This is a list of aviation-related events from 1938:
Events
Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London to Montreal. Pan American World Airways is banned from British airports out of fears that more advanced U.S. aircraft will drive Imperial out of the transatlantic market.
The National Trophy, the Harmon Trophy presented to the outstanding aviator for the year in each of the 21 member countries of the International League of Aviators, is awarded for the last time, although the annual award of the Harmon Trophy to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix (female aviator), and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible aviator or aviatrix) continues.
The Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm conducts a six-month bombing campaign against Hankou and other centers of Chinese resistance in central China.[1]
The Spanish Republicans attempt to develop an aircraft manufacturing industry. They build 169 copies of the SovietPolikarpov I-15 fighter during 1938, but never use any of them in combat in the Spanish Civil War.[3]
February 10 – A Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 of No.111 Squadron Royal Air Force, with the assistance of a very strong tailwind, flew from Turnhouse, Edinburgh to Northolt, West London, in 48 minutes at an average indicated air speed of 408.75 mph. The pilot was Squadron Leader John W Gillan (later Wing Commander John W Gillan, DFC & bar, AFC).
March 16–18 – Italian aircraft based on Majorca carry out a heavy, round-the-clock bombing of Barcelona, conducting seventeen air raids at three-hour intervals. Making no attempt to strike military targets specifically, they hit all parts of the city, killing about 1,300 people and injuring about 2,000.[20]
March 22 – The Nationalist Aragon Offensive resumes. Bombing and strafing German, Italian, and Spanish Nationalist aircraft play a large role in terrorizing and routing Republican ground forces for the remainder of the offensive.[21]
March 23 – An Air France Dewoitine D.338 (registration F-AQBB) crashes into Pic des Cinq-Croix in the French Pyrenees during a flight from Oran, French Algeria, to Toulouse, France, at an altitude of 2,100 meters (6,900 feet), killing all eight people on board.[22]
Late March – The British Chiefs of Staff Committee warns that in any confrontation with Germany over Czechoslovakia, the Luftwaffe would dominate the sky and that it might devote its entire force to attacking the United Kingdom as the best way of winning the war.[23]
April
April 19 – The Aragon Offensive ends, with Spanish Nationalists having routed Republican forces and cut Republican-controlled Spain in two. Nationalist air superiority has proven decisive in their victory, and both the Germans supporting the Nationalists and the Soviets supporting the Republicans have learned a great deal about fighter support to infantry.[24]
April 25 – After a Pan American AirwaysSikorsky S-43Bflying boat (registration NC16932) loses power in its left engine at an altitude of 1,600 feet (490 meters) while on approach for a landing at Kingston, Jamaica, and its crew switches its fuel selector, the aircraft loses speed, stalls, crashes into the Caribbean Sea, and sinks. All 18 people on board survive.[25]
April 29 – In the largest air battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War to date, 18 Mitsubishi G3Mbombers and approximately 30 Mitsubishi A5Mfighters encounter 60 to 80 Soviet-built Nationalist Chinese fighters over Hankou. The Japanese claim the destruction of 51 Chinese fighters and admit losing two fighters and two bombers, while the Chinese admit the loss of 12 aircraft and claim to have shot down anywhere from 21 Japanese aircraft to as many as 45.[26]
For the second time in six months, a Mitsubishi A5Mfighter loses a third of its right wing in when it is rammed by a Nationalist Chinese fighter but flies 200 miles (320 km) to its base without further incident. This time, the collision occurs over Hankou.[28]
May 13–15 – A Japanese Gasuden Koken aircraft flying a three-cornered closed-circuit course over Japan breaks the nonstop unrefueled world distance record, flying 11,651 kilometers (7,240 miles).
May 19 – An American Airways flight piloted by Don Keith Sheets and originating in Santiago Chile on a trip north to Antofagasta Chile crashes. It is not reported sighted until May 15, 1940.[31][32]
June 2 – Nationalist aircraft bombGranollers, Spain, a town without military significance, killing about 100 people. Most of the dead are women and children.
June 4 - S. T. Lowe wins Hatfield to Isle of Man air race flying a Gypsy Comper with a time of 2 hours 55 minutes 28 seconds, the fastest time of 16 international entrants of whom notable entrants were C. W. A. Scott and Giles Guthrie who came in 5th place.[35][36]
June 9 – The Nicaraguan Air Force is formed as the Fuerza Aérea de la Guarda Nacional
June 15 – Nationalist aircraft sink the Republican gunboatLaya at Valencia, Spain.[37]
mid-June – Nationalist aircraft have attacked 22 British-registeredmerchant ships in Spanish harbors or nearby waters since mid-April. Eleven of them have been sunk or badly damaged, and 21 British merchant mariners and several Non-Intervention Committee observers have died in the attacks.[38]
June 20 – Karl Bode breaks the world straight-line distance record for helicopters, flying a Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopter 230.348 kilometers (143.132 miles).
June 26 – The Deutsche Lufthansa Sucursal en Perú Junkers Ju 52/3mgeMisti (registration OA-HHB) crashes into Cerro Chilligua near Chilligua, Peru, killing all seven people on board.[40]
July
In an Imperial Japanese Navy raid on a Nationalist Chinese airfield at Nanchang, three Japanese aircraft land on the field and their pilots disembark to shoot up Chinese personnel, barracks, and hangars and set Chinese aircraft on fire on foot before taking off and departing unscathed. The Japanese will use this attack technique on several future occasions.[41]
July 5 – 400 aircraft support a Spanish Nationalist offensive in Valencia.[42]
July 15 – A German Arado Ar 79training and touring aircraft sets an international solo speed record over a 1,000-km (621.4-statute mile) course for an aircraft of its class, averaging 229.04 km/h (142.32 mph).[45]
July 20–21 – The Short S.20 Mercury, flying as a component of the Short Mayo Composite aircraft combination, makes the world's first commercial heavier-than-air crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean, flying non-stop 4,667 km (2,900 mi) from Foynes, Ireland, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with a 454 kg (1,001 lb) payload. It then flies on to New York City, covering a total distance of 5,214 km (3,240 mi) in 22 hours 31 minutes of flying time.[46]
July 24 – Disaster strikes when a Colombian Air Force pilot performing an aerobatic display in a Curtiss Hawk IIbiplane fighter at a military review at Campo de Marte, Santa Ana, Usaquén, Colombia, disregards orders to remain above 500 feet (150 meters) and attempts to fly between the camp's presidential grandstand and diplomatic grandstand. His wingtop strikes the diplomatic grandstand, and his aircraft careens into the presidential grandstand, destroying part of its roof, before crashing into a crowd of spectators on the ground between the two grandstands, bursting into flames and sliding through them before coming to a stop upside down. An estimated 50 to 75 people are killed, and another 100 people – including future President of ColombiaMisael Pastrana Borrero – are injured. Outgoing Colombian President Alfonso López Pumarejo and his successor Eduardo Santos are in the presidential grandstand but avoid injury.[47][48][49]
July 25 – The Battle of the Ebro begins in Spain with a Republican offensive. Although Nationalist bombers attack bridges over the Ebro, Nationalist fighters are still deployed in Valencia and Spanish Republican fighter pilots trained in the Soviet Union gain local air superiority flying improved versions of the Polikarpov I-15 and I-16.[50]
July 28
After physicians at the Mayo Clinic design a molded latex device with an attached rubber "lung" to provide oxygen for people on flights above 10,000 feet (3,000 m), Northwest Airlines pilot Mal Freeburg flies a Douglas DC-3 carrying the physicians, airline employees, and his wife, with all aboard using the new device. The test is a success, and the flight marks the first use of a modern American aviation oxygen mask.[51]
An Arado Ar 79 sets an international solo speed record over a 2,000 km (1,200 mi) course for an aircraft of its class, averaging 227.029 km/h (141.069 mph).[45]
By the beginning of August, Nationalist fighters appear in sufficient numbers to establish Nationalist air superiority over the battlefield in the Battle of the Ebro. Inadequate Republican antiaircraft artillery, poor management of Republican fighters, the death of many Republican pilots, and the withdrawal of many of the best Soviet pilots from Spain all allow Nationalist aircraft to operate largely unchallenged. Up to 200 Nationalist aircraft circle over the battlefield as Nationalist forces begin a counteroffensive, shooting down many Republican fighters and dropping an average of 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of bombs per day into September. Small targets prove difficult for Nationalist aircraft to hit.[56]
August 23 – Frank Hawks, a holder of numerous intercity flight speed records, and his passenger J. Hazard Campbell die when the Gwinn Aircar Hawks is piloting strikes overhead telephone wires and crashes just after takeoff from a field in East Aurora, New York.[57]
September 7 – A mass flight of 17 U.S. Navy aircraft makes a 2,570-statute mile (4,138 km) nonstop flight from San Diego, California, to Hawaii in 17 hours 21 minutes.[59]
September 10 – Germany prohibits all foreign air traffic in its airspace except along specific air corridors.
September 30 – A senior French general tells the British military attaché in Paris that in the event of a war with Germany "French cities would be laid in ruins ... They had no means of defense," and adds that France was paying the price for having neglected the French Air Force for years.[23]
GeneralMaurice Gamelin, France's Chief of Staff of National Defense, puts before Prime Minister of FranceÉdouard Daladier an assessment stating that Germany has 5,000 aircraft and France only 500, that the British Royal Air Force and French Air Force combined cannot match the German Luftwaffe, and that France cannot hope for even minimal security against German air attack before 1940 unless it embarks on a large, new aircraft procurement program.[62]
October 30 – Another Nationalist counteroffensive begins in the Battle of the Ebro, preceded by a three-hour bombardment of Republican positions by artillery and over 100 Nationalist aircraft.[64]
November 5–7 – A pair of Royal Air Force Long Range Development Unit Vickers Wellesleys makes a non-stop flight from Egypt to Darwin, Australia, setting a new world unrefueled point-to-point distance record of 7,158 miles (11,520 km). The nonstop distance flown is exceeded only by the closed-circuit record of 11,651 kilometers (7,240 miles) set by a Japanese airplane in May.
November 18 – The Battle of the Ebro ends with Spanish Nationalists retaking all territory captured by the Republicans. The Spanish Republican Air Force has lost between 150 and 170 aircraft since the battle began on July 25, and the Nationalists also have lost many planes.[66]
November 26 – France lays the keel of its second aircraft carrier, Joffre, intended as the first non-experimental French carrier. Joffre's construction will be abandoned in June 1940, and she will never be launched.[67]
National Aviation, the Spanish Nationalist air force, has 500 aircraft, enough to ensure it air superiority in the Spanish Civil War.[68]
December 5 – At a meeting of the French Permanent Committee on National Defense, Chief of Staff for National Defense General Maurice Gamelin advocates that France immediately order 1,000 military planes from the United States. The committee approves his proposal.[69]
December 15 – Piloting the prototype of the Polikarpov I-180 fighter on its first light, famed Soviet test pilotValery Chkalov apparently miscalculates his landing approach and comes in short of the airfield and, when he attempts to correct his error, the engine stalls and the plane crashes into power lines. Chkalov is thrown from the cockpit ad dies of his injuries two hours later. The crash deals a blow to aircraft designer Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov′s reputation with Josef Stalin and effectively ends his career.
December 29–31 – A German Arado Ar 79training and touring aircraft sets an international long-distance record for an aircraft of its class, flying 6,303 km (3,917 statute miles) from Benghazi, Libya, to Gaya, India, nonstop at an average speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).[45]
December 30 – The Italian Piaggio P.23R sets two new world records for payload and speed over distance, carrying a payload of 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) over a distance of 1,000 km (620 mi) and over a distance of 2,000 km (1,200 mi) at an average speed for each distance of 404 km/h (251 mph).[72]
^Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN978-1-55750-432-6, p. 114.
^ abMondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 223.
^Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN978-1-55750-432-6, p. 114–115.
^Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN978-1-55750-432-6, p. 111.
^Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN978-1-55750-432-6, p. 116.
^Peattie, Mark R., Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power 1909–1941, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN978-1-55750-432-6, p. 115.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, p. 832.
^Wagner, Ray; Nowarra, Heinz (1971). German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York City: Doubleday & Company. p. 229.
^ abcdefDonald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN978-0-7607-0592-6, p. 60.
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, pp. 34–35, 223.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, pp. 835, 841.
^Johnson, Frederick L., "Modest Mal," Aviation History, March 2012, p. 19.
^Geoghegan, John J., "Vanished!", Aviation History, November 2013, pp. 33-34.
^Hardesty, Von, Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power 1941–1945, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982, ISBN978-0-87474-510-8, p. 53.
^Hardesty, Von, Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power 1941–1945, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982, ISBN978-0-87474-510-8, p. 51.
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 34.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, p. 843–844.
^Hardesty, Von, Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power 1941–1945, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982, ISBN978-0-87474-510-8, pp. 48–49.
^Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN1-55750-076-2, p. 55.
^May, Ernest R., Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France, New York: Hill and Wang, 2000, ISBN0-8090-8906-8, pp. 182, 500.
^O'Connor, Derek, "The Other Franco," Aviation History, January 2018, p. 59.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, p. 854.
^Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917–1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990, ISBN0-87021-026-2, p. 215.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, p. 855.
^Chesneau, Roger, ed., Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, New York: Mayflower Books, 1980, ISBN0-8317-0303-2, p. 261.
^Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986, ISBN978-0-671-75876-9, p. 868.
^May, Ernest R., Strange Victory: Hitler′s Conquest of France, New York: Hill and Wang, 2000, ISBN0-8090-8906-8, pp. 183–184.
^Chesneau, Roger, ed., Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, New York: Mayflower Books, 1980, ISBN0-8317-0303-2, p. 226.
^[Guttman, John, "Nakajima′s Fragile Falcon," Aviation History, May 2017, p. 31.]
^Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 733.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, pp. 277, 279.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, p. 272.
^Sweeting, C. G., "Target: Berlin,' Aviation History, January 2015, p. 43.
^ abDonald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 64.
^Johnson, E. R., "Workhorse of the Fleet," Aviation History, November 2011, p. 45.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 44.
^Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 106.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, pp. 251, 567.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, p. 145–146.
^Pomata, Anthony (April 21, 2001). "Boeing's Model 314 Clipper Flying Boat". historylink.org. HistoryLink.org. Retrieved April 22, 2017. Test pilot Eddie Allen flew the Boeing 314 NX18601 Clipper on its first flight on June 7, 1938, from the waters of Puget Sound, in Seattle and remained aloft for 38 minutes.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN978-0-517-56588-9, p. 138.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 162.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 183.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN978-0-517-56588-9, p. 388.
^Juptner, Joseph P. (1980). US Civil Aircraft: Vol. 8 (ATC 701 - 800). Aero Publishers. pp. 75–77 & 102–104. ISBN978-0816891788.
^Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter M. Bowers, United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, London: Putnam, 1976, ISBN978-0-370-10054-8, p. 200.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, p. 167.
^Guttman, Robert,"Magnificent Lightning," Aviation History, January 2016, p. 13.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, ISBN978-0-517-56588-9, p. 386.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, pp. 302, 568.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979, ISBN978-0-87021-313-7, p. 155.
^Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, ISBN978-0-7607-0592-6, p. 79.
