerospace Yearbook, Forty-Third Annual Edition. Washington, DC: American Aviation Publications, Inc., 1962, 446-469.
3. Wikipedia, 1939 in aviation
4. Shupek, John (photos and card images), The Skytamer Archive. Skytamer.com, Whittier, CA