| 1943 | Master Index | 1945 |
1944 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events
1944 Aviation Records
Speed: (Nazi Germany), 623.85-mph, Heini Dittmar, Messerschmitt Me.163A “Komet”, 10/2/1941 [1]
Distance: (Italy), 8,038-miles, Tondi, Degasso, Vignoli, Savoia-Marchetti “S.M.75”, 8/1/1939 [1]
Altitude: (Italy), 56,046-feet, Mario Pezzi, “Caproni 161bis”, 10/22/1938 [1]
Weight: (Nazi Germany), 207,981-lbs, Blohm & Voss, V238 V1 [1]
Engine Power: (Nazi Germany), 4,410-lbs thrust, Walter HWK, “109-509 C” [1]
January 1944
January 1944 (North Atlantic) — United States Coast Guard pilot Lieutenant, junior grade, Stewart Graham makes the first helicopter flight from a merchant ship in convoy in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the United States Department of the Navy's development of the helicopter as an antisubmarine warfare platform. [2]
January 6, 1944 (Europe) — Lieutenant-General Carl Spaatz takes command of the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSAFE), a new grouping amalgamating the United States, Eighth Air Force in Britain in the United States 15th Air Force in Italy. He has responsibility for long-range bombing of Germany. [1]
January 11, 1944 (Germany) — In one of their largest air raids to date, 570 United States Army Air Forces bombers strike Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben, Germany. [2]
January 7, 1944 (Frankfurt, Germany) — United States movie star James Stewart leads the USAAF 445th Bomb Group in a raid on the city. [1]
January 11, 1944 (Atlantic) — Two Grumman TBF-1C “Avengers” from the USS Block Island make the first U.S. attack with forward firing rockets, on a German U-boat. The Rockets, slung beneath the aircraft's wing, increase the chance of hitting a target because they have much greater power than guns. [1]
January 21, 1944 (Germany) — German ace Hauptmann Manfred Meurer is killed when his Heinkel He.219 night fighter collides with a British “Lancaster” bomber over Magdeburg, Germany. He has 65 kills at the time of his death. [2]
January 21/22, 1944 (London, England) — Over 440 Luftwaffe bombers launch “Operations Steinbock”, a new wave of attacks. [1]
February 1944
February 1, 1944 (United States) — The U.S. Navy orders two Piasecki XHRP-1 helicopters. They are the first American helicopters to be developed under a military contract. [2]
February 10, 1944 (Memphis, Tennessee) — A Douglas DC-3 airliner operating as American Airlines Flight 2 crashes into the Mississippi River southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, killing all 24 people on board. [2]
February 17, 1944 (South Pacific) — In the first night-bombing attack from a U.S. aircraft carrier, 12 U.S. Navy Grumman “Avengers” from the USS Enterprise hit several Japanese ships during the battle for the Marshall Islands. [1]
February 18, 1944 (Amiens, France) — In “Operation Jericho”, de Havilland “Mosquitos” of No. 487 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force and No. 464 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, breach the prison walls at Amiens, France, allowing captured members of the French Resistance to escape. [2]
February 21, 1944 (North Atlantic) — The British aircraft carrier HMS Chaser joins the escort of the Arctic convoy JW-57 bound from Loch Ewe, Scotland, to the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. It is the first time an aircraft carrier has escorted an Arctic convoy since February 1943. By the time Chaser returns to Scapa Flow on March 9 after escorting the returning Convoy RA-57, her aircraft have sunk or assisted in the sinking of three German submarines, with only one merchant ship lost. [2]
February 22, 1944 (Washington, DC) — The U.S. Army Air Forces create the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe. [2]
March 1944
March 2, 1944 (Berkshire, England) — “Operations Sailor”, a rehearsal for “Neptune”, the airborne operation, which is to accompany the planned Allied invasion of northern France, takes place. 97 gliders land waves of British and United States troops at 10-second intervals with 100% success. [1]
March 3, 1944 (Berlin, Germany) — England-based Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces' 55th Fighter Group become the first Allied fighters to escort bombers all the way to Berlin. [2]
March 10, 1944 (Iceland) — The Icelandic airline Loftleidir is formed. [2]
March 23, 1944 (Germany) — RAF Flight Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade jumps without a parachute from his stricken “Lancaster” bomber at 18,000 feet, but lands in a snow bank without breaking a single bone after his fall was broken by a fir tree. [1]
March 25, 1944 (Great Britain) — A British twin-engine aircraft lands on an aircraft carrier for the first time when Lieutenant Commander E. M. Brown lands a navalized de Havilland “Mosquito VI” on the British carrier HMS Indefatigable. [2]
March 27, 1944 (North Atlantic) — The Arctic convoy JW-58 departs Loch Ewe, Scotland, bound for the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. The British aircraft carriers HMS Activity and HMS Tracker escort JW-58 and the return convoy RA 58, which reaches Loch Ewe on April 14. During their cruise, their aircraft sink or contribute to sinking two German submarines, attack three more, and shoot down six German aircraft without the loss of a merchant ship. [2]
March 28, 1944 (Palau Islands) — Japanese torpedo bombers attack U.S. Navy Task Force 58 as it approaches the Palau Islands, doing no damage. [2]
March 30-31, 1944 (Palau Islands) — Carrier aircraft of U.S. Navy Task Force 58 strike the Palau Islands. For the first time in the Pacific, carrier-based aircraft lay naval mines during the strikes. [2]
March 31, 1944 (Yap) — Task Force 58 aircraft strike Yap. [2]
March 31, 1944 (Babelthuap) — A flying boat carrying Admiral Mineichi Koga, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, disappears after taking off from Babelthuap; no wreckage or bodies are ever found. A second flying boat carrying Rear Admiral Shigeru Fukudome of Koga's staff making the same trip crashes in a storm; Fukudome spends two weeks in the hands of natives on Cebu before being rescued. [2]
April 1944
April 1944 (United States) — The United States Coast Guard begins to experiment with dipping sonar as it leads the United States Department of the Navy's effort to develop the helicopter as an antisubmarine warfare platform. [2]
April 1, 1944 (Woleai) — U.S. Navy Task Force 58 carrier aircraft strike Woleai. During the March 30-April 1 raids on the Palau Islands, Yap, and Woleai, Task Force 58 aircraft have sunk or badly damaged 36 Japanese ships totaling 130,000 tons, trapped 32 more in harbors with naval mining, and destroyed many Japanese aircraft in exchange for the loss of 25 U.S. planes. [2]
April 2, 1944 (Calcutta, India) — The first United States Army Air Forces B-29 “Superfortress” arrives at Calcutta, India, after an 11,530-mile (18,567-km) trip from Kansas which includes stops at Presque Isle, Maine; Gander, Newfoundland; Marrakech, Morocco; Cairo, Egypt; and Karachi, and a 2,700-mile (4,348-km) non-stop transatlantic flight between Gander and Marrakech. [2]
April 3, 1944 (Altenfjord, Norway) — In “Operation Tungsten”, a raid launched from the British aircraft carriers HMS Victorious, HMS Furious, HMS Emperor, HMS Fencer, HMS Pursuer, and HMS Searcher, 42 Fleet Air Arm Fairey “Barracuda” aircraft escorted by 40 fighters scores 14 hits with 1,600-lb (726-kg) bombs on the German battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord, Norway, badly damaging her and killing 122 of her crew. Two Fairey “Barracudas” are lost. [2]
April 4, 1944 (South Pacific) — The United States Army Air Forces activate the Twentieth Air Force, which will conduct a strategic bombing campaign against Japan. [2]
April 11, 1944 (The Hague) — Six RAF de Havilland “Mosquito” bombers of 613 Squadron make a brilliant precision attack on the Kleizkamp art gallery, used by the Gestapo, destroying records of the Dutch Resistance. [1]
April 17, 1944 (United States) — Howard Hughes sets a new U.S. transcontinental speed record, flying a Lockheed “Constellation”. [2]
April 19, 1944 (Sabang, Sumatra) — The British Eastern Fleet makes the first British air strike against Japanese-held territory as “Barracudas” and “Corsairs” from the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and Douglas SBD “Dauntless” dive bombers and Grumman F6F “Hellcat” fighters from the U.S. carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) raid Sabang, Sumatra, damaging harbor facilities and destroying a radar station and Japanese aircraft on nearby airfields. One “Hellcat” is lost. [2]
April 24, 1944 (China) — The first B-29 “Superfortress” arrives in China, beginning the build-up by the United States Army Air Forces' Twentieth Air Force for a strategic bombing offensive against Japan. [2]
April 28-May 6, 1944 (North Atlantic) — Arctic Convoy RA-59 steams from the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union to Loch Ewe, Scotland. Aircraft from the escorting British aircraft carriers HMS Activity and HMS Fencer sink three German submarines, attack eight more, and shoot down a German Bv.138C flying boat during the voyage. [2]
May 1944
May 2, 1944 (Seattle, Washington) — After many years of being known first as McGee Airways, then as Star Air Lines and Alaska Star Air Lines, the name of this pioneering carrier is once again changed to Alaska Airlines. [1]
May 6, 1944 (Japan) — Eisaku Shibayama pilots of the Mitsubishi A7M1 “Reppu (‘Hurricane’)” on his first flight. The new fighter is designed to replace the famous Mitsubishi A6M “Zero”. [1]
May 15, 1944 (Norway) — A raid by Fairey “Barracudas” from the British aircraft carriers HMS Furious and HMS Victorious against the German battleship Tirpitz anchored in Norway is recalled due to heavy cloud cover over the target area. [2]
May 17, 1944 (Surabaya, Java) — Aircraft from the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and U.S. carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) strike the oil refinery at Surabaya, Java. [2]
May 29, 1944 (Azores, North Atlantic) — The escort aircraft carrier USS Block Island (CVE-21) is torpedoed and sunk near the Azores by a German submarine. She is the only United States Navy aircraft carrier lost in the Atlantic Ocean. [2]
June 1944
June 2, 1944 (Eastern Europe) — United States bombers fly their first “shuttle” bombing raids of the war. They take off from bases in Italy to hit communications targets in Hungary before landing at three new USAAF bases in the USSR. [1]
June 5, 1944 (Bangkok, Thailand) — The B-29 “Superfortress” flies its first combat mission; 98 B-29s take off from bases in India and attack railroad shops in Bangkok, Thailand. Five are lost, none to enemy action. [2]
June 5, 1944 (Bangkok) — The Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” bomber makes his operational debut in a raid on the city from bases in India. [1]
June 6, 1944 (Normandy, France) — “D-Day” … The Allied invasion of France is spearheaded by paratrooper drops and assault glider landings. The Luftwaffe offers almost no resistance to the invasion. [2]
June 7, 1944 (United States) — Delivery of Ryan FR-1 “Fireball” fighters to the United States Navy marks first Navy jet airplanes and world's first composite aircraft using jet and piston engines. [3]
June 8, 1944 (Normandy, France) — Off Normandy, a German Heinkel He.177 badly damages the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Meredith (DD-726), which breaks in half and sinks the next day. [2]
June 10, 1944 (Ploesti, Romania) — Flying from Italy carrying one 1,000-lb (454-kg) bomb each, 46 Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces 82nd Fighter Group make a very-long-range fighter-bomber attack on the Romanian-American Oil Refinery at Ploesti, Romania. They destroy 23 German aircraft in exchange for the loss of 22 Lockheed P-38 “Lightning” fighters. [2]
June 10, 1944 (California) — The second prototype of the Lockheed P-80 “Shooting Star” is flown for the first time, by test pilot Tony LeVier. Larger and heavier than its predecessor, its 3,810-lb thrust jet engine can propel it at over 580-mph at an altitude of 39,300 feet. [1]
June 12, 1944 (England) — England suffers its first “V1” flying bomb attacks. [2]
June 12, 1944 (United States) — The Civil Aeronautics Board awards United airlines and TWA the right to serve Boston; in May last year, these airlines won the right to serve Washington, DC, on transcontinental flights. Both these routes were previously the sole preserve of American airlines. [1]
June 14, 1944 (Le Havre, France) — To disrupt attacks on the Normandy invasion force by small German naval craft, Royal Air Force Bomber Command strikes the harbor at Le Havre, France, just before midnight, sinking the German torpedo boats Falke, Jaguar, and Möwe, 10 S-boats, 15 R-boats, several patrol and harbor vessels, and 11 other small craft and badly damaging other vessels. [2]
June 14-15 (overnight), 1944 (England) — Flying a “Mosquito” of 605 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant J. G. Musgrave became first pilot to shoot down a “V1” flying bomb. [2]
June 15, 1944 (Japan) — The United States Army Air Forces' Twentieth Air Force begins the strategic bombing offensive against Japan, with China-based Boeing B-29 “Superfortresses” attacking Yawata (now Kitakyushu) on Kyushu. It is the second air raid against Japan proper in history, and the first since the Doolittle Raid of April 1942. [2]
June 15, 1944 (Boulogne, France) — Royal Air Force bomber command strikes the harbor at Boulogne, France, at dusk, sinking 25 German R-boats and small craft and damaging 10 others, completing the destruction of the German naval surface forces threatening the Allied landings at Normandy. [2]
June 16, 1944 (Genoa, Italy) — The incomplete Italian aircraft carrier Aquila is damaged in an Allied air raid on Genoa. [2]
June 24-25, 1944 (Seine Bay) — The Luftwaffe makes its first operational use of the “Mistel” composite aircraft, against Allied shipping in Seine Bay. [2]
June 1944 (United States) — The United States Army Air Force reaches a peak with 78,757 aircraft. [3]
July 1944
July 8, 1944 (Kyushu, Japan) — The second B-29 “Superfortress” raid on Japan attacks four cities on Kyushu from bases in China. [2]
July 8, 1944 (North Atlantic) — “Swordfish” aircraft from the British Merchant Aircraft Carrier (or "MAC-ship") “MV Empire MacCallum” mistakenly sink the Free French submarine “La Perle”. It is the only time that MAC-ship-based aircraft sink a submarine. [2]
July 12, 1944 (Somerset, England) — Two Gloster “Meteor F.1” fighters are delivered to 616 Squadron at Culmhead - the first operational jet-powered airplanes to served with the RAF. [1]
July 14, 1944 (Washington, DC) — United States Army Air Forces Chief of Staff General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold recommends to joint planners that the United States capture the island of Iwo Jima to provide an emergency landing strip for Boeing B-29 “Superfortress” heavy bombers and a base for North American P-51 “Mustang” fighters for the strategic bombing campaign against Japan. [2]
July 17, 1944 (Norway) — In “Operation Mascot”, the British aircraft carriers HMS Formidable, HMS Furious, and HMS Indefatigable launch a raid by 44 Fairey “Barracuda” bombers escorted by 48 fighters against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Norway, but a highly effective German smoke screen allows them to achieve only one near-miss. [2]
July 17, 1944 (Coutances, France) — USAAF Lockheed P-38 “Lightning's” use napalm incendiary material for the first time, during a raid. [1]
July 25, 1944 (Sabang, Sumatra) — Aircraft from the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious strike Sabang, Sumatra. [2]
July 27, 1944 (England) — Gloster “Meteors” of No. 616 Squadron RAF fly their first “V1” interception mission. [2]
July 31, 1944 (France) — The French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is killed while flying an operational sortie over southern France in a Lockheed F-5, the photographic reconnaissance variant of the P-38 “Lightning”. [2]
August 1944
August 1944 (United States) — A United States Army Air Forces Republic XP-47J “Thunderbolt” reaches 505 mph (813 km/hr) in level flight, becoming the first fighter to exceed 500 mph (805 km/hr). [2]
August 1, 1944 (California) — The United States Army Air Force renames the Mojave Desert facility at Rogers Dry Lake, calling it the Muroc Flight Test Base, commonly known as Muroc Dry Lake. The word “Muroc” is the name Corum spelled Backwards. In 1910, two brothers, Ralph and Clifford Corum, became the first humans to settle permanently in the area and founded a small community, calling it the Muroc. [1]
August 10, 1944 (Iwo Jima) — Saipan-based U.S. Army Air Forces “Liberator” bombers of the Seventh Air Force conduct the first bombing raid against Iwo Jima, the first of 10 air raids on Iwo Jima during August. [2]
August 10, 1944 (Japan) — U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 “Superfortress” heavy bombers carry out raids against Palembang on Sumatra and Nagasaki, Japan. The Palembang raid is the longest carried out by the 20th Air Force during World War II, requiring a round trip of 4,030 miles (6,490 km) between a staging base on Ceylon and the target. The Nagasaki raid employs the heaviest B-29 bomb loads to date, 1944 - 6,000 lbs (2,722 kg) per bomber, 1944 - and results in the 20th Air Force's first air-to-air kill, a Japanese fighter shot down by B-29 gunner Technical Sergeant H. C. Edwards. [2]
August 15, 1944 (Southern France) — 1,300 Allied land-based bombers from Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia with escorting fighters strike targets in southern France against no German air opposition on the first morning of “Operation Dragoon”, the Allied amphibious invasion of southern France. The 1st Airborne Task Force makes a parachute landing as part of the invasion. Flying from the escort aircraft carrier USS Tulagi (CVE-72), U.S. Navy Observation Fighter Squadron 1 (VOF-1). The first U.S. Navy fighter squadron with pilots trained as naval gunfire observers makes its combat debut, relieving the more vulnerable battleship - and cruiser-based floatplanes of this duty. The only effective German air raid of the entire operation takes place that evening when a Junkers Ju.88 sinks the fully loaded tank landing ship USS LST-282 with a glide bomb off Cap Dramont. [2]
August 15, 1944 (Germany) — Luftwaffe Feldwebel Helmut Lennartz scores the first air-to-air victory by a jet, shooting down a B-17 “Flying Fortress” in a Messerschmitt Me.262. [2]
August 16, 1944 (Germany) — The Messerschmitt Me.163 “Komet” rocket-powered interceptor is used against Allied bombers for the first time. [2]
August 16, 1944 (Germany) — The Junkers Ju.287-V1 prototype jet bomber, which features forward-swept wings, is flown for the first time. [1]
August 18, 1944 (Philippines) — The U.S. Navy submarine USS Rasher (SS-269) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Taiyo off Cape Bolinao, Luzon, with the loss of 747 lives. There are over 400 survivors. [2]
August 19, 1944 (France) — 110 “Seafire” and “Hellcat” fighters from seven British and two American escort aircraft carriers supporting “Operation Dragoon” fly an armed reconnaissance toward Toulouse, France, where they destroy locomotives and rolling stock. They encounter German aircraft - one Junkers Ju.88, three Heinkel He.111s, and one Dornier Do.217, 1944 - for the first time during the operation and shoot all of them down. [2]
August 20, 1944 (Newfoundland, North Atlantic) — Aircraft of a U.S. Navy antisubmarine hunter-killer group score their final kill of an enemy submarine in the Atlantic during World War II, when General Motors FM “Wildcats” and General Motors TBM “Avengers” of Composite Squadron 42 (VC-42) from the escort aircraft carrier USS Bogue (CVE-9) sink the German submarine U-1229 300 nautical miles (560 km) south of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Aircraft of U.S. hunter-killer groups have sunk - or cooperated with surface warships in sinking - 32 German and two Japanese submarines in the Atlantic. [2]
August 22, 1944 (Norway) — “Operation Goodwood”, a series of Royal Navy air strikes by the aircraft carriers HMS Formidable, HMS Furious, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Nabob, and HMS Trumpeter against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Norway, begins with a day strike designated “Goodwood I”, which is foiled by heavy cloud cover over the target area. An evening strike, “Goodwood II”, also is unsuccessful, and HMS Nabob is so badly damaged by a torpedo from the German submarine U-354 that she never again sees action. [2]
August 23, 1944 (Freckleton, England) — Sixty-one people die in the Freckleton Air Disaster, when a United States Army Air Forces B-24 “Liberator” crashes into the village of Freckleton, England. [2]
August 23, 1944 (Italy) — While attempting to fly one of the new Martin “Baltimore” light bombers without an instructor early in the transition training phase, Major Carlo Emanuele Buscaglia, one of Italy's most noted aviators and commanding officer of the 28th Bomber Wing, crashes on take-off. He dies in a hospital in Naples the following day. [2]
August 24, 1944 (Sumatra) — Aircraft from the British aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious raid Sumatra, striking the cement works at Indaroeng and the harbor facilities and shipping at Emmahaven. [2]
August 24, 1944 (Norway) — “Goodwood III”, the third airstrike of “Operation Goodwood”, is the most successful “Goodwood” raid. Thirty-three Fairey “Barracudas” attack Tirpitz, hitting her with a 500-lb (227-kg) bomb and a 1,600-lb (726-kg) bomb. The latter penetrates the armored deck and could have caused extensive damage or sunk the ship, but fails to explode. [2]
August 29, 1944 (Norway) — The final airstrike of “Operation Goodwood, Goodwood IV”, is unsuccessful because a German smoke screen over Tirpitz makes her impossible to hit. [2]
September 1944
September 1944 (England) — The 12,780th - and last - Hawker “Hurricane” fighter built in Britain is delivered. [1]
September 1944 (Japan) — Japanese monthly production of aircraft peaks at 2,572. [2]
September 1944 (Iwo Jima) — U.S. Army Air Forces bombers of the Seventh Air Force conduct 22 air raids against Iwo Jima. [2]
September 2, 1944 (Marshall Islands) — In an experiment with the use of the F4U Corsair as a fighter-bomber, Charles Lindbergh - the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean - flies a bombing mission in an Vought F4U “Corsair” as a civilian consultant with United Aircraft, dropping one 2,000-lb (907-kg) and two 1,000-pound (454-kg) bombs on Japanese positions in the Marshall Islands. [2]
September 6, 1944 (St. Louis, Missouri) — The sole completed McDonnell XP-67 “Bat” prototype is destroyed by an engine fire, prompting USAAF leaders to declare the aircraft redundant and cancel the program a week later.
September 7, 1944 (Manchuria) — 108 B-29 “Superfortress” heavy bombers bomb the Showa Steel Works in Anshan, Manchuria, from bases in China. [2]
September 10, 1944 (London, England) — The Luftwaffe flies its first photo-reconnaissance mission over the city since January 10, 1941. RAF Fighter Command has kept these aircraft away for 38 months. [1]
September 10, 1944 (Hagerstown, Maryland) — The first aircraft of the war designed solely for cargo, the Fairchild C-82, makes his first flight, at Hagerstown, Maryland. [1]
September 14, 1944 (France) — “Operation Dragoon”, the Allied invasion of southern France, concludes. Penetrating as far as 120 miles (190 km) inland, carrier aircraft from British and American escort aircraft carriers supporting the operation have lost 16 aircraft in combat - all to German ground fire - and 27 to non-combat causes while conducting armed reconnaissance flights targeting German ground forces and providing observer services for naval gunfire. The escort carriers never come under attack from German forces. [2]
September 15, 1944 (Altenfjord, Norway) — 28 Royal Air Force Avro “Lancaster” bombers operating from Yagodnik airfield in the Soviet Union attack the German battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord, Norway, with 12,000-lb (5,443-kg) “Tallboy” bombs. They score only one hit, but it so badly damages Tirpitz that she never again is seaworthy. [2]
September 17, 1944 (South China Sea) — The U.S. Navy submarine USS Barb (SS-220) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo in the South China Sea. There are over 761 survivors. [2]
September 18, 1944 (Sumatra) — Aircraft from the British aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious strike targets on Sumatra. [2]
September 18, 1944 (Germany) — The Messerschmitt Me.262 undergoes operational tests, and Walter Nowotny sets up a jet fighter unit, the Erprobungskommando 262, based at Achmer. [1]
September 24, 1944 (Philippines) — More than 30 U.S. Navy carrier aircraft from Task Force 38 sink the Japanese seaplane tender Akitsushima in Coron Bay off Coron Island in the Philippine Islands with the loss of 86 lives. [2]
October 1944
October 1944 (Iwo Jima) — U.S. Army Air Forces bombers of the Seventh Air Force conduct 16 raids against Iwo Jima. [2]
October 1944 (South Pacific) — American fighters and medium bombers fly 1,100 sorties against Truk and the Caroline Islands. [2]
October 1944 (Australia/Ceylon) — The longest scheduled nonstop airline service in history - the 28-hour “Double Sunrise Route” flight offered by Qantas Empire Airways between Perth, Australia, and Ceylon using five PBY “Catalina” flying boats - comes to an end when Qantas retires the PBYs after the 271st flight. The following month, Qantas will begin to use C-87 “Liberator Express” transports on the route, cutting scheduled flight time to 18 hours. [2]
October 5, 1944 (Genoa, Italy) — The Germans scuttle the incomplete Italian aircraft carrier Sparviero to block access to the harbor at Genoa. [2]
October 7, 1944 (Germany) — Luftwaffe night fighter ace Oberstleutnant Helmut Lent is fatally injured when his Junkers Ju.88G-6 night fighter crashes during a landing approach after a routine transit flight. He dies two days later, with his score at 110 kills, 103 of them at night. [2]
October 10, 1944 (South Pacific) — Aircraft from the 17 aircraft carriers of U.S. Navy Task Force 38 fly 1,396 sorties against targets on Okinawa and in the Ryukyu Islands, claiming 111 Japanese aircraft destroyed and sinking a submarine tender, 12 torpedo boats, two midget submarines, four cargo ships, and various smaller ships, in exchange for the loss of 21 U.S. aircraft, 5 pilots, and four aircrew. It is the closest Allied operation to Japan since the April 1942 Doolittle Raid.][2]
October 11, 1944 (Luzon, Philippines) — 61 carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 attack Aparri airfield on Luzon against no opposition, destroying about 15 Japanese aircraft on the ground in exchange for the loss of one U.S. plane to enemy ground fire and six to non-combat causes. [2]
October 12, 1944 (Saipan) — The first B-29 “Superfortress” lands on Saipan, beginning the Twentieth Air Force's build-up of a strategic bombing capability in the Mariana Islands. For the first time, all of Japan proper is within range of United States Army Air Forces strategic bombers. [2]
October 12-14, 1944 (Formosa) — Task Force 38 conducts three days of heavy air strikes against Formosa, targeting Japanese airfields and shipping, flying 1,374 sorties on the first day, 974 on the second, and 246 on the third. U.S. aircraft destroy over 500 Japanese aircraft, sink 24 cargo ships and small craft, and destroy many Japanese military facilities. On the third day, strikes also are flown against northern Luzon. Counter-attacking Japanese torpedo bombers cripple the heavy cruiser USS Canberra (CA-70) and light cruiser USS Houston (CL-81). [2]
October 14, 1944 (Formosa) — 104 China-based B-29 “Superfortress” bombers attack Formosa for the first time, striking an aircraft plant at Okayama. The combined bombload of 650 tons (589,676 kg) is the largest in history at the time. [2]
October 16, 1944 (Hong Kong) — 50 fighters of the U.S. Army Air Forces' 14th Air Force based at Liuchow Airfield, China, attack the waterfront of Hong Kong. [2]
October 16, 1944 (Formosa) — Task Force 38 completes its operations against Formosa. Since October 11, it has defended itself against approximately 1,000 Japanese aircraft, the heaviest series of Japanese air attacks against U.S. naval forces of World War II with the possible exception of those during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, losing 76 aircraft of its own in combat, 13 aircraft due to non-combat causes, and 64 pilots and aircrew. [2]
October 16-17, 1944 (Formosa) — B-29 “Superfortress” bombers again attack Formosa, dropping 640 more tons (580,762 kg) of bombs during the two days combined. [2]
October 17, 1944 (Indian Ocean) — In the first day of “Operation Millet”, the British aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious launch heavy strikes against Car Nicobar, striking airfields on the island and the harbor and shipping at Nancowry. Japanese anti-aircraft fire shoots down three British planes. [2]
October 17-19, 1944 (Philippines) — Carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 strike targets on Luzon. [2]
October 19, 1944 (Philippines) — In a meeting at Mabalacat on Luzon, the newly arrived commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet, Vice Admiral Takijiro Ohnishi, commanding Japanese naval air forces in the Philippine Islands, observes that ordinary air tactics have become ineffective against the U.S. Navy and suggests the formation of a special attack unit to crash Zero fighters carrying 250-kg (551-lb) bombs bodily onto American warships. It is the beginning of the formation of Kamikaze suicide units. [2]
October 19, 1944 (Indian Ocean) — In the second and final day of “Operation Millet”, the British aircraft carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious again launch heavy strikes against Nancowry harbor and the airfields on Car Nicobar. In a dogfight with Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 (Allied “Oscar”) fighters, the British shoot down seven Ki-43's in exchange for a “Hellcat” and two “Corsairs”. [2]
October 20, 1944 (Philippine Islands) — U.S. forces invade Leyte in the Philippine Islands. U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft fly nearly 300 sorties in support. [2]
October 24, 1944 (Battle of Leyte Gulf) — The Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, composed of four distinct major fleet actions, begins. In the morning, a Japanese bomber fatally damages the U.S. light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23), which sinks in the afternoon. The first major fleet action, the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, takes place in the afternoon, with heavy strikes by Task Force 38 carrier aircraft against a Japanese task force in the Sibuyan Sea sinking the battleship Musashi and badly damaging the heavy cruiser Myoko in exchange for the loss of 18 U.S. aircraft. [2]
October 25, 1944 (Battle of Leyte Gulf) — The third major engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Battle off Samar, begins just after dawn when a Japanese force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers surprises the U.S. Navy “Taffy 3” escort carrier group off Samar. The Japanese sink the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) - the only U.S. aircraft carrier ever sunk by enemy surface ships while manned and underway - two destroyers, and a destroyer escort before a spirited defense by escorting destroyers and escort carrier aircraft of “Taffy 3” and nearby “Taffy 2” sink the Japanese heavy cruisers Chikuma, Chokai, and Suzuya and damage other Japanese ships. Also in the morning, the first Japanese deliberate Kamikaze mission takes place, with suicide aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 201st Kokutai damaging the escort carriers USS Santee (CVE-29) - the first ship ever damaged by a deliberate Kamikaze crash - USS Suwannee (CVE-27), USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71), and USS Kalinin Bay (CVE-68), and sinking the escort carrier USS St. Lo (CVE-63), which becomes the first ship sunk by a Kamikaze, while escort carrier-based TBM “Avenger” torpedo bombers fatally damage the Japanese heavy cruiser Nancowry in the Mindanao Sea. During the morning and afternoon, in the final major fleet engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Battle of Cape Engaño, carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 cripple the Japanese aircraft carrier Chiyoda - which U.S. cruisers sink later in the day - and sink the aircraft carriers Chitose, Zuiho, and Zuikaku. [2]
October 26, 1944 (Philippine Islands) — The highest-scoring Japanese ace in history, Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, is killed when the Nakajima Ki-49 (Allied “Helen”) transport aircraft in which he is riding as a passenger is shot down by a U.S. Navy F6F “Hellcat” fighter over Calapan, Mindoro Island, in the Philippine Islands. His score stands at least 87 - and possibly over 100 - victories at the time of his death. [2]
October 26, 1944 (South Pacific) — 44 U.S. Army Air Forces B-24 “Liberator” and B-25 “Mitchell” bombers of the Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces sink the Japanese light cruiser “Abukuma” southwest of Negros, and 253 carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 sink the Japanese light cruiser Noshiro off Batbatan Island. [2]
October 28, 1944 (Truk Atoll) — The United States Army Air Forces' Twentieth Air Force carries out its first strike from its new bases in the Mariana Islands, a raid by 14 Saipan-based B-29 “Superfortresses” against Truk Atoll. It is the first B-29 combat mission from the Marianas. [2]
October 29, 1944 (Philippines) — Carrier aircraft of U.S. Navy Task Group 38.2 raid Japanese airfields around Manila, claiming 71 Japanese aircraft shot down in air-to-air combat and 13 destroyed on the ground in exchange for the loss of 11 planes. A Kamikaze damages the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) off Leyte. [2]
October 30, 1944 (Philippines) — Kamikazes damage the aircraft carriers USS Franklin (CV-13) and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) off Leyte. [2]
November 1944
November 1944 (Japan) — Japan begins a rapid and haphazard initial dispersal of its aircraft factories, which it will complete in December. [2]
The United States establishes a nationwide air-sea rescue organization to coordinate air-sea rescue operations by the U.S. armed forces along the U.S. coast. The United States Coast Guard is the control agency for the organization. [2]
November 1, 1944 (Tokyo, Japan) — An F-13 photographic reconnaissance aircraft (a variant of the B-29 “Superfortress” bomber) conducts a mission over Tokyo. It is the first Allied aircraft to fly over Tokyo since the April 1942 Doolittle Raid. [2]
November 1, 1944 (Leyte Gulf) — Japanese Kamikazes attack the United States Seventh Fleet in Leyte Gulf, sinking one and damaging five destroyers. [2]
November 1-11, 1944 (Philippines) — U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft attack Japanese convoys landing troops and supplies at Ormoc Bay on Leyte with limited success. [2]
November 3, 1944 (Japan) — The first Japanese “Fu-Go” balloon bombs are launched against the United States. [2]
November 5, 1944 (Singapore) — U.S. Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force B-29s based at Calcutta, India, begin occasional attacks on drydock and ship repair facilities at Singapore. [2]
November 5-6, 1944 (Luzon, Philippines) — U.S. Navy Task Force 38 carrier aircraft raid Japanese bases on Luzon. On the first day, Curtis SB2C “Helldiver” dive bombers and General Motors TBM “Avenger” torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-16) sink the Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi in Manila Bay, and U.S. Navy planes claim the destruction of 58 Japanese fighters over Clark and Mabalacat airfields. On the second day, a Kamikaze damages USS Lexington. During the two days, U.S. Navy aircraft claim 439 Japanese aircraft destroyed, losing 25 U.S. aircraft in combat and 11 due to non-combat causes. The strikes cause a sharp reduction in Japanese air attacks on U.S. ships in Leyte Gulf. [2]
November 8, 1944 (Germany) — Major Nowotny dies after crashing his Messerschmitt Me.262 jet-fighter. His squadron, JG7, will bear his name. [1]
November 11, 1944 (Camotes Sea) — 347 carrier aircraft of Task Force 38 attack a convoy of five or six Japanese transports in the Camotes Sea approaching Ormoc, sinking all of them and all four of their escorting destroyers, as well as two more destroyers in Ormoc Bay, and shooting down 16 Japanese aircraft. Almost all of the 10,000 Japanese troops embarked on the transports are killed. [2]
November 12, 1944 (Norway) — 29 Royal Air Force Avro “Lancaster” bombers employing 12,000-pound (5,443 kg) “Tallboy” bombs score two hits on the German battleship Tirpitz at Altenfjord, Norway, sinking her with heavy loss of life. [2]
November 13, 1944 (Croydon, England) — The airport is reopened for civil operations. The first service is flown by a Railway Air Services de Havilland DH.86B to Belfast via Liverpool. [1,2]
November 13-14, 1944 (Luzon, Philippines) — Task Force 38 carrier aircraft raid Luzon, sinking the Japanese light cruiser Kiso, four destroyers, and seven merchant ships and destroying 84 Japanese aircraft in exchange for the loss of 25 U.S planes. [2]
November 17, 1944 (South Pacific) — The U.S. submarine USS Spadefish (SS-411) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinyo with the loss of 1,130 lives. There are 70 survivors. [2]
November 19, 1944 (Philippines) — U.S. Navy Task Force 38 carrier aircraft strike Luzon, destroying more than 100 Japanese aircraft in exchange for the loss of 13 U.S. planes in combat. [2]
November 22, 1944 (Yap) — 96 Task Force 38 carrier aircraft strike Japanese forces on Yap, employing air-to-ground rockets and napalm. Half of the napalm bombs do not ignite. [2]
November 24, 1944 (Tokyo, Japan) — 111 United States Army Air Forces B-29 “Superfortresses” attack Tokyo, targeting the Musashino aircraft plant. Although they do not damage the plant, it is the first strategic bombing raid against Japan from the Twentieth Air Force's new bases in the Mariana Islands, and the first air attack of any kind on Tokyo except for the April 1942 Doolittle Raid. [2]
November 25, 1944 (Luzon, Philippines) — Aircraft from seven aircraft carriers of Task Force 38 carry out the task force's last raids in support of the Leyte campaign, raiding Japanese bases on Luzon, attacking a coastal convoy, and destroying 26 Japanese aircraft in the air and 29 on the ground. Aircraft from USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) sink the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano in Dasol Bay. Kamikazes respond by damaging the aircraft carriers USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Essex (CV-9), and USS Cabot (CVL-28); damage to the carriers forces cancellation of strikes against Japanese shipping in the Visayas the next day. [2]
November 27, 1944 (Philippines) — Three Japanese transport aircraft carrying demolition troops attempt to land troops at Buri airfield on Leyte and on the Leyte invasion beachhead via crash landings, but many of the troops are killed in the crashes and the survivors do little damage. [2]
November 27, 1944 (Saipan) — Japanese aircraft staging through Iwo Jima make their first successful strikes against U.S. B-29s on Saipan. An early raid by two twin-engine bombers destroys a B-29 and damages 11 others, while later in the day 10 to 15 single-engine fighters attack, destroying three B-29s and damaging two. [2]
November 27, 1944 (Leyte Gulf) — Japanese Kamikazes damage the battleship USS Colorado (BB-45) and light cruiser USS St. Louis (CL-49) in Leyte Gulf. [2]
November 27, 1944 (Tokyo, Japan) — 81 B-29s attempt a second attack on the Musashino aircraft plant in Tokyo. Heavy cloud cover forces them to bomb secondary targets instead. [2]
November 29, 1944 (Japan) — The U.S. Navy submarine USS Archer-Fish (SS-311) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano southeast of Shingu, Japan, with the loss of 1,436 lives. There are 1,080 survivors. [2]
November 29, 1944 (Leyte Gulf) — Kamikazes damage the battleship USS Maryland (BB-46) and a destroyer in Leyte Gulf. [2]
November 29–30 (overnight), 1944 (Tokyo, Japan) — 29 B-29s conduct the first night incendiary raid against Japan, attacking industrial areas in Tokyo and destroying an estimated 0.1 square mile (0.15 square kilometer) of the city. [2]
November 30, 1944 (Japan) — During November, B-29s raiding Japan have carried an average bombload of 2.6 tons (2,359 kg) per plane. This will almost triple by July 1945. [2]
December 1944
December 3, 1944 (Ormoc Bay) — A single U.S. Navy PBY “Catalina” picks up 56 survivors of the destroyer USS Cooper (DD-695) in Ormoc Bay and another rescues 48. Both loads break all previous records. [2]
December 6, 1944 (Leyte, Philippines) — During the evening, the Japanese mount a paratrooper attack on U.S. airfields on Leyte, employing 39 or 40 aircraft to drop 15 to 20 paratroopers each. The aircraft targeting Tacloban airfield are shot down or driven off by U.S. antiaircraft fire, while the troops targeting Dulag Airfield are killed in crash landings, but troops dropped from 35 aircraft at Burauen airfield resist for two days and three nights until killed by U.S. Army Air Forces ground personnel. [2]
December 6, 1944 (Vienna, Austria) — The Heinkel He.162 “Volksjäger” (“People's Fighter”), a wooden-winged jet designed and built in 69 days, makes its first flight.. [1]
December 7, 1944 (Chicago, Illinois) — The International Civil Aviation Conference ends. Delegates from 52 countries have held talks since November 1 to work out post-war standards for civil aviation. [1]
December 7, 1944 (Japan) — A major earthquake in Japan badly damages aircraft factories, including the Aichi factory, the Mitsubishi plant at Nagoya, and the Nakajima plant at Handa. [2]
December 7, 1944 (Ormoc Bay) — Employing a new tactic in which torpedo bombers first drop a torpedo and then conduct a Kamikaze suicide attack, Japanese aircraft sink a U.S. destroyer and destroyer-transport in Ormoc Bay. Kamikazes also severely damage two destroyers. [2]
December 7, 1944 (Chicago, Illinois) — The Convention on International Civil Aviation is signed in Chicago, Illinois. [2]
December 8, 1944 (Saipan) — In an attempt to stop Japanese air attacks on Saipan from staging through Iwo Jima, the U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy conduct a joint attack against Iwo Jima. After a morning fighter sweep by 28 P-38 “Lightnings”, 62 B-29s and 102 B-24s bomb the island, dropping 814 tons (738,456 kg) of bombs, after which U.S. Navy surface ships bombard Iwo Jima. All Iwo Jima airfields are operational by December 11, but Japanese attacks on Saipan come to a halt for 2½ weeks. Seventh Air Force B-24s will continue to raid Iwo Jima at least once a day through February 15, 1945. [2]
December 13, 1944 (Cape of Negros, Sulu Sea) — As the U.S. Navy Mindoro Attack Force is about to round the southern Cape of Negros to enter the Sulu Sea, a Japanese Aichi D3A “Val” dive bomber operating as a Kamikaze hits the light cruiser USS Nashville (CL-43), flagship for the Mindoro invasion, badly damaging her, wounding ground forces commander Brigadier General William C. Dunckel, and killing and wounding members of his staff. Another Kamikaze badly damages a destroyer. [2]
December 13-17, 1944 (Mindoro) — Six U.S. Navy escort carriers provide direct support for the U.S. invasion of Mindoro. They fly 864 sorties, losing nine planes, none to enemy action. [2]
December 14-16, 1944 (Luzon, Philippines) — Task Force 38 carrier aircraft attack Japanese airfields on Luzon, employing for the first time the “Big Blue Blanket” tactic of keeping aircraft over the airfields day and night to prevent Japanese air attacks on the beachhead at Mindoro. Flying 1,671 sorties, they drop 336 tons (304,817 kg) of bombs, claiming 62 Japanese aircraft destroyed in the air and 208 on the ground, for a loss of 27 U.S. aircraft in combat and 38 due to non-combat causes. [2]
December 15, 1944 (Mindoro) — U.S. forces land on Mindoro. Over the next 30 days, there will be 334 alerts of Japanese air attack on the beachhead. Kamikaze attacks begin immediately, and persist until January 4, 1945. [2]
December 15, 1944 (English Channel) — A U.S. Army Air Forces UC-64 “Norseman” carrying the American bandleader Glen Miller disappears over the English Channel. No wreckage or bodies are ever found. [2]
December 17, 1944 (South Pacific) — U.S. Army Air Forces Major Richard I. Bong scores his 40th and final aerial victory, enough to make him the top-scoring American ace of World War II. He has made all of his kills flying the Lockheed P-38 “Lightning”. [2]
December 17, 1944 (Wendover, Utah) — The USAAF 509th Composite Group is formed under Colonel Paul Tibbets to practice dropping atomic bombs. The unit will also modify aircraft carry the bomb. [1]
December 18, 1944 (Philippine Sea) — “Typhoon Cobra” strikes Task Force 38 as it operates in the Philippine Sea east of Luzon. In addition to the sinking of three destroyers, the loss of over 800 men, and damage to many ships, the task force loses 146 carrier aircraft and battleship and cruiser floatplanes. Plans for strikes on Luzon from December 19 to 21 are cancelled. [2]
December 19, 1944 (East China Sea) — The U.S. Navy submarine USS Redfish (SS-395) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese aircraft carrier Unryu in the East China Sea with the loss of 1,239 lives. There are 147 survivors. [2]
December 20, 1944 (United States) — With an abundance of male pilots now available to ferry military aircraft from factories to airfields, the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport Command's Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) organization is disbanded. [2]
December 24, 1944 (Iwo Jima) — A U.S. Army Air Forces strike by Seventh Air Force B-24s on Iwo Jima is combined with a bombardment by U.S. Navy surface ships, but Japanese air raids on Saipan resume later in the day as 25 Japanese aircraft destroy one B-29 and damage three more beyond repair. [2]
24 December 1944 (Liège, Belgium) — In the world's first operation by jet bombers, German Arado Ar.234B-2 “Blitz” (“Lightning”) bombers led by Captain Dieter Lukesch hit a factory and marshaling yards. [1]
December 24, 1944 (Philippines) — The people of the Philippines receive a surprise when airplanes of the 43rd Bombing Group fly over to drop a million Christmas cards. Each card contains the words: “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1944 - General Douglas MacArthur.” [1]
First Flights 1944
January 6, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the McDonnell XP-67 “Bat” [2]
January 8, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Lockheed XP-80, prototype of the P-80 “Shooting Star” [2]
February, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Tokyo Koku Ki-107 [2]
February 2, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Republic XP-72 [2]
February 16, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Curtiss SC-1 “Seahawk” [2]
March, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Kawasaki Ki-102 (Allied “Randy”) [2]
March, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Tachikawa Ki-74 (Allied “Pat” and “Patsy”) [2]
April 5, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Miles “Monitor” [2]
May, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Bell XP-77 [2]
May 6, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Douglas XB-42 “Mixmaster” [2]
May 6, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Mitsubishi A7M “Reppu (‘Hurricane’)”, Allied “Sam” [2]
May 7, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Beechcraft XA-38 “Grizzly ”[2]
May 30, 1944 (Switzerland) — First flight of the Pilatus SB-2 [2]
June 6, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Lockheed XP-58 “Chain Lightning” [2]
June 9, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Avro “Lincoln” [2]
June 25, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Ryan XFR-1, prototype of the Ryan FR “Fireball” [2]
July, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Kawasaki Ki-108 [2]
July, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Nakajima J5N1 “Tenrai” (‘Heavenly Thunder’) [2]
July 5, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Northrop MX-324 [2]
July 28, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the de Havilland “Hornet” [2]
August, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Mitsubishi Ki-109 [2]
August 16, 1944 (Germany) — First flight of the Junkers Ju.287, the first aircraft with a forward-swept wing [2]
August 21, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Grumman XF8F-1, prototype of the Grumman F8F “Bearcat” [2]
August 26, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Martin AM “Mauler” [2]
September 1, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Hawker “Sea Fury” [2]
September 10, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Fairchild XC-82 [2]
October, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Yokosuka MXY7 “Ohka” (‘Cherry Blossom’, Allied ‘Baka’) rocket-propelled suicide aircraft (first unpowered glide) [2]
October 23, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Nakajima G8N “Renzan (‘Mountain Range’)”, Allied “Rita” [2]
October 27, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Bristol “Buckmaster” [2]
November, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Yokosuka MXY7 “Ohka” (‘Cherry Blossom’, Allied ‘Baka’)” rocket-propelled suicide aircraft (first powered flight) [2]
November 15, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Boeing XC-97, prototype of the C-97 “Stratofreighter” [2]
November 18, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Mitsubishi Ki-83 [2]
November 27, 1944 (United States) — First flight of the Boeing XF8B-1 [2]
December 4, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Bristol “Brigand” [2]
December 6, 1944 (Germany) — First flight of the Heinkel He.162 [2]
December 8, 1944 (Japan) — First flight of the Mitsubishi MXY8 “Akigusa (‘Autumn Grass’)”, glider test version of the Mitsubishi J8M. [2]
December 14, 1944 (Great Britain) — First flight of the Short “Shetland” [2]
Aircraft Entering Service 1944
March, 1944 (Japan) — The Nakajima Ki-84 “Hayate (‘Gale’)”, Allied “Frank” enters service with 22nd Group, Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. [2]
April, 1944 (United States) — The Grumman F7F “Tigercat” enters service with the United States Marine Corps. [2]
July, 1944 (Great Britain) — The Fairey “Firefly” enters service with No. 1770 Squadron FAA. [2]
July 12, 1944 (Great Britain) — The Gloster “Meteor” enters service with No. 616 Squadron RAF. [2]
August, 1944 (United States) — The Bell P-59 “Airacomet” enters service with the United States Army Air Forces. [2]
December 31, 1944 (United States) — The Grumman F8F “Bearcat” enters service with the United States Navy. [2]
Works Cited
- Gunston, Bill, et al. Chronicle of Aviation. Liberty, Missouri: JL Publishing Inc., 1992. 424-434
- Wikipedia, 1944 in aviation
- Parrish, Wayne W. (Publisher). "United States Chronology". 1962 Aerospace Yearbook, Forty-Third Annual Edition. Washington, DC: American Aviation Publications, Inc., 1962, 446-469.
Copyright © 1998-2018 (Our 20th Year) Skytamer Images, Whittier, California
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED