1956 in aviation

yearbox
in?=in aviation
cp=19th Century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1953
yp2=1954
yp3=1955
year=1956
ya1=1957
ya2=1958
ya3=1959
dp3=1920s
dp2=1930s
dp1=1940s
d=1950s
dn1=1960s
dn2=1970s
dn3=1980s

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1956:

Events

March

* March 10 - Lt Cdr Peter Twiss sets a new airspeed record in the Fairey Delta 2, also becoming the first person to exceed 1,000 mph. His top speed is 1,132 mph (1,821 km/h).

May

* May 21 - a B-52 Stratofortress drops the US's first air-dropped hydrogen bomb, a 3.75 MT device on Bikini Atoll

June

* June 20 - the US Navy commissions its first helicopter carrier, USS "Thetis Bay"

eptember

* September 7 - the Bell X-2 research aircraft is flown by Captain Iven C. Kincheloe to a new altitude record of 126,200 ft (38,466 m).
* September 24 - the Luftwaffe is re-formed in West Germany
* September 27 - Milburn Apt sets a new airspeed record in the Bell X-2, becoming the first person to exceed Mach 3, reaching a speed of 2,094 mph (3,350 km/h) before he lost control of the X-2 and died in the resulting crash

October

* October 1 - Chapter Two of the Experimental Aircraft Association is chartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana
* October 11 - a Vickers Valiant of No. 49 Squadron RAF drops Britain's first air-dropped atomic bomb, over Maralinga, South Australia
* October 31 - a US Navy R4D Skytrain is the first aircraft to land at the South Pole

November

* November 28 - the Ryan X-13 Vertijet makes its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight

First flights

April

* April 17 - SFECMAS Gerfaut II
* April 21 - F5D Skylancer.

May

* Aerfer Sagittario 2
* May 26 - Sukhoi Su-9

July

* July 20 - Aerotécnica AC-12
* July 23 - Dassault Étendard II

August

* August 1 - Aeritalia G.91
* August 6 - Beechcraft Travel Air
* August 31 - KC-135 Stratotanker

eptember

* September 10 - North American F-107

October

* October 22 - XH-40 (Bell UH-1 prototype)

November

* November 11 - Convair XB-58
* November 17 - Dassault Mirage III

December

* December 17 - Short SC.1
* December 17 - E-1 Tracer
* December 26 - F-106 Delta Dart

Entered service

February
* February 24 - Gloster Javelin with No. 46 Squadron RAF

March
* March 31 - A3D Skywarrior with VAH-1

April
* April 16 - F4D Skyray with VC-13

July
* August 31 - Avro Vulcan with No. 83 Squadron RAF

September
* September 24 - Tupolev Tu-104 with Aeroflot

December
* December 9 - The 463rd Troop Carrier Wing receives the Air Force's first C-130 Hercules.